Thinkpads Forum

I just recieved my T61s last week.
I found out that my two T61s have huge difference in battery life.

System 1:
T61 T7500, 14"WXGA+, 4GB RAM, 1GB Turbo Memory, Nvidia Graphic,
100GB HD 7200rpm, Atheros Wifi, 7 cells, Vista Premium
Application: Just web browsing, Disabled indexing
Battery Life: around 2 hours

System 2:
T61 T7300, 15"WSXGA+, 2GB RAM, Integrated Grahpic,
100GB HD 7200rpm, Intel Wifi, 9 cells, Vista Premium
Application: Just web browsing
Battery Life: 4-5 hours

I think the main differences are Nvidia and Atheros wifi.

Another note is that I think the quality of the 15" screen is better.

Imagine running system 1 on a 4 cell!?!? or should I say My "gift" battery should be here soon I guess... I don't have the Atheros so I'm thinking the Nvidia is killing me..

santalink wrote:I just recieved my T61s last week.
I found out that my two T61s have huge difference in battery life.

System 1:
T61 T7500, 14", 4GB RAM, 1GB Turbo Memory, Nvidia Graphic,
100GB HD 7200rpm, Atheros Wifi, 7 cells.
Battery Life: around 2 hours

System 2:
T61 T7300, 15", 2GB RAM, Integrated Grahpic,
100GB HD 7200rpm, Intel Wifi, 9 cells.
Battery Life: 4-5 hours

I think the main differences are Nvidia and Atheros wifi.

Another note is that I think the quality of the 15" screen is better.

For sure the Nvidia makes a huge difference. The tabook rates the battery life (with a 6-cell) at 5.7h with the integrated graphics and 3.8h with Nvidia. (Unfortunately there is no option of integrated graphics if you want the 1440x900 display panel.)

That said, two hours is still bad -- I should think that you should be able to get three hours of real-life usage from the Nvidia system, too. What kind of use is the system getting while on battery -- web browsing, playing games, something in between? What power settings are you using? WIndows XP or Vista?

santalink wrote:I think the main differences are Nvidia and Atheros wifi.

I think you left out one of the main differences - battery size.

The Nvidia and Atheros wifi system also has a faster CPU - yet the battery is a 7-cell.

The Integrated Graphics and Intel wifi system has a larger 9-cell battery.

Two things to care about when speaking about bettery life : number of cell AND battery capacity in Wh. For exemple, with 8 cells you can have 72 Wh but only 56 Wh with 9 cells.

When I was at a Toshiba event for upcoming laptops, one technical guy tells me that a laptop with Quadro NVS 140m runs one our less then the same one with GMA X3100.

santalink wrote:System 2:
T61 T7300, 15"WSXGA+, 2GB RAM, Integrated Grahpic,
100GB HD 7200rpm, Intel Wifi, 9 cells, Vista Premium
Application: Just web browsing
Battery Life: 4-5 hours

Did you bought it directly from Lenovo using their configuration page?

I would love to get a WSXGA+ screen with integrated graphics but I haven't seen any pre-configured models with these two options together :/

smartins wrote:

santalink wrote:System 2:
T61 T7300, 15"WSXGA+, 2GB RAM, Integrated Grahpic,
100GB HD 7200rpm, Intel Wifi, 9 cells, Vista Premium
Application: Just web browsing
Battery Life: 4-5 hours

Do you bought it directly from Lenovo using their configuration page?

I would love to get a WSXGA+ screen with integrated graphics but I haven't seen any pre-configured models with these two options together :/

I got these from ebay. These are CTO models, which means the seller bought them directly from Lenovo.
The seller has both 14" WXGA+ and 15" WSXGA+ models with integrated graphic card.

I have gathered more data.

I boot up the systems, and let them sit until vista stop caching the HD to memory. Then I unplug the two systems.

I set the power management of both system to Thinkpad Default.

For system 1: nVidia, Atheros, 14", 7 cells, T7500
Maximum battery capacity: 70.1Wh
Capacity remaining: 40.98Wh
Battery Life: 1:40 (100 minutes)
Mileage( minutes / capacity) = ~2.5

System 2: intergated graphic and wifi, 15", 9 cell, T7300
Maximum battery capacity: 88.5Wh
Capacitiy remaining: 82Wh
Battery Life: 5:30 (330 minutes)
Mileage (minutes / capacity) = ~4

Conclusion:
System 1: 1 Wh can last 2.5 minutes
System 2: 1 Wh can last 4 minutes

That means system 2 saves around 60% power than System 1.

This test is not very rigorous; however, I hope it will be helpful for other Thinkpad lovers.

Why don't you test the two systems with the same battery? The test would be more conclusive that way.

I recall from nvidia's site that the 140M draws a max of up to 10W. While that's probably at load and not idle, I imagine it's significantly more than the integrated Centrino graphics - which are definitely optimized for power management.

Also, the 9cell should give you about 30% more power than the 7. Considering you're getting over 100% more in reality, that's pretty surprising.

santalink wrote:I have gathered more data.

I boot up the systems, and let them sit until vista stop caching the HD to memory. Then I unplug the two systems.

I set the power management of both system to Thinkpad Default.

For system 1: nVidia, Atheros, 14", 7 cells, T7500
Maximum battery capacity: 70.1Wh
Capacity remaining: 40.98Wh
Battery Life: 1:40 (100 minutes)
Mileage( minutes / capacity) = ~2.5

System 2: intergated graphic and wifi, 15", 9 cell, T7300
Maximum battery capacity: 88.5Wh
Capacitiy remaining: 82Wh
Battery Life: 5:30 (330 minutes)
Mileage (minutes / capacity) = ~4

Conclusion:
System 1: 1 Wh can last 2.5 minutes
System 2: 1 Wh can last 4 minutes

That means system 2 saves around 60% power than System 1.

This test is not very rigorous; however, I hope it will be helpful for other Thinkpad lovers.

This confirm what the tech guy tells me at Toshiba show... New GPU really reduce battery life.

Is there now power saving application in the Nvidia software? I could not find the a battery saving mode as they used to offer in XP machines that had the dedicated Nvidia cards.

Can someone with a 6-cell battery in a 14.1" T61/Nvidia card run the battery down from 100% and time it please?
Thanks

Try swapping the the batteries in the system, e.g. swap the 7-cell with the 9-cell. I think you will get more similar run time, i.e. equal runtime between the systems.

tomh009 wrote:Unfortunately there is no option of integrated graphics if you want the 1440x900 display panel.

There is in the U.S.
My guess is that there will be some preconfigured in canada too eventually.

It's funny (but understandable) to see ppl here wanting integrated graphics, as for so long it's been very much the opposite

SkiBunny wrote:

tomh009 wrote:Unfortunately there is no option of integrated graphics if you want the 1440x900 display panel.

There is in the U.S.
My guess is that there will be some preconfigured in canada too eventually.

It's funny (but understandable) to see ppl here wanting integrated graphics, as for so long it's been very much the opposite

I am one of those people wanting integrated graphics in Canada. No need for discrete as I don't play games, and would much rather enjoy the 1+ hour battery saving. Plus, it should be a cheaper laptop too.

SkiBunny wrote:

tomh009 wrote:Unfortunately there is no option of integrated graphics if you want the 1440x900 display panel.

There is in the U.S.
My guess is that there will be some preconfigured in canada too eventually.

It's funny (but understandable) to see ppl here wanting integrated graphics, as for so long it's been very much the opposite

I don't play games that often. And I just hate keep charging my laptop all the time.
I love having the freedom to do my work anywhere anytime I want on campus without limiting myself to the places where power outlet is avaliable.

I get 3+ hours on a similar system with built-in power settings. This is with a 2.2ghz C2D, the nVidia card, and 14.1" WXGA+.

Redmumba wrote:I get 3+ hours on a similar system with built-in power settings. This is with a 2.2ghz C2D, the nVidia card, and 14.1" WXGA+.

4 cell, 6 cell, 9 cell ?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the largest capacity battery you can get for a T61 is a 7 cell.

Are T60 9 cell batteries compatible with T61 models?

Harryc wrote:Can someone with a 6-cell battery in a 14.1" T61/Nvidia card run the battery down from 100% and time it please?
Thanks

I got 2.5 Hours when running down from 100% to 2%. Brightness is set 13/15. CPU Speed: Low. HD is turned off most of the time because of readyboot and I am just typing documents.

egnatius wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the largest capacity battery you can get for a T61 is a 7 cell. Are T60 9 cell batteries compatible with T61 models?

Yes, so far only T61 15.4 WS comes with 9 cell battery in T61 models.

No, T61 cannot take T60 battery.

heyzeus123 wrote:Try swapping the the batteries in the system, e.g. swap the 7-cell with the 9-cell. I think you will get more similar run time, i.e. equal runtime between the systems.

I just tried, but the two batteries cannot be swamped:
7cell for 14", 9cell for 15".

santalink wrote:I just tried, but the two batteries cannot be swamped:
7cell for 14", 9cell for 15".

They won't. 9 cell is only meant and built for 15.4 models.

XIII wrote:I got 2.5 Hours when running down from 100% to 2%. Brightness is set 13/15. CPU Speed: Low. HD is turned off most of the time because of readyboot and I am just typing documents.

Thanks. I am happy with that number for a 6 cell. I expected worse.