Charging?

[Flic]

Probably a daft qestion but I've been given 2 differing opinions by friends on the best method of charging my Macbook and I'm a bit unsure as to which is the best, or whether it really makes a difference!

First option is to charge my battery fully and then let it run down with each charge. Therefore only having the charger in whilst it's charging, and never running it on the mains.

Second option is to run it on mains as much as possible. I use my Macbook predominantly in my room so this is the most likely scenario! However I don't leave it plugged in overnight when the MB is switched off, mostly because I'm scared of tripping over the wire and damaging the charger!

((Hope that makes sense!))

So... which is the correct way? Any advice would be very much appreciated!

 

[Kash]

Actually, it's a combination of both (bet ya didn't see that coming )

There's no problem in running the Macbook with the charger plugged in even if the battery is completely charged. The latest lithium batteries have cut offs that keep from over-charging the battery.

However, it is a good idea to calibrate your battery about once a month. Like you stated, you just run down the battery till it goes to sleep, and then let it recharge to 100%. This will ensure your battery will be able to keep a solid charge for a long time to come :black:

 

[symondavis]

I agree, and to add, don't worry about tripping over the power cable. It's made to come away easy in case it's caught.

 

[KoDorSean]

if you search "battery" or "charge" on this forum you will find a ton of good information. here is just one I came across

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46883&highlight=charging

 

[Flic]

Sorry for not searching, consider my wrists slapped

Thanks for the advice Kash, I'll keep doing what I'm doing now in that case! I'm not only a newcomer to Mac's but also to Laptops themselves, so there's oh so much to learn.

 

[dakineyj]

So now i'm confused. Yesterday I read about taking the battery out while using the MBP plugged in was bad and today it's ok... Which is it?

 

[Kash]

Where did you read that taking the battery out was a good idea? The last thread on that subject here on M-F showed that it was in fact a BAD idea. Do a search and you'll find all sorts of good arguments as to why taking the battery out when running on A/C power is a bad idea.

 

[dakineyj]

In the fourth post here, there is a link to another thread. The last post in there...

 

[Kash]

To put it lightly, that ??? character is just plain wrong.

Looking at the other posts in that thread, it's actually chock full of misinformation. There are only about two posts in that thread which are actually accurate: caribiner23's and Mathiau's.

It's unfortunate that such a thread exists, but nobody said M-F members were perfect

 

[KoDorSean]

Sorry for not searching, consider my wrists slapped

Thanks for the advice Kash, I'll keep doing what I'm doing now in that case! I'm not only a newcomer to Mac's but also to Laptops themselves, so there's oh so much to learn.

don't be sorry for not searching. to be honest I could care less if people search or not.. if you choose to you will find a lot of good info.

 

[dakineyj]

and some bad, heh heh

 

[AnthonyJK]

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56777

Replys to this thread say its ok to run it off the ac without the battery.

 

[kgeier82]

hasnt anyone even checked their clock speed with the battery out?

ive owned 3 macs now, and they all clock the cpu down almost by half when the battery is removed on AC.

no one seems to mention this. or care for that matter?

to me, removing the battery doesnt warrant the drop in CPU speed

 

[Kash]

Not to mention the fact that if you experience a power surge or blackout, you're risking damage to your hard drive and OS X corruption. Is all of that worth it just because somebody who doesn't know what he/she was talking about told you to take the battery out?