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Looking for dual-core lappy with battery life being the main focus

thecoolnessrune

thecoolnessrune

Diamond Member
Anything in mind? The requirements it needs is a gig of memory and Vista Premium. Integrated graphics are fine as the most this would ever see is an occasional wmv video file. It does need to be a 15.4" screen formfactor. 12.1" is too small for my grandmother while 17 is too much. Maybe there are still good 14" options?

Anyways, that's all for requirements. The main desire is great battery life. High capacity 8 cells etc. So are there any good options?

EDIT: Damnit I swore I was in the right forum. If a mod could please move thiss to the SFF, Notebook forum.. thanks and my apologies.
 
universal batteries for laptops make batterylife much less troublesome
apc makes one, so do other companies, they are like a flat rectangular slab
 
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
universal batteries for laptops make batterylife much less troublesome
apc makes one, so do other companies, they are like a flat rectangular slab
Click to expand...

Would you know a good website from where to purchase these batteries? Additionally, is an nVidia 7150 GPU on a notebook the same kind of integrated GPU like is in my server? Or is it an add in GPU like the 8600GS in my laptop? In my desktop, the 7150 is integrated into the chipset. Does that mean that the notebooks are using nVidia chipsets as well?
 
Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Anything in mind? The requirements it needs is a gig of memory and Vista Premium. Integrated graphics are fine as the most this would ever see is an occasional wmv video file. It does need to be a 15.4" screen formfactor. 12.1" is too small for my grandmother while 17 is too much. Maybe there are still good 14" options?

Anyways, that's all for requirements. The main desire is great battery life. High capacity 8 cells etc. So are there any good options?
Click to expand...

AFAIK all lappys get 1-4 hours per charge on Li-ion batteries - regardless. A lot depends on your usage...

I can get 2-3 days on a charge, on my Toshiba, by putting it in sleep mode when I'm NOT at the keyboard... 2-3 hours with constant use.

Watching movies will kill a Li-ion battery in 'no time'. The Toshiba manual tells you to use the AC adapter whenever burning discs or watching movies. This is 'golden' advice, even if you don't buy a Toshiba...

Soooo... IMHO, the type of lappy or battery doesn't make as much a difference as your habits.

Secondly, I think a 15.4" screen is a perfect size for lappys (if you pack it around) assuming you don't spend a lot of time on airplanes. If you do spend a lot of time on planes, buy the smallest lappy you can find. 17's (and up) are okay for desktop replacement, but too big to carry around all day. I dunno... I guess 14's are okay too, but they don't do much for me!

Once again, this all depends on your wants and needs... 😉
 
Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
Would you know a good website from where to purchase these batteries?
Click to expand...
I've been buying batteries from these guys for years - never screwed me yet!

They have a brick on the front page... 😉
 
Seems like no one addresses the basic question. Today, the Cor2Duo laptop with the longest battery life in the business is the Toshiba Portege R500. You will pay, but that kind of quality doesn't come cheap.

R500

 
Which begs the question...

Why is battery life so important to the OP?

Oh, that's right... it's a grandma thing, I guess...

Wait! I still don't get it!
 
Maybe because she likes to travel a lot, go to the park, or coffee shops. Maybe she meets up with her friends to play online poker. Maybe he just asked for a laptop with a lot of battery life, so perhaps some degree of attention should be put toward that.

Not everyone needs the same system, not everyone needs a Toshy Lappy with a UPS, perhaps some need a Thinkpad (which I hear can get some serious battery life) or an alienware (not this situation), perhaps a macbook (which has about 4-5hr battery life), or really any number of other options. I have mostly stayed out of this thread because battery life was never a huge concern of mine, I just knew that I wanted enough to watch a DVD on battery, so i never did much research into this, but i have offered some suggestions here, as you have. Why do you care why he wants a lot of battery life?
 
You could get a Dell latitude D630 w/extended battery and get a modular bay battery to swap with the optical drive if you want crazy long battery life. IRC, a thinkpad T6X model should have the same type of setup available.
 
Originally posted by: TheStu
Why do you care why he wants a lot of battery life?
Click to expand...

LoL! Back on you...

Why do you care, why I care, why he wants a lot of battery life?

Seems myopic and Utopian. I dunno how serious he is...

Perhaps the best option would be to replace the HD with a hyper-drive, if battery life is truly the main focus, you know?

 
Get an HP 6910p laptop. Awesome laptop! You can also add the Ultra capacity battery to it which gives you a total battery life between 12-14hrs. It makes it heavy though, but you can add and remove the extra battery on the fly.
 
Originally posted by: JackBurton
Get an HP 6910p laptop. Awesome laptop! You can also add the Ultra capacity battery to it which gives you a total battery life between 12-14hrs...
Click to expand...

You sure about that?!??!


SOURCE

On CNET Labs performance benchmarks the HP Compaq 6910p fell toward the back of a pack of similarly configured thin-and-light laptops. Its performance was matched or bested by the $2,399 Lenovo ThinkPad T61, the $1,913 Dell Latitude D630, and the $1,449 Fujitsu LifeBook A6030. One key exception: the Compaq 6910p finished well ahead of the Dell--but still behind the others--on our Multimedia multitasking test. Still, any current Centrino Duo laptop, including the HP Compaq 6910p, will be able to easily handle the Web surfing, document editing, and productivity work that compose the bulk of office tasks. Heavy multitaskers and data crunchers might get a slight power boost from the ThinkPad T61 or the LifeBook A6030, but the HP Compaq 6910p will provide plenty of performance oomph for most users.

On our resource-intensive DVD battery drain tests, the HP Compaq 6910p lasted a fairly average 2 hours, 7 minutes, which was 5 minutes longer than the Fujitsu LifeBook A6030 but 20 minutes shorter than the ThinkPad T61. The Dell Latitude D630's extended-capacity battery outlasted them all, clocking in at 4 hours, 45 minutes. Our DVD battery drain test is especially grueling, so you can expect longer life from casual Web surfing and office use. Power-hungry users can get a little more juice from HP's extended-capacity battery, which costs $129 on the company's site.
Click to expand...

Seems rather unlikely that adding a battery - any battery - will extend life 10-12 hours...

EDIT

Doing a little research...

Look at the BOTTOM of this manufacturer's page.

According to the hype, they rate the HP Compaq nc6400 as the battery king!

6 hours (6 cell) - 12 1/4 hours (8 cell) - 16 1/4 hours (12 cell) or so they claim...

Now, let's come back down to earth - HP Compaq nc6400 Review

The 6-cell battery gives 2hrs 45min of performance, without compromising on screen brightness or the number of tasks. It's never convenient for me run the computer with a dim screen, but I imagine that if your life should hang on that of the battery, you could squeeze 4 hours out of those cells.
Click to expand...

I think HP Compaq is being disingenuous - how about you? 😀
 
Ummm, dude, I had the nc6400 and used the travel battery (similar to the Ultra capacity battery) and yes, it got ~8hrs. That was with normal usage. No dimming the screen where I can't see jack squat. The 6910p (I have it sitting right beside me) goes further in reducing the power consumption and also gives you the options of a larger extra battery (Ultra battery). And yes, 12-14hrs should be about right. I don't think you've seen anything like the travel battery and the Ultra battery. They are big batteries and are used in addition to the primary battery. I'm telling you, 12-14hrs. I'd say WORST case scenario, 10hrs minimum with the Ultra battery.

In short, yeah, I'm sure about that. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: JackBurton
In short, yeah, I'm sure about that. 🙂
Click to expand...

Okay, I'll take your word for it - all the review sites are wrong!

Sorry for doubting your word, but "I don't believe in invisible magic people that live in the clouds" either... 😉
 
Originally posted by: VinDSL
Originally posted by: JackBurton
In short, yeah, I'm sure about that. 🙂
Click to expand...

Okay, I'll take your word for it - all the review sites are wrong!
Click to expand...
Perfect.
Sorry for doubting your word, but "I don't believe in invisible magic people that live in the clouds" either... 😉
Click to expand...
Well it sounds like you are an intelligent person too. 🙂
 
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