Will more RAM shorten battery life?

[mecolema]

I have a Macbook from early 2008, and right now it has 1GB of RAM (512 MB per bus). I was planning to switch from 1GB to 4GB, but I've heard that increasing the RAM significantly shortens the battery life.

To what extent is this true? My battery is already pretty old, and doesn't last for more than 2.5 hours or so. Will switching to 4GB mean buying a new battery?

 

[miles01110]

It won't shorten it significantly to the point where you'd be able to isolate the additional RAM as the culprit.

 

[BreakGuy]

Battery time is affected by the wattage parts of the computer needs. An increase in CPU will mean more wattage is needed, but the wattage additional RAM needs is negligible.

Bottom line, you won't see any noticeable difference in your battery life by simply upgrading the RAM.

 

[MarkMS]

No, it won't shorten battery life. Try reading through this thread. It will give you more insight into why it's more likely that extra RAM will help battery life rather than shorten it.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1090350/

 

[mecolema]

Thanks for the quick response! By the way, Coconut Battery says the current capacity of my battery is 3705 mAh, only 73% of the design capacity (5020 mAh). Would a new battery be worth it?

 

[GGJstudios]

Increasing RAM won't have a measurable effect on battery life. There are many factors that impact your battery life. See the BATTERY LIFE FROM A CHARGE section of the following link for details.

This should answer most, if not all, of your battery questions:

Apple Notebook Battery FAQ​

Thanks for the quick response! By the way, Coconut Battery says the current capacity of my battery is 3705 mAh, only 73% of the design capacity (5020 mAh). Would a new battery be worth it?

Have you calibrated your battery, to make sure your readings are accurate? Read the CALIBRATION section of the link above.

 

[BreakGuy]

Thanks for the quick response! By the way, Coconut Battery says the current capacity of my battery is 3705 mAh, only 73% of the design capacity (5020 mAh). Would a new battery be worth it?

Try a calibration first. If that has no change on the battery and you're still only getting 2.5 hours out of it, and that amount of battery juice isn't going to affect you too badly, you may want to hold off a little bit longer.