subject: The Fastmac Truepower 17 Macbook Pro Battery [print this page] FastMacs TruePower 17 Macbook Pro Battery offer a runtime that is nearly the same as Apples own battery and good looks, but its considerably less expensive.
The only cosmetic difference between Apples battery and the FastMac battery is that the underside of the FastMac model is plastic, as opposed to metal, and it has FastMacs information. The battery seems to be identical to Apples after it has been installed. The aluminum exterior is the same as the Macbook Pro, and the battery has the same style of LED gauge that Apple uses to tell how much charge there is left. The button to activate that gauge ids identical, but it feels somewhat different. As opposed to Apples soft touch it has more of a hard click to it.
TruePower is the circuitry inside of the battery. It uses an integrated circuit and sensors to prevent an overload or short circuiting which can result in swelling of the individual cells. While Apple has recalled the 15 Macbook Pro batteries with that particular problem, it can happen to this battery as well.
This problem usually wont happen with the Apple battery for over a year. There is no indication that it wont happen with the FastMac battery, but the TruePower information says that it wont.
FastMac refers to the 17 Macbook Pro battery as an extended life, high capacity battery that sounds like the battery will last longer than the Apple battery but it wont. While some of FastMacs replacement batteries for the Macbook Pro will hold considerably more charge than Apples standard batteries, this isnt one of them.
Tests of the TruePower battery show that it will hold 6669 milliamp hours (mAh) of charge, as compared to 6800 for a new Apple battery. Thats a fairly small amount of difference in runtime.
Therefore, if youre replacing a battery that youve had since your Macbook Pro was new and youve had it for any amount of time, the chances are that youll see an increase in runtime, but only because youre trading an old battery for a new one since batteries lose their charge capacity as they get older. If you compare FastMacs TruePower battery to a new Apple replacement that youd purchase at an Apple Store, you wont see much of a difference either way.
In the end, what makes FastMacs 17 Macbook Pro battery worth considering is what it costs. It is less expensive than what Apple charges, and it works just as well.
