Laptop owners...Batt?

[george graves]

I just got a very nice (used) IBM thinkpad laptop. It has tons of power, boots up very fast, 2 Mhz, 1 Gig of ram.. Really a good deal for what I paid(way uunder $400, case, second batt, wi-fi, ect...), and out runs many more newer laptops...(quality parts I assume)

Now that I'm done bragging...

The battery life SUCKS..90 MINS only...

A.) I know laptops don't run all day with out a recharge...
b.) I paid for two batterys, the best one as of now carry a 90 min charge.

Who here is getting insane time on a laptop? More then 2 hours?

Is it battery type?

Advice???

Thanks in advance...

...

[Kman]

not sure if IBM offers one but when i got my dell i upgraded to a 9cell Li-ion and my battery life is around 7hrs if i put it into power save settings.

[parkerbink]

If you are doing processor intensive things 90 mins is par if not the battery has a problem. Do a google search for the model of the portable + battery.

[Massive Lee]

Most laptops will allow you to pick between Best Performance and longer battery life. Heavy number crunching is energy guzzling. Wonder why your laptop becomes so hot?

The new machines with Intel's Dual Core processors are way more efficient, at least doubling if not tripling the battery's life.

[uofom3]

Yeah I get about 2 hours on mine if i'm running multiple aps... you're pretty much average on that one.

[Ryan Stewart]

First question is what model of laptop? If its over a year old and has been used heavily the battery may just suck. Every time you cycle a battery it loses a little more life. My 4 year old thinkpad's battery wont last more than 10 minutes. You may just need a new battery (likely the case as thinkpads have always gotten great battery life).

Now my dell, on the other hand, is baller. The lightweight battery gets 3 hours normally and the extended life battery gets 6-6.5 hours normally (with wifi on, screen on automatic, and steady use with word and IE).

[YAN-3]

Yeah I get about 2 hours on mine if I'm running multiple aps... you're pretty much average on that one.

yea right! at least with my VIAO im happy if i can get more than 30-40 min out of it without the warning of a low battery popping up, and then another 10-15 min and it shuts off if i don't hook up AC power!

[PiercedE30]

You guys are lucky. On my old Dell my battery would last about 30 minutes, MAX.

[czag13]

my macbook will go 3 hours plus almost all the time, and i've gotten over 4 hours (two movies) by turning off the wireless and diming the screen.

apple ftw

[Kruzen]

I get around 5-6 on my macbook, done some optimizing of proicesses on it though :)

[george graves]

Hmm - I looked again - and I'm only getting about 45-60 mins on a battery...

6 hours on a laptop? Really? Did you pay less then a left testical? 6 hours???? REALLY?

[drifty340i]

mine sucks as well, prob only around 35mins max on my Acer aspire during normal internet use :( not happy, its only a year old but its always been like this

[Fanzotti]

I didn't read through the posts. What I can tell you is I'm very pro Apple. What I can tell you after that is Apple batterys suck. Hopefully as in E30's... the aftermarket will provide?

[Kruzen]

Hmm - I looked again - and I'm only getting about 45-60 mins on a battery...

6 hours on a laptop? Really? Did you pay less then a left testical? 6 hours???? REALLY?

Yeah, its not that hard if you're not running a 17" widescreen desktop replacement.

[Ryan Stewart]

Hmm - I looked again - and I'm only getting about 45-60 mins on a battery...

6 hours on a laptop? Really? Did you pay less then a left testical? 6 hours???? REALLY?

Yes, although my laptop with battery was just shy of 2gs.

The problem with yours is it uses a power hungry processor and the battery is probably old. With a new battery you could break 2 hours pretty easily.