As I mentioned in my previous post, I made the switch to a MacBook Pro for work purposes.
After having a chat with some friends and doing some checking around on the web for confirmation, it seems as if using Google Chrome was killing the battery on my Mac. I wasn’t expecting the advertised 7 hours, but at least around 4-5 hours of web browsing time. So, you can imagine my disappointment at getting only 2 -3 hours when using chrome.
It seems that for most typed of animation Chrome switches to using the MacBook’s dedicated graphics card, which in most cases was overkill and drained the battery unnecessarily. The Google Support forums didn’t offer much help in terms of an actual fix, however, they did lead me to a neat little app called gfxCardStatus.
The app lets you see which graphics processor you’re currently using (Integrated or Dedicated) and allows you to specify which one you’d like to use. You can even have it auto switch based on power supply. For example, use the integrated when on battery, and save power, and change to dynamic switching when you’re plugged in and power isn’t an issue.
If you have any experience with Chrome not playing nice with your battery or have a better solution, please leave a note in the comments. Thanks!
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