Extra Main or Optical Bay Battery

Hey,

I'm jus about ready to order my z63a, and i wanted to get another battery, so i could use it longer. Would it be a better idea to get another main battery? or an optical bay battery? I know I'd have to shut my computer down if i got the main one whenever i want to switch, but if my main battery dies, can i jus rely on the optical one all the time?

Any suggestions?

 

I would go for the od battery. You can charge both at the same time. With the spare main they have to be charged one at a time. Thats a big downside for me.

 

Dear Gear2play. I'm just curious, can I use the spare battery on the Z63a on my w3V as well? it's almost the same chassis right? so will it work if I get a bay-slot battery for the z63 to fit on my w3v? what about the spare battery, will that be the same as well?

 

IT is the same system minus dedicated graphics.. ...... of course they are interchangable.... it's just a matter of if you really want the system's colors to stick out or not.....

 

Ah well i guess it would be better if i could charge em both at the same time. How long does a notebook battery usually last if i charge it almost everyday or every other day (i'm going into university)

 

I can say I've seen a couple of them last 4-5 years....... at least 3.

 

That's awesome!

Thanks Justin

 

That's a bit high. A Li-Ion battery will ideally have a litetime of about 1000 charges, but this can be as low as (or even lower than) 3-500 depending on quality and operating conditions, before thay start to deteriorate. When they do they go fast. Keep cool and avoid deep discharge. They also have a limited shelf-life, so it's normal for them to have an about 10-15% reduced capacity after a year whether they're used or not. If you're mostly using the notebook plugged in, this is about the worst possible for the battery. You are in effect stroring it at full charge in an hot environment. This can take more than 30% off in a year. When not using it, store a Li-Ion battery at 40-50% charge in a cool place.

 

It'll last about 1000 charges at full power. The comment was "how long will they last if you charge them every day" ..... after about 3 years you can start to see a degradation in charge.... down to maybe 70% of original life.... but after about 5, if the battery does last like I've seen in my own units... you can still expect at least 50% out of that battery.

That's my own real world experience with the batteries Asus uses...... at the same time, the batteries are a lot better today than they were on some of the first units we imported.

 

Right. Missed that part. Sorry. That's about the best way to use a Li-Ion. Still think you're overstating it somewhat, though. Better to have realistic expectations. If used like that I wouldn't expect it to give more than 500 charge-discharge cycles before it was noticably weaker than when it was new. Over that: Bonus.

Do you have any year and a half (or more) Asus around that have seen daily (or close) use that you could check this on? Mobilemeter ,for example, will give you the exact number on the 'Battry Information' tab under options.

 

I actually do....... an M1 and a couple M2's that are still "in the family" .... but honestly where they are right now, I don't know... I'd have to track them down to run those tests, but they are used every day.... where I obviously can't say that I personally use any of the systems for more than a years time (even though I might you a few systems over that time, it's always on to something new that excites me.... but my old systems always go to someone who needs it and can use it all time.... I'll see if I can get my hands on one of them though.

But you're right, it all depends on the battery and the specific way it was used... everyone is going to be different.

 

Thanks. It's not much of a test. Just the .exe with no install. When/if you get around to it. No biggie.

 

Our oldest laptop which I'd like to test is in the hands of a 13 year old who happens to be at the beach right now I believe. I actually wanted to give him a new battery I got for the original M1 that I imported back in the day..... so maybe this is a good excuse to finally give him the new battery.