9 cell Extended battery or Ultrabay battery for my T40?

Message

renderful · #1 Post by **renderful** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 5:46 pm

Do you guys know the Pros/Cons of each?

I don't use my optical drive much, and have no problem using the computer without it. I use my machine in a position that it seems that the extended battery would get in the way.

How much time does the Ultrabay battery provide as compared to the 9cell?

Also, do you know how much more the Ultrabay battery weighs than the DVD Rom? The weight of the battery is .48lb, I can't find a weight listed for the DVD-Rom

thanks

#2 Post by **bill bolton** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 6:07 pm

renderful wrote:How much time does the Ultrabay battery provide as compared to the 9 cell?

When new, a 6 cell + Ultrabay battery combination gives pretty much the same capacity as a 9 cell battery by itself.

I have no idea how the weights work out, but given generally available LiON technologies, I'd guess that there not going to be a lot of difference.

I'm now using 9 cell batteries and am very happy with them.

Cheers,

Bill

Hammerstein · #3 Post by **Hammerstein** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 5:39 am

I think the battery and the DVD drive (not the burner, I only have the combo drive) weigh pretty close to the same. The battery might be somewhat heavier, but I don't think it's something to really worry about either way. Both are compact, after all.

davidspalding · #4 Post by **davidspalding** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 9:53 am

My Ultrabay battery is a bit heavier than the DVD drive, but not so much that I notice. It's a pretty small battery, providing at best about 50% again of a 6-cell battery. With most profiles, it adds about 60 minutes of runtime. I got it for similar reasons to yours ... don't use the optical drive much, so why not load more battery? It's been a purchase criteria for me for years.

The 9-cell I just got gave much more of a boost. Dunno what "position" would make the 9-cell difficult, but I like mine. One nice feature of the Ultrabay ... you can pop it in, then swap out the main battery, without having to use an AC adapter or hibernating.

Delmarco · #5 Post by **Delmarco** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 10:01 am

I'm contemplating the same thing, but wieght is less of an issue than battery time:
what are the average times for
(this is with basic word processing, whiles the wireless is on and probably onaverage 1-2 internet explorer pages up at the same time.)

9 cell?

6 cell bay and normal battery combo?

9 cell + 6 cell bay combo?

normal battery + 6 cell bay combo?

JHEM · #6 Post by **JHEM** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 11:22 am

The Ultrabay battery in the T4X series machines is a THREE cell equivalent, not a six cell!

So the standard six cell battery plus the Ultrabay battery are approximately equivalent in runtime to the single 9 cell battery.

FWIW, I reliably get 6+ hours of runtime on either of my T41p's with the 9 cell and Ultrabay batteries installed. That's with the display brightness set at medium, WiFi on, heavy wordsmithing and several browser windows open in both FireFox and IE.

Regards,

James

christopher_wolf · #7 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 1:04 pm

I would go for the 9-Cell Hi-cap battery for the T40; I have used it with an Ultrabay battery and I get very good battery life. Although, if you want the best bang for your buck, I would go with the 9-Cell. A T40 on a 9-Cell properly setup can last a *long* time.

davidspalding · #8 Post by **davidspalding** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 2:50 pm

Ditto to what Chris said....

See my sig. 'Nuff said. Thats with full charged 9-cell and the Ultrabay Slim battery.

I think I've actually gotten better in the last week, that's while I'm sitting, watching a movie, and using the lap now and again (commercial breaks). Wifi on, Bluetooth on, TPFAN control on Smart mode.

Time estimates are really kinda unreliable imho. Why? Everyone's doing different things, with different power schemes. I don't use the IBM defaults ... I have one that's "adaptive," another that's "power source maximized," another I call "Quiet" (configured for low fan noise, ends up maxing battery life anyway).

And I would expect some minor variation from one Thinkpad to another, depending on cooling capabilities, chip, etc. Hey, I see a difference in fan speed, and battery estimates, just by putting my TP on my Targus CoolPad or on a flat surface!

So, IMHO asking for "average" times is pretty hit and miss. If you want longer runtime, get the 9-cell, then shell out for the little Ultrabay Slim mini if you want/need more. I started with 6-cell and Ultrabay so the T43 would fit in my bags ... and upped to a 9-cell on the cheap anyway, and use one of my bags when I use it. YMMVAPW.

JHEM · #9 Post by **JHEM** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 3:20 pm

christopher_wolf wrote:A T40 on a 9-Cell properly setup can last a *long* time.

I could rely on the 9 cell battery to run my old T40 for up to 7 hours all on its own with everything turned off or minimized! E.g., WiFi off, HD spun down, backlight turned way down, etc., etc.

I would often go past 7 hours, but that's the period of time I could count on. Got almost 8 hours on several occasions.

Regards,

James

smugiri · #10 Post by **smugiri** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 10:16 pm

I second James, I remember getting a couple of 7hr 45 min runs on my 9 cell when it was new in March 2005 with backlight down, processor throttled to 600MHz and wifi in managed power mode. 7 hours was par for the course. Those were the days.

I am down to about 5 to 5 1/2 hours now which I think is still very very decent.

9 cell Extended battery or Ultrabay battery for my T40?

9 cell Extended battery or Ultrabay battery for my T40?

Re: 9 cell Extended battery or Ultrabay battery for my T40?

Who is online