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    How to maintain my battery? I use my laptop heavily

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by cb1021, Jan 18, 2012.

  1. cb1021

    cb1021 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi guys

    I got a x120e. The battery is lithium-ion. I've read couple of guides but no concrete answer that pertains to my usage habits.

    I use my laptop for 8+ hours a day. For 3 of those hours, I will be in class on battery. For the remaining 5+ hours, I have easy access to AC power.

    My question is, should I charge to 80%, use it down to 20%, then repeat? Or should I keep it plugged in all the time?

    I have my Power manager set to charge only up to 85%, and begin charge when battery drops to below 70%......Learned this from Battery University. Battery University also said I should have my system OFF when I am charging, which I find this impossible because I need to use this machine continuously.
     
    cb1021, Jan 18, 2012
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  2. sniper_sung

    sniper_sung Notebook Evangelist

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    Battery is consumable and there is no need to treat them like babies. If you do wish to extend the lifespan then just use "Automatically optimize for battery lifespan" in Power Manager, which is essentially the same as what you are doing, with thresholds chosen by Lenovo. I wouldn't worry about this, since Lenovo's support is great and it is possible to purchase new batteries even for very old models of ThinkPads.
     
    sniper_sung, Jan 18, 2012
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  3. FinkPad

    FinkPad Notebook Evangelist

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    +1. I was like you when I first bought my X200T, I treated the battery as if it was made of gold. But in all seriousness, just treat your battery normally and by the time it dies, your laptop will not worth anything, and you probably want an upgrade.
     
    FinkPad, Jan 18, 2012
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  4. miro_gt

    miro_gt Notebook Deity

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    start charge when at 75% and stop at 95%.

    I do 50 to 95, but I dont use the laptop on battery that much
     
    miro_gt, Jan 18, 2012
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  5. ConnectDon

    ConnectDon Notebook Consultant

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    All the answers are somewhat faith-based. I use 95 percent for the upper threshold because I read it somewhere on TPF and those users seem to have been around the longest, so they ought to know. :) I use 90 percent for the lower threshold because 10 percent battery capacity is all I'm willing to give up now to gain some undetermined additional battery life later.
     
    ConnectDon, Jan 18, 2012
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  6. tongdakfiend

    tongdakfiend Notebook Consultant

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    I stopped caring since I found it hard to drain my 9-cell in one sitting. I think I should of opted for the 6-cell since even when I am travelling overseas I don't usually need 10 hours of uninterrupted juice. :p
     
    tongdakfiend, Jan 18, 2012
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