Why are Dell batteries (and battery life so good?)

I have a Dell e1405 with the standard 6-cell battery.

I usually get 4-6 hours of battery life. 6.5 if I really try stretching it.

Always 4+ at least, and I don't have to use extreme measures like turning the screen really low or undervolting.

I see reviews with other brands (Acer, Asus, etc) with similar specs (T2300, GMA950, 1G RAM, 5200RPM HD) that get much lower battery life (2-4 hours, 3.5 tops, etc).

Is it the way Dell builds them, or the actual battery itself? Also I don't have one of those explodable batteries so no arguments that I have superpowered battery .

No trying to brag or anything, but was wondering if some could put some insight into this.

 

But you don't say what you do to achieve 6hrs? I mean everyone could get 5hrs+ with the right laptop usage

 

I think its the battery because all notebook has different kinds capitacy of battery. Of course, if you choose a notebook that has an optional higher battery, it will give you longer battery life. For example, I got a higer 12-Cell battery, it will last at least 4 hr 30 mins, because standard was 8 cell one, probably 3 1/2 hrs. But again, I have a Celeron CPU, w/o no battery savier features.

SO probably its both of them after all, the way Dell builds them, or the actual battery itself

JC

 

To get 5+ that involves 1/3 to 1/2 brightness with just word processing, Wifi off.

6+ involves just letting it sit and that same brightness range

6.5 involves lowest brightness setting and letting it sit.

I can do exact measurements if someone likes me too. Those numbers were when I just got the laptop. According to NHC, my battery's worn 4%, so it shouldn't be off too much even now.

 

Reviews on this site usually rate the batt life under standard use (office, internet) and then under gaming use.

I'm sure everyone would get around the same numbers as you if all they did was let the laptop sit

 

yea, i was wondering that too

i have a E1505, and my battery lasts around 4:30.

I find my friends with toshiba tercas and Viaos getting to class early, just so they can sit near an outlet, because their batteries last about 2 horus, which isnt enough to last through the whole lecture.

 

Because my S96J has some power inside it.

Like a X1600 256mb, Core Duo t2400, 1gb RAM, 5K4k HDD, very bright screeen.

 

i get 3~4.5 hours on my 8cell bettery

 

The e1405's vid card is weaksauce...Now put an X1600 or 7600 GO into that and see how long your battery lasts then.

 

asus's z62f..which is the equivalent to the e1405 gets similar battery life..compare that to the a8jm or w3j which have power hungry gpu's and yes you will see a difference..if the w3j had dual gpu's it'd probably be able to last through a day of classes at full brightness and still let you play games on it once you got home

 

So what is the battery life when you actually use the notebook? I agree with LFC, that if everyone turned brightness down and WiFi off, they would get closer to what you are reporting. Under what I consider normal use, so maybe 2 or 3 basic apps open (browser, email, and itunes or something), WiFi on, brightness about 1/2 or 1/3 like you said, I would say you would be in the 4-4:30 range which is inline with most laptops of that caliber.

There are other things to consider besides the battery. Many things in a laptop are proprietary. The designer/manufacturer of the laptop has a lot of control over the hardware/software setup. Dell may concentrate a little more on battery life.