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NeverTriedApple · May 11, 2011, 03:17 PM

2011 MBP 15"
i7Q 2.3, 8GB, SSD
Mac OS X + Mail + Firefox + Time Machine (FW800) + Parallels Win 7 + MS SQL Server + Business ERP - all running at the same time.
I average 2 hrs

Bought this laptop from Apple store last week.
Battery does a few full cycles a day.
Will it eventually get better or is something wrong?

olePigeon · May 11, 2011, 03:44 PM

That seems pretty normal for almost any laptop considering the applications you're running.

turtle777 · May 11, 2011, 03:46 PM

Really ? I would have thought you'd get a bit more.

-t

BLAZE_MkIV · May 11, 2011, 03:49 PM

Check activity monitor i'd bet it runs at 50% at all times.

NeverTriedApple · May 11, 2011, 04:31 PM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

That seems pretty normal for almost any laptop considering the applications you're running.

Not really. I've been running this setup on various Macbooks since Win 7 and XP before that. Even MBA 11 lasted at least an hour longer.

Originally Posted by BLAZE_MkIV

Check activity monitor i'd bet it runs at 50% at all times.

Been keeping my eye out but it's normally idle @ 86-96%. Laptop blows hot air rather often too for my liking.

Waragainstsleep · May 11, 2011, 04:45 PM

Theres your explanation then. Something is running away. Have you pinpointed which process(es) it is?

NeverTriedApple · May 11, 2011, 04:55 PM

There's really nothing unusual in Activity Monitor. Here, maybe I miss something:

olePigeon · May 11, 2011, 05:26 PM

Looks like your Parallels virtual machine. Does your Windows VM think it's on a laptop or a desktop? You may have to adjust Windows so it conserves more energy.

Waragainstsleep · May 11, 2011, 05:40 PM

That screenshot was taken while total CPU usage was ~85%? Doesn't look that way.

olePigeon · May 11, 2011, 06:04 PM

Beats me.

Waragainstsleep · May 11, 2011, 06:15 PM

Anything under Task Manager in the VM?

mduell · May 12, 2011, 02:13 PM

There's a huge difference between an app like parallels/sql server/erp merely running and actually having a lot of activity. 2h is pathetic if they're idle, but expected if they're really busy. From the Activity Monitor it looks like they're idle.

NeverTriedApple · 05:26 AM

Nothing in the VM Task Manager. System 90% of the time idle.
Tried without running Parallels/Windows this morning. Hour and 1/2 and I have 30% left.
Pathetic.

EDIT: Booked my appointment with Apple Genuis. Will see what they say.

NeverTriedApple · May 16, 2011, 09:03 AM

A quick update.
I didn't make it to Apple Genius.
Instead I ran laptop with 1/2 bright display without any Parallels the other day and it lasted over 4.5 hours.
To say that Parallels and Windows is a big resource eater would be an understatement. Fully bright display doesn't help it either. I guess I would have to learn to live with having power adaptor lying around.

On a side note I thought software, battery technology and constant minimisation/efficiency of all hardware related would improve over the years and they probably do however real life experience is still somewhat of a mixed bag (battery life wise).

BLAZE_MkIV · May 16, 2011, 09:32 AM

You want fast, small, or long battery life. Pick 2.

kennedy · May 17, 2011, 05:04 PM

Parallels should not be the issue... if it is, try VMware.
Its possible that Windows is the issue, but you'd see that with more activity in the Activity Monitor than you're showing. 85% idle is cruisin' easy.

Display brightness is ABSOLUTELY the issue.
For max battery life (like 7 hours), put the display on its dimmest setting. I do this all the time on airplanes... close the window and turn out the reading light so that I can see the screen fine at the lowest or second lowest setting.

You can see the effect pretty quickly from the battery meter if you set that to show in the menu bar. See 6 hours remaining per the battery meter. Jack up the brightness, and a few seconds later, the battery meter will start showing the effects... rapidly dropping to about 2 hours remaining. And vice versa.

ibook_steve · May 17, 2011, 10:06 PM

Parallels can be a hog. If I don't need it when I'm on battery, I suspend the VM. Brightness is also important, as mentioned. You should also try turning off Bluetooth if you can.

But I have also found web browsers, especially Chrome (my browser of choice), to be huge power drains. On my 2010 MBP with Parallels and Chrome running, I get about the same life you do. But if I suspend my VM, quit Chrome, and turn down the brightness, I can get much more than twice that battery life (up to 4-6 hours). Even watching a DVD on the plane does not have as big a power draw as simply quitting my browser.

I don't know if this is Flash (I use Flashblock) or if it's the "Google Chrome Renderer" instances that I always see eating cycles in Activity Monitor, but you can get much better battery life with a few changes.

Steve

Salty · May 19, 2011, 04:23 AM

I can easily get over ten hours with my MacBook Pro 13 inch with WiFi turned off, granted I'm generally only running Pages. Today I was writing from 2-7pm at a local restaurant (I tip well and it wasn't busy or I'd have left, the staff love me.) I also had about an hour or so worth of time where I was running on WiFi. By the time I was done my battery was at 40% The screen was dimmed to about two thirds brightness.

Are you running your screen at full brightness normally? Do you NEED it that bright? I find the last few notches on the brightness thing are what drain a lot of battery power.

SierraDragon · May 20, 2011, 01:34 AM

I get what I consider to be great battery life on my 2011 17" MBP with SSD and 8 GB RAM; same workflow on my C2D 17" MBP elicited poor battery life. I run it bright, but usually a couple of notches down from max. I would think that the SSD helps a lot. No VM or Win, but some usage of USB bus powered backup drives in the field.

-Allen