Thinkpads Forum

Hi.

I'm considering buying a used X30 (for $160) that needs a new battery. It seems that you can get replacement batteries for say $30 or $40 and up. Original OEM replacements seem to be much more expensive--and would defeat the purpose of buying a very cheap laptop. While I suppose that it's difficult to generalize, are the non OEM batteries much less reliable than the genuine article?

Thanks.

R H Z

I have an old X30 which I am just replacing with an X300 I had the standard IBM battery and the extended battery that clips on the back. A while back the smaller internal battery developed a problem where it would show the charge dropping down to 50% say, and then suddenly droppping to indicate something like 10% left. I was then only getting about an hour of use from it, maximum. I ended up getting a replacement one off ebay. It was a third party battery, not an IBM branded one, but works fine and has been 100% reliable and was brand new, not used. For an older machine like the X30 I'd definitely go the OEM route again. I think I paid about 30 to 40 UK pounds for it whereas an original would have been closer to 100. Hope that helps.
James.

rhz wrote:Hi.

I'm considering buying a used X30 (for $160) that needs a new battery. It seems that you can get replacement batteries for say $30 or $40 and up. Original OEM replacements seem to be much more expensive--and would defeat the purpose of buying a very cheap laptop. While I suppose that it's difficult to generalize, are the non OEM batteries much less reliable than the genuine article?

Thanks.

R H Z

FYI : http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=74375

I was just using my X31 this morning while waiting for my car to be serviced. I had an OEM USED battery that I bought for $20.00 shipped. The battery monitor warned me that the battery was low at the 4% mark, and again at 0%. I kept working for another 30 minutes before the unit went black. I'm suspicious of the battery monitoring systems when they give such false information, and have no qualms about buying a non-IBM battery, especially if the price is right.