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    Average battery life for 6-cell in T61 14"? Mine is horrible

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by sprtnbsblplya, Jan 12, 2008.

  1. sprtnbsblplya

    sprtnbsblplya Notebook Deity

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    I have a T61 14.1" with specs in the sig, and when I unplug, my battery life is typically 1:45 - 2:00 max. This seems slightly low for a smaller laptop with the extended battery, especially when my CPU underclocks to 777 mhz and the GPU underclocks to 169/100.
    I typically leave my screen brightness up, but that has not had much affect on my previous laptops in the past, I mean it may eat up an additional 20 minutes or so, but that isnt a whole lot.
    It just seems like a laptop like this should be getting like 3 hours or more on a single charge.

    What are you guys getting?
     
    sprtnbsblplya, Jan 12, 2008
    #1
  2. Arki

    Arki Super Moderator

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    Screen brightness is a major contribution to low battery life. It would affect more than 20 minutes. I have a 7-cell and I would probably get about 2h30m-2h45m on a full charge w/ full brightness.
     
    Arki, Jan 12, 2008
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  3. gamemint

    gamemint Notebook Evangelist

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    I get 2:30 with a 7 cell battery
     
    gamemint, Jan 12, 2008
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  4. sprtnbsblplya

    sprtnbsblplya Notebook Deity

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    Shoot, I need to buy a 7-cell i guess.
    I dont leave it on full bright, about 75%, as the last bar is pointless to have on it is so dim. And changing it seriously doesnt give me more than a 20 minute boost.
     
    sprtnbsblplya, Jan 12, 2008
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  5. kaede

    kaede Notebook Consultant

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    or u can consider to get a ultrabay battery.
     
    kaede, Jan 12, 2008
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  6. Asymmetricblog

    Asymmetricblog Notebook Consultant

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    I get about 3 hours.
     
    Asymmetricblog, Jan 12, 2008
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  7. Clutch66

    Clutch66 Notebook Consultant

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    It obviously depends on what you do. I can get about 3 hours watching a movie on my hard drive at the lowest power settings. In class, surfing the internet, typing a document, or doing both, would give me a little more than 2 hours.
     
    Clutch66, Jan 13, 2008
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  8. BaldwinHillsTrojan

    BaldwinHillsTrojan Notebook Evangelist

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    It aint all that great. BTW try disbiling WIFI, Ethernet etc. If you aint using it diable it to save on juice.
     
    BaldwinHillsTrojan, Jan 13, 2008
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  9. Imslimjim

    Imslimjim Notebook Enthusiast

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    The 9 cell on the 14.1 standard ratio is crazy. Get around 5hrs 20 mins at 80% brightness doing medium level tasks. :eek:
     
    Imslimjim, Jan 13, 2008
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  10. miro_gt

    miro_gt Notebook Deity

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    when using my T61 a little, like internet from time to time, it would last over 3 hours.

    now in a heavy work, like the cpu fan is almost always on, it would last like 1h30min
     
    miro_gt, Jan 14, 2008
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  11. soda97

    soda97 Notebook Geek

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    It also depends on what configuration you have...
    If you have a discrete video card and a 7200 RPM hdd, they tend to drain a bit more juice...

    I'm not a gamer and I don't need extremely fast, so my configuration are,
    1) integrated video card
    2) 5400 RPM HDD
    3) Intel Turbo Memory or an memory card for ReadyBoost

    along with the following settings,
    4) Power Source Optimized or Saver mode (allow to turn off the hdd and screen quicker once you idle)
    5) Disable unnecessary hardware (modem, ethernet, etc...)

    They don't seem to do alot but if you save a couple min here and there
    It could squeeze at least 15 to 30 more min

    The last thing you could do is fork out for a SDD HDD and go back to Windows XP


    soda
     
    soda97, Jan 14, 2008
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  12. LaptopGuru

    LaptopGuru Notebook Evangelist

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    I'd agree with the other posters. Screen backlight is huge. If you use the thinkpad power manager power scheme editor, it will show you the impact of brightness on battery life in a graphical fashion. I love a bright screen too, and often compromise battery life for brightness.
     
    LaptopGuru, Jan 14, 2008
    #12