Is gaming harmful to a Macbook Air?

[copa]

The only downside I've noticed (2013 13") is that my battery drops somewhat considerably in health when I put heavy stress on the machine. While it usually fluctuates around 96-100% capacity during normal use/charge cycles, putting heavy load on it (such as gaming) has repeatedly and reliably put it to around 90% capacity. I am nursing it back up right now. It is not an exact science at all and I make no claim that this is always the case (or even important). It's just something I noticed about my machine.

 

[motrek]

The only downside I've noticed (2013 13") is that my battery drops somewhat considerably in health when I put heavy stress on the machine. While it usually fluctuates around 96-100% capacity during normal use/charge cycles, putting heavy load on it (such as gaming) has repeatedly and reliably put it to around 90% capacity. I am nursing it back up right now. It is not an exact science at all and I make no claim that this is always the case (or even important). It's just something I noticed about my machine.

Surely you play games with the laptop plugged in...?

 

[copa]

After noticing what happens to the battery after gaming I have done both (playing plugged in and playing on battery alone) just to see whether it would make a difference. I even tried playing plugged in at various battery percentages (so fully charged, 90% charged, ... etc.), however as of yet it didn't really seem to have an effect on the outcome.

 

[motrek]

After noticing what happens to the battery after gaming I have done both (playing plugged in and playing on battery alone) just to see whether it would make a difference. I even tried playing plugged in at various battery percentages (so fully charged, 90% charged, ... etc.), however as of yet it didn't really seem to have an effect on the outcome.

If you play with the laptop plugged in then the battery shouldn't be involved at all. It's out of the circuit. The computer is being powered directly from the wall. You should literally see no change in the battery statistics if you do this.

 

[copa]

I guess you're right. I think I once read that while being plugged-in you'll only draw power from the battery if the total power demand of the machine exceeds the 45W that the charger can supply. But from what I could glean from a few web searches that is hardly ever the case and only in the most extreme situations. Certainly gaming doesn't qualify as such.

On a different note, I am wondering now whether the amount of power drawn can have an effect on the battery at all, as my experience would suggest. In other words, is a steady, low charge (think light usage, surfing etc.) better than the rapid, high power draw (such as gaming) concerning the battery wear/health?

 

[motrek]

I guess you're right. I think I once read that while being plugged-in you'll only draw power from the battery if the total power demand of the machine exceeds the 45W that the charger can supply. But from what I could glean from a few web searches that is hardly ever the case and only in the most extreme situations. Certainly gaming doesn't qualify as such.

On a different note, I am wondering now whether the amount of power drawn can have an effect on the battery at all, as my experience would suggest. In other words, is a steady, low charge (think light usage, surfing etc.) better than the rapid, high power draw (such as gaming) concerning the battery wear/health?

Yes, fast discharge puts more wear on the battery than slower discharge. And gaming (on average) requires a lot of power. Hence my surprise that you would play games on your laptop without it being plugged in.

 

[Fl0r!an]

It's totally normal for some notebooks to drain the battery during heavy load due to an underpowered PSU.
Even some MacBooks do this, although I thought this only concerned top of the line 15" models.

Btw, older MacBooks with removable battery (like my trusty Late 2008) won't unleash their full power if no battery is inserted, because they need it to smooth out power peaks over time. I've never observed battery draining on this machine though.

 

[motrek]

It's totally normal for some notebooks to drain the battery during heavy load due to an underpowered PSU.
Even some MacBooks do this, although I thought this only concerned top of the line 15" models.

Btw, older MacBooks with removable battery (like my trusty Late 2008) won't unleash their full power if no battery is inserted, because they need it to smooth out power peaks over time. I've never observed battery draining on this machine though.

I think Apple's wall charger for the MBA is 45W... since the CPUs are 15W parts, and that's the most power-hungry component by far, I can't imagine the MBA dipping into battery power when plugged in.

Anyway I would recommend keeping any laptop plugged in for a gaming session. Otherwise there'll be unnecessary wear on the battery.

 

[adcx64]

Yeah. I never game without being plugged in to the AC adaptor and ethernet. So I should see no degradation at all.

 

[copa]

Yes, fast discharge puts more wear on the battery than slower discharge. And gaming (on average) requires a lot of power. Hence my surprise that you would play games on your laptop without it being plugged in.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. Guess i won't experiment with it anymore!