Is my MacBook Pro lacking its Pro??

Question

I purchased my MacBook Pro last August making it 7 months old. Absolutely stellar performance in the first 5 months. Lasted 6 hours and was perfect for classes as I didn't need to stalk outside the classroom/lecture hall to fight for a powerpoint. When I'm at my desk, I usually have the adapter plugged in. Needless to say, I practically live on it.
Now it only lasts 2 1/2 - 3 hours which is still more than the 30 mins I was getting from my Windows laptop, but very frustrating seeing as I have only had it for such a short amount of time.
These are the current stats re: the battery (I don't have the adapter in at the moment, I can fully charge it and update the details if needed).
Battery Information:
Charge Information:
Charge remaining (mAh): 440
Fully charged: No
Charging: No
Full charge capacity (mAh): 5403
Health Information:
Cycle count: 105
Condition: Good
Battery Installed: Yes
Amperage (mA): -2380
Voltage (mV): 10498
I've had the Energy Saver Preferences on default levels since the start.
I've calibrated, and re-calibrated.
I've checked that the adapter is working properly: amber when charging, green when full.
I've checked the CPU - I usually only have iTunes on when I'm working on stuff, that's currently saying 6.1. Other than that, I make sure to actually quit programs when I've finished (having lots of those dots down the bottom of the screen annoys me).
I've taken it into an AASP, where they ran a test on the battery and it came back that the battery was OK and he explained that if there was something wrong with it, it would have come back with a code for a new battery to be ordered, and that they are generally built to last to 300 charge cycles. As you can see, I've reached 1/3 of that number. I was also told that batteries only have a 12 month warranty regardless of AppleCare coverage, so that's an added cost right there.
Please help. I tend to repel technology, but I bought my beautiful computer for its portability, which is now failing me.
Message was edited by: Emma Wright
Message was edited by: Emma Wright

Answer 1

G'Day Emma, and a welcome to the Apple boards.
Which particular model of MacBook Pro do you have? Is it a 13" or a 15" and what does it say next to "Model Identifier" when you look in System Profiler?
If it is a thirteen inch you certainly have absolutely nothing to worry about with respect to your battery itself. The maximum capacity of these batteries when brand new was about 5450mAh and yours, at 5403mAh is still sitting at 99% of original capacity. On these computers, too, with non-removeable batteries the batteries are actually rated to last 1000 cycles. It is only the earlier computers with removable batteries that are rated for just 300.
If it is a 15" model (which comes with a battery with a significantly larger original capacity) then it doesn't look so good.
But assuming that it is a 13" model, then the most likely cause of the reduction in run time is either a change in your usage patterns or a problem with a runaway program "hogging" CPU cycles in the background. You can check for "runaway" processes using Activity Monitor (in your Utilities Folder). See http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1473 for instructions on how to go about this.
As far as usage patterns go , if , for example, you are watching a lot more "flash" based videos on line then you can expect a dramatic fall in computer run time. "Flash" plugins chew up a heap of CPU time, and accordingly can flatten your battery faster than a politician can break a promise!
Bluetooth is a another real battery muncher, and so, of course, is anything like an external drive or other device powered by the computers USB or firewire ports (Elgato EyeTVs , unpowered hubs, bus powered scanners, etc etc). The internal iSight camera is a real power chomper too.
You might find the FAQ at http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1764220 helpful, too.
Cheers
Rod