MacBook Pro 15 Mid-2012 650m Throttling Battery

[danbrick92]

Hello all!

I am considering getting one of the older MacBook Pro 15" Laptops with the 650m graphics. I have one concern that will affect my purchase. I like to play games on the train to work (an hour long one way), and I want this laptop to be able to handle them. My question is not of the performance of the 650m, but will gaming be problem on the battery? A lot of computers with dedicated graphics lag and/or stutter while gaming on battery due to the high draw of power from the battery. Can this machine, for example, play Skyrim at a smooth FPS while gaming on battery for an hour?

I understand the battery will likely last about an hour while gaming.

 

[sebseb]

Hello all!

I am considering getting one of the older MacBook Pro 15" Laptops with the 650m graphics. I have one concern that will affect my purchase. I like to play games on the train to work (an hour long one way), and I want this laptop to be able to handle them. My question is not of the performance of the 650m, but will gaming be problem on the battery? A lot of computers with dedicated graphics lag and/or stutter while gaming on battery due to the high draw of power from the battery. Can this machine, for example, play Skyrim at a smooth FPS while gaming on battery for an hour?

I understand the battery will likely last about an hour while gaming.

I own an older MBP with a weaker graphics card and I have played games on it and it handled pretty well! The battery should handle since apple designs the battery based on max current draw (aka discharge rate), temperature and many other factors. However yes it will probably last 1 hour or less given that the battery is not at its full health.

 

[gbuzogany]

I have a 15" rMBP mid-2012, one of the ones that had image retention too. Throttling problems went away and came back, and the experience was not really good. Now that it's fixed, it's a hell of a gaming machine. I played Shadows of Mordor without any problem, and randomly play BF4 without a glitch.

It was serviced by Apple right after purchase for screen replacement, but the thermals were never good. So, now, almost three years after I purchased, I brought it to Apple for service (AppleCare covered me), and they replaced my motherboard. I can say it's completely different now. Stable framerates, can't feel the throttling. I recommend you doing the same if you are unhappy with the throttling.

Maybe reapplying the thermal paste/changing the fans would solve it, but having a thermal problem for a long time can damage the circuits, so replacing the motherboard you will be 100% sure it will be good.