What notebook has the best battery life?

krackato

Golden Member
Aug 10, 2000
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I want to get a new notebook. The most important thing to me is not the processor speed or if it can play DVDs, but battery life. I want a notebook that I can use to access a wi-fi network with a decent screen (14.1" minimum) that will last a really long time on a single charge.

I used to have a G3 Powerbook that you could take out the optical drive and put in another battery to basically double the battery life on a single charge. Is there a notebook like that out there now?
 

fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
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On the PC side of things, you're definitely looking at a Centrino based model. i.e. Something with the Pentium M processor. Take a look at IBM's website, prolly at the T series with the 14.1" SXGA+ screen and of course upgrade the battery. The higher number of cells a battery has, the longer the life (but more bulk as well). I hear the T series Pentium M's with the higher capacity battery & 14.1" screen can break 7 hours on a single battery. Lookin' to get something like that here shortly, so I'll let you know what I find out.
 

WackyDan

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
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I've had t40-t41p and now a t42p.

I had the six cel on the t40 and 9 cel on my 41 and 42.

41 was the 14" and my 42 is a 15". Stay with the 14", as even with the 9cel battery on my 42--the 15" screen sucks a lot more battery out of it.

The 9cel on a 14" T will net you 6 to over 7 hours depending on how you are using the system and if you are not wireless.... If you are wireless, you can take upwards of 40% off of those times. When vendors quote battery life, they do not use wireless use as a factor.

Keep in mind that every T model has a different battery life which IBM publishes as a PDF on their web site. Screen sizes, battery size options, memory, drives, screen types, all play a role in dictation a different battery life/use by individual SKU#.

In my experience the IBM's get at least the same amount of battery life if not more than the Dells and HP's * With the right battery option.
 

Wuzup101

Platinum Member
Feb 20, 2002
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You're going to have to go for a centrino based system if this is the case. The new powerbooks don't have a removable bay they have a slot loading cdrw/superdrive that is fixed. The batt life isn't great... only about 3 hrs on my 15" 1.5 (see sig). I would go with a T42 w/ the 14" screan and a 9 cell batt... it will cost you some but will yield great batt life!
 

WackyDan

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
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Originally posted by: TJ69
IBM X40 - upto 8 hrs.

x40 is a 12" screen, slow proc, slow and small drive, no optical drive. Different class of system than the t40 series, but might be a fit.

THe standard X40 battery will net 3.5 to 3.75 hours.
The extended battery will net up to 6.5
The X40 with the extended battery plus the "docking" battery will yield almost 11.5 hours.

Those are run times we netted playing around with a x40 in house.
 

thuned

Member
Jun 21, 2000
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My Dell latitude D500 gets me 4-5hrs. Put in a modular bay battery, 8-10hrs. Not bad huh?
 

eriqesque

Senior member
Jan 4, 2002
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On my T40 I get about 4 hrs on the 6 cell.
And a good 7Hrs on the 9 cell.
with wireless on.
 

nortexoid

Diamond Member
May 1, 2000
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i get about 4.5h on my travelmate 370: centrino 1.4ghz, 12.1" LCD

a centrino (or, cough, crusoe) w/ a 12.1" or smaller screen will give u the best battery performance.