T61 Blunder?

I just purchased a T61 a couple of days ago. I was unaware that it takes upto a month for them to assemble and send it out, oh well.

So, I was reading this site (very informative) and I came across a couple of posts about the T61 14" Wide battery options...

I selected the standard 4-cell. Was that a mistake?
Is it a crappy battery?

I use my laptop at school for coding and lecture notes, etc. Should I have selected the 7-cell or the 9-cell? Is the 9-cell available for the T61 14"? It was not on the customize list.

Since my order is in the works, will they change that spec if I call it in?

Does the 7-cell make the overall size of the 14" become more like a 15"?

Keeping in mind that my laptop bag is also my school bag, is there a considerable difference in weight with the 7-cell?

Most importantly, is the 7-cell a good investment for the current average price of $160.00?

 

The T61 will most likely take about a week to arrive to your house according to the recent reports.

First of all, did you select the integrated Intel x3100 card or the discrete video card option? This is a nice 30-45 minute difference in battery life.

Since you are planning to use the laptop for school and unless you have an outlet nearby, the 4-cell will most likely not be sufficient for your needs. It'll give you about 2 hours and 30 minutes at most if you turn brightness all the way down as well as downclock and that's a generous estimate.

The 9-cell is possible now for the 14" widescreens.

The 7-cell sticks out the back about 1.5". Overall, still smaller than a 15".

IMO, the 7-cell is definitely not worth $160.00. The weight of it is nothing extra.

I recommend that you call them back and tell them you made a mistake in your order. Hopefully, they'll tell you that they can do that but realistically, they'll probably tell you that it's sent out and you need to mail it back to them. If your luck is bad, they might tell you pay a 15% restocking fee.

Just make sure to ask them if there are any fees in returning the system if they won't cancel it.

 

First don't worry about the shiping they usually ship within 3-5 days.

no there aren't really any crappy batteries but the4 cell won't have very long battery life.

Not sure about the battery options but I don't think he 9 cell is avalible for the 14".

I have the 15" model with the 9 cell battery and it sticks out a little more than 1/2 inch of the back of the laptop. and it is about 3/4 of the width of the laptop. So I don't think it really addes mjuch size to the laptop.

I also use my backpack as my laptop bag and even the 15" isn't too heavy for me but it does add a good bit of weight.

I love my 9 cell battery but then again I am often with out an outlet so it really depends on if you will need it or not.

 

Good info, I will call in and see if they can change the order up so I can get the 7-cell...

When I track my shipment through the Lenovo website, they say expected delivery: March 28th.

I purchased it in the 10th of March. Thats almost 3 weeks!

Also, I selected the discreet Video option, if it adds an estimated -30mins of battery time, does it suffice to say it is much more powerful than the integrated card?

The only game i do play is Warcraft III, I wonder if it will handle it smooth..

 

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I'm not an expert on this issue by any means, but I have heard that the 4-cell battery will not give you much time at all. You may want to consider just purchasing another battery aftermarket. Again, I'm not an expert.

 

The descrete graphics will actually decrease your battery time the integrated adds the 30-45mins. And yes it is much more powerful than the integrated graphics.

And I purchased mine on March 10th and it shipped on the 15th.

 

So, I updated my order. I called in and they said

"...7-cell is not currently an option for the 14.1 T61, we can upgrade you to a 9-cell battery for $52.00..."

Now, if anyone can please tell me, is this a good deal?

I read a whole bunch of reviews in this site about how the 9-cell was NOT available for the 14.1 T61, but I have been told the exact opposite!

Also, the list price for a standard 9-cell on ebay is ~ $150, so why are they providing it for only fifty bucks?

There was previously a re-call on some batteries, I don't know which models they were...

Any thoughts?

 

1.) The current price difference between the 4 cell and 9 cell is $52.50 using Lenovo's current sale price, so they are offering to change it for the price you would have paid if you had selected 9 cell to begin with. How could that be a bad deal?

2.) As for recalled batteries, that is a non-issue. Any battery of any size being shipped for any model Thinkpad is not under recall, and has no known issues. It would be rather foolish for any manufacturer to ship a known bad battery, since it would cost them a lot of money to correct the issue later.

Andrew