T420 with 6 or 9 cell?

Hi, im about to order a T420 for college and im debating whether i should pay an extra $45 for the 9 cell battery. I think the price is pretty good but im worried that it would make the laptop heavier and bulkier. Can anyone tell me how much it sticks out and the weight difference and difference in capacity? I was thinking that if i get the 6 cell battery, i can get the slice battery later if i end up traveling long distances.

 

I recommend that you get the 9 cell, if you want a replacement battery later it would cost ~$200 (how Lenovo sells their batteries).

 

9-cell by far. as a student, there's no guarantee you'll be near a power plug. the 9-cell sticks out about 3/4". it barely makes the laptop any heavier, and the added lifetime far outweighs the cons (no pun intended)

 

Buy a 6 cell. It makes for a lighter, smaller laptop. Are you sure you'll need the capacity of a 9 cell battery? 4-6 hours of battery life is enough.

 

I'm a uni student and I chose the 6 cell. If you need more than 4-5 hours you'd probably bring your AC adapter anyway, even if you had a 9 cell.

 

I'd say to go for the 9-cell. It'll give you more freedom, and you won't have to charge your laptop as often (I could use my T500 with 9-cell for three days in a row before needing to charge the battery, with my thresholds configured). It's far more worth it to get a more expensive battery now than to buy another battery in the future, as mentioned earlier. The 9-cell sticks out a bit short of 1" from the back of the laptop. For me, it was a nonissue: the battery can also serve as a grip, of sorts.

 

I have a 6 cell and the slice (Battery 27). Light when I needed light and TONS of battery power when that's required.

 

I have a T410 and I purchased the 9 cell because I wanted better battery life when I'm away from my room. My T410 has a non-switchable graphics card and it gets about 4.5 hours. With a 6 cell, it would have been closer to 3.5. I also got a slice battery in case I really need it but I haven't really used it much (only been through a few full charges).

I recommend the 9 cell because it adds battery life but while it does extend slightly out and feel a little bit heavier, I feel that the added battery is worth these two really small inconveniences.

 

If your university is like mine and doesn't provide outlets in lecture halls, you'll want the 9 cell.

 

I'm a geophysics student, get a 9 cell it's not heavy and it doesnt stick out that much at all...

 

Don't forget that batteries gradually lose capacity. A 6 cell might be OK to begin with but next year it may give an hour less. In the circumstances I would go for the 9 cell and hope that I don't need to carry the power adaptor around.

John

 

My former T410 had 9 cell and it looked quite good with it, it didnt stick out as much as it did on previous generation ThinkPads, it looked good and served as nice grip when needed. I tried 6 cell battery in it from Edge 15 and it looked weird not to have something sticking out+9 cell has much better battery life than 6 cell, I could squeeze out of 9 cell up to ~7h, using it actively gave me 4.5+ hours.
Given that T420 has longer battery life you should consider what for would you need 9 cell battery? If you frequently drain your battery empty or want to charge your laptop as less frequently as possible and dont mind small extension out the back and some 150g increase in weight then go for 9 cell.
If laptop will spend all of its life plugged in then go for 6 cell.

 

Sure, the 9 cell sticks out a bit, but not enough to be much of an issue. It looks fine. What I like was getting more than 8 hours out of it yesterday when surfing the web and getting some work done in MS Office and Visual Studio. And there was still another 3 hours estimated on the battery icon in the system tray. That's a fantastic improvement over the 5 hours I'd typically get on my old Sony or the 2 hours from a Toshiba.

I may pick up a 6 cell as my spare. What's the weight difference between the 6 and the 9 cell batteries?

 

Each cell adds an extra 50grams. So a 9-cell adds another 150grams over a 6-cell.

 

So that's just over 5 ounces. Hmmm, not sure that's enough of a savings to offset the loss of capacity. Especially since I've upgraded from carrying around a Toshiba that weighed almost 8 pounds! I never weighed the old bag, but with the laptop, AC adapter, various cables and accessories I'm sure it was upwards of 15 pounds.

 

I have both a 6 cell and a 9 cell battery, 90% of the time I have the 6 cell in my T420 becuase I usually get around 5-6 hours out of it with light work load, but when I travel abroad I put the 9 cell in, so I can watch a couple of movies on the plane.

 

Lenovo's specs give the follwing weight data:

So the rule of thumb of 50 grams/cell (which I also use) is very close. The extra weight is probably caused by the extra casing.

John

 

Thanks for all the advice guys! I think i'll go with the 9 cell for now since it doesnt seem to stick out that much or weigh that much. and i'll also be more liberated from power sockets!