New 17" Battery...

[mBox]

First off I love this new MBP I havent even scratched the graphics power yet and have mostly used it for music (DAW) and surfing.
I do have a slight concern.
I was using it during a band practice with about 8 plus hours of battery life.
I barey used it and had it play a few songs back during rehearsal.
The sucker kept going into energy saver so in the middle of session (1.5 hours into it) I set the Energy options to Never.
Now of course after a few minutes it would kick into the screen saver but it was fun watching that whilst we jammed about an hour later I noticed my battery life went straight down to 2 plus hours
I was puzzled that it drained that much.
I guess kicking it into that setting drained it faster?
Any thoughts on what happened here?
Please share

P.s. I still love it!!

 

[snowmoon]

Turn on the 9400 GPU, Turn off any complicated screen savers, lower the brightness on the screen and try again.

You still won't get 8 hours if you are recording, but it should be much better.

 

[mBox]

Turn on the 9400 GPU, Turn off any complicated screen savers, lower the brightness on the screen and try again.

You still won't get 8 hours if you are recording, but it should be much better.

Hey thanks At the time of discovery I wasnt recording just using FineTunes to playback MP3's during rehearsal.
I plan on using this baby for After Effects and Photoshop so I guess Ill find out then how much 8 hours really is

 

[kastenbrust]

You do know with the type of screen your 17" MBP has you shouldn't be using a screensaver, your doing a lot more damage than not having one. You should just let the screen auto dim. Anyone with an LCD backlight shouldn't be using a screensaver.

 

[Oliver.m]

You do know with the type of screen your 17" MBP has you shouldn't be using a screensaver, your doing a lot more damage than not having one. You should just let the screen auto dim. Anyone with an LCD backlight shouldn't be using a screensaver.

Really, haven't heard that before. What's the reason for this?

 

[kastenbrust]

Really, haven't heard that before. What's the reason for this?

I thought everyone knows this:

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_saver

LCD computer monitors, including the display panels used in laptop computers, are not susceptible to burn-in because the image is not directly produced by phosphors (although they can suffer from a less extreme and usually non-permanent form of image persistence). For these reasons, screensavers today are primarily decorative or for entertainment, and usually feature moving images or patterns and sometimes sound effects

Additionally, using a screensaver with a flat panel or LCD screen instead of powering down the screen can actually reduce the lifetime of the display, since the fluorescent backlight remains lit and ages faster than it would if the screen was turned off completely. As fluorescent tubes age they grow progressively dimmer, and they can be expensive or difficult to replace. A typical LCD screen loses about 50% of its brightness during a normal product lifetime, if left on continuously. (In most cases, the tube is an integral part of the LCD and the entire assembly needs to be replaced.)

Thus the term "screen saver" is somewhat a misnomer—the best way to save the screen (and also save electricity) would simply be to have the computer turn off the monitor.

Notice also that screensavers may utilize a significant amount of CPU time (i.e. burn through your battery life)

 

[johndoe588]

You do know with the type of screen your 17" MBP has you shouldn't be using a screensaver, your doing a lot more damage than not having one. You should just let the screen auto dim. Anyone with an LCD backlight shouldn't be using a screensaver.

A lot more damage? Well, he has no fluorescent backlight to worry about. mBox, Kastenbrust is right that you don't NEED to use a screen saver on an LCD screen, but if you can stand a little less battery life and it makes you happy watching, go right ahead. I don't think you'll do any damage at all.

John B.

 

[mBox]

A lot more damage? Well, he has no fluorescent backlight to worry about. mBox, Kastenbrust is right that you don't NEED to use a screen saver on an LCD screen, but if you can stand a little less battery life and it makes you happy watching, go right ahead. I don't think you'll do any damage at all.

John B.

hey thanks everyone is it safe to say that the cause of the battery drain was the use of a screen saver?
theres not much processes going on when apps like FineTunes are running with audio passed.

 

[Abstract]

No, LED-backlit screens don't have burn-in issues, so you don't need to use a screensaver. Actually, even 'normal' CCFL-backlit screens don't require a screensaver. Just set your screen to turn off after 10 minutes of non-use, and it's better than using a screensaver.

Using the screensaver isn't really all that bad. However, 8 hours of screensaver use is just 8 hours of unnecessary screen use.

I say keep your computer on by telling it to never sleep, and then use the SHIFT + Ctrl + DVD Eject key to turn off your screen manually.

I thought everyone knows this:

Welcome back.

 

[metroid87706]

... since the fluorescent backlight remains lit and ages faster than it would if the screen was turned off completely. As fluorescent tubes age they grow progressively dimmer, and they can be expensive or difficult to replace.

But, this wouldn't apply to the unibodies or the newer "classics" because of the LED backlights, correct?

 

[johndoe588]

But, this wouldn't apply to the unibodies or the newer "classics" because of the LED backlights, correct?

Correct.

 

[mBox]

Correct.

hmm maybe I was seeing things at band practice but now I cant seem to get this battery to show 8hrs? Was I day dreaming? It starts at 3hrs plus after a full charge?
Maybe I should read the manual