Macbook battery?

[mnemonicj]

Hello everybody.

I'm a proud Macbook (5,1 aluminum) owner, and it is my first device into the Apple world. I've had it a little over two years now and for the past fews days I've noticed my battery life is now speeding down faster.

Coconut reads a (3822 mAh) current capacity and its design capacity reads at (4100 mAh). The Macbook itself is in great shape, no scratches, no dents, or any other physical damage whatsoever. Battery life has come down a little though, since before I could actually get 4 hours in total with the same lighting specs. I can clock in maybe 2:30 hours of use with high backlight and high keyboard light.

I'm very much interested in purchasing an SSD for the Macbook and to also get an HD optibay for my current HD to maybe squeeze a little more life out of the computer and I could also just buy a new battery to renew the whole thing.

I want to know a few things from you guys, do the newer Macbook models really make that much of a difference in speed, etc. compared to my computer model? Is it really worth the upgrade?

I could look into selling the machine and just paying the difference for a newer one. How much would I get for one of these?

Regards.

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by mnemonicj

I've noticed my battery life is now speeding down faster.

Coconut reads a (3822 mAh) current capacity and its design capacity reads at (4100 mAh).

It is perfectly normal if your battery health (maximum capacity) is less than 100% when new or if it fluctuates up or down over time. For further details, read the CHECKING STATUS AND HEALTH section of the following link.

Originally Posted by mnemonicj

Battery life has come down a little though, since before I could actually get 4 hours in total with the same lighting specs. I can clock in maybe 2:30 hours of use with high backlight and high keyboard light.

There are many factors that impact your battery life. See the BATTERY LIFE FROM A CHARGE section of the following link for details, including tips on how to maximize your battery life.

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ

Originally Posted by mnemonicj

I could also just buy a new battery to renew the whole thing.

At 93% health, you don't need a new battery. There are things you can do to get more performance and better battery life from your current Mac.

Performance Tips For Mac OS X

[mnemonicj]

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

It is perfectly normal if your battery health (maximum capacity) is less than 100% when new or if it fluctuates up or down over time. For further details, read the CHECKING STATUS AND HEALTH section of the following link.

There are many factors that impact your battery life. See the BATTERY LIFE FROM A CHARGE section of the following link for details, including tips on how to maximize your battery life.

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ

At 93% health, you don't need a new battery. There are things you can do to get more performance and better battery life from your current Mac.

Performance Tips For Mac OS X

Thanks a lot for the reply!

What do you think about the SSD though? Is it really going to make that big of a difference?

Also, I know processors are much better now, comparing my Core 2 Duo next to an i7 is out of the question, but is it really that much faster overall?

Are newer Macbooks THAT much better than my aluminum model?

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by mnemonicj

Thanks a lot for the reply!

What do you think about the SSD though? Is it really going to make that big of a difference?

Also, I know processors are much better now, comparing my Core 2 Duo next to an i7 is out of the question, but is it really that much faster overall?

Are newer Macbooks THAT much better than my aluminum model?

SSDs contribute to faster performance when reading/writing to the drive is involved.

Most average users will see little or no difference in performance between processors, as most don't tax the processors they have. If you're frequently doing gaming or other multimedia or CPU-intensive processes, you'd notice some improvement. If not, you likely won't, (except Safari will be a little snappier! )

[hrsetrdr]

Originally Posted by mnemonicj

I'm very much interested in purchasing an SSD for the Macbook and to also get an HD optibay for my current HD to maybe squeeze a little more life out of the computer and I could also just buy a new battery to renew the whole thing.

I use an SSD in a desktop running Linux, as well as having recently replacing a failing HDD in an Asus 1001px laptop; both have noticeably shorter boot times, so perhaps OS X would boot a bit quicker as well.

My Macbook's hard drive is in good shape, so it would be hard to justify replacing it at this point. But, I did recently replace the almost 3 year old battery, and did save substantially by purchasing from a reputable ebay seller, rather than from the Apple store.

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by hrsetrdr

I did recently replace the almost 3 year old battery, and did save substantially by purchasing from a reputable ebay seller, rather than from the Apple store.

While you may have had good luck so far, I wouldn't trust or recommend any non-Apple battery, due to the number of problems reported with "knockoff" batteries. Also, there is no assurance that knockoff batteries have the same charging technology that Apple uses, involving the battery, the MagSafe adapter and the Mac's logic board.

Battery Replacement
Replacing the built-in battery in your MacBook Pro
Replacing the Battery in your MacBook Air
Intel-based Apple Portables: How to replace or service a built-in battery

Of course, none of this applies to the OP, since their battery is healthy and doesn't need to be replaced.

[mnemonicj]

Thanks a lot for all of your replies, but one question still hasn't been answered. Are the new Macbook pro models really worth the purchase compared to my aging Macbook aluminum?

I actually run a couple of virtual machines, and do a little light programming.

[wrinkster22]

Originally Posted by mnemonicj

Thanks a lot for all of your replies, but one question still hasn't been answered. Are the new Macbook pro models really worth the purchase compared to my aging Macbook aluminum?

I actually run a couple of virtual machines, and do a little light programming.

get some more ram.
that computer has a lot of life left

Keep the computer & Enjoy.