MacBook Pro battery life

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OK--confession: I'm not very tech savvy. My computer skills extend about as far as "1. Push power button. 2. Click on application, etc." So I apologize in advance if my question is rather mundane!

I'm curious as to whether there is some record of how many battery cycles MacBook Pro users have gone through before admitting that the battery has bit the proverbial dust. Mine is nearing 800, and recently--in addition to sharp decreases in battery life--I've begun experiencing complete power failures. This doesn't happen all the time, but the computer will completely shut down and, when I restart it, it shows I still have a 60% charge. Unless I'm doing very light-duty work, maybe just listening to internet radio through itunes, I'm lucky to get 15-20 minutes. 5 minutes MAYBE if my wife is bumming my laptop for Farmville. If I'm just using iTunes and it goes to screensaver, I MIGHT be lucky enough to get 50 minutes to an hour before it goes into sleep mode.

Most of the time it will go into sleep mode, but more and more often it shuts down.

So, for any MBP owner/operators, what's the max battery cycle count you've made it to?

Your cycle count sounds about normal - from http://www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html

Battery Lifespan

For Apple notebooks with removable batteries — such as previous generation MacBook and MacBook Pro computers — a properly maintained battery is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 300 full charge and discharge cycles. You may choose to replace your battery when it no longer holds sufficient charge to meet your needs.

The built-in battery of the MacBook Air is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at up to 750 full charge and discharge cycles.

The built-in battery in the new 13-, 15-, and 17-inch MacBook Pro is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at up to 1000 full charge and discharge cycles.

If your notebook came with a built-in battery, you should have the battery replaced only by an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

Yeah, I've read that before, so I understand. I think my MBP is one of the 1st generation intel mac notebooks, and it's been destroyed and rebuilt a couple of times. And yet Apple refuses to replace "consumables" even though I pay them enough for a new computer when I try to maintain it! lol But that's just the nature of the beast, I guess.

I've always heard that my particular computer maxes out at 500. But I feel like I'm driving a car that's running out of fuel. Running out is inevitable, but IF I can make it to THAT gas station 10 miles from here, I'll be ok. So maybe the last 10 miles is a gentle slope with a few stop lights. All I have to do is start the engine up, get about halfway up to the speed limit, turn the engine off, and coast. So I finally run out about half a block from the station and manage to roll up to the pump on kinetic energy alone.

Silly, I know, but that's all it takes to amuse me these days. I was hoping to try for 1000 before replacing the battery, but I think I'm going to give up at 800. It amounts to little more than a battery backup (UPS) when I'm between power sources. I'm able to stay plugged in most of the day, anyway, so it really matters little.

Anyone else with a 1st gen. MBP made it past 500?

You probably should have tried to replace the battery earlier, actually. I have a third-gen Macbook (not pro) and I recently got a replacement battery for free (I love it when things fail right before the warranty expires, instead of right after). If you buy a new battery, be sure to get an Apple one, even though they'll overcharge you for it. My physics prof got an off-brand battery for his old MBP, and it has been pretty unreliable for him.

Alternately, get a new laptop. The first-gen MBP is pretty old, and the new ones get a rather obscence 8-10 hours of battery life.

Would LOVE a new laptop.

However...

It's a little thing called money, of which I've been granted and spent MUCH. Wife has dibs on the next toy, which will likely be an iPad. She's long overdue for the next latest/greatest. My personal needs tend to run more along the lines of vintage computing. My MBP spends more time as a terminal emulator anyway, right next to a PowerPC circa 1995 used for Akai programming.

It's hard to let the MBP I have go, and that long battery life of the new ones IS attractive. But I did spend quite a bit on replacing the display when the kids finally destroyed it, not to mention the fact that I previously had a much more durable iBook and wasn't quite so used to having to be responsible with my stuff. As it is, I'm now overprotective with what I have until I can pay off the credit card.

I've heard horror stories about off-brand batteries exploding or dying rather quickly. I have no intention of going that route. But certainly I won't have much of a choice to replace the battery in the next few weeks. Deliberately trying to kill it by constantly cycling it and recalibrating it has been fun, though. But it's annoying when the computer randomly shuts down in the middle of