Battery life on a 12" PB ... NEW

What is everyone getting for battery life on the 12" 1.5ghz powerbook off the new line? I seem to get like half of what i got with my 1.33ghz. Just doing basically nothing... Just wondering what everyone else is getting??

Josh

I'm getting 4+ hours on mine with the screen dimmed and the energy saver on.

I think the battery is being drained on the new PBs more because of the faster processor and graphics card demanding more power than the older ones. Something to think about.

meltbanana314 said:

I'm getting 4+ hours on mine with the screen dimmed and the energy saver on.

I think the battery is being drained on the new PBs more because of the faster processor and graphics card demanding more power than the older ones. Something to think about.

Click to expand...

i'm getting more like 2.5 hours MAX with the screen dimmed and ES on....

hm..... i wondor what's up with that....

anyone else?

Josh

I don't think its you, check this out: http://reviews.cnet.com/Apple_15_inch_PowerBook_G4/4505-3121_7-30543941-6.html

all the reviews that I've read seem to confirm that the 4.5 hour battery life is a bit exaggerated. Below, a comparison of older models.

http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Apple_iBook_G4_14_1_inch/4505-3121_16-31200896-6.html

hmm.. thats strange.
My brothers new 1.5ghz 12 inch runs for 4+ hours with monitor on at full.

I had mine on for 3 hours yesterday (first full day with it) with full brightness while editing photos, as well as about 6 hours in sleep mode in between. Had about 10-15% battery left after all that.

Make sure your wireless is turned off when not in use and your bluetooth as well. That is a dramatic way to save the battery some. Other than that let it sleep often and also close it when ya can.

My 12" lasts around 4 hours with full screen brightness. If I use the wireless a lot, then maybe 3 to 3.5 hours. My 15" 1.5 GHz Powerbook lasts around 3 hours on full brightness.

2.5 hours means there's something very wrong, unless your wireless is always on, your hard drive is set to never spin down, and your bluetooth is running 24/7.

Cnet's review is for watching a DVD, which is a pretty power hungry test (video/cd spinning/sound output), so it getting 2.5 hours isn't too bad. They also didn't specify what energy saver features they enabled, if any (like reduced processor speed)! Def not amazing battery life though regardless. I just bought a used PB, and battery life is pretty dissapointing, about 2:20 total for just general web surfing! I ran a battery diag from the terminal, and found my mAh rating for the battery is pretty reduced (~3000), so I probably just need a new battery. I am curious if anyone here as experience with generic batteries that claim to have a higher mAh rating? For example, PowerMax sells:

http://www.powermax.com/cgi-global/generate_css_temp.cgi?p=a-52096

I've bought generic batteries for other gadgets, and my experience has been hit or miss . Some of them have actually lasted longer than an original, while others, (even rated with higher specs) have lasted less.

I've manage to get 3.10 hours out of my 1.67ghz 17'' PB, the moniter on the whole time with wireless and bluetooth permanently on. (energy saver set on almost maximum).

jbsengineer said:

What is everyone getting for battery life on the 12" 1.5ghz powerbook off the new line? I seem to get like half of what i got with my 1.33ghz. Just doing basically nothing... Just wondering what everyone else is getting??

Josh

Click to expand...

I think i may have figured out why i got such terrible battery life. classic envirement was running. seems to suck the heck out of the battery... interesting.


Josh