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Laptop thats battery lasts the longest.

  • 05-04-2008 04:31PM
    #1
    thefinalstage
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,503 ✭✭✭


    I am looking for a reasonably portable laptop with as much battery life as possible. I will be using it for surfing and chatting on skype (with cam). Any help? Battery life is key to me.


Comments

  • #2
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,165 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    Read the eeepc thread and see what you think of it (link). If you don't fancy that then a small screened laptop (13.3", 12.1" or 11") with a 9 cell battery or better will give you loads of battery life.


  • #3
    art
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,178 ✭✭✭art


    Some of the UMPCs have decent battery life; e.g. a Vye S37 quotes 5 hours whereas I think the EEE is just 3 hours? The former is three times the price though! Apple MacBooks are quite good too, think they are around 4 to 5 hours. We've three laptops here, A Sony, a Dell and a MacBook and the MacbBook stays up the longest without a doubt (though as AlmightCushion there mentions, the number of "cells" in the battery is a key indicator of how long it will last so you could potentially just get a bigger battery for something you liked the look of otherwise).


  • #4
    plonk
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,352 ✭✭✭plonk


    I have an acer 2920z and the battery life is roughly 4 hours. Its a pretty decent laptop with a 12.1 inch screen and is only 572 euro


  • #5
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    A sensibly-specced Dell XPS M1330 should get excellent battery life.

    By sensibly specced i'd mean - 9-cell battery, integrated graphics, slower (5400rpm) harddrive, LED backlit screen, Penryn processor (not sure if these are standard or if they are still giving the T7xxx options). Around 5-6hrs of light/medium useage should be feasible with the right specs.


  • #6
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 5,078 ✭ [Deleted User]


    My macbook pro goes for around five hours.


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  • #7
    trout
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,961 ✭✭✭trout


    Deleted User wrote: »
    My macbook pro goes for around five hours.

    So did mine ... until it was 14 months old ... in the space of a week it faded so much that I barely got 45 minutes :(

    I've been working with laptops both & home and at work for over 12 years. Every time a battery fades or fails on me, I get the red mist ... especially when tech support staff at vendors like Dell & Apple remind you that 'batteries are consumables'.

    Thing is ... batteries are consumables, they do fade and they will fail. It's just a matter of time, and you can be lucky or unlucky.

    So now, I make a point of looking at the price of replacement batteries, when considering the true cost & value for money in a laptop.


  • #8
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,165 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    trout wrote: »
    So did mine ... until it was 14 months old ... in the space of a week it faded so much that I barely got 45 minutes :(

    I've been working with laptops both & home and at work for over 12 years. Every time a battery fades or fails on me, I get the red mist ... especially when tech support staff at vendors like Dell & Apple remind you that 'batteries are consumables'.

    Thing is ... batteries are consumables, they do fade and they will fail. It's just a matter of time, and you can be lucky or unlucky.

    So now, I make a point of looking at the price of replacement batteries, when considering the true cost & value for money in a laptop.
    Very good advice here. If battery life is as important to you as you make it out to be then chances are you'll be running on battery quite a bit. The more you use the battery the sooner it will deteriorate. The price of replacement batteries should be something you look at.


  • #9
    thefinalstage
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,503 ✭✭✭thefinalstage


    AlmightyCushion wrote: »
    Very good advice here. If battery life is as important to you as you make it out to be then chances are you'll be running on battery quite a bit. The more you use the battery the sooner it will deteriorate. The price of replacement batteries should be something you look at.

    I usually buy a second battery with anything like a laptop so I will be looking at that.

    Has there been any hacks/add-ons that extend the eee-pcs battery life? I would want one of them to last around six hours fully charged while just surfing if I was going to buy it.

    The m1330 sounds like a good option. Stick a nine cell battery in it and maybe buy a battery pack. Whats the in built web cam like on these?


  • #10
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,165 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    I haven'y heard of any thing like that for the eeepc but I haven't been looking.

    If you get the lcd screen on the m1330 then you can't get the webcam (not sure if this is still the case or not). The lcd screen is brighter, lighter and more energy efficient.


  • #11
    trout
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,961 ✭✭✭trout


    Slightly off topic - if there was a degree of co-operation among the hardware vendors, then chargers could be universal.

    I wouldn't mind battery life fading so much, if the PSU's were interchangeable, so you could use any charger on any laptop ... sure we're surrounded by them.

    If you think about it, all desktop PC's have many interchangeable components, and many laptops can share RAM, PCMCIA etc. Is there a competitive advantage with the laptop specific chargers ... with the possible exception of the magnetic yokes Apple are touting lately ? :confused:

    If battery boffins from the vendors stopped competing for the best battery their company can use, and started collaboration on a universal power solution for all laptops, mobile phones etc. etc, would we see the commercial aspects drop, and the technical aspects improve much like graphics cards and RAM etc. ? .... I know, pipe dreams.


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  • #12
    thefinalstage
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,503 ✭✭✭thefinalstage


    AlmightyCushion wrote: »
    I haven'y heard of any thing like that for the eeepc but I haven't been looking.

    If you get the lcd screen on the m1330 then you can't get the webcam (not sure if this is still the case or not). The lcd screen is brighter, lighter and more energy efficient.

    I could always buy an external web cam because that is a must have. Definitely going for the lcd screen.


  • #13
    Run_to_da_hills
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,009 ✭✭✭✭Run_to_da_hills


    thelastangryman wrote: »
    I am looking for a reasonably portable laptop with as much battery life as possible. I will be using it for surfing and chatting on skype (with cam). Any help? Battery life is key to me.
    Some of the old Dell CPX range can take dual batteries, I am sure there are some modern equivalents.


  • #14
    Garth
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 246 ✭✭Garth


    I have the 1330 with the Led screen (because it's thinner and conserves battery life). It has a VGA webcam.

    The tft screen has the 2 megapixel webcam.

    I have a 9-cell battery, but a graphics card and I get more than 4 hours on my battery.


  • #15
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    thelastangryman wrote: »

    The m1330 sounds like a good option. Stick a nine cell battery in it and maybe buy a battery pack. Whats the in built web cam like on these?

    I had one, but I have to say I never used the camera once, not even to test it :(:D Havent a clue what the camera is like. I have a M1530 now, which has the 2-megapixel camera, but again, i havent used it a single time, I don't think ive even got the drivers installed :pac: I could get it running and take a pic if you're really curious, but im sure it's standard webcam fare.

    As Garth mentioned, the standard CFL-lit version of the M1330 has a 2-megapixel camera, the LED-backlit model 'only' has a VGA. As AC said, that's just down to the thickness differences, the LED-backlit screen is nice and slim but because of that they could only fit the low-res VGA camera in.


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