Longer life battery for computer?

Question

I have an Acer Travelmate 4200 and the battery that came with it is hopeless, what is the longest life you can get for a battery for a laptop?

Answer 1

As in an earlier answer, batteries do get worse over time. After about a year the battery life will reduce by about 10%-30% and then more after that. Some batteries will hold no charge at all after only 2-3 years! But if your laptop has been the same since you bought it, or it's still new, then it's worth considering other things.

If you plug in USB devices like an iPod, they will take power and run the battery down faster. If you have Wireless networking or Bluetooth turned on (even if you think you're not using them) they draw power too. And very significant is the screen brightness; if you can turn the screen brightness down and still work comfortably with it, the battery will last a good 10-20 minutes longer.

Rob.

Answer 2

Well I have a 9 cell on my comp and it gets me around three hours of life, if I don't over do it. But I also have a 12 cell one as back up which averages about six to seven hours if I use it wiselly but oh man does that bad boy add on the weight, it says 1.39lb but it feels like at least 2.5lb's. But just changing batteries and getting a new one will drastically improve your life (laptop) unless it might also have something to do with the chatger. There's another question kinda with the same lesson to this one http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 3

Most modern laptops for WORK ONLY (E.G, a business laptop), not multimedia or gaming, will last up to 8 hours. (on 12 cell batteries)

Normal batteries on a laptop have 6-cells. You can get up to 12-cell batteries, which will hold a bigger charge, and obviously last longer.

I'll list some tips to ensure longest battery life:

- USB devices need power, so try to avoid them. (includes anything you put into the USB slot, such as mice)

- The screen is a massive drain of power, if you dim the screen, your battery performance will improve slightly (Around 15-40 minutes, depending on what you do)

- Multi-tasking and heavy loads will use the CPU alot, causing your battery to last less longer.

If you are a computer power user, and is very experienced, you could try to Undervolt your CPU, because most manufacturers put a way too high voltage on the CPU, you can safely put it down to a setting where it will work.

Hope some of this helps.

Answer 4

I think there is a 9 cell battery version for this laptop. The only problem between switching from 6 cell battery to 9 cell battery is the added weight. Also, batteries degrade over time, so maybe just replacing your battery with a new one will improve your time when you are unplugged. A new 6 cell battery will usually get you between 2 to 2 1/2 hours. A 9 cell will get you around 3 to 4 hours.

Good luck!