Battery and CPU

[Mystickaitou]

Hi

I got a macbook pro early 2008 model. My battery has failed and I read on apples website that this causes the cpu performance to run at 50 % max.

I bought a new non-genuine battery from ebay (the battery life doesn't matter for me, because it's always plugged in). It worked fine and I could see a huge CPU improvement (ie. game didn't lag). Before on death battery there was always huge lagg when playing games. But recently even on battery the games begin to lag again and the whole laptop has become slower.

The battery still does work, because it works fine when the power plug is off. But why does the cpu not run on full power when gaming? as it did for the first day of use. Can I manually force the CPU to run at higher speed?

My reason to buy an ebay battery instead of apple, is because it's expensive, very bad (personal experience and forums) and only got 1,5 review stars in over 200 reviews on apple stores' website.

 

[GGJstudios]

I got a macbook pro early 2008 model. My battery has failed and I read on apples website that this causes the cpu performance to run at 50 % max.

Running with the battery removed will cause the CPU to be throttled, but Apple doesn't mention anything about 50%. The statement is this:

If the battery is removed from a MacBook or MacBook Pro, the computer will automatically reduce the processor speed. This prevents the computer from shutting down if it demands more power than the A/C adaptor alone can provide.

Source: MacBook and MacBook Pro: Mac reduces processor speed when battery is removed while operating from an A/C adaptor

I bought a new non-genuine battery from ebay (the battery life doesn't matter for me, because it's always plugged in). It worked fine and I could see a huge CPU improvement (ie. game didn't lag). Before on death battery there was always huge lagg when playing games. But recently even on battery the games begin to lag again and the whole laptop has become slower.

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.

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

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

The slower performance could possibly be due to factors other than battery issues.

Performance Tips For Mac OS X

 

[Mystickaitou]

The problem is not the software, because I made a full format and reinstall of lion for the first time after 4 years and th problem persisted. And I'm sure the problem is the battery, because all my problems were gone the first day I used the ebay battery.

But Im quite in a dilemma here. I would have bought the genuine battery (even if it costs 100£), but it's just so bad for this model. But I guess it's our only solution to solve the cpu issue?

 

[GGJstudios]

The problem is not the software, because I made a full format and reinstall of lion for the first time after 4 years and th problem persisted. And I'm sure the problem is the battery, because all my problems were gone the first day I used the ebay battery.

But Im quite in a dilemma here. I would have bought the genuine battery (even if it costs 100£), but it's just so bad for this model. But I guess it's our only solution to solve the cpu issue?

If it was my Mac, the first thing I'd do is replace the knockoff with an Apple battery. Then, if the problem persists, I'd take it to Apple and let them check it out.