X61T - 4 cell battery or 8 cell battery?

Message

GpsPasSion · #1 Post by **GpsPasSion** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 2:27 pm

I'm pretty happy with the refurb X61T as replacement for my trusted X31 but I'm a bit annoyed by it's weight (and depth) with the 8 cell battery it came with. I'll be getting a spare battery and I'm wondering if the 4 cell battery makes sense to help with that?

Level 8 Technology seem to be selling the original Lenovo versions and they list the following specs :

8 cell vs 4 cell :
- $68 vs $59
- 5200 mAh vs 2600 mAh
- 16.3 oz vs 10.6 oz (not sure if you can tell the difference much?)
- 10.69" x 4.44 " x 0.79" vs 10.69" x 4.44 " x 0.79"

The last spec has me confused as they are identical, is that an error on their site? Looking at the pics, the 4 cell does seem to be "shorter" :

Thanks for any help.

hunterman223 · #2 Post by **hunterman223** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 2:38 pm

Think of it this way, there's 16oz per 1lb, will you notice a difference of about 0.3 lbs?

Is it worth sacrificing 1/2 of a battery?

GpsPasSion · #3 Post by **GpsPasSion** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 3:03 pm

Probably not, but that's why I was asking if someone had tested that for themselves. If it shaves off an inch or so from the back it would be nice too.

hunterman223 · #4 Post by **hunterman223** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 3:47 pm

It seems to me that on the standard non tablet X61, the 8 cell sticks out 1 inch more than the 4 cell. I have no idea if this holds true for the X61t, but I would assume so.

RRHODY · #5 Post by **RRHODY** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 6:33 pm

I use my X61T as a GPS [actually, my spouse holds it] and the difference, while not statistically large, in use, the "feel" seems less bulk and weight with the smaller battery.

#6 Post by **pkiff** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:18 pm

I had a 4-cell for my X60T for a while. I got it thinking that the weight and size savings would be attractive. Two things I found. First, as others have suggested, the weight and size savings are not as noticeable as I thought. This is partly because the X60/61 Tablet is not an X61s: they are already sizeably large and no matter what you do you will not end up with a super-slim, super-tiny, light netbook. Second, and most importantly for me, I found that the Tablet specifically needs to have a larger battery in place in order to create a proper center of gravity so it doesn't tip over from the weight of the screen. I honestly found the entire machine unstable when I had the 4-cell installed. The 8-cell not only stabilized the machine, but (of course) also provided great computing time.

Phil.

GpsPasSion · #7 Post by **GpsPasSion** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 9:13 pm

Very useful feedback x2, thanks. Not that it makes my decision a lot easier

When you mention the center of gravity that's in tablet mode I suppose? I don't think there would be much of a difference in laptop mode.

I've never seen an x61s so didn't realize that they were so much smaller and lighter, wonder why they couldn't keep the same form factor for the X61T, it's certainly not as easy to fit in a backpack as the old x31.

hunterman223 · #8 Post by **hunterman223** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 5:09 am

GpsPasSion wrote:Very useful feedback x2, thanks. Not that it makes my decision a lot easier When you mention the center of gravity that's in tablet mode I suppose? I don't think there would be much of a difference in laptop mode.

I've never seen an x61s so didn't realize that they were so much smaller and lighter, wonder why they couldn't keep the same form factor for the X61T, it's certainly not as easy to fit in a backpack as the old x31.

My understanding is that it is mostly the heatsink that is used to accomodate the better processors, at least for X61.

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

#9 Post by **pkiff** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:54 am

GpsPasSion wrote:When you mention the center of gravity that's in tablet mode I suppose? I don't think there would be much of a difference in laptop mode.

No, I mean when it is in laptop mode. The problem I had with the slim 4-cell battery was that if the lid was pushed open past a 90 degree angle, then the laptop had a tendency to tip over backwards because the lid is so heavy (and presumably because of the placement of the tablet hinge in the design). On my X60T t, the lid requires a bit of force to move it with one hand, and this amount of force would sometimes actually exceed the amount needed to tip the laptop over, so I then needed two hands to move the lid back and forth in laptop mode. With the extended, 8-cell battery, this tendency is eliminated.

Also, since I'm writing about this in some detail now, I might as well add that I find the 8-cell battery provides a better "handle" to hold on to on the side of the Tablet when I am in Tablet mode: the slim 4-cell is not actually wide enough to hold without feeling awkward or covering keys that I don't want covered.

I'm talking here about 8-cell and slim 4-cell, but there is another size in between those (a 6- cell? or a non-extended 8-cell?), that works as well as the 8-cell I've got. I forget the exact terms used to describe each size. The 4-cell is the one that is almost flush against the back of the machine and that only supplies something like 90 minutes of battery life. And that is the one that I found problematic in terms of the functions I'm describing above. The other sizes both avoid those problems.

Phil.

IvanAndreevich · #10 Post by **IvanAndreevich** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 6:25 pm

The 4-cell battery life on the X61 is an abomination. I'd stay well clear of it, unless you have a way of using it plugged in.

GpsPasSion · #11 Post by **GpsPasSion** » Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:49 pm

Thanks for the feedback. Yes it sounds like it's a better idea to put up with the bulk and weight from time to time then to compromise the overall experience. Do you have a reference for that 6 cell battery as that might be a good option too.