Info on 13" MBP needed

[Dmac77]

If a thread like this has been posted before, please forgive me. I searched but all that came across, was regarding the Unibody Macbook, not the Unibody Macbook Pro.

Anyways, I was wondering if the battery for the 13" MBP actually lasts 7 hours, like Apple advertises. I ask because I have one on my x-mas wish list, but I want to make sure that the battery will last all day for me at school. I'll be using the MBP to take notes in my classes (I write really slowly, but type fast), and I want to be sure that it will last ~6.5 hours for me. I probably won't have WiFi on at school, but I may tether my phone to it occasionally (I'm not sure if tethering would affect battery life).

Also, how does the 9400M stand up to gaming? I would like to hook it up to an external display and play MSFT Flight Simulator X occasionally.

And finally, does the low end 13" MBP have a backlit keyboard, or is that only on the high end 13"?

I guess there is one more thing actually, is there a major difference between the 2.26GHz and the 2.53GHz MBP in terms of performance?

Thanks,

Don

 

[GGJstudios]

How long a battery lasts is directly related to how much demand you put on it. It will last longer with the screen dimmed, bluetooth off, wifi off, and very little hard drive activity than it would otherwise. Also depends on which programs you're running and how many, etc. Your mileage may vary... a lot!

 

[Dmac77]

How long a battery lasts is directly related to how much demand you put on it. It will last longer with the screen dimmed, bluetooth off, wifi off, and very little hard drive activity than it would otherwise. Also depends on which programs you're running and how many, etc. Your mileage may vary... a lot!

At most I would be running Pages or TextEdit along with quicktime (to record lectures).

Don

 

[GGJstudios]

At most I would be running Pages or TextEdit along with quicktime (to record lectures).

Don

Still, there's no way to accurately estimate how much time you'd get. Adjusting your screen brightness affects quite a bit. No way to guarantee you'd get 5 or 6 or 7 hours.

 

[Surely]

I've used my 13" MBP for around 6 hrs-ish on battery power. I had wifi on, dimmed my screen to around halfway, and I didn't use it for video. I was using it for word processing and internet surfing. I use ClickToFlash to block all Flash ads, so perhaps that preserved some battery power as well. Also, I listened to a podcast for around 30-45 minutes during that time.

The 13" MBP has a backlit keyboard, which I absolutely love.

I can't speak for your gaming questions.

From what I have heard, there is around a 10% increase in performance for certain tasks from the 2.26 to the 2.53. I went with the 2.26 because, frankly, for what I use the computer for, I wouldn't notice the difference (and I don't).

A helpful link.

 

[mikes70mustang]

I have a classic 15" MBP and i use it for note when im at school and battery life is not a problem. Tether might decrease battery life due to the mac powering the phone, unless you do BT tether. If you want 6.5 to 7 hours you will basically need half or less screen brightness, no BT, wifi, and only pages and maybe one or 2 more minor programs.

 

[specops]

If a thread like this has been posted before, please forgive me. I searched but all that came across, was regarding the Unibody Macbook, not the Unibody Macbook Pro.

Anyways, I was wondering if the battery for the 13" MBP actually lasts 7 hours, like Apple advertises. I ask because I have one on my x-mas wish list, but I want to make sure that the battery will last all day for me at school. I'll be using the MBP to take notes in my classes (I write really slowly, but type fast), and I want to be sure that it will last ~6.5 hours for me. I probably won't have WiFi on at school, but I may tether my phone to it occasionally (I'm not sure if tethering would affect battery life).

Also, how does the 9400M stand up to gaming? I would like to hook it up to an external display and play MSFT Flight Simulator X occasionally.

And finally, does the low end 13" MBP have a backlit keyboard, or is that only on the high end 13"?

I guess there is one more thing actually, is there a major difference between the 2.26GHz and the 2.53GHz MBP in terms of performance?

Thanks,

Don

Hello,

Taking notes you should be able to hit 7 hours easy, I would say 10 hours if you turn everything down. The battery life is amazing and OSX is the smartest OS for power saving! it's really amazing.

tethering will probably take a hit on battery life im thinking 20-40% depending on the phone and how you tether (cord or bluetooth) - Cord will also use the MBP battery to charge your phone killing it even quicker. (atleast it does for my iphone)

The 9400M is a beast for its size. You should be able to play most games with low or medium graphics, you might have to turn down the screen resolution depending on the game.

All 13" MBP have backlit keyboard ( Oh i love it)

between the 2.2 vs 2.5ghz there is around a 10% difference in performance, there are benchmarks floating around the interwebz somewhere.

Hope that helps, Cheers

 

[Dmac77]

Hello,

Taking notes you should be able to hit 7 hours easy, I would say 10 hours if you turn everything down. The battery life is amazing and OSX is the smartest OS for power saving! it's really amazing.

tethering will probably take a hit on battery life im thinking 20-40% depending on the phone and how you tether (cord or bluetooth) - Cord will also use the MBP battery to charge your phone killing it even quicker. (atleast it does for my iphone)

The 9400M is a beast for its size. You should be able to play most games with low or medium graphics, you might have to turn down the screen resolution depending on the game.

All 13" MBP have backlit keyboard ( Oh i love it)

between the 2.2 vs 2.5ghz there is around a 10% difference in performance, there are benchmarks floating around the interwebz somewhere.

Hope that helps, Cheers

Thanks for the information. I paid a little more attention today during school to where the power outlets are in my classes. In 2 of my classes I am petty much right next to power outlets, so I would be able to plug the MBP in while I'm in those two classes.

As for the tethering, I would be using an iPhone, and I would probably only tether for 30 minutes a day, so I think I'll be okay.

Don

 

[thesmoth]

Hello,

Taking notes you should be able to hit 7 hours easy, I would say 10 hours if you turn everything down. The battery life is amazing and OSX is the smartest OS for power saving! it's really amazing.

tethering will probably take a hit on battery life im thinking 20-40% depending on the phone and how you tether (cord or bluetooth) - Cord will also use the MBP battery to charge your phone killing it even quicker. (atleast it does for my iphone)

The 9400M is a beast for its size. You should be able to play most games with low or medium graphics, you might have to turn down the screen resolution depending on the game.

All 13" MBP have backlit keyboard ( Oh i love it)

between the 2.2 vs 2.5ghz there is around a 10% difference in performance, there are benchmarks floating around the interwebz somewhere.

Hope that helps, Cheers

An older game like team fortress 2 only runs at low/medium graphics with not great frame rates and slow downs in heavy action times. That is quite an old game so really it is not great for games. It is good for older games and can play some newer games at the lowest settings acceptably.

As far as the battery goes, i'd say 7 hours with no backlite keyboard, brightness half or less, wifi, no bluetooth, no video, no flash, and just mild browsing/typing. Even then you'd be lucky. I've been using this machine for nearly 6 months and i'd say you're insane if you think you can get 10 hours out of this machine, unless you are using it in the dark on minimum brightness with no wifi and just word processing.