When considering laptops, performance is far less of a concern than with desktop. Most people are looking for a machine that can be used for as long as possible without the need to track down a power supply. As such, laptops that offer the longest battery life tend to be the most popular, and BatteryCare is a free tool that can be used to look after your battery and help to improve its longevity.

For older batteries, one of the most useful things it was possible to do to your laptop battery is to let is completely discharge and then recharge from time to time. This helped to maintain the performance of the battery and ensures that it is used efficiently and last for as long as possible between charges.

BatteryCare can be used to perform a full discharge of your battery, not necessarily to help improve performance, but more to calibrate the battery so that time estimates can be more accurately reported. The program also provides a great deal of information about the battery you have installed, so should you ever need to buy a replacement, you will have all of the relevant details to hand.

BatteryCare will also provide information about precisely how long your battery will power your laptop – this is a useful feature as many machines will only reported the percentage of charge that is remaining. Extra options include the ability to monitor hard drive and CPU temperatures as well as a simple means of switching between power profiles depending on the power source that is in use.