Early '13 rMBP 13" Battery Not Living Up to the Golden Apple Standard

[brinary001]

So a year ago I bought a 13" Retina MBP (yea I know, I just missed the Ivy Bridge models by a few months) but I needed a good computer for college. It's warm at a minimum, but usually very hot especially at the vent/top of the keyboard. Just watching a YouTube video or listening to music while writing a paper will kick the fans on in what sounds like top gear. Is this all software related? Should I restore the OS (Mavericks)? Also, would it be beneficial to install the Yosemite preview? I'm currently on the beta list for lay users, but I guess I could get it elsewhere to take advantage of the battery improvements. I was told by Apple at the time I bought this that I could expect 6-8 hours of usage... I'm lucky to get half that

 

[T5BRICK]

6-8 hours of light internet browsing with the screen brightness at 50%.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Adobe Flash Player is CPU intensive, thus more power is needed to feed the CPU, which results in higher temperatures and often higher fan speed(s) on mobile computers. As more power is used due to Flash, the battery life of mobile computers is shortened by a good bit.
To check, if Adobe Flash Player is responsible for less battery time or the heat, go to Applications / Utilities / Activity Monitor and select to show ALL PROCESSES and sort by CPU.

There are a variety of Flash blockers for all the four major browsers available.
A Flash blocker does what it says, it blocks Flash content, but via a click on the marked Flash object, the Flash object can be activated and used.

• Safari: ClickToFlash, for which there is an extension and a plug-in; CTF allows you to download YouTube and other kinds of MPEG-4 encoded video too.
• Opera: has a built-in Flash blocker
• Firefox: Flashblock is an add-on to block Flash
• Chrome: FlashBlock is an extension to block Flash

Also make sure to have the latest Adobe Flash Player version running, you can get it here.​

 

[brinary001]

Thank you so much, guys! I really appreciate it. Any other battery saving advice?

 

[Blakeasd]

Thank you so much, guys! I really appreciate it. Any other battery saving advice?

I use Safari when on battery power and Chrome when plugged in. I get about 1/4 of the battery life with Chrome in comparison to Safari.

 

[GGJstudios]

Thank you so much, guys! I really appreciate it. Any other battery saving advice?

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.

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The link below should answer most, if not all, of your battery/charging questions. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you take the time to read it.

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

 

[brinary001]

Again guys, thank you so much! I now only use Safari on battery and that in and of itself helped a lot. Now I'm exploring the link. Thanks!