How much battery life do I need?

I am planning to buy a DV1000 next month for college this fall. I wanted to buy it because it is lightweight and has good battery life, around 3-4 hours with the 6 cell battery right?

Will that amount of battery life be sufficient for me? Or should I buy a 12 cell battery?

I'm now interested in this laptop though , the Gateway 7422GX at BestBuy. For $1249, I get a DVD Burner, an 80 gig hard drive, 1 gig of ram, and the AMD Athlon™ 64 processor 3400+ processor. That looks very tempting. My budget is about $1300-1350. I also like that it can play Doom 3, Half Life 2, and FarCry pretty well.

I've heard this gets around 3 hours of battery life, so should I not get this one? Would the extra size and weight hinder me.

 

Those are some graphic intensive games. R U sure you don't want to look into a laptop with a dedicated gpu? Doesn't the DV 1000 use shared onboard memory and integrated graphics?

X6000 P-4 3.2GHz 2gigs PC2 4200(533MHz)Ram 7200RPM 60 gig HHD 8x DVD Burner and the Brightview!

 

The Gateway 7422GX has dedicated graphics which I've heard from many will play those games well. I know the DV1000 with its integrated graphics is not suited for newer games.

I don't really mind if I can't play those new games but it would be quite nice if I could. But battery life is more important to me. So how much battery life would I need for college?

 

That depends. I mean, I am sure your college has electricity. Any class that deals with computers has outlets. I think you will be okay with just about any laptop that doesn't use a desktop cpu.

X6000 P-4 3.2GHz 2gigs PC2 4200(533MHz)Ram 7200RPM 60 gig HHD 8x DVD Burner and the Brightview!

 

Will you live on campus or off campus? That will dictate your battery life. You need 6 hours of battery life if you live off campus and you are 30 miles away, if you live 20 miles away you can get away with 4.5 hours, and 3 hours if you live on campus. This will also depend on the speed limit in the area and whether you actually have a passenger in the car. This also depends on the type of car that you drive (if you have a Hummer, you need 1.2104 hours more of battery life. if you drive a Corvette, you can subtract 1.5 standard deviations from the average use).

If you are in classes MWF then you need 8 hours of battery life and if your classes are on T/Th then you need 6 hours of battery life. If you have labs associated with classes you need 10 hours of battery life. If you have to see a tutor in addition to classes plus labs you need 12 hours of battery life. [ ]

If you are in computer engineering you need 4 hours of battery life. If you are in broadcast journalism you need 10 hours of battery. If you plan to play 1 game a day for 1 hour plus go to class then you need 12 hours if you are in broadcast journalism and 5 hours if you are in engineering.

These recommendations are only if you don't have a plug available in campus and have no friends who do not have the same model of computer you are using or have no plug available or no spare battery.

LOL!

Seriously, only you would know how much battery life you need. You need to see what your class schedule is like. You will need a spare if you get the 6 cell which lasts realistically 3.5 to four hours depending on the following:
screen brightness
whether you hibernate or power off
what your power settings are
what your processor speed is
what your hard drive speed is
whether Wifi is on or off
whether you attend class or not (longer life when you don't attend classes unless you play games during that block of time)

The DV1000 is not a gaming PC. I don't know if Half Life or Far Cry even run on that machine. Why not get a ZV5000 or ZD5000 if you want to play games?[ ][8D]

Dell Inspiron 6000
1.6 GHZ Centrino (Sonoma)
WUXGA 15.4" WS
512 MB RAM
60 GB HD
Wireless B/G
DVD/CD-RW
9 Cell Battery x 2
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Palmone Tungsten C/WIFI

 

DV1000: You should get an extra battery: Get another 12 cell if you can. However, I don't believe Best Buy has it. You worry about 6 more ounces in the DV 1000 and you don't mind lugging around option #2 the Gateway 7422GX?

7422GX: That looks better if you want to do gaming. At least it has a dedicated graphics card. 1 Gig of RAM is nice and so is the DVD burner.It weighs 7.5 lbs not to mention the case, power supply and books you'll have to carry, especially with Calculus and Physics books. Where did you see that is will get 3 hours of battery life?

That is a lot of computer for the money. Kind of too good to be true, huh? The nearest competitor with this configuration is at least $200-300 more. Makes me suspicious about quality.

I have read that they don't give the Windows disks and drivers with the system. You have to download them from the web site. I don't know if that is true.

Dell Inspiron 6000
1.6 GHZ Centrino (Sonoma)
WUXGA 15.4" WS
512 MB RAM
60 GB HD
Wireless B/G
DVD/CD-RW
9 Cell Battery x 2
---
Palmone Tungsten C/WIFI

 

The ZD5000 doesn't exist, you mean the ZD7000. I will only buy my laptop from Best Buy, as I have a gift card for it. I've narrowed my choices to the DV1000 and the Gateway 7422GX. My budget is $1300.

The Gateway I heard gets 3 hours of battery life max and the DV1000 4 hours of battery life max. The Gateway also weights two pounds more but that doesn't bother me. The Gateway has 1 gig of ram and an 80 gig hard drive, which is very delicious.

 

Oh yeah, the Gateway has a dual layer dvd burner, all that is very nice for only $1249, maybe it is too good to be true? I looked at the Gateway section of notebookforums.com and they say this model is plauged with the hinges cracking and that the screen may flicker.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by titaniummd

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by rahulnirmal

 

Why not just get one from Dell (i8600), where you will get same features + bigger screen, and a significant improvment in graphics, and save the Best Buy gift card for like an upgrade, or a bunch of nice games to get for it, etc, at the same price (using Coupon code and the sale they are already having).

 

If you want to game, the Dell Inspiron 8600 would be the BEST compromise for battery life, a dedicated video card and it is not heavy (6.5 lbs). I think you are stronger than Amitabh Bacchan. You can carry it, Yaar!

Right now Dell has >30% off which translates to about $600 to $900 off depending on what you get. You can call them to put in your order instead of buying through the internet if your parents don't trust the internet. You are safer through the Net than going to some store with a 16 year old at the register and the box of credit card receipts in a box just within anyone's reach close to the register at the Best Buy in town. What happened to Costco? IMPLAYAZ bought his HP from there. We haven't heard from him in a while.

If you are looking for something light, long battery life and a gaming PC, and IT HAS TO BE FROM BEST BUY, get the Sony S360.

The DV1000 which is what you have considered is an excellent computer and would work out for you for its weight, performance and features.

Dell Inspiron 6000
1.6 GHZ Centrino (Sonoma)
WUXGA 15.4" WS
512 MB RAM
60 GB HD
Wireless B/G
DVD/CD-RW
9 Cell Battery x 2
---
Palmone Tungsten C/WIFI

 

Well, this sounds embarrassing, but my parents will only let me buy from Best Buy or Costco, they just don't trust buying from the internet. I also agree a bit, what with the potential hassle involved.

I'm located in Houston and will be attending the University of Houston this fall. A teacher I talked to in my high school said to get the smallest, most lightweight laptop with the best battery life. What do you guys think? Wouldn't there be any power outlets in the classroom while I take notes?

Or should I get a lightweight, small laptop for taking outdoors to chill with under a tree or easily take to the library. What do you think?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Ballin4life

 

titaniummd, your argument is compelling, but I will still only be buying from Costco or Bestbuy. Now the Sony S260 is good, but too rich for my blood, as all Sony laptops are. Like I said, my budget is 1350. If you could find a S260 at that price, then tell me and I'll be all over it.

 

Rahul

Are your parents paying or are you? If your parents are, get a summer job and add more money to the pot. If you are, then just get the Costco option. Best buy has a restocking fee if you return what you don't like.

Dell Inspiron 6000
1.6 GHZ Centrino (Sonoma)
WUXGA 15.4" WS
512 MB RAM
60 GB HD
Wireless B/G
DVD/CD-RW
9 Cell Battery x 2
---
Palmone Tungsten C/WIFI

 

Rahul, how about this from bestbuy--

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1091101655872&skuId=6820728&productCategoryId=cat01174&type=product

OR BETTER THIS--

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1099391007139&skuId=6992588&productCategoryId=cat01174&type=product






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