Is the MacBook's Battery Good?

[R.R.Mac]

Guys I have an iBook G4 at the moment and I get about 4 and a half hours out of it. This is great and useful for all my work. Does the MacBook have a good battery life like the iBook or does the widescreen drain it like theres no tomorrrow? i am very confused!

 

[mhuk01]

i usually get about three (sometimes more) out of my macbook, with wireless on and screen brightness on three-quarters (also often bluetooth mouse too).

Personally I think thats not bad for a laptop, so the answer to your question is it depends on how intensively you use the macbook.

 

[Chundles]

I reckon that's pretty good. The MacBook's screen at half brightness is about the same as the iBook's screen at full. Turning off Bluetooth would make a difference too.

Mostly I hear of times around the 4 hour mark, depending on usage.

 

[Cue]

When I first bought my macbook the "estimated battery life" would be around ~4h with WiFi on.

Today, a little over 1 month (though it shows up as 2 months in Cocconut Battery ) and 26 load cycles the "Current Battery Capacity" shows us 4951 compared to the original 5200. With an EBL ~3h

It is kinda strange and makes me a little worried TBH since I have calibrated the battery twice since my original purchase (1st time aside) and I tend to use the macbook with a fairly balanced power/battery usage.

In the early weeks I would even get more than 5200 but at some point it suddenly dropped below 5100 and now steady below 5000...

 

[adiosk8]

I get just shy of 2.5 - 3 hours running wifi and cranking out a ton of things, paralells, PS and being connected to a bunch of internet apps like skype, ichat, irc and whatever else...screen brightness on low....it doesnt need to be much higher on the glossy screens

 

[Cue]

Today, a little over 1 month (though it shows up as 2 months in Cocconut Battery ) and 26 load cycles the "Current Battery Capacity" shows us 4951 compared to the original 5200. With an EBL ~3h

In the early weeks I would even get more than 5200 but at some point it suddenly dropped below 5100 and now steady below 5000...

I making this post to add that now the battery capacity shows as much as 5051 but still far off from 5200 (~ 5 weeks life).

 

[R.R.Mac]

where do you see your current battery capasity?

i cant seem to find mine.

 

[dextertangocci]

I get about 4 hours with 3/4 brightness, bluetooth off, airport on and processor performance set to normal

 

[Cue]

A few posts back...

[...] Cocconut Battery ) [...] "Current Battery Capacity" shows [...]

 

[MSM Hobbes]

Any other tricks/hints on what to do, not to, to maximize life of the battery itself and/or battery usage per sitting?
Is it best, for example, to immediately 'condition' a new battery - or do these new LiIon's really not need such?

 

[mfInc]

I just got my mac Saturday. So far I have done 6 loadcycles and the stats stay as the attachment.

Is this ok? Any way to improve this?

 

[Simon1966]

I just got my mac Saturday. So far I have done 6 loadcycles and the stats stay as the attachment.

Is this ok? Any way to improve this?

Try calibrating the battery a few times. Run battery down till screen shuts down then leave in stanby mode for about 4 hours. Then attach adaptor and recharge fully. Should improve those stats.

Simon

 

[j26]

I get about 4 hours with 3/4 brightness, bluetooth off, airport on and processor performance set to normal

Add about 1/2 hour to that if you can work with low screen brightness, and a bit more if you turn off Airport.

Streamed for minimal power consumption (brightness 1-2 clicks from bottom, bluetooth off, airport off, Better energy settings, minimal apps open) I can get about 5 hours out of it, chugging away at the keyboard.

 

[hanschien]

where do you see your current battery capasity?

i cant seem to find mine.

System Profiler -> Power

 

[R.R.Mac]

well i will try to get coconut as soon as i can but at the moment i cannot download .zip files. which annoys me. So I will have to wait a while before i can download it thanks for all your help!