Battery Life question

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2008 15.4" Santa Rosa (C2D, 2.2GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD)
I have a Santa Rosa MBP (bought in January 2008). I have really enjoyed using it and it has served me well, don't get me wrong... however, I recently replaced the stock 120 gig HD with a 500 gig WD Scorpio Blue.. no problems there... then, today, for the first time since I bought the computer 19 months ago, I got a reminder to have the battery serviced. I have noticed over the last few days that it seems like the battery doesn't hold as much of a charge as it used to; further, the "Service Battery" indicator shows that it may be a condition that the battery isn't functioning properly. Here's my question: the indication shows that the computer can still be used even though the battery needs servicing... would I be better served to just replace the battery with an OEM new (not refurb) battery for about oh, $60-65, or would it cost more to have the battery looked at @ the nearby Apple Store? (caveat: I'm out of warranty; I didn't buy the AppleCare 3 year for it...)

Cheers!
 

pigoo3

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I have a Santa Rosa MBP (bought in January 2008). I have really enjoyed using it and it has served me well, don't get me wrong... however, I recently replaced the stock 120 gig HD with a 500 gig WD Scorpio Blue.. no problems there... then, today, for the first time since I bought the computer 19 months ago, I got a reminder to have the battery serviced. I have noticed over the last few days that it seems like the battery doesn't hold as much of a charge as it used to; further, the "Service Battery" indicator shows that it may be a condition that the battery isn't functioning properly. Here's my question: the indication shows that the computer can still be used even though the battery needs servicing... would I be better served to just replace the battery with an OEM new (not refurb) battery for about oh, $60-65, or would it cost more to have the battery looked at @ the nearby Apple Store? (caveat: I'm out of warranty; I didn't buy the AppleCare 3 year for it...)

Cheers!

Use this program to check the "health" of your battery:

coconut-flavour.com - [coconutBattery 2.6.5]

Take special notice of the "Original Battery Capacity vs. the Current Battery Capacity" values...and the "percent" in the bar below this.

If it's low..like 25% percent or less...maybe it's time to get a new battery. Or maybe wait a little longer for it to get closer to 10%.

If you decide to use this program...please post again with your values...I would be interested in what they are.

Thanks,

- Nick
 
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CactusVideoGuy
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2008 15.4" Santa Rosa (C2D, 2.2GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD)
As of right now, I have the following:

Current Battery Charge:
Current Battery Charge: 2540 mAh
Maximum Battery Charge: 2816 mAh (89%)

Current Battery Capacity:
Current Battery Capacity: 2816 mAh
Original Battery Capacity: 5600 mAh (50%)

Additional Info:
Battery-Loadcycles: 211
Age of your Mac: 21 months
Charger connected: No
Battery is charging: No

(I don't have the charger attached; I'm sitting at my sofa and watching a movie as I report this...)

So what do you think? I am thinking of getting the system looked at when I get a chance on Tuesday.. (have classes all day tomorrow...)

Cheers!
 
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MBP/2.53GHz i5/4GB RAM/500GB HDD/15" LED Screen/Intel HD Graphics & NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
Wow...that really has gone down quite a lot. Mine is currently

Current Battery Charge:
Current Battery Charge: 4357 mAh
Maximum Battery Charge: 4723 mAh (92%)

Current Battery Capacity:
Current Battery Capacity: 4723 mAh
Original Battery Capacity: 4600 mAh (100%)

Additional Info:
Battery-Loadcycles: 233
Age of your Mac: 10 months
Charger connected: No
Battery is charging: No
 

pigoo3

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Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
I have a Santa Rosa MBP (bought in January 2008). I have really enjoyed using it and it has served me well, don't get me wrong... however, I recently replaced the stock 120 gig HD with a 500 gig WD Scorpio Blue.. no problems there... then, today, for the first time since I bought the computer 19 months ago, I got a reminder to have the battery serviced. I have noticed over the last few days that it seems like the battery doesn't hold as much of a charge as it used to; further, the "Service Battery" indicator shows that it may be a condition that the battery isn't functioning properly. Here's my question: the indication shows that the computer can still be used even though the battery needs servicing... would I be better served to just replace the battery with an OEM new (not refurb) battery for about oh, $60-65, or would it cost more to have the battery looked at @ the nearby Apple Store? (caveat: I'm out of warranty; I didn't buy the AppleCare 3 year for it...)

Cheers!

Well it looks like according to Coconut Battery your current battery capacity is 50%...which means you should be getting around 2.0-2.5 hours on a full charge.

What sort of runtime (hours & minutes) are you actually getting on a full charge?

Also remember that your battery life depends on what your doing. If you're playing graphics intense games or watching DVD's...that will eat up battery life very quickly. With a battery capacity of 50% & watching a DVD...you may only get 1 hour of runtime.

If you're surfing the internet, checking e-mail, or doing some word processing...then you could be getting closer to 2.0-2.5 hours.

Also, if you have your screen brightness high, airport on, music playing on a louder setting, bluetooth on...these things will also eat up battery runtime.

Good luck,

- Nick
 
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CactusVideoGuy
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I have adjusted my screen brightness (dropped it by about 10-15%), bluetooth is off.. airport remains on (I use it off the charger when I'm in class, to take notes)... and that's about it.. other than that, I'll have it on the mains when I'm home, because many more times than not, that's when I'm doing video editing, music apps, image editing, website publishing, productivity, and so on... but I am still debating whether it would be less expensive to have this battery looked at @ the local Apple Store, or if it will be less expensive to buy a new battery (found one that's 5800 mAh - and new, not refurb) on the net for $66, including shipping...

Opinions anyone?

Cheers!
 

pigoo3

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I have adjusted my screen brightness (dropped it by about 10-15%), bluetooth is off.. airport remains on (I use it off the charger when I'm in class, to take notes)... and that's about it.. other than that, I'll have it on the mains when I'm home, because many more times than not, that's when I'm doing video editing, music apps, image editing, website publishing, productivity, and so on... but I am still debating whether it would be less expensive to have this battery looked at @ the local Apple Store, or if it will be less expensive to buy a new battery (found one that's 5800 mAh - and new, not refurb) on the net for $66, including shipping...

Opinions anyone?

Cheers!

The battery in your computer (when new)...was supposed to be good for around 5 hours when unplugged...Under Optimal Conditions!

Coconut Battery currently reports that your battery has 50% of it original capacity...which basically means that it's good for about 2.5 hours unplugged...Under Optimal Conditions.

Now if you were just surfing the interent (no streaming videos)...with screen brightness low, keyboard illumination off, no music playing...you're probably going to get 2:00-2:15 hours.

Start doing anything demanding...and your below 2:00 hours...try watching a DVD on battery power...and maybe we're talking 1.5 hours or less.

These of course are some rough estimates.

Now if you go to the Apple Store to have your battery looked at...the BIG question is (since your laptop is out of warranty)...will they do it for free? If not, let's say they charge you $25-$30 buck's just to tell you...Yupp, your battery has 50% of it's capacity left (just like Coconut Battery reported).

That same $25-$30 you gave to Apple could have paid for almost 50% of the cost of a new battery.

Just some things to think about,

- Nick
 

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