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Questions about my Macbook Pro

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FrankTheRabbit

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 20, 2009
3
0
Hey what's up everybody I'm new to the forums. I got a couple of questions that I'd like to get out of my head:

1) I use my laptop for video editing so I usually connect a second monitor to my laptop. Is there a possibility I can connect two monitors and just close the laptop display?

2) I always have my computer connected to the power supply and I've noticed some people take off the battery when they're connected to a power source for long periods of time. Should I take off the battery too?

3) Is there a way I could disable certain Hot keys and leave others on? Final Cut uses most of the Function keys on a keyboard and most of them are hot keys for volume, mute and stuff like that. I don't want to get rid of all of them though...

Thanks all.
 
1. You can do another display thru USB, although I've never tried. There's some cables out there.

2. You can if your worried about charge cycles. I wouldn't really worry tho.

3. System Pref/Keyboard & Mouse/Keyboard Shortcuts
 
FrankTheRabbit said:
Hey what's up everybody I'm new to the forums. I got a couple of questions that I'd like to get out of my head:

1) I use my laptop for video editing so I usually connect a second monitor to my laptop. Is there a possibility I can connect two monitors and just close the laptop display?

2) I always have my computer connected to the power supply and I've noticed some people take off the battery when they're connected to a power source for long periods of time. Should I take off the battery too?

3) Is there a way I could disable certain Hot keys and leave others on? Final Cut uses most of the Function keys on a keyboard and most of them are hot keys for volume, mute and stuff like that. I don't want to get rid of all of them though...

Thanks all.
Click to expand...

1. Yes. Search for "Dual Head To Go"

2. If you'd like. You shouldn't leave it charging all night though, as that will damage the battery. Just don't forget that the battery is out and unplug it.

3. Search System Preferences.
 
1. Matrox Dual/Triple Head 2 Go. About closing the lid, I don't know, as the heat dissipates slower.

2. No, modern batteries don't take an issue if connected to the AC all the time. And what happens if you accidentally trip over the power cord?

3. Either you use the hotkeys during FCP with the Fn key, or you disable the hotkeys with System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard > Use the F1, F2, etc keys as standard function keys.
You the use the printed on functions with the Fn + F1-12 keys.
 
dissdnt said:
1. You can do another display thru USB, although I've never tried. There's some cables out there.

2. You can if your worried about charge cycles. I wouldn't really worry tho.

3. System Pref/Keyboard & Mouse/Keyboard Shortcuts
Click to expand...

I don't think that the USB things work too well on Macs, but I've heard good things about them on Windows.
 
spinnerlys said:
1. ...About closing the lid, I don't know, as the heat dissipates slower.
Click to expand...
Heat dissapates from the hinge area of the MBP, so clamshell mode is safe.
spinnerlys said:
2. No, modern batteries don't take an issue if connected to the AC all the time. And what happens if you accidentally trip over the power cord?
Click to expand...
You should NOT leave your MBP plugged in all the time. It will reduce battery life. You should run it on battery at least every 2 or 3 days, to run it down to around 50%, then plug it back in. You should NOT run your MBP on AC without the battery, as you will lose performance. Tripping over the power cord isn't a problem with the MagSafe Adapter.
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
 
GGJstudios said:
Heat dissapates from the hinge area of the MBP, so clamshell mode is safe.

You should NOT leave your MBP plugged in all the time. It will reduce battery life. You should run it on battery at least every 2 or 3 days, to run it down to around 50%, then plug it back in. You should NOT run your MBP on AC without the battery, as you will lose performance. Tripping over the power cord isn't a problem with the MagSafe Adapter.
http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for the battery tip, but as I use my battery every day or so for whatever use, I didn't thought it would be understood literally (to keep it plugged in all the time).

But concerning the heat issue, heat also radiates from the top case as it is aluminum. So heat can't properly dissipate from that area when closed.
But with a high enough fan setting it won't be a problem of course.
 
Thanks guys. So let me get this straight, I SHOULD NOT use my laptop with out the battery connected, right? Use it off battery power for two or three days until reaching 50%?

Perhaps I'll have to buy a desktop at some point of time. I was planning on using this and that's it...it's good enough for me, but I guess I'm going to end up buying batteries all the time if I use it like this.
 
FrankTheRabbit said:
Thanks guys. So let me get this straight, I SHOULD NOT use my laptop with out the battery connected, right? Use it off battery power for two or three days until reaching 50%?

Perhaps I'll have to buy a desktop at some point of time. I was planning on using this and that's it...it's good enough for me, but I guess I'm going to end up buying batteries all the time if I use it like this.
Click to expand...

No, don't run it with the power cord and without the battery.
Unplug the power cord every few days and run it for a few hours, until your battery is down to around 50%, then plug it back in. You won't have to buy batteries all the time. One battery should last you for 2 or 3 years.
 
With respect to running two monitors - the answer varies depending which MBP you own. Also, it would be helpfull to know which displays you are considering.

For instance, if you had a Unibody MBP and want to drive two displays at 1920 x 1200, you might be SOL; however if you wanted to drive one 1920 x 1200 and one 1600 x 1200 you would be in luck.

Neil
 
Thanks guys.

I think I ruined my battery already. I'm running on battery power and it probably lasted one hour or less. Still I do have my mouse and second monitor hooked up. I also got the brightness on full since, I'm working.
 
Regarding the battery, on the new Unibody MBPs, they will charge to 100% then discharge down to 95% then charge back up. It does this to combat issues related to constantly keeping the battery charged to 100%.

As far as leaving your computer plugged in over night, thats a non-issue. It is ridiculous to think that you need to unplug it before going to sleep. Use your mac on battery power for some of the day and that will help to negate battery degradation.
 
FrankTheRabbit said:
I think I ruined my battery already. I'm running on battery power and it probably lasted one hour or less. Still I do have my mouse and second monitor hooked up. I also got the brightness on full since, I'm working.
Click to expand...

If you're using really intensive applications the battery drains a lot faster as well. You should get more than an hour with light, "normal" use.
 
TheIguana said:
Regarding the battery, on the new Unibody MBPs, they will charge to 100% then discharge down to 95% then charge back up. It does this to combat issues related to constantly keeping the battery charged to 100%.
Click to expand...

To elaborate on this, what it does is charge all the way to 100% and will stay there for the duration in which the power connector is plugged in. If you run the MBP using the battery, and it goes down to, say, 96% or 95%, and you plug the power connector back in, it will not start charging all the way back to 100%. However, if you use it until the battery is at 94% and then plug in the power connector, it will charge back up to 100% again.
 
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