Ultrabay battery for the T61p?

2.5 hours of battery life isn't going to cut it when I go back to school in the fall.

I found the ultrabay battery on lenovo.com, but it only lists support for the T60p, not T61p. I assume they're similar enough that it should work, but I figured I'd check here.

 

Yes it will work on the T61p. The ultra bay battery isn't that great. Since it always discharges first, it wears out quickly. I had it for my R60. It was at less than 50% capacity after four months. I think the nine cell though it does add a bit off weight might be a better choice. I have it for my R60. I get about 5.5 hours on it with medium settings though with a bigger screen and dedicated card you probably won't get as much unless you are will to dim the screen more.

 

There is a post at the forum which presents a very palpable reason the Ultrabay battery wears so quickly (other than frequent recharging).

There are three cells there and hence they are discharged with a high current (per cell) to deliver sufficient amount of power.
Thus - the more cells - the less current per cell - the longer life of the battery.
Furthermore, the more powerful laptop - the higher current - the shorter battery life.
In a nutshell - the Ultrabay battery would serve longer in X series then in R series, then in T series and will end up its life very quickly in Txxp series.

PS
To support the above: I have an 8-cell TravelBattery for my HP mobile workstation. It has been charging any other day for three years now and still offers 2-3h (depending on the workload).

 

Yes it will work I have the ultrabay battery and get 4.5 hours

 

I've got the 9-cell battery in my T61p as it is, and I only get 2.5 Hours, I'm looking to help improve that. I'm thinking of either the Ultrabay battery or an external notebook battery.

 

2.5h @ 9-cell - looks depressive
What about another 9-cell battery and external charger?

 

my main problem with another 9 cell is I don't want to have to shut down to swap them out...

it's also another things to haul around, where the ultrabay could just stay in all the time

 

Very true, however, do not expect more than hour from Ultrabay.
Anyway - if a specs of the new W500 disappoints I will consider such a battery for mine T as well.

 

right. 3.5 hours still isn't great... I wonder if I'd be able to get by with the 2.5 hours I've got now... I need to go check my class schedule. Maybe I'll buy one of the new Eee's to take to class and leave the T61p at home during the day.

EDIT: And the ATI graphics in the new Thinkpad lines make them a no-go for me. Until ATI makes some leaps and bounds in Linux support, I won't be using their cards.