Maintaining a healthy Mac

[Branskins]

I just bought my MBP 13.3" yesterday and I have some general questions about maintenance.

I already calibrated my battery, but I was wondering if it is best to keep it plugged in when possible, or is it healthy to keep it unplugged and let the battery go down with normal usage.

Also, if I was walking to class from my dorm room, should I shut the laptop down and go to class and boot it up, or should i just close it to make it sleep and just go to class?

At night, is it okay to sleep the laptop, keep it plugged in and let it go like this throughout the whole night?

Sorry for these simple questions, but I feel like a new father trying to get advice on how to best take care of this beast

 

[iphonematt]

It is best to keep it plugged in whenever possible. As long as you do your 1 cycle per month you should be just fine.
While taking it to class, you can do either. I usually shut mine down before transporting though just incase it would wake up while I was moving it.

Keeping it asleep overnight is just fine. I do it all of the time and have been for 2+ years now and have seen no abnormal effects.

 

[Branskins]

Thanks . Sounds good! I am having such a good time customizing and installing things on it!

 

[celticpride678]

If you do not have any accessories plugged in, you should be fine just putting it to sleep and walking to class with it in sleep.

It is better to actually unplug it around 90% and let it drop until you get the reserve battery power message. It puts on less cycles and is easier on the battery

I usually keep my Mac in sleep at night, but with the cord unplugged, because sleep barely takes any battery power.

 

[IBradMac]

Thanks . Sounds good! I am having such a good time customizing and installing things on it!

Be wise with what you install. Other than that enjoy!

I'd advise if you find an app that you like and want, search it on here to get the reviews.

I know, its easy to get carried away.

Enjoy the new Mac!

 

[Branskins]

If you do not have any accessories plugged in, you should be fine just putting it to sleep and walking to class with it in sleep.

It is better to actually unplug it around 90% and let it drop until you get the reserve battery power message. It puts on less cycles and is easier on the battery

How come I keep hearing different responses to this? Some say it is good to drain the battery, some say just once a month, and some say not at all!

Do you burn cycles by keeping it plugged in?

 

[NovemberWhiskey]

How come I keep hearing different responses to this? Some say it is good to drain the battery, some say just once a month, and some say not at all!

Do you burn cycles by keeping it plugged in?

If your battery is not full, and you plug it in, it will charge it.

When it reaches capacity, there is a mechanism that stops the charging. So when it is plugged in, and the battery is full, you are not using the battery; hence, this puts LESS strain on the battery.

You will notice this in the upper right hand corner (the battery icon). It will tell you when you are charging, and it will tell you when it has finished charging.

It is advised to calibrate the battery once a month to keep it healthy, but keeping it plugged in seems to be better overall. Also, not every re-charge counts as a full cycle. The computer adds up partial cycles together to determine a full cycle. So if I unplug and drain the battery for 10 minutes, and then re-plug to charge it to capacity, that is only 10 minutes of a cycle.