Trying to improve dismal battery life on Latitude C600!

[InlineFive]

OK, I have a Latitude C600 that I am trying to improve the battery life on. Here are some things I was looking at and some questions.

1. Would having one 512MB stick of SDRAM help? I currently have two 256MB 3.3v sticks and would removing one help by lowering voltage usage?
2. Would using a MiniPCI WiFi adapter save more battery life then my 5v Netgear MA401? Is there a MiniPCI card with WiFi (preferable 802.11g) and 100mbps Ethernet? Would an internal MiniPCI 802.11g adapter (it has to plug into the laptop antenna for some reason) get better range then my MA401?
3. Would using a new hard drive help? I think I have a 4200RPM Hitachi Drive that is really whiny.
4. Would not having my 5v DVD-ROM in all the time help?

I am also thinking about buying two new 8-Cell batteries since my current 8-Cell is supposed to get at least 1.5hours but it only gets 20 minutes.

Thanks for the help!

-Por

 

[Joony]

sounds like your battery is just dying from long life. Time to get a new one, infact, get two of them.

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: Joony
sounds like your battery is just dying from long life. Time to get a new one, infact, get two of them.

Ouch, care to tell me how much that will cost? And where can I get a new one? All I see on Dell is refurbished, I haven't called them though...

BTW, Joony, your virus infected my signature.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: PorBleemo

Originally posted by: Joony
sounds like your battery is just dying from long life. Time to get a new one, infact, get two of them.

Ouch, care to tell me how much that will cost? And where can I get a new one? All I see on Dell is refurbished, I haven't called them though...

BTW, Joony, your virus infected my signature.

You can find brand new c600 batteries for $50 on eBay.

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: PorBleemo

Originally posted by: Joony
sounds like your battery is just dying from long life. Time to get a new one, infact, get two of them.

Ouch, care to tell me how much that will cost? And where can I get a new one? All I see on Dell is refurbished, I haven't called them though...

BTW, Joony, your virus infected my signature.

You can find brand new c600 batteries for $50 on eBay.

Thanks RossMan! I thought you couldn't get good deals on eBay anymore! Plus their power ratings are 1/4 better then mine also for longer life.

Does anyone know if this new 4460mAh battery can be used in the primary bay with my old 3300mAh battery being used in the second multi-function bay? Every little bit helps...

Thanks!

 

[dnuggett]

When you do get the new battery there are ways to squeeze more battery out of it. A couple of ideas are... dim the screen as much as you are comfortable with, disable the screen saver and when you are away from the machine fold the screen down far enough to turn the LCD off. Disable all the graphics glitz in XP (if thats what you are using). This will make your machine faster and more efficient.

As far as your hard drive question, upgrading to a 5400 or 7200 RPM drive will actually lower battery consumption. So yes this may be a good idea.

 

[sciencewhiz]

Originally posted by: dnuggett

As far as your hard drive question, upgrading to a 5400 or 7200 RPM drive will actually lower battery consumption.

proof?

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: sciencewhiz

Originally posted by: dnuggett

As far as your hard drive question, upgrading to a 5400 or 7200 RPM drive will actually lower battery consumption.

proof?

Agreed. Wouldn't this increase power consumption with the exception of the Seagate Momentus?

 

[dnuggett]

Originally posted by: PorBleemo

Originally posted by: sciencewhiz

Originally posted by: dnuggett

As far as your hard drive question, upgrading to a 5400 or 7200 RPM drive will actually lower battery consumption.

proof?

Agreed. Wouldn't this increase power consumption with the exception of the Seagate Momentus?

Power consumption is increased yes, but seek time is lowered. I have another post on this topic in another thread. Below is a link to an article that describes what I am saying. These test do show a few minutes less battery life though. My experience has been the opposite, but that depends on the amount you will actually use your drive as well. The faster drives complete work in a more efficient manner than the amount of battery usage required to do that work versus a slower drive.

Link