Significant battery wear under typical use patterns
Significant battery wear under typical use patterns
In Member Reviews you’ll find a review of my ROG Ally that I received back in February 2024, where I share occasional updates. At first, I ran about half a charge daily, splitting it across several sessions at 15W without any charging in between. This routine lasted five days a week from February through August. After a while, I stopped using it and around September I began charging it twice a day, starting with the full 25W and using the initial boost for about 2 minutes before draining it nearly completely on the way to work. Eventually, I switched to a game that needed less power, so I kept lower limits without boosts. Now, with more than 20% remaining, I enable the 80% battery limiter and have been using it since then, occasionally fully charging it during lunch breaks. In the evening I discharge it back to 3-6% over roughly 45 minutes, then recharge it at 65W while eating, and again discharge to 80% overnight at around 7-10W. I’ve lost nearly 20% of its capacity and it continues to perform well. The plastic at the rear where the battery sits becomes quite hot, even when running at 22W—something I now have to increase to reach a few percent before entering hibernation mode. If I set the critical limit very low (like 1%), the APU would run at 800MHz with only 2% capacity and the battery would hit 0% before completing the transition to SSD for hibernation. I’m planning to buy a laser thermometer to measure the case temperature and get a better idea of how hot it gets. I suspect it might exceed 40°C, possibly even near 45°C.
I also checked a Reddit thread while trying to understand if this heat is common. Looking at various battery upgrades I’ve seen, I’m unsure whether cutting parts off to save space would void my warranty—those modifications require removing the case. Could these high temperatures be a main cause of the rapid degradation, or just a contributing factor? I’ll share the actual readings once I have them. For now, I’m fine but might need to gradually lower the power limit by about 1W every few months to keep up with the train journey.
I recently had the Ally refurbished, and the battery showed only minor wear while the SSD recorded very few writes—likely because it hadn’t been used much before. I probably should have waited a bit longer before purchasing the Ally X. Looking back, it’s clear I should’ve chosen differently.
Edited: June 11, 2025 – DreamCat04
Asus often chooses low-quality batteries, limiting their ratings to just 300 cycles at 80% capacity while competitors like Apple offer longer lifespans of around 1000 cycles. This means what feels normal for regular daily use over a year can be disappointing if the device doesn’t hold up well after about a year and a half.
Wow, I had no idea. I assumed it was just bad luck. This Asus ROG Strix G17 has been with me since November 2020, and it's been running nonstop for about four and a half years now. I initially used it on battery without the charge cap because I wasn't aware of it at first. Over time, I learned to enable the limit and gradually reduced usage on battery. Now it mostly powers my desktop, helping me avoid overheating in the summer heat (up to 33°C outside). The battery shows around 36% wear, which might be linked to the quality of the cells. It also pulls a lot of power—even when idle it stays at 14W or more. At full load, it can draw up to 53W, while under heavy stress it drops to about 43W. I’ve been using ThrottleStop to manage CPU speed and unlock performance. Interestingly, even with the large battery, it still draws a significant amount when both CPU and GPU are maxed out. The power management system seems to adapt, allowing charging at lower rates once certain thresholds are hit. I used to think charging it fully would extend its life, but it actually reduced wear by about 4.5% per year. The battery health is still concerning, though.
I just noticed a screenshot of a battery report I shared earlier. At first, it showed 40Wh, then by June 24 it was down to 36Wh. By late July it returned to about 37Wh, but then it steadily fell into the mid-34Wh range by October, reaching around 32Wh now. It’s gradually decreasing. Over the past eight months I’ve lost only about 3.2Wh, which is roughly 0.4Wh per month. Since I’ve been working more from home lately, that likely accounts for the slower decline.
It's normal to see some differences in performance. I've noticed around 43 minutes of playtime at 22W when charging to 80%, compared to about 95 minutes at 17W with a full charge. The battery definitely wears out over time, and the decline is noticeable, even if there are occasional better days. I really don't like how quickly the capacity drops.
Have you experimented with disabling the limiter, allowing it to drain, and then fully charging it? Charging without reaching 100% is recognized as a way to prevent the BMS from monitoring battery condition accurately, which is why many devices automatically perform a full charge even when the limiter is active.
The calculation suggests a reduction in time based on your input parameters. If you apply the 80% limit, you lose roughly 15 minutes, which is about 22% of the original estimate. This indicates the need to adjust your charging strategy. Regarding battery longevity, frequent charge/discharge cycles are the main factor, and limiting the charge to around 80% helps preserve capacity. Charging fully and then letting it drop to 5% can also cause wear. The suggested approach is to keep the battery between 40% and 80% to slow degradation. Your situation likely requires more frequent battery replacements than typical.
Interesting. Normally I don’t spend much time charging it, but I tend to charge it during lunch and store it away so it’s hidden. It takes about an hour from 25% to fully charge, which is why I’m holding off on going for 80–5%. If things get worse and I need 15W to keep it running for 40 minutes, my 74Wh power bank can handle up to 65W PD. It’s a bit dated now—it’s been used daily for about six months, so capacity might be down. I can’t put it in my bag because it probably gets too hot. I used it today when I forgot to charge the Ally overnight; it cut off just before I arrived but still shows 2 out of 4 points. So part of the battery likely tripped even though it doesn’t feel much warmer than my Ally’s usual state.