T2* Series battery life?

[mattyprice4004]

Hi again!

I am definitely looking at getting a T20/21/22, and was just wondering what are people's findings regarding battery life??

I have a 600E that just about hits 2 hours (The battery is original ), and was looking for something better.

Also, some people say a T30 battery will work in these laptops - I was wondering if someone could clarify this??

Thanks!

Mat

[tfflivemb2]

Yes, the T30 battery works perfectly in the T2x series. You just can't use a T2x series battery in a T30. T30 batteries have a notch cut out of them, which doesn't physically effect the use of them in the T2x. Since the T2x batteries do not have this notch, they will not fit into a T30. Make sense?

As for usage...the best that I have gotten has been 2.5 hours, but I do not have a new T30 or T2x battery. My newest one came with 35 cycles.

[ambientscape]

Yes, the T30 battery works perfectly in the T2x series. You just can't use a T2x series battery in a T30. T30 batteries have a notch cut out of them, which doesn't physically effect the use of them in the T2x. Since the T2x batteries do not have this notch, they will not fit into a T30. Make sense?

As for usage...the best that I have gotten has been 2.5 hours, but I do not have a new T30 or T2x battery. My newest one came with 35 cycles.

Do we have to change the AC adaptor to match the T30 battery?

[rkawakami]

Generally it's best to use the 72 watt (4.5A) AC adapters with any of the Thinkpads. I don't know of any specification that says you can't/shouldn't use the higher power adapter in any given situation. The 54 watt supplies could probably provide enough current to power the laptop and charge the higher capacity batteries but doing so might push them to their limits. The supply would run hotter and most likely shorten its life.

[ambientscape]

Generally it's best to use the 72 watt (4.5A) AC adapters with any of the Thinkpads. I don't know of any specification that says you can't/shouldn't use the higher power adapter in any given situation. The 54 watt supplies could probably provide enough current to power the laptop and charge the higher capacity batteries but doing so might push them to their limits. The supply would run hotter and most likely shorten its life.

If I'm not wrong, all T2X series are using the 4.5A adaptor right?

[rkawakami]

According to a quick scan of the TAWBOOK, that is what was originally supplied with the systems when shipped. However, if you are buying/bought a used system the previous owner(s) may have swapped supplies since both the 54W and 72W will plug into the laptop. You have to read the fine print on the bottom of the adapter to determine which one it is.

[dsvochak]

If I'm not wrong, all T2X series are using the 4.5A adaptor right?

T2X machines were originally sold with the 72w (4.5A) adapter. Used machines (on eBay for example) have at times been sold with the 56w adapter.

See this thread for a discussion of batteries and adapters:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=19088

[ambientscape]

According to a quick scan of the TAWBOOK, that is what was originally supplied with the systems when shipped. However, if you are buying/bought a used system the previous owner(s) may have swapped supplies since both the 54W and 72W will plug into the laptop. You have to read the fine print on the bottom of the adapter to determine which one it is.

Mine have the 4.5A printed on the back label of the AC adaptor. But couldn't find neither the 54W or 72W....of it? SOrry, I'm a bit dumb on this part....heheh!

[Orevin]

16V*4.5A=72W

[tfflivemb2]

Mine have the 4.5A printed on the back label of the AC adaptor. But couldn't find neither the 54W or 72W....of it? SOrry, I'm a bit dumb on this part....heheh!

If yours says 4.5A, then it is a 72W PSU. Just so that you know, the wattage is figured out by Voltage (16V) times Amperage (4.5A).

16 x 4.5 = 72W

EDIT: Orevin beat me to it.

[mattyprice4004]

Brilliant!

My 600E has a 72w adaptor as it is, so I probably will get a T20/21/22 listed as spares/repairs and swap the HDD and memory into it (I have a T2* series DVDROM drive sitting in a draw as we speak!)

So the T2* laptop I get should run XP fine with the 80Gb hard disk, and the 384MB (128+256) of RAM I have?

Mat

[ambientscape]

Brilliant!

My 600E has a 72w adaptor as it is, so I probably will get a T20/21/22 listed as spares/repairs and swap the HDD and memory into it (I have a T2* series DVDROM drive sitting in a draw as we speak!)

So the T2* laptop I get should run XP fine with the 80Gb hard disk, and the 384MB (128+256) of RAM I have?

Mat

You got it!! Make sure you the get the 5400rpm version for your hard disk.....will speed things up abit.

[tfflivemb2]

So the T2* laptop I get should run XP fine with the 80Gb hard disk, and the 384MB (128+256) of RAM I have?

Yes, it should run quite well.

When you are looking for the nice drive to add, check with brentpresley. As much as I use eBay, I have only found a few drives that have been cheaper than his, but I this guy has a proven record here.

If you get a chance though, you could easily upgrade to 512mb ram, just to seal the deal for you. Although, it might be worth looking into a T23, just so that you have even more room to grow. Those 1.13GHz and 1.2GHz processors really rock.

[rkawakami]

So the T2* laptop I get should run XP fine with the 80Gb hard disk, and the 384MB (128+256) of RAM I have?

Don't see why not. I'm running XP on a couple of 500Mhz 600Xs (see sig). However, I'm using a full load of memory (576MB) which in some cases can be better than using a slightly faster processor. I would recommend that you search the net for advice on turning off all of the "eye candy" that Windows XP uses as default and examine all of the programs being loaded into memory upon startup. This will reduce the processor's workload and free up memory. The T20, T21 and T22 systems can be loaded up to 512MB. The T23s go to 1024MB. Another difference between them is that the T23 system require PC133 modules whereas the other T2x systems use PC100 (check your 600E modules). My suggestion would be to max out the memory as it is fairly cheap and real easy to do. That said, I have run into Window's product re-activation "feature" when adding memory before so you may want to be prepared for a phone call to Micro$oft.