How long do the batteries last?

[tigersty1e]

So if I buy a new notebook, how long does the battery last after charging?

1. For regular web surfing and word processor?

2. Watching movies?

3. If I get a gaming laptop, how much long does the battery last for one of these.

 

[Brainonska511]

How much battery life is not independent of what notebook you buy. Usage is one factor in determining battery life as are components. Having the latest Centrino Platform is a good place to start for good battery life (but is dependent upon how much power other components draw, such as the screen, and the size of the battery (in mAH, not cells). Dedicated graphics cards will cut battery life by at least 20-30minutes when using a low-end, dedicated card. More powerful cards will cut battery life further.

 

[zig3695]

yeah and there are also 4, 6 and 9 cell batteries for the most part. i have a 9 cell in my dell turion x2 laptop, and i can pretty much count on a FULL 4 hrs between charges. with the 4 cell batts that come standard though, people only get about two hours if that.

 

[TheStu]

You will get the most battery life out of surfing the web and word processing on low brightness, I used to get about 3.5-4 hours life for those tasks. Then I could easily watch a movie on full brightness, and then some, so call it 2.5 hours. Finally, for gaming.... well I dont have a gaming laptop, but I have gamed on mine, and although I get a little bit worse battery life in windows (about 30 minutes less for any given task) I was still able to game for over an hour before the battery started yelling at me. 1.5 hours or thereabouts I suppose.

That is on my machine, other systems will vary either up or down. But that at least gives you an idea of the battery draining-ness of different tasks. Also, A gaming laptop (also known as a DTR) will get, if you are lucky, 1 hour of gaming time unplugged. But in my opinion the battery is there either as ballast, or so you can keep gaming after the power goes out.