Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: notebook, extended, battery | Themes: Laptops and Notebooks
9. Availability and Feasibility
Depending on your notebook, you may run into the situation where a new or replacement battery isn’t available. This is most common with older notebooks and the same situation could occur with a recent but more obscure notebook model from a foreign brand. Notebooks from well-known manufacturers are supported well, and even if your battery isn’t listed for sale, a quick part number search online will most likely locate what you need. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a battery match for a laptop battery that says nothing on it except “Made in China," it’s possible that your notebook battery may not even be available in the United States. This is certainly true for imported notebooks sold by gray-market retailers.
When determining availability, always start with your notebook’s manufacturer and contact its support team. Rather than running around to your local Best Buy or Fry’s, you’ll have better luck if you let your fingers do the walking. A quick Google search will usually get results if you know your notebook’s model number or the part number shown on the battery. Online suppliers such as Duracelldirect.com, laptopbatteryexpress.com, and ebatts.com have a vast selection on their Website that should get you pointed in the right direction.
There may be circumstances where even if your notebook is old and a new battery is available, then buying one simply wouldn’t be feasible. If you have a four- or five-year-old notebook and have looked at the price of a replacement battery, that cost, especially if it is between $100-$170 or higher, might be better invested in the purchase of a new notebook. Another example of where it makes little sense to invest in a new battery is when the run time will have only a negligible effect. This is especially true for older, power-hungry notebooks with obsolete hardware. If you’re only getting an hour at best on battery power, it may be better to put your money towards a new, more efficient notebook that can give you three or four hours of battery time rather than spending money on a second battery that will only give you another hour.
Finally, if you’re using a large desktop replacement notebook, consider downsizing to an economical 13" size or smaller.
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There aren't any options in the bios so is there software to undervolt my notebook's CPU?
They rate Amp-hours per cell. I.e. 2.2amp hours is only for one cell of a multi-cell battery? Confusing.
w4ffles: I use RMClock myself (there should be a free version online). It lets you set profiles so you can specify the maximum speed and voltage of your CPU (and various other levels depending on CPu usage). I use it to underclock and undervolt my desktop when not in use, but to crank the CPU up to max when doing heavy loads (which the application detects automatically and adjusts on the fly).
It can take a learning curve to use, but even the free version is very powerful.
Just something to point out, DDR3 is a power saving component in notebooks right now since it runs at a lower Voltage than DDR2. The difference isn't particularly significant, but DDR3 will give you maybe 5-10% more runtime.
Most people think of DDR3 as a perfomance increase, but with the limited frequencies of current soDIMMs, DDR3 for laptops is only on par with current DDR2 notebook RAM, if that.
My Compaq V5000 is still going strong after 5 years. I chose to go with Sempron and the matte screen (I planned to work outside and the glossy was brighter by default). Also got the 12 cell. I play Starcraft, Diablo 2 so the ati 200M worked perfectly, and then work related stuff (lasts about 6 hours watching downloaded media).
Great article, these were the things I considered when choosing components for my laptop, as I never knew when I would be close to an outlet.
andetghddn -
P.S. The v5000 laptop also cost about $450 direct from hp.
They rate Amp-hours per cell. I.e. 2.2amp hours is only for one cell of a multi-cell battery? Confusing.w4ffles: I use RMClock myself (there should be a free version online). It lets you set profiles so you can specify the maximum speed and voltage of your CPU (and various other levels depending on CPu usage). I use it to underclock and undervolt my desktop when not in use, but to crank the CPU up to max when doing heavy loads (which the application detects automatically and adjusts on the fly).It can take a learning curve to use, but even the free version is very powerful.
RMClock is the defacto software in use on notebooks at the moment, and what I would recommend. While I don't want to get into a full-blown guide here, it is also important to stress the CPU while testing your voltages before you really play with RMClock. It does take some learning, but anyone with the skills can do it.
Cool - now I can get a 30% off coupon at HP. Nice article!
I always enjoy having a laptop battery that doesn't start a fire.
I have a busniess notebook for work and aside from the programs I use everyday, don't know that much about computers. The biggest thing for me with buying an extended battery was the price. HP wanted a boat load for it, which is really a rip off. I checked different site for about 2 1/2 days and ended up getting one from NoteBatt.com for like half or something close to it. Couple of other sites were the same way. It's just nuts to think that other companies are selling pretty much the same battery for much less. Oh, and it has been completely bug free since I got it, something HP told me would not happen.
Even with 30% off coupon I think HP batteries are very expensive. I also was scared about fire when I started looking for a new battery for my HP and I found a very high quality batteries at www.newpcbattery.com. I chose that site because battery manufacturer located in USA, not in China.