Question about battery usage on macbook pro

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Alright so I just bought a brand spanking new macbook pro and I have some questions regarding the battery. I've done a crap load of google searching and have received mixed results. Basically what I've deduced is that I should be using the battery and discharge to about 25ish % about once a week give or take. Other times I should use it while plugged in.

I should calibrate it once every 6-8 weeks which I will do but one unanswered question is what about over night? Take right now for example, it's plugged in and charged at 100%. I understand macbooks use a trickle charge to keep the battery 100% charge so it doesn't naturally lose any charge but this seems bad if it's kept in over night.

So, when I go to bed tonight and shut off the mac should I leave it plugged in or unplug the mac? And then only plug it in when I turn it on and use it again. I feel like the correct answer should be unplugging it overnight but I could be wrong.

Another question, what is a good cooling pad I could get? I've heard good ones do wonders for the battery so I might as well invest in one.
 
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Sorry one more thing. I've also heard that once your battery is at 100% charge, you should take it out and put it in a cold place until the next time you want to use it. And then of course just use the laptop without a battery but this seems like a decent amount of work for me to be taking the battery continually whenever I don't need it...
 
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Welcome to Mac Forums, and congrats on your new baby :)
In short you can keep your battery charger plugged in all the time if you wish.
If you do, calibrate it once a month or so just to let the juices run.
You CANNOT overcharge it!

These threads should answer all your questions and more.

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/ap...ake-care-your-battery-will-take-care-you.html

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/apple-notebooks/228076-mbp-overcharging.html

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/anything-goes/225242-leaving-fully-charged-devices-plugged.html

As for the cooling pads, I think they are a waist of money.
 
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Thanks for the reply! I read everything you posted and they definitely answered questions. I downloaded coconut battery, turns out my battery is at 103% which means I got a pretty good one :D

Also learned that the self discharge rate is super slow so the continual trickle charge worry I had shouldn't be a problem which means I'm going to keep it plugged in on or off at all times save for about once a week or so. Also the temperature so far has been great, its not even warm actually so I guess I won't need a cooling pad. Though I'm not sure if the temperature won't go up once I start doing more hardcore devel on it so we'll see.

I absolutely love my new MBP, so **** awesome. I'm still in that phase though where you're afraid to use it like you would your old laptop. Happens to me with every new piece of tech I get, in the very first few weeks I use it with extra caution lol.
 
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Thanks for all of the links. Read them and all they've answered my questions. Installed coconut battery, turns out I'm at 103% which means I got a pretty good battery :D

Guess I won't be unplugging ever save for about once a week. Hoping this baby will last a while, love my new MBP (though I'm still in that 'new tech' phase where you use your new baby with extreme caution...won't even drink water near this thing).

Thanks!
 
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Just keep in mind, that at the cost of a replacement battery, over the 2-3+ yrs that you should get out of it, it really isn't worth worrying about.
It's really easy for people to get obsessed over it (and they do), when it is only approx $3 a month that the battery is costing for the life of the battery, give or take a few cents either way :D
 
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Yea I know the batteries aren't too bad but being a student and needing to save as much as possible, I'd rather not abuse my battery.
 
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As for the cooling pads, I think they are a waist of money.

I kind of like my cooling pad. Picked it up after the MBP was a little too warm for my liking on my lap. Makes a nice convenient non-skid surface to keep the laptop on next to the couch...when not being used - and rests more comfortably in my lap when being used. Obviously I don't travel with it but all-in-all - happy I picked one up. Does a nice job of dissipating heat as well.
 
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I kind of like my cooling pad. Picked it up after the MBP was a little too warm for my liking on my lap. Makes a nice convenient non-skid surface to keep the laptop on next to the couch...when not being used - and rests more comfortably in my lap when being used. Obviously I don't travel with it but all-in-all - happy I picked one up. Does a nice job of dissipating heat as well.

I should have been a little more clear...
'I think' they are a waste of money, as far as using them to try to counteract the temperature of Apple notebooks the way they were designed to be by the engineers who knew what they were doing when they designed them.

Sure, it may help if you are using it on your lap, and doing some intensive gaming, or on a really long skype video call, but I think money could be better spent on Griffin Technology: Elevator - Desktop Stand for Laptops and SeeThru for MacBook Pro 13" (unibody) - Clear - Speck Products
 
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EightmanVT

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I should have been a little more clear...
'I think' they are a waste of money, as far as using them to try to counteract the temperature of Apple notebooks the way they were designed to be by the engineers who knew what they were doing when they designed them.

Sure, it may help if you are using it on your lap, and doing some intensive gaming, or on a really long skype video call, but I think money could be better spent on Griffin Technology: Elevator - Desktop Stand for Laptops and SeeThru for MacBook Pro 13" (unibody) - Clear - Speck Products

I really have been looking closely at those Speck cases. Do you have one? Does it have a negative effect on temperature?

Yes - no question Apple has some brilliant engineers - but I do know a thing or two about engineering and the manufacturing process - and realize that at the end of the day it's a compromise - and who knows which engineer won the battle. Given the significant space constraints - I'm sure they ended up with a thermal profile that was acceptable - but could always be improved on. The laptop - does get a little warm at times for comfortable lap use - nothing dangerous, nothing worrisome - but too warm for my liking sometimes - so I find the cooling desk very useful. Additional heat dissipation is a good thing. So - to the OP's question - it's clearly a personal preference - but one that I find useful. If I had it to do all over again - I'd get one with just enough clearance for me to velcro a 1TB FW800 HD to - so I could very easily let TM do its thing when sitting on the couch watching TV. The one I have does have clearance - but not enough for the kind of HD I want.
 

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Both the Speck and In Case do not affect the temperature. I've run with and without and the temps are the same regardless of what I'm doing on the machine. I do give a thumbs up for the Griffin Elevator not so much because it aids in cooling, but because it keeps the machine elevated and away from spills and dirt.
 

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