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    T61 battery life w/discrete or integrated graphics for battery life?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by mtbiac, May 30, 2008.

  1. mtbiac

    mtbiac Newbie

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    I currently have a T61 with 2ghz C2D, 4gb, DVDRW, NVS 140m graphics, 14.1" widescreen, 160gb 5400rpm, 6cell battery, fingerprint reader, Turbo Memory, 4695 wireless, bluetooth, etc (14" wide can only hold upto 7cell) etc. I'm only getting around 3hrs battery life with display very dim (bluetooth off and powersaver mode in Vista too), and 4.5 MAX with the extra battery.

    I'm wondering if battery life will increase much if I purchased a new T61 with similar specs (maybe 2.4ghz upgrade) and with Integrated graphics? Would I see much of a change here? and can the newer 14" widescreens still only hold 7cell max? I LOVE the widescreen and wouldnt want the regular, and 14" is perfect for me.

    Thanks!
     
    mtbiac, May 30, 2008
    #1
  2. Bog

    Bog Losing it...

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    You would experience an increase with an integrated card. How much, perhaps a T61 owner can tell you from experience; I imagine that it would be significant.
     
    Bog, May 30, 2008
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  3. Arki

    Arki Super Moderator

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    The battery life difference between integrated and discrete is about 30-45min.
     
    Arki, May 30, 2008
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  4. hyperq

    hyperq Notebook Consultant

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    ...on a 4-cell.

    You should get close to 6 hours on a 6-cell with X3100. Just lookup the thinkpad catalog "tabook". Google it.
     
    hyperq, May 30, 2008
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  5. Arki

    Arki Super Moderator

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    When it comes to battery life, it's best not to trust what is advertised or written down by the manufacturer. Only trust first-hand experiences and objective reviews, like NotebookReview. ;)

    It would be an amazing feat if someone could achieve an hour per cell from a 6-cell. 6-cell gives maybe 4 hours at most with X3100.
     
    Arki, May 30, 2008
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  6. batman5315

    batman5315 Notebook Evangelist

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    In my experience, the integrated gfx chip provides about 1 hour more run time. Tested this with two identical T61 7662 both with 7 cell batteries.
    (they screwed up my initial order and sent me two T61s)
     
    batman5315, May 30, 2008
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  7. ctrlaltdel

    ctrlaltdel Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm thinking about getting a t61 15.4 WSXGA+/ 140m NVS/ Windows XP/ 6-cell

    Some on this forum have said that you can get around 3hrs with this.. Is this true? I'm debating between integrated and discrete myself. Thanks.
     
    ctrlaltdel, May 30, 2008
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  8. N405WN

    N405WN Newbie

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    I get 3.5-4 hours with my T61 (14" WXGA w/cam) on integrated graphics. I'm running a T8300 2.4 ghz and 2GB of RAM on Vista Home Premium x64 and 6 cell battery.
     
    N405WN, May 30, 2008
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  9. moonyguy

    moonyguy Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have T61 with decrete graphics with 9 cell battery, I get about 5.6 hours with battery stretch and regular surfing.
     
    moonyguy, May 30, 2008
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  10. Arki

    Arki Super Moderator

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    Has this been tested or is this just what the battery meter reads?
     
    Arki, May 30, 2008
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  11. Bog

    Bog Losing it...

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    Manufacturers usually obtain their battery times letting the laptop run from 100% to 0% charge, without using the computer for any tasks. They just let it idle until it dies. This is why their specs should not be taken seriously.
     
    Bog, May 31, 2008
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  12. visiom88

    visiom88 Notebook Evangelist

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    Once I worked on a paper on my T61 while I was on a bus and it took about 4.5 hours to completely drain the 6-cell battery.
     
    visiom88, May 31, 2008
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  13. Grimster

    Grimster Notebook Geek

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    Nor should we trust people in these forums "guessing" at something they have no idea about.
     
    Grimster, May 31, 2008
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  14. Arki

    Arki Super Moderator

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    Huh? Who's guessing?
     
    Arki, May 31, 2008
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  15. Bog

    Bog Losing it...

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    ^^ He thinks he knows who is guessing and who isn't. What a claim.
     
    Bog, May 31, 2008
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