Vostro v13 / Battery Life

I'm looking for a new laptop for school/work, and so far I think the Vostro V13 seems good. What do you think?

http://www.dell.com/...v13&s=bsd&cs=04

Anyway, my only concern is that it only has four hours of battery life. However, it does come with a 7200 RPM hard drive, which seems like that would eat a lot of battery life compared to a 5400 RPM hard drive or an SSD. Well, I have an extra 80 GB SSD in my old laptop, so my questions are...

How much (if any) battery life do you think I would gain by replacing the 7200 RPM hard drive with the SSD?

Also... Would you recommend the Vostro V13, or is there another laptop that you would recommend for school?

My XPS M1530 is a beast, but it's starting to get worn out and it just isn't convenient enough to bring to classes all day. Netbooks are too small for my hands (and eyes!). I really do prefer big screens, but I suppose I must compromise for the sake of mobility/convenience, so hopefully I'll be able to get used to the 13.3" screen.

Thanks!

 

Ack, sorry. Wrong link!

This is the correct one:

http://www.dell.com/us/en/business/notebooks/vostro-v13/pd.aspx?refid=vostro-v13&s=bsd&cs=04

 

Come on guys, it's my birthday, and I really need to hurry up and order a laptop for school/work.

 

Removing the 7200RPM drive will probably add about 5% battery life, but the battery life is what it is. If 4 hours is good enough for your usage, and the Celeron 743 is powerful enough for you (I imagine it would be unless you're running AutoCad or something...), it's hard to beat the lowest spec'd Vostro v13.

However, if you're going to stepping up to the SU7300 or even SU3500, the value of the Vostro diminishes a lot. The Acer 3810T and Asus UL30A are much better values at the $600 range. The UL30A-A2 comes with a 83whr battery! The Vostro comes with a 30whr across all models.

 

I was thinking about getting Asus UL30A-X5, but this laptop has serious wifi issue.

 

The low capacity built-in (ie non-swappable) battery is a major limitation. A 12.1" netbook such as the Samsung NC20 (unfortunately discontinued) can provide up to 6 hours on battery.

Alternatively, what is the best price you can find for the E4300 at Dell outlet?

John

 

Thanks for the advice!

Also, I just found Lenovo has a similar model (ThinkPad Edge), with 8 hours of battery life, but not as thin or sexy.

http://shop.lenovo.c...DF4F894C34180DE

So right now the Vostro V13 (with 4 GB upgrade) will be about $70 more expensive, and half the battery life, but is so much damn sexier and thin.

What do you guys think... Vostro V13 or ThinkPad Edge? Or other suggestions? The Asus model that Aznguyphan mentioned looks pretty good too...

Thanks again!

 

Sorry... Wrong link again.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...-category-id=1442DF3BCAA742629DF4F894C34180DE

 

If you like the form factor then get the V13. It's like a car. You don't always buy the best value one but one that looks good. I don't mind paying more for one with less features if it looks better.

If you don't care about looks and want something more practical get the Lenovo.