Solved! Hi I got the new alienware m14x I want to know how can I keep the battery life i

[kinnrot]

Someone told that it's recommended to unplug the computer from power source when fully charged.
Do I really need to do this?

 

[Pyree]

No. Lithium ion battery is better left connected to power and trickle charge. Drain and recharge cycle wears the battery. Maybe drain and recharge once a month to keep battery calibrated. Also, do not over drain the battery because it will reverse polarity and irreversibly damaged.

 

[jamie_1318]

don't unplug the notebook from the wall when it is fully charged. leaving it plugged in causes no harm and draining the battery wears it's life a little. There are a few things to keep in mind to enable your battery to last as long as possible.

1. Don't drain all the way down unless you have to. you should try and keep the cells charged up to at least 30% all the time.

2. If you are not using the battery for long periods of time, charge to 60% and store in a cool dry area.

3. The battery should be completely discharged about one in 30 charge/discharge cycles.

4. Excessive heat damages the battery so try not to expose it to more heat than you have to.

5. Any charge below 30% or above 60% will damage the battery if it is not regularly used and left for a long amount of time.

Next we'll move on tom making your battery last as long as possible in each cycle.
-set windows performance mode to "Battery Saver" or "Low power Mode"
-set the brightness of the screen down to as low as you can use if effectively
-remove start up programs because extra CPU cycles and HD cycles will shorten your battery life

Good Luck and have fun with your new Alienware Netbook!

 

[AnUnusedUsername]

You really do need to unplug the laptop and run it off battery at least once every few months. I've had a desktop-replacement laptop that I ONLY ran off the power cord for three years. I literally only ran it off the battery once when I first got it to see how long it lasted, and maybe two or three times when the power went out. New, the battery lasted about three hours. After a few years of never running it from the battery, I get around ten minutes of battery life even when not doing anything. It's not a big deal for me, as I always run it while plugged in, (ten minutes is long enough to shut it down safely if the power goes out), but I was astonished at how much battery life degraded.

Sure, one example doesn't mean much, but from my own experience you should run the thing off battery power at least once in a great while to preserve battery life. Maybe the battery degrades over time anyway, but I seriously doubt it would be as bad if it ran from battery once in awhile. (Yes, maybe it was silly for me to get a laptop if it's always plugged in, but it's a lot more convienient than lugging a monitor and desktop up ten flights of stairs every few weeks.)

 

[Pyree]

Maybe the battery degrades over time anyway, but I seriously doubt it would be as bad if it ran from battery once in awhile.

You are right, lithium ion battery will lose its capacity to hold charge over the years regardless weather you use the not. The discharge cycle just makes it lose its capacity faster.