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    Which config has better battery life? (and Confused 2)

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by clyde1, Sep 5, 2007.

  1. clyde1

    clyde1 Notebook Consultant

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    Was originally looking for a 14.1" R61 or T61, but instead recently bought an open box T60 with 15.4" WSXGA+ screen.

    Now wondering about the battery life that I could have had (and still can) if I had stuck with the original config that I had in mind. Also looking for opinions on a few other things.


    The T60 has ATI X1400 GPU, 1GB (1-stick), T5500, 120GB HD, fingerprint reader, Intel Pro 3945 ABG wifi, 6 cell battery, Vista Business. Have about 25% battery life left after about 2.5 hours of fairly continuous use include surfing using wifi.

    What I originally fell in love with on the T60 was the 15.4" screen, but now starting to have some misgivings about. It's still amazing. But I'm sure it's using more battery than a 14.1" screen (about 20% more screen area). And the small print does get to me sometimes. Trying to increase the print doesn't work so well for me (changing resolution really dulls the sharpness, and changing font size doesn't seem to apply to all the text on the screen, just some of it, especially when browsing).

    The config I originally had in mind was an R61, 14" WXGA, T7300, integrated X3100, Intel AGN wifi, and some other stuff.. I think the largest battery it comes with is 7-cell. And completely undecided about Turbo memory (any suggestions?).

    How would the battery life compare between these two? Should I expect about 30% more from the R61? Would the fact that the 15.4" supports a 9-cell while the 14.1" only supports up to 7-cell battery help offset that 30%?

    I have some other questions too. In terms of capability, how do you think the X3100 GPU compares to the ATI X1400 (assuming mature drivers for the X3100), and how do these compare in terms of battery consumption? The benchmarks I've read make the X1400 look a lot better than the X3100. I don't really plan on any gaming, but do expect to edit some home movies and such once in a while, and my son will want to load a game or two if I let him.

    Also, if I get the R61, is it stupid to get the T7300, considering that I'm planning on the X3100 GPU, since the GPU will clearly be the weak link most of the time?

    Back to the screen, I'm thinking I may like the standard 1280 x 800 resolution on the 14" R61 better than the 15.4" WSXGA+ on the T60, for general purpose work.

    I've never seen a Lenovo 14" WXGA screen in person, and not sure how much I'm going to regret being stuck with the X3100 GPU versus the ATI X1400.
     
    clyde1, Sep 5, 2007
    #1