Notebook lifespan

[jrel209]

Just replaced my desktop w/ a Lenova y580 w/ FHD 1920x1080 and Blue-ray model. Super happy with it so far. It boots up fast, and plays league of legends no problem. Havent tested it out w/ Farcry or SC2 yet, but I'm sure I wont be disappointed.

However, my question is how or what steps can I take to prolong the lifespan of my notebook. I want a good 3 years min. out of it! Right now, I'll be using it school, gaming, and basic media (pandora, youtube, browsing ect).

Right now the only step I'm taking is removing the battery when I have my notebook pluged in with the PSU. I'm also trying to use an external keyboard when I play as to note wear out the notebook keyboard.

I was planning on getting a docking station to simplify my office when I actually work in there. Are there docking stations that help keep your notebook cool? Also, would people now recommend a docking station for gaming?

 

[Onus]

I would not remove the battery during use. One of the things the battery helps do is filter incoming power.
If you don't abuse it or block its vents (letting it overheat), there's no reason it shouldn't last a LOT longer than 2-3 years. I had a Dell 1505 that was kept in a laptop bag. I never dropped it or got it wet. I had it for some 6-7 years, and my niece has it now. I haven't seen it since then (she lives 700 miles away), but when I gave it to her it still looked new. I had to buy a couple of new batteries for it over the years, and I may have upgraded its HDD, but it never suffered any problems. I didn't use it a lot, but I did blow it out a couple of times.

 

[smorizio]

notebooks dont last as long as a desk top due to the fact that there moved. most of the damage i see as a tech over time is dropped units or units that people close pens and snap the lcd screen on hinges. or they trip over the power cord and snap the power pin or drop food or a drink into the laptop. if you use the laptop in two places...pick up an extra ac block and leave it at work..Velcro it to the desk so all you have to do is plug your laptop in. most killed laptop i see are from the ac brick wires being twisted till they snap or the rubber o-ring on the tip goes bad and shorts out the laptop. one tip i give someone that going to be a road users is sign up and use a online storage. if the latop hard drive takes a dump you have your files backed up where you can get to them from another pc. if your going to drink and work near the laptop use a spill proof cup...i seen more laptop killed with coffee and wine. the biggest laptop killer is heat..if your going to game with it try picking up a laptop cooling pad.

 

[jrel209]

notebooks dont last as long as a desk top due to the fact that there moved. most of the damage i see as a tech over time is dropped units or units that people close pens and snap the lcd screen on hinges. or they trip over the power cord and snap the power pin or drop food or a drink into the laptop. if you use the laptop in two places...pick up an extra ac block and leave it at work..Velcro it to the desk so all you have to do is plug your laptop in. most killed laptop i see are from the ac brick wires being twisted till they snap or the rubber o-ring on the tip goes bad and shorts out the laptop. one tip i give someone that going to be a road users is sign up and use a online storage. if the latop hard drive takes a dump you have your files backed up where you can get to them from another pc. if your going to drink and work near the laptop use a spill proof cup...i seen more laptop killed with coffee and wine. the biggest laptop killer is heat..if your going to game with it try picking up a laptop cooling pad.

I read somewhere that batteries overheat the notebooks when they are @ 100% and continue to charge? Is that for older notebooks and something I shouldn't concern with the Y580?

 

[hytecgowthaman]

Insert the battery. dont change power option to high performance.dont use sleep and hibernate option to increase ram hdd and battery life. set display brightness to 100% at only playing time, otherwise below 25%to increase display life and battery life.always set sound to 90% only. docking station is waste of money reason high cost than only used for to use extra battery life.laptop dont heat higher if u choose balanced option and mobo processor life increased.so extra fans also not wanted.clean the fan at least once in a year to get full speed of fan.using external keyboard is good choise because the mobo is set under the keyboard if highly use laptop keyboard the mobo is quickly damaged.

 

[jrel209]

Insert the battery. dont change power option to high performance.dont use sleep and hibernate option to increase ram hdd and battery life. set display brightness to 100% at only playing time, otherwise below 25%to increase display life and battery life.always set sound to 90% only. docking station is waste of money reason high cost than only used for to use extra battery life.laptop dont heat higher if u choose balanced option and mobo processor life increased.so extra fans also not wanted.clean the fan at least once in a year to get full speed of fan.using external keyboard is good choise because the mobo is set under the keyboard if highly use laptop keyboard the mobo is quickly damaged.

Want to make sure you're saying DO NOT use any sleep/hibernate options? So basically be a responsible person and turn off your PC when not in use? What does Sleep/hibernate do that is so detrimental to the lifespan of the notebook; actually thought putting it in hibernate would be better lol.

Also do you mean literally change display brightness to BELOW 25% when normal use and 100% ONLY when gaming? Is there an app that can do that?

EDIT: Just added windows mobility center to task bar so I can adjust brightness accordingly. Be nice if there was an app, nothing shows up on google, anyone know of any?

 

[A Bad Day]

In Windows 7 power management, you can set the brightness level for each power option (battery life, balanced, high performance).

The CPU would last for more than three years assuming you aren't expecting 60 FPS in Starcraft 3 or some other future CPU-heavy games. However, the GPU (at least the mobile ones) is going to be a bottleneck before the CPU does.

Though the good news is that you can simply turn down the detail settings, while for CPU bottlenecks you can't do much about it.

 

[Guest]

1) Dont drop it
2) Dont put it on floor of bed (fans need clear access and they act as hoover)
3) Dont drink over or eat over laptop
4) Do not move when switched on.

These 4 points are your best bet, forget the rest, these 4 are the MAIN reasons why Laptops break!

 

[jaguarskx]

I removed the battery from my IdeaPad Y470 since it mostly sits in one place. If I intend on being mobile with my laptop, then I insert the battery so that it will be charged before using it.

Alternatively, Lenovo has an energy management program running in the icon tray; orange circle with an "=" sign (no quotes). Set it to battery optimization which only allows the battery to be charged up to 50%.

 

[jaguarskx]

1) Dont drop it
2) Dont put it on floor of bed (fans need clear access and they act as hoover)
3) Dont drink over or eat over laptop
4) Do not move when switched on.

These 4 points are your best bet, forget the rest, these 4 are the MAIN reasons why Laptops break!

I do #3 very often.

In fact, I'm doing it right now... eating dinner while researching / multi-tasking...

 

[4745454b]

LOL, doing #3 right now.

I wouldn't worry about battery. They are cheap/easy to replace.