Gaming At the Sixth Year with the DS

[WrSmega]

I think I'll need a new battery. I have the phat ds that I've had since launch and I think its gonna stay until the 3ds. So I've been thinking that I should replace my battery since the battery life on it is suckish due to heavy usage over the years.

Usually it lasts up to 2 Hrs of game time now on a single charge. I'm hoping I could get at least 3 or 4 with a new battery for a while.

I use a flash card so no wonder. Would it be worth it to buy a battery. I found it for 8 bucks on amazon and I'm just trying to wait out for the 3ds before replacing this ds

 

[GeekyGuy]

You're wavering over $8?

 

[Supreme Dirt]

He's probably Scottish. $8 is a lot of money to us Scots.

*EDIT* Just get the battery. That way you'll still have something to play GBA games on. And we probably won't have flashcarts on the 3DS for a month or two after release.

 

[antwill]

1 Hour isn't that much. Why bother? Just play with the charger in whenever you're at home, and take breaks as they recommend anyway, when playing while out from home.

 

[Range-TE]

make sure the brand of the DS batteries are good (if we're talking 3rd parties here), i got a "dragon" branded one for my old Phat and that had great battery times at first, but then in around one month i'm back to 2 hours

maybe that's just me but my new DSi's Batteries are still healthy even when i still do what i usually do that's harmful to the batteries (ex: playing it while it's charging)

 

[Rayder]

That's one cool thing about lithium-ion batteries, even when they are pooped and need to be replaced, you can still get an hour or two of gaming per charge. They only last 3-5 years on average, whether you use them or not, by the way.

I have found 2 simple rules of thumb for long lithium-ion battery life:

When you get your new battery, make sure to follow the instructions to fully charge the new battery the very first time before using it. Most lithium-ion batteries come brand-new with only a slight charge to them, like a primer-charge or storage-charge. It's up to you when you get a new one to properly charge it fully the very first time especially. After that, then partial charges, charging while playing and stuff like that are fine, as long as you follow the next rule.

Never allow the DS to kill the battery to the point where the DS shuts off on its own. When the light goes red, prepare to save your game and shut down manually, don't let it shut off on you. If it does, it may harm the battery. You can put it on charge and play at the same time, it will just take longer for the battery to fully charge, but NEVER let the DS shut off on you by itself.

Stick to those two rules and you should get maximum life out of your new DS battery.

 

[WrSmega]

thanks people, I really need to consider this stuff.

Though if the 3ds does come out before the end of the year, I can manage with this

mainly, I'd like a good battery on my ds because I got study hall and I get really bored so I'd bring my ds.

 

[antwill]

make sure the brand of the DS batteries are good (if we're talking 3rd parties here), i got a "dragon" branded one for my old Phat and that had great battery times at first, but then in around one month i'm back to 2 hours

maybe that's just me but my new DSi's Batteries are still healthy even when i still do what i usually do that's harmful to the batteries (ex: playing it while it's charging)

How is playing while it's charging bad? Isn't the power coming from the AC adapter rather than the battery?

 

[Thoob]

He's probably Scottish. $8 is a lot of money to us Scots.

"Us Scots" don't use dollars.

 

[GeekyGuy]

Never allow the DS to kill the battery to the point where the DS shuts off on its own. When the light goes red, prepare to save your game and shut down manually, don't let it shut off on you. If it does, it may harm the battery. You can put it on charge and play at the same time, it will just take longer for the battery to fully charge, but NEVER let the DS shut off on you by itself.

Ah, I always thought it was good to occasionally let it run completely dead. Someone told me it resets the battery somehow. Not true?

 

[antwill]

Never allow the DS to kill the battery to the point where the DS shuts off on its own. When the light goes red, prepare to save your game and shut down manually, don't let it shut off on you. If it does, it may harm the battery. You can put it on charge and play at the same time, it will just take longer for the battery to fully charge, but NEVER let the DS shut off on you by itself.

Ah, I always thought it was good to occasionally let it run completely dead. Someone told me it resets the battery somehow. Not true?

For the older batteries yes, for Lithium-Ion batteries no. They don't need it.

 

[BORTZ]

Ive always conditioned my batteries when they are new. Like charge all the way up and let them die all the way down and even with 2 or 3 year old batteries i do the same to keep the battery life as long as possible.

 

[trumpet-205]

Ah, I always thought it was good to occasionally let it run completely dead. Someone told me it resets the battery somehow. Not true?

90% Not true.

First complete discharge (runs them till shut off) on occassion is only useful for Nickel-based battery (Ni-Cd, Ni-MH). DS uses Li-Ion, which is Lithium-based. Complete discharge on Lithium based battery is a Big NO-NO.

Unlike regular battery, rechargable battery needs to be maintained at or above a certain voltage (we call this minimum operating voltage). For regular Ni-MH this is 0.9V and for DS battery this is 3.0V. As you discharge the battery its voltage drops. Running below this voltage will damage their internal chemistry. Now for Nickel-based battery because they suffer from memory effect (Ni-MH does suffer from memory effect, just not much compare to Ni-Cd), a complete discharge and recharge does help them restoring the lost capacity. But Lithium-based battery are much more sensitive to voltage compare to Nickel-based battery. That means that complete discharge does more harm then good.

Now DS does not take into account of this (many cell phone that uses Lithium-based shuts off before hitting minimum operating voltage, DS does not), so when DS shuts off it means that its battery's voltage hit below minmum operating voltage.

Bottom line is that draining battery till death is a no-no for rechargable battery. Even for Nickel-based battery it is only recommended to completely discharge it once every 6 months.

 

[DigitalDeviant]

Ah, I always thought it was good to occasionally let it run completely dead. Someone told me it resets the battery somehow. Not true?

90% Not true.

First complete discharge (runs them till shut off) on occassion is only useful for Nickel-based battery (Ni-Cd, Ni-MH). DS uses Li-Ion, which is Lithium-based. Complete discharge on Lithium based battery is a Big NO-NO.

Unlike regular battery, rechargable battery needs to be maintained at or above a certain voltage (we call this minimum operating voltage). For regular Ni-MH this is 0.9V and for DS battery this is 3.0V. As you discharge the battery its voltage drops. Running below this voltage will damage their internal chemistry. Now for Nickel-based battery because they suffer memory effect (Ni-MH does suffer from memory effect, just not much compare to Ni-Cd), a complete discharge and recharge will help them restoring the lost capacity. But Lithium-based battery are much more sensitive to voltage compare to Nickel-based battery. That means that complete discharge does more harm then good.

Now DS does not take into account of this (many cell phone that uses Lithium-based shuts off before hitting minimum operating voltage, DS does not), so when DS shuts off it means that its battery's voltage hit below minmum operating voltage.

Bottom line is that draining battery till death is a no-no for rechargable battery. Even for Nickel-based battery it is only recommended to completely discharge it once every 6 months.

thanks for the info. I'll check into this further.