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MacBook Pro Will not charge while playing EVE
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TehJackal
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#1 - 2014-07-17 18:42:19 UTC
I've got about a 2 hr or so battery life while playing EVE Online. I can't figure out why it's doing this.

Processor: 2.7 Ghz Core i7
Mem: 16gb
Graph: nVidia GeForce GT 650M 1024mb
OS: Mavericks

The game runs just fine, maybe a few hang up here and there. But I'm able to play really with no problem at all. Like I said when I launch the game, It starts to run off the battery even though it's plugged into the wall... This is killing me as I'm having issues running long ops, ratting, or whatever takes a while to do in this game.

Some of you will reply.. get a PC. Unfortunately this is my only option right now until I am able to get back on my feet and get a new gaming laptop... that's what happens when you get a divorce and give your kids your only PC desktop computer so they can do their school work and such.

With that being said any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance & safe flying!
Pyfintlyn Lukqplm
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#2 - 2014-07-21 23:28:56 UTC
So you've probably got this solved by now, but heres some thoughts. How do you know its not charging at all while you play.? If you unhook it and play does it still last two hours? If not then its possible that you are just running the battery down with it plugged in. Hard to do, but EVE is a very heavy load for the machine to carry. You didn't mention age or model of machine so some of these are guesses. What else is running in the background? If you unplug it and just use it for non gaming purposes, how long does the batters last? Should be 6-7 hours or better. Do you have the right size charger? Have you blown it out lately? A dirty machine will build up more heat and run less efficiently. I play on a Macbook Pro 15 inch, a few years old and although it gets hot, no issues like you are describing. I can't imagine what in the code of the game could cause the system to switch from charging to not charging. I would think that would affect all or at least many Mac users and it does not seem to be. Well, fly safe and good luck, lemme know if I can provide any help.


Pyf
Amarisen Gream
The.Kin.of.Jupiter
#3 - 2014-07-22 04:29:40 UTC
reset your PRAM.
Try running in lower settings. . .

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Verite Rendition
F.R.E.E. Explorer
#4 - 2014-07-22 20:22:14 UTC  |  Edited by: Verite Rendition
Assuming it really is charging when EVE is not running, then the "culprit" isn't that it's not charging when EVE is running, rather it's not charging enough when EVE is running.

EVE is one of the hardest things your Mac will run in terms of CPU + GPU load. It beats both processors senseless. What it sounds like to me is that your power adapter doesn't supply enough power under max load, so your Mac is dipping into its battery to make up the difference.

http://gfx.io/

Try using gfxCardStatus to force your Mac to use its integrated GPU (rather than the GTX 650) and see what happens to power consumption. Performance aside, it would result in much lower power consumption that would settle the question over whether it's just coming up short on power, or if your Mac really does stop accessing the power adapter entirely when running EVE.

Further reading:

http://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/127uit/my_macbook_pro_loses_charge_while_its_plugged_in/
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1013287
TehJackal
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#5 - 2014-08-08 03:41:36 UTC
Thanks for the replys guys... I ended up installing it on my mac mini. Have not had the time to figure out the laptop issue... it just sucks this macbook is the best machine I have and I can't run the game longer than 2hrs... going to run through all this stuff this weekend and hope for a solution.
Aossi
Ostensibly Orthogonal
#6 - 2014-08-10 20:51:56 UTC
Are you using the power adapter that came with the laptop? I've noticed this when using an adapter for a less power-hungry macbook (e.g. macbook air adapter w/ macbook pro). Apple sells 45/60/85 watt adapters - make sure you're using the right one.

It's also possible (although odd) that the correct adapter just doesn't provide enough juice, in which case getting the next step up might help.
Nanvel
Perverted Fox Union Local 0001
#7 - 2014-09-03 06:06:06 UTC
Using a power supply other then the one rated for your mac book pro is not advised. (check your owners manual in the warnings section)
Doing so you risk burning your logic board out (can you say new laptop and if apple figures out you over voltaged the board, they are not going to cover it under warrantee), or causing your battery to catch fire/explode (ooo fire in your lap!)
The 45 watt power supplies are meant for the mac book air, and 13" mbp, the 65 watt are for the 15" MBP and the 85 Watt goto the 17" MBP's.

I would recommend turning down your GFX settings, as That will do one of two things:
1. It will lower the amount of work your 650M has to do, and thus generate less heat, and use less power
2. Less heat means slower fan speed's needed to cool your MBP. leading to less power used on the fans
Vincent Athena
Photosynth
#8 - 2014-09-09 20:51:07 UTC  |  Edited by: Vincent Athena
Also a big power user is the screen illumination. See if you can tolerate a dimmer screen.

Also: I have a 17" MacBook Pro that can run continuously while connected to the power adapter, so it is possible to do.

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IIshira
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#9 - 2014-10-24 00:33:20 UTC
I hope this isn't an issue with newer MacBooks. I know Apple users will tolerate a lot of things as "features" but saying that it's acceptable for it to lose charge while plugged in is ridiculous. A laptop adapter should be able to power the laptop no matter what you're doing. Of course you have to use the correct adapter that is a given.
IIshira
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#10 - 2014-11-03 16:51:43 UTC
I can confirm that the 15" MacBook Pro will charge while playing Eve. The adapter gets warm but my battery never dropped below 100%. Maybe this was a case of using the wrong adapter. Mine came with a 85 watt MagSafe 2.
Therecanbeonlynone
State War Academy
Caldari State
#11 - 2014-11-06 18:33:57 UTC
Nanvel wrote:

The 45 watt power supplies are meant for the mac book air, and 13" mbp, the 65 watt are for the 15" MBP and the 85 Watt goto the 17" MBP's.




Actually its 45 watt for the Air only, 65 for the MBP 13", and 85 for MBP 15" and 17"

TehJackal, send me a message in game and we can jump on mumble and I can help you out if you are still having issues.

We are all HEROs.