If you only need a basic server, laptops are AMAZING.
Full x86 software support
On the rare occurrence you need to directly interface with it (as opposed to through a webgui on another machine) you have a built-in keyboard and monitor.
I have a decade old lenovo yoga that still lasts like 40 minutes unplugged. Idunno how much a UPS that can supply a desktop for that long would cost, nor if that’s an embarrassingly short time, but it works well enough for me
Would pulling out the battery (if possible) and running the laptop only via AC be a viable way to prevent unnecessary battery wear?
I remember back when I didn’t have a desktop PC yet I had a crusty old ASUS laptop that was basically at death’s door and I specifically remember just running it on AC alone because the battery was… uh… gone
It does not matter if the battery is plugged in or not. Far more important is the state of the battery. All LiPo batteries degrade over time. But they can degrade faster or slower depending on the state they are stored in. They degrade faster when at higher charge levels or when stored in hotter environments or if they go through more charge/discharge cycles. Older battery technology also degraded faster in general, new ones tend to last longer in sub-optimal conditions.
Apart from newer battery technology itself battery monitoring and charging technology has also improved. A lot of modern laptops have smarter charging circuitry that lets them stop charging before the battery is at 100%, sometimes configurable in the bios, sometimes controllable via the OS. This can help a lot to preserve the battery life for longer, especially if you leave it plugged in as it spends less time at 100% charge. Older devices also tended to run hotter for longer periods of time, even when idle. Both of these combined with worst battery technology would lead to batteries degrading quite a lot faster if you left them plugged in all the time - hence where the advice came from (note that removing the battery at 100% charge was also not great for it, better to store lipo batteries at 40-60% charge, but it did still save it from the heat of the device) . But when setup correctly modern devices suffer from this a lot less so it is much less important to remove the battery at all - I doubt you would really notice the difference overall on modern systems.
Yeah, that’s about the right time period for my old ASUS LOL. Does that advice still hold up nowadays or is it outdated? Does it apply only to older machines maybe?
Not all batteries are easy to remove nowadays. Also, power management might have gotten better and the battery circuit mostly disconnects when not in use.
Huh? If it can be used while it is charging - which is all laptops since forever - then it will run off the adapter while plugged in. Regardless of the battery state. You cannot charge a battery and discharge it at the same time - if it is charging then power must be coming from anything other then the battery. Epically with LiPo batteries which you cannot continue charging after they are full - doing so will cause them to burst into flames. So all LiPo charging circuits will cut off power to the cells once they reach a desired voltage - weather that is considered 100% (aka once it reaches 4.2V) or at a configurable lower amount.
Their comment was indicating that laptop batteries will be damaged if left plugged in constantly. Which is a thing that can happen with some laptops, and most old ones.
My comment was about how some modern laptops when left plugged in, will charge the battery and then start running directly from the wall-power once the battery is full. They bypass the charging once it is indicated to have a “full charge”.
will charge the battery and then start running directly from the wall-power once the battery is full. They bypass the charging once it is indicated to have a “full charge”.
That does not make sense. Batteries cannot be charged and discharged at the same time - they are either charging or discharging or neither. When a device is in use while it is plugged in the device is being run directly from wall power - and anything left if sent to charge the battery. The only devices that don’t do that is ones that power off while the charger is plugged in - which does not include any laptop that I have ever seen, generally just smaller devices.
Modern laptops have smarter controllers that can turn off charging before the battery is full or when other conditions are met. But none are able to draw power from the battery while the battery is being charged - that just does not make any sense.
I guess I was lucky my UPS batteries lasted 10 years. The last year their charge capability dropped off fast, and one was starting to bulge. Not Lithium though, just LeadAcid, so more of a leak hazzard than fire hazzard
If you only need a basic server, laptops are AMAZING.
Note that the battery will generally stop working after a long enough time turned on and powered via AC, but otherwise yeah.
I have a decade old lenovo yoga that still lasts like 40 minutes unplugged. Idunno how much a UPS that can supply a desktop for that long would cost, nor if that’s an embarrassingly short time, but it works well enough for me
That will happen to an actual UPS as well.
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True. The best laptops are the ones that let you set a charge limit in the BIOS.
Would pulling out the battery (if possible) and running the laptop only via AC be a viable way to prevent unnecessary battery wear?
I remember back when I didn’t have a desktop PC yet I had a crusty old ASUS laptop that was basically at death’s door and I specifically remember just running it on AC alone because the battery was… uh… gone
It does not matter if the battery is plugged in or not. Far more important is the state of the battery. All LiPo batteries degrade over time. But they can degrade faster or slower depending on the state they are stored in. They degrade faster when at higher charge levels or when stored in hotter environments or if they go through more charge/discharge cycles. Older battery technology also degraded faster in general, new ones tend to last longer in sub-optimal conditions.
Apart from newer battery technology itself battery monitoring and charging technology has also improved. A lot of modern laptops have smarter charging circuitry that lets them stop charging before the battery is at 100%, sometimes configurable in the bios, sometimes controllable via the OS. This can help a lot to preserve the battery life for longer, especially if you leave it plugged in as it spends less time at 100% charge. Older devices also tended to run hotter for longer periods of time, even when idle. Both of these combined with worst battery technology would lead to batteries degrading quite a lot faster if you left them plugged in all the time - hence where the advice came from (note that removing the battery at 100% charge was also not great for it, better to store lipo batteries at 40-60% charge, but it did still save it from the heat of the device) . But when setup correctly modern devices suffer from this a lot less so it is much less important to remove the battery at all - I doubt you would really notice the difference overall on modern systems.
Removing the battery when using AC used to be the advice to prolong the battery life a decade ago.
Yeah, that’s about the right time period for my old ASUS LOL. Does that advice still hold up nowadays or is it outdated? Does it apply only to older machines maybe?
Not all batteries are easy to remove nowadays. Also, power management might have gotten better and the battery circuit mostly disconnects when not in use.
That depends on the age and quality of the laptop. It’s been a while since some started directly running off the cable when the battery is full.
Huh? If it can be used while it is charging - which is all laptops since forever - then it will run off the adapter while plugged in. Regardless of the battery state. You cannot charge a battery and discharge it at the same time - if it is charging then power must be coming from anything other then the battery. Epically with LiPo batteries which you cannot continue charging after they are full - doing so will cause them to burst into flames. So all LiPo charging circuits will cut off power to the cells once they reach a desired voltage - weather that is considered 100% (aka once it reaches 4.2V) or at a configurable lower amount.
Their comment was indicating that laptop batteries will be damaged if left plugged in constantly. Which is a thing that can happen with some laptops, and most old ones.
My comment was about how some modern laptops when left plugged in, will charge the battery and then start running directly from the wall-power once the battery is full. They bypass the charging once it is indicated to have a “full charge”.
That does not make sense. Batteries cannot be charged and discharged at the same time - they are either charging or discharging or neither. When a device is in use while it is plugged in the device is being run directly from wall power - and anything left if sent to charge the battery. The only devices that don’t do that is ones that power off while the charger is plugged in - which does not include any laptop that I have ever seen, generally just smaller devices.
Modern laptops have smarter controllers that can turn off charging before the battery is full or when other conditions are met. But none are able to draw power from the battery while the battery is being charged - that just does not make any sense.
Well you have have battery profile settings so you could just set it to never charge above 75% and it will last a long time.
Also UPSs need replaced like every 2 years and according to Jim Salter tend to catch fire if you don’t?
I guess I was lucky my UPS batteries lasted 10 years. The last year their charge capability dropped off fast, and one was starting to bulge. Not Lithium though, just LeadAcid, so more of a leak hazzard than fire hazzard
The network cards tend to be hit and miss