6 Cell Smart Bay Battery only an extra 30 Minutes!?

I just spoke to Alienware and purchased the 6 cell smart bay battery, is it true it only lasts 30 Minutes?!?!

 

that's what they told me as well - decided it's a waste of money and got an additional 12 cell battery

 

do they have 12 cell battery for m15x?

 

don't think they have them for m15x - I got it for m17x....

 

Without smart bay battery I can squeeze out almost 3 hrs.
With the 6-cell smart bay battery, I can get about 6 hrs.

 

Are you joking? 6 Hours?!?!? With what settings?

 

Switch to integrated gfx mode and lower LCD brightness. Turn off AlienFX.

 

I can definitely get about 3hours on integrated, and my friend easily gets 5 hours with m15x and extra SB battery, so yeah that might be for the m17x, but definitely not for m15x.

 

What happens if you turn off wireless, turn brightness on full and use integrated graphics card? And then download Notebook hardware control and set the voltage a bit lower? With a SB battery.

Thanks

 

The smart bay is definitely worth it.

 

You think? I was thinking maybe of switching the order to a 9 cell lithuiam ion battery instead of the smart bay... isnt the difference a few hours????

 

The 9 cell lith battery isn't a smartbay. So, you will end up with something sticking out the back of the notebook. The good thing about the smartbay is that you can switch another one in without shutting down the laptop.

 

why do you need notebook hardware control?? You have power saver and stealth mode! That it quite a bit of power there...and you don't want to risk crashing your lappy if you lower the voltage too much!

 

Notebook hardware control is a good piece of kit, it can save a hell of alot of battery life for a program. (around 40mins) Which ain't bad

It's also good for monitoring HDD status, battery wear, cpu and gpu temps, and downclocking gpus all in one program.

 

Is it true that only 20min of batttery power I get from smart bay?? that seems so low

 

If you put everything on max. GPU high preformance, CPU high preformance, LCD highest brightness, wireless + bluetooth, and you are playing a game, then yeah, 20 minutes sounds more reasonable. I don't know since I've never had that low 20 mins of a battery life from a full charge.

 

I think 20-30 minutes is the minimum. Shouldn't be doing intensive gaming unplugged anyway, so the SB Battery is still a good investment.

 

My SB battery brings my laptop from 3ish hours to 5-6 hours

 

Smart Bay compatibility is one of the major reasons to get an m15x. If you're like me and have class for 6-8 hours on some days, it's a must get.

 

I just got the MX518 mouse, its so big my hand hurts!!!!!!

 

Hahaha totally off topic, but personally, I love my logitech for it being big.

 

are you serious I feel like my hand is getting deformed from holding this tank... I will seriously trade it right now, if anyone wants to let me know!!!
its brand new just got it today!

 

Are you a girl shak? The 518 isn't big at all. If you want to talk big... then hold the mx1000 laser or bluetooth models (i have both). the mx revolution isn't that big either. bigger than the 518, but it seems to be pretty ergonomic. Same with the mx1000. very comfy to hold with the thumb rest. I guess you should get a razer as they're almost TOO small. I mean, the Razer feels like the size of the cheap-o mice you get from dell or hp with their basic system. doesn't PLAY like a cheap mouse... just feels like it.

I bought the Razer Diamondback 3g mouse for a female IT worker in my department, and that mouse is small, but very accurate and she loves it. plus it lights up a deep red and she likes that too. Maybe you ought to look at that model. I personally love logitech and have many mice, keyboards (both dinovo sets) as well as speakers and webcams from them.

 

Yeah, I have the old mx800 keyboard/mouse set which I've been using since 2002 works great...I just got the mx518 (had to replace my mx510 because I accidently cut the usb cable in half closing a recliner ) But I love the extra DPI I get with the mx518. I don't really like the design of the newer mice and the price was much better for the mx518 for about the same dpi.

I also have many other logitech products like the awesome z-5500 digital speakers, a bluetooth headset, headphones, and a webcam.

Logitech is also awesome with their warranties, they are very fast and prompt at getting you out a replacement (I've only had to replace my headset).

 

im actually getting used to it now, anyways back to reality...going to be a World War reallll soooon...

 

I have a razer diamond back that I'm willing to part with for your MX518. I like logitech mice better. Razer's are too small for me.

 

the battery is definitely worth it.. if you're going to be away from outlet for long periods of time...

mine is going 6 hours /or more. i've gotten 7:20 before...

which means i don't have to worry about no battery left for an entire day

 

yep I can get 5.5 hours with my smart bay battery fully charged. Its well worth it if you want to do simple stuff like word processing or play games like Civ4 while traveling. with wifi maybe 4-4.5 hours surfering web (guesstimate).

Thats of course with that intergrated graphics gpu whichs REALLY REALLY cranks up battery life, and dropping screen brightness to lowest is important if you want it to last along while.

that 5.5 hours is with every possible setting on lowest.

Great laptop for traveling cause of that smartbay for sure.

Matt

 

How many hours have you guys been experiencing when you use the 6 cell main + 6 cell SB using 8800GTX stealth mode and wireless on? thanks

 

The G5 and G7 follow the same size/shape/button configurations as the MX500/510/518. the G7 is, of course, wireless, and they're both "Laser" as opposed to "Optical". I have the second version of the G5 (I think the first version is phased out by now), which has two thumb-buttons. It's nearly identical to the mx500 I use at home...

Notable differences: the G5 has on-the-fly DPI Switching (which I think the MX 518 had as well), which is a handy thing to have, especially when using it in a variety of computers, none of which have the stock software for the mouse... you can set it to a movement speed you're comfortable with, without messing with any software settings. also, texture. the G5 has a very rough finish on it that I like.... I feel like I can grip the mouse easier, and keep control better. The weight cartridge is kind of a luxury item that I could only see being used if the G5 was part of your main, desktop, gaming rig. where the mouse doesn't get moved around a lot. I leave mine at home... I started losing the **** thing everytime I put the mouse in my bag... something would press the button and release the cartridge...

The G7 differences to the G5, simple. Finish. the G7 has a GLOSSY finish. I don't like this at all, but that's me. maybe you love it! who knows? ... Wireless, which is nice, but batteries can be troublesome.... again, the battery goes where the weight cartridge would on the G5, so I could imagine losing it a lot during travel... (mostly losing it in bags, etc)

I like wired mice over wireless. I just don't have the faith in wireless tech yet to trust it the same as a wired mouse... when I have a slight latency problem, where I feel I moved more than I did, I'm not sure if it was a calculation error, communication error to the device, or just the fact that I didn't actually move as far as I thought I did. having a wired mouse takes one of those out of there.

anyways, enough about me. my point is: not all new Logitech mice are like the elephant, the one we call the MX1000. Try out the G5. It's actually a REALLY nice mouse and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys their MX500/510/518. (that is, if you need an extra mouse)

 

Back to the topic at hand.

Stealth + wireless... depends on screen brightness... I'm usually fairly low (if i'm in stealth mode, I'm usually taking notes)... so 5-6hrs. Easily a full day of classes (for me).

This is also using the power saver mode (obviously)

when switching to the X3100 (internal) graphics, I can usually get a few hrs more. 6-8, also, depending on other options.

 

whoa, 6-8 hours? the maximum I get is 5.5 hours while using the x3100, and that's with everything low or powered off.

 

i'm in class right now.. someone stole my wall outlet spot :-(
but.... i'm on 8800 atm, with wireless ON, and i have over 4 hours battery life. w/ sbb

also.. the new drivers downclock my vid card when it's not in use much... so vid card makes no sound...
my CPU is hovering at ~25*C. + SSD...

my m15x is a real battery life + stealth mode beast.... completely soundless.

 

can I get a smartbay battery for m17x?

 

I leave lights on and graphics on and still get 3-4 hours. If I turned the lights off and went to integrated gfx I'm sure I'd see a great jump.

 

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread215222.html

on how to maximize power

 

Call them up, I've heard you can.