new Macbook battery

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Hi everyone,

At home, I normally plug my Macbook (new model) into the mains when running it.

But I know that with mobile/cell phones, you`re supposed to run the battery down before recharging in order to preserve the battery`s capacity in the longer term.

So I`m wondering, when run my Macbook while it`s plugged into the mains, is it running off the battery and being constantly recharged - and if so, won`t this deplete the battery`s capacity quite quickly over time? - or is it running directly from the mains current?

What`s better if I want to preserve my battery as well as possible: running it plugged into the mains, or running the battery down before recharging it?
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Black Macbook: 2.4 ghz dual core 4gb Ram 250gb Hdd
The battery life is determined on cycles, ie the number of times you use a full charge of battery, this can be over successive charges so for example using it to 50% battery and then returning it to full charge, then down to 75 % and back and then again to 75% would be one cycle (50% +25% + 25% =100%)

However once a month apple recommend you charge it fully then unplug from the wall and run down all the way till it goes to sleep. then leave it for 5 hours so all the reserve is gone then plug it in and charge all the way up and leave it plugged in for a while past the 100%. This resets the battery's management chip and extends the life of a the battery.

There are some links for this which I will dig out (they are on my mac and I am at work on my windows machine)

The other thing to look at is if you click on the apple icon (Top left of the screen) click about this mac then more info. in this section there is a whole bit on power including the number of cycles and the full charge of the battery.

If you are worried post the info up and we can give you some more info.

Hope this helps
 
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R
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Thanks for the info! That`s really detailed and helpful. I`d really appreciate the links if it`s not too much trouble.

About This Mac tells me:

Health Information:
Cycle count: 11
Condition: Good

I`ve been running the computer almost non-stop for the last couple months, so I`m guessing a cycle refers to running the laptop when it`s not plugged in. Is that right?

I wasn`t worried about it, just wanting to know the best way to look after the battery.

Out of curiosity, my girlfriend has a Sony Viao and read that she should remove the battery if running the laptop from the mains for prolonged periods of time. Does that mean it`d be good for me to do the same, or that Macbooks have a different kind of battery?
 
Joined
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Your Mac's Specs
Black Macbook: 2.4 ghz dual core 4gb Ram 250gb Hdd

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