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Anyone tested rMB battery runtime?

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Fuzzball84

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 19, 2015
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I'm really interested in this machine but the runtimes some people have reported seem to fall short of the 9 hours indicated by apple...

When I've unplugged units at BB and apple stores the battery indicator only shows ~5 hours runtime (although I know the battery on those probably does not have an optimal calibration since being plugged in all day etc)

I intend to use the machine for word, excel (nothing strenuous) and reading PDF's plus some web browsing...
 
what I normally use is Words, 5-6 tabs on Firefox, and VLC playing at the same time.

used to get around 5 hours from my 2012 MBP. and over 10 hours on MBA.

if i can get around 8-9 hours from MBr, that'd be make feel better. :)
 
I easily get 9+ hrs/day out of my 1.2. No gaming, video editing or other graphically intensive usage. That'll bring the battery life way down. I'm using productivity apps, Safari, iTunes, etc... I run the screen at about 50%. Easily get a full day's work out of it.
If you do more intensive computing, it'll be less. If,you run Chrome, it'll be less. If you drank the screen all he way bright (which is possibly what was happening at Best Buy), it'll be less.
 
Cool, thanks for the info. Thats exactly the sort of usage I'll have, nothing CPU intensive. The attraction of the rMB for me is the display, its just far superior to the MBA for reading and word processing...

I did manually crank the display down at the apple store to about half way... more likely how bright I'd have it, those showrooms are real bright...

What is your experience with the heat coming from the rMB? does it get warm, hot... I know this is a bit subjective...
 
Fuzzball84 said:
I'm really interested in this machine but the runtimes some people have reported seem to fall short of the 9 hours indicated by apple...

When I've unplugged units at BB and apple stores the battery indicator only shows ~5 hours runtime (although I know the battery on those probably does not have an optimal calibration since being plugged in all day etc)

I intend to use the machine for word, excel (nothing strenuous) and reading PDF's plus some web browsing...
Click to expand...

If I'm just browsing the web without streaming video I can get 9+ hours easy. I always have brightness six bars down from max.
 
Last edited:
Fuzzball84 said:
What is your experience with the heat coming from the rMB? does it get warm, hot... I know this is a bit subjective...
Click to expand...

When using it as I described (relatively light CPU tasks), it does not get noticeably warm on my lap. If I "check" (place my fingers underneath and feel for any heat), I can occasionally feel slight warmth. But it doesn't make itself known...
I did notice considerable (but not uncomfortable) warming during setup, simply because of FileVault, indexing, downloading and installing software, transferring data, etc... all simultaneously. But it never got what I'd call "hot".
All in all, in your daily use with non-intensive apps, you won't have any heat issues.
 
Fuzzball84 said:
Cool, thanks for the info. Thats exactly the sort of usage I'll have, nothing CPU intensive. The attraction of the rMB for me is the display, its just far superior to the MBA for reading and word processing...

I did manually crank the display down at the apple store to about half way... more likely how bright I'd have it, those showrooms are real bright...

What is your experience with the heat coming from the rMB? does it get warm, hot... I know this is a bit subjective...
Click to expand...

It runs cooler than my rMBP. I ran it for two separate 1/2 hour periods this weekend with the CPU at 91-94*C (which is maxed out). The palm rests were, IIRC, around 86*F. The bottom ranged from 92-97*F, not even body temperature. The speaker grill got to 100*F, but you would never come into contact with that part.
 
newellj said:
It runs cooler than my rMBP. I ran it for two separate 1/2 hour periods this weekend with the CPU at 91-94*C (which is maxed out). The palm rests were, IIRC, around 86*F. The bottom ranged from 92-97*F, not even body temperature. The speaker grill got to 100*F, but you would never come into contact with that part.
Click to expand...

Thats great, but what was the CPU temp when idle?

I think with my usage (safari and word etc) it would be hanging around idle most of the time..
 
Fuzzball84 said:
Thats great, but what was the CPU temp when idle?

I think with my usage (safari and word etc) it would be hanging around idle most of the time..
Click to expand...

My 1.2gHz idles at around 37*C with micro-spike to something close to 60*C, then falls back instantly to 37*C.
 
I know Chrome is notoriously a battery hog - is Firefox as well? I don't mind using Safari on my iPads but really prefer Firefox for computer browsing. I ask because my estimate is 5 hours left with me at 91% battery remaining. I have done nothing but email and Internet browsing since getting it yesterday.

I really like the size/weight of this machine, and am getting used to the keyboard. The screen is great, and it is plenty fast enough for my functions (just the above plus Office). I have screen brightness at about 60 or 65%. I was just curious as to whether I could get noticeable improvement in battery by not using Firefox - or if that is really a Chrome specific issue.
 
wickedwahine11 said:
I know Chrome is notoriously a battery hog - is Firefox as well? I don't mind using Safari on my iPads but really prefer Firefox for computer browsing. I ask because my estimate is 5 hours left with me at 91% battery remaining. I have done nothing but email and Internet browsing since getting it yesterday.

I really like the size/weight of this machine, and am getting used to the keyboard. The screen is great, and it is plenty fast enough for my functions (just the above plus Office). I have screen brightness at about 60 or 65%. I was just curious as to whether I could get noticeable improvement in battery by not using Firefox - or if that is really a Chrome specific issue.
Click to expand...

It would be really cool to see what battery time you get with Safari instead of using Firefox... I think Apple have Safari optimized well for the MacBooks...
 
wickedwahine11 said:
I know Chrome is notoriously a battery hog - is Firefox as well? I don't mind using Safari on my iPads but really prefer Firefox for computer browsing. I ask because my estimate is 5 hours left with me at 91% battery remaining. I have done nothing but email and Internet browsing since getting it yesterday.

I really like the size/weight of this machine, and am getting used to the keyboard. The screen is great, and it is plenty fast enough for my functions (just the above plus Office). I have screen brightness at about 60 or 65%. I was just curious as to whether I could get noticeable improvement in battery by not using Firefox - or if that is really a Chrome specific issue.
Click to expand...

On Apple's Safari page, they mention Firefox in the same breath as Chrome in regards to battery life. So could be.
 
Fuzzball84 said:
It would be really cool to see what battery time you get with Safari instead of using Firefox... I think Apple have Safari optimized well for the MacBooks...
Click to expand...

PDFierro said:
On Apple's Safari page, they mention Firefox in the same breath as Chrome in regards to battery life. So could be.
Click to expand...

Gotcha guys - will probably use just Safari for a few days to see if there is a difference.
 
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