Battery Life

So I've read that it is a good idea to remove your battery and only use the AC adapter while you are gaming and to just leave the battery in while you are doing "normal" stuff like surfing the internet. Is this true? And are there any other good tips to conserve the life of your battery?

 

absolutely none. I am an engineer and I specialize in battery technology (Li-ion batteries). if he battery's life is 3 years, it will die in three years whether you use it or not! thats why they label the date on them !

 

better give me a +1 rep

 

Ah ok, and normally how long do these batteries last for the clevo models? Any guesstimate?

 

I think it will depend on your particular battery. Although it won't give you a timeframe, check the Clevo/Sager user's manual for your laptop. There is plenty of good stuff in there on optimizing the life of your battery and fully discharging the battery.

 

It depends on how frequently you use it and how many discharge cycles it goes through. For most people, lithium ion batteries typically only last about 3 years. Some may be shorter, some longer. You'll see 5-15% wear per year as well, again depending on usage.

 

I think you should probably leave it in the chassis as removing and putting it back may become tedious. You might also forget to put it back one day and be in a tight spot where you need it. There is also the chance that your break the clips securing the battery or the connector comes loose from the motherboard.

I figure that you should just leave it in and look to replace it once before you want to get a new laptop. There are little things you can do to reduce wear such as removing the power connector when you aren't using the machine (like when it is hibernating over night). You could also remember to discharge the battery after a full charge every two weeks or so, however, if this helps or not is negligible.

 

ok guys!!! discharging your battery completely is really BAD for the Li-ion. Most of the laptops have a built in circuit which does not let it go beyond 5% or something. Why take the risk? if its not there or not working properly you ll ruin the battery. One of the adv of li-ion batteries is that they dont have any memory built in them like the previous gen batteries. So you can use it as you wish just dont completely drain it!

 

I read that its not good to keep in your battery while gaming supposively because the battery is constantly being charged to 100% then a little goes away, then charged, then it goes away etc. How valid is this?

 

even if it is valid , its not going to affect the life or performance of any Li-ion polymer batteries. Maybe you will try it and let us know whether your battery lasted 2 days longer in the 3 year period?

 

I've watched the charge status and it doesn't always charge to 100%, usually I see around 95%. Since there is some kind of charging circuitry, I wouldn't stress over it any. And a lot of us would be looking to upgrade to new hardware in 3 years anyways.

Problem is that battery technology has changed significantly. And the various battery types have very different properties. So behavior that is considered healthy for one type may be harmful to another. And yet these old "tips" keep getting passed around.

 

FWIW, here are some quotes directly from my x7200 manual:

I've been doing this on the x7200's battery for over a year now, and BatteryMon says the battery is still at 100% wear level.

 

they must have built in circuitry to disable it from completely discharging.

 

Dunno. Since I don't know any better, when it comes to the battery, I just follow the manuf. recommendations. Clevo has not steered me wrong w/ my last 3 purchases (as they all still have the original batteries - but did not check the wear level), the oldest being about 6 years old.

 

meh. the only thing I'll use the battery for is to move my lappie from one room to another and then take everything else there. I have another lappie for battery life. But honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If gets too bad, you can just buy another one.