Macbook pro 15 battery life - is it really worth it?

[Mix999]

Hello facepunch. After much deliberation I am finally thinking of getting a Macbook for university. I am thinking about it because I need good battery life and I heard macs are very good at that type of thing. So facepunchers who have 15 inch macbook pro's. What is your battery life like. I want you to be fully honest. Because I am deciding between a mac an this.

[url]http://store.sony.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SYCTOProcess?catalogId=100803&storeId=20153&langId=200&LBomId=8198552921666386651&categoryId=8198552921644771498[/url]

Which apparently has a 14 hour battery with the extended option. The reason I am leaning towards the mac is the much better video card. So facepunch, be honest. Is it really the around 6 hours many people claim it to be?

[DamagePoint]

I usually get 7-8 hours on mine doing just web browsing and light editing tasks. Of course if you do any hardcore editing or multimedia then obviously battery performance is going to be diminished somewhat.

If anything Apple understates their products' battery life somewhat, you can usually expect an extra 1-2 hours from what the stated battery life is.

[Protocol7]

I highly doubt you'll get 14 hours with the Vaio battery. I have an extended 7500mAh battery on my Vaio and I'm lucky to get, like, 3 hours.

[Flem]

The mac is gonna be heaven for you browsing and doing little bits and bobs whilst it can handle games and the battery lasts for ages. A vaio will no way in hell give you 14 hours, if it does I will suck ...

[WaLLy3K]

The battery in my Mid 2010 MBP (With the 1680x1050 res screen) is a tank. When off charge, it'll easily last 5-6 hours depending on what I'm doing. If it's mostly idling, then around 7 odd hours.

I really struggle to kill the battery and I can only imagine it'd have better life on the standard 1440x900 resolution screen!

[Dr Egg]

The batteries in macbook are also rated for holding their charge a lot longer. I think Apple guarantees that you will still have 80% capacity after 5 years (might be 3 though), and if you don't they will replace the battery for you free of charge.

[Mix999]

Thanks for the help. I got one and have been using it for two days and it really is amazing. I use it all day for class and seems to last from 9 to 6 of mostly classes. Awesome stuff.

[marcus5]

[QUOTE=mix999;34055924]Thanks for the help. I got one and have been using it for two days and it really is amazing. I use it all day for class and seems to last from 9 to 6 of mostly classes. Awesome stuff.[/QUOTE]

I get around 5.5 hours with casual usage ( some youtube, some document editing, 1 hour of games, lots of web browsing, music playing)

I can get like 7 hours if i cut down on the games.

Sure it costs like 300-400 more over other laptops with similar specs but the built quality, battery and design somewhat justifies the premium.

Still hope for one more usb port though.

[WaLLy3K]

[QUOTE=Dr Egg;34050360]The batteries in macbook are also rated for holding their charge a lot longer. I think Apple guarantees that you will still have 80% capacity after 5 years (might be 3 though), and if you don't they will replace the battery for you free of charge.[/QUOTE]
However long your hardware coverage is, which is at most three years.