Samsung 830 SSD and Battery Drain in MBP

[mdawid]

I recently installed a Samsung 830 256GB SSD drive in my 2009 Macbook Pro. Installation was a breeze. I did a fresh install of ML and migrated my data over using an usb enclosure of my old HD. My issue is after using the computer for about a week, my battery is still draining at a very rapid pace. The 1st time, it felt like I was losing 1% a minute. I know spotlight was probably indexing my files, so that would be a drain. However, in looking at my activity monitor, I don't see anything that is hogging resources to cause this drain. The issue is somewhat better, but there's no way I can get 5 hours on a full charge. And I'm not doing anything super intense either. Mainly iTunes, internet and email

At this point (a week later of using) I'm considering pulling the SSD and putting my 7200rpm drive back in.

Does anyone have any thoughts to maybe resolve this before I swap back?

Thanks.

 

[fins831]

i just sold my 2009 MBP because of the bad battery and it was starting to really bog down and freeze every now and then. I had an 830 and my battery said it was at 87 percent capacity but it drained faster than anything.

Just bought a new MBP today, gonna throw an 840 pro in there and just go on from there. Best buy has a sale on barebones MBP for 1049 today. I couldn't take my core 2 duo, bad battery, and I even tried wiping it and and the drain was just there.

I decided for my needs a new system was better avenue especially since I sold it on CL for 500. I wiped HD/and put in the regular one and sold it. I could barely get 4 hrs on my previous laptop. Plus i wanted i5, 16 gig ram for virtualization/engineering intensive classes I am taking, it was a good upgrade for me. I got tired of the drain too.

 

[robvas]

Apple uses an OEM version of the 830 in the current 13" Pro if you get the SSD upgrade.
. Are you sure there's not a process eating up CPU %? Browsing in Safari without Flash installed, right?

What are the stats on your battery?
Your battery is > 3 years old

 

[Spink10]

I have experienced more than normal battery drain after installing Samsung 830 - I need to read some thread about it. I am sure it is something that is running / setting that is causing my problems.

 

[mdawid]

Apple uses an OEM version of the 830 in the current 13" Pro if you get the SSD upgrade.
. Are you sure there's not a process eating up CPU %? Browsing in Safari without Flash installed, right?

What are the stats on your battery?
Your battery is > 3 years old

I was checking the activity monitor and didn't notice anything out of wack in terms of CPU use. Yes, the battery is 3 years old. Though the stats show it is "normal." Prior to installing the SSD, the battery life was fine. I've been trying to research to see if others have similar issues. I've found arguments for both sides.

 

[robvas]

I was checking the activity monitor and didn't notice anything out of wack in terms of CPU use. Yes, the battery is 3 years old. Though the stats show it is "normal." Prior to installing the SSD, the battery life was fine. I've been trying to research to see if others have similar issues. I've found arguments for both sides.

How many cycles are on it?

You are on 10.8.2, right?

 

[mdawid]

How many cycles are on it?

You are on 10.8.2, right?

Yes, I am running 10.8.2 and the cycle count reads 233. Not sure what to make of that number. Is there a way to gauge battery health or do we just rely on apple to tell us? The condition reads normal. Since turning on the laptop to type this, I've lost 3% in like 3 minutes.

 

[The.Walrus]

I just installed a Samsung 840 250gb SSD in my early 2011 Macbook Pro 15", replacing the stock 5400 RPM drive, and seem to be experiencing this same issue. Installation was cake, did a fresh install of 10.8.2, and battery is being drained at a rapid pace (much quicker than it would with the stock HDD).

There are no extraneous processes eating up processor or disk usage. Everything in Activity Monitor looks as it should. I've reset SMC and PRAM, but to no discernible effect.

Any thoughts?

 

[Joe323]

I'm experiencing the same issue as well I think except that I recently installed a Crucial m4. Battery seems to be draining rapidly in sleep mode with the lid closed.

 

[Orlandoech]

Have any of you done firmware updates to the SSD so they're current?

 

[Joe323]

Have any of you done firmware updates to the SSD so they're current?

In my case I am on the latest firmware.

 

[Spink10]

Have any of you done firmware updates to the SSD so they're current?

I am on the newest firmware.

 

[vbman213]

I would like to add that I might be experiencing the same with my 2010 MBP and a 256GB 830 SSD

 

[mdawid]

I have verified that I am running the latest firmware. Samsung has not updated the firmware for the 830 since (don't hold me to an exact date) January - February 2012. Their site notes this is that latest & last firmware update for the 830. Having the drive installed for a couple of weeks now. It appears that the battery life has balanced out some. It's not draining like a sink anymore. But, I also don't get the life I used to from my HD. I am still wanting to install the data doubler and use my old HD for data. I'm hesitant to do so due to the battery life. Anyone else have a similar experiences with battery life using a SSD along side a HD in the opti bay?

 

[Joe323]

Are you guys running Trim Enabler as well? I'm going to try turning it off to see if it fixes the issue.

 

[amit715]

i have the 840 pro installed and i get around 10 hours of use ..it has to be something thats running and is somehow not showing up

 

[alphaod]

Get an app like CoconutBattery. What is the battery health?

 

[The.Walrus]

Strangely, I think in my case it was just the Estimated Time Remaining that was wrong. After a few days (again, no extra processes/indexing going on), the number levelled out. I'm enjoying as normal a battery charge as pre-SSD upgrade.