New laptop question
 

*Shoot! I thought I was posting this on the OT section...sorry! Mod: can you pls move this!

Hey all,

I'm sure this comes down to a matter of opinion, but I recently got a new laptop and have been using it unplugged for part of the time. Is it okay to use it unplugged a lot or should I keep it plugged into the AC adapter? Of course, when the battery gets low enough that the warning sign comes on, I plug it in.

Will the battery deteriorate to the point where it will no longer function without using the charger, like my old (2003) laptop? I can't use it unplugged for even 5 minutes.

I'm just wondering if the more I use it unplugged, the faster the battery will lose its charge and die quicker, if that makes any sense. kind of like cell phone batteries.

A friend of mine who knows a lot more about computers than I do keeps his laptop closed (standby? hibernate?) unplugged all the time and he's never had a problem with it. He said it can stay that way for up to 2 weeks.

Like I said, I normally use it plugged in, but I just don't want to ruin the battery or limit the number of charge cycles it has.

As long as you have it plugged in to your Porsche 911 air cooled DC plug you do not need to run off the computer battery.

It is actually better to use it unplugged frequently as this will extend the battery life. Batteries, even lithium ones, perform better during frequent recycling.

My business laptop I keep in standby almost always unless I am taking it on a plain. Easier to get it going quickly when you need to review things and less work on the system components as they do not need to go through a full boot all of the time.

I work from home primarily and when I do I constantly use it unplugged throughout the day, in the background, on the porch, in the garage.

Have done this through many years of laptops and have had batteries last me for years.

Hope this helps, now put it in stanby and go drive.

What's the difference between standby and hibernate? Is one better than the other? Which does it go into when I close the lid?

Thanks guys for your answers!

I was only concerned as I used to fly to Cali a lot and I'd watch movies on my old laptop, and now it doesn't hold a charge for longer than about 5 minutes. Mind you, the travelling was 3-4 years ago, tho.

+1 use the battery until it's almost dead, and then plug it in.

Batteries don't last forever. If you got 4 years from your other one, you got a year more than most people.

Oh but I didn't get 4 years from my last one, I got 2 at best! I've considered getting a new battery for it (the old laptop) but I can't bring myself to pay the $100+ that the local Batteries Plus store is charging. I've been toying with the idea of getting one off ebay for $38-$48, but am just leery about the quality.

Only reason I'm still thinking of getting a battery for the old one is cos my dad wants to take it over and use it now that I have a newer (and better) one.

Thanks guys for all your help! It's much appreciated! :)

I stay plugged in whenever possible.

To conserve juice the OS will throttle back performance on battery only.

Best performance is plugged in.

Once a week I run on battery and let it drain then charge.

Some batterries it's best to drain and let sit overnight before charging.

Keeps them calibrated.

Most of the Li-ion manufacturers states that there is no advantage, and possible harm, to draining Li-ion batteries to 0.

Draining it all the way was the procedure with Ni-cads, and Li-ion's do not have this issue.

Other thing for you to think about is that if you are going to be using the laptop for a long time and near 110v power, you might remove the battery before starting it up and simply running on 110v power.

The problem is that most Li-ion batterys are good for about 3-400 charge cycles. If you are sitting at the desk and do not need the battery to run you can take it out and run on the charger/power supply and not run your battery through another "cycle" so to speak. After the battery is cycled these 3-400 times it still works but the power is greatly reduced, resulting in less time it will work off of the battery.

One last thing. When you are on the battery only, hit the fn key and turn the brightness down one or two notches. That alone will almost double your battery's lifetime with most laptops. What takes the most power are the video display and the hard drive. Lower your need for these two and it increases your working time on the battery.

Joe
(who just spent 3 months out on the road with a laptop)

I'm w/ Joe.

Spot on IMO

I'd prefer the opinion of someone who travels, thank you very much:)

Thanks guys! This new one automatically dims the screen about halfway when it's running on the battery.