Battery Time vs. Charge

[MyDesktopBroke]

Late 2008 refurb Macbook Pro, 2.53ghz, Windows 7 RC (therefore forced to use the 9600 at all times).

According to this report, the MBP got around 3&1/2hrs of run time with a dimmed screen and watching videos. From a full charge, I start browsing the internet (no videos at all), and my battery reading read as follows

91% 1hr, 16mins
90% 1hr, 20mins
89% 1hr, 24mins
87% 1hr, 23mins

Not only were the readings all over the place, but even from a full near charge I wasn't even getting an estimate of 2hrs, while Apple advertised 4 for the late 2008 model, and the review I linked to says they got 3&1/2.

Do I have a bad battery, or does simply running the 9600 reduce the battery life by such a drastic amount?

PS. I have already calibrated my battery following the guide on the Apple website.

 

[vader1990]

Late 2008 refurb Macbook Pro, 2.53ghz, Windows 7 RC (therefore forced to use the 9600 at all times).

According to this report, the MBP got around 3&1/2hrs of run time with a dimmed screen and watching videos. From a full charge, I start browsing the internet (no videos at all), and my battery reading read as follows

91% 1hr, 16mins
90% 1hr, 20mins
89% 1hr, 24mins
87% 1hr, 23mins

Not only were the readings all over the place, but even from a full near charge I wasn't even getting an estimate of 2hrs, while Apple advertised 4 for the late 2008 model, and the review I linked to says they got 3&1/2.

Do I have a bad battery, or does simply running the 9600 reduce the battery life by such a drastic amount?

PS. I have already calibrated my battery following the guide on the Apple website.

Hi,

1. I believe that the time Apple advertised battery life refers to using OS X, not Windows. So perhaps the discrepancy you're noticing is because you're only using Windows 7? You're not accounting for all the EXTRA background processes that Windows 7 uses...that'll kill the battery. Mine does the same when I use 7.

2. Yes, using the 9600 over the 9400 does generally give me about only 2/3rds of the battery life that I normally get. It depends on what I'm doing though.

 

[morrisman1]

running windows kills battery life.

One review tested in vista and that got like 4.5 hours on the new battery (13" mbp). I can get that out of my unibody macbook (non pro) in OSX. currently running OSX with the wifi on and brightness on full, with battery at 91% it is reporting that i have 3:39 left, all it does to do that is take the current battery charge and divide it by the current draw of the computer, so if that draw doesn't change then i will get battery life. My battery is in excellent condition.

 

[noodle654]

Late 2008 refurb Macbook Pro, 2.53ghz, Windows 7 RC (therefore forced to use the 9600 at all times).

According to this report, the MBP got around 3&1/2hrs of run time with a dimmed screen and watching videos. From a full charge, I start browsing the internet (no videos at all), and my battery reading read as follows

91% 1hr, 16mins
90% 1hr, 20mins
89% 1hr, 24mins
87% 1hr, 23mins

Not only were the readings all over the place, but even from a full near charge I wasn't even getting an estimate of 2hrs, while Apple advertised 4 for the late 2008 model, and the review I linked to says they got 3&1/2.

Do I have a bad battery, or does simply running the 9600 reduce the battery life by such a drastic amount?

PS. I have already calibrated my battery following the guide on the Apple website.

Apple only quotes battery times for OS X. Windows XP, Vista, and I am sure 7 have horrible battery management, nothing like OS X. I can only get about 2 hours when I run Windows XP Pro on my MBP, and my battery is at 99% health! If you want to check your battery health, use this-->http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/index.html

 

[w00t951]

After only 32 battery cycles, my battery heath is at 94%! What is happening here!!!?????!?!?!? And yes, Windows has terrible power management, in addition to the bloat that it already carries. Try disabling a core. It is hardly noticeable, but it gave me an extra 45 minutes of battery life. (OSX)

 

[MyDesktopBroke]

Figured as much. When I switched to OS X, even though I was down to around 70%, the time left jumped to around 3hrs&2mins.

But sheesh, is Windows really that bad at managing battery life, or was the 9600 the main culprit? I wasn't even doing anything besides literally opening Firefox and going to macrumors.

 

[iLog.Genius]

Figured as much. When I switched to OS X, even though I was down to around 70%, the time left jumped to around 3hrs&2mins.

But sheesh, is Windows really that bad at managing battery life, or was the 9600 the main culprit? I wasn't even doing anything besides literally opening Firefox and going to macrumors.

The lack of optimized drivers. I'm pretty sure you can get a Windows laptop and load up a hacked version of OS X and battery time will be bad as well unless someone can link an article where OS X has manages power much more efficiently than Windows.