X200 12 Cell Battery Review w/ Pictures

Background:
I bought my X200 brand new back in December of 2008. It’s still going on strong and has seen several upgrades/refurbishments over the years (PVA screen, RAM, SSD, and recently, a new chassis). One of the other things I wanted to upgrade was the battery – after 410 cycles, my 9 cell’s charge capacity was at 68.89Wh of its 84.24Wh design capacity (81.7%). Not bad considering usage.

With the X200, Lenovo offers 4 cell, 6 cell, and 9 cell batteries. After browsing eBay, I realized that there are some Chinese sellers who offer a gigantic 12 cell battery.

Ordering:
I took the plunge and ordered the 12 cell from eBay seller “digi_club8888” on 7/24/2012 for $56.99. I also ordered an aftermarket 6 cell battery shortly after from another seller, which you’ll see in the comparison pictures later. Shipping from China took forever though – about a month. I was worried about reports of aftermarket batteries using old/inferior cells, but so far the 12 cell has been a pleasant surprise. I’ve had it for a few months now and it has held up well.

Relevant specs (according to Power Manager):
Full charge capacity: 97.53Wh
Manufacturer name: Sanyo
Manufacture date: 2012-07-16
Design capacity: 97.68Wh

When I first opened Power Manager to look at the specs, I was impressed. Quality Sanyo cells, a recent manufacture date, and a full charge capacity identical to the design capacity – nice. The only thing is that the software was complaining about the battery not being genuine, so I had to remove the battery gauge from the taskbar to get rid of the warnings – no big deal. Compare this to the 6 cell specs:

Full charge capacity: 43.59Wh
Manufacturer name: LGC (?)
Manufacture date: 2011-10-31
Design capacity: 48.84Wh

Not as impressive, but I bought this more for weight savings and for use with AC power. Here are pictures of the 6, 9, and 12 cell batteries stacked on top of each other, and each attached to the X200.



In use:
I’ve always found battery life to be very subjective, so I’ll just remind you that the 12 cell has a capacity of 97Wh. With my “near maximum performance” power settings of max brightness and adaptive CPU speed, I can get around 6-6.5 hours of running imaging/data analysis programs (I work as a researcher at a medical school). If I changed some settings, I’m sure I could hit 9+ hours. If that sounds low to you, keep in mind that the X200 uses the old Penryn core (P8400), I have upgraded to a Samsung PVA screen (pretty sure it uses more power than stock), I’m running Windows 8 Pro 64-bit release preview (not sure how good the beta drivers are), and I’m not just web browsing.

The weight isn’t that much more than the 9 cell, but it is noticeably larger. It’s pretty much double the size of the 6 cell. The locking mechanism isn’t as robust as the genuine 9 cell, but the fit is good enough and there is no wobble. I have no worries carrying the X200 by the 12 cell, which also serves as a large handle. It fits perfectly in a 13.3” Zeroshock III case.

Conclusion:
If you “still” have an X200 and need the battery life, there is no substitute. The 12 cell is surprisingly good for the price. Although the fit isn’t as nice as a genuine battery, Lenovo doesn’t even offer a 12 cell. I highly recommend it. When purchasing batteries for a Thinkpad, I think it’s best to go big and to go small. Now, my X200 can range from the lightness of an ultrabook (but not thinness ) with the 6 cell, to the all-day computing power of a larger laptop with the 12 cell. It’s nice to have these options. I thought my X200 was getting long in the tooth, but I see it being a perfect complement to a larger laptop (like a T540/W540) in the future.

If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them. Thanks for reading.

 

I too have an X200 and it has served me well through school and internship!

Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks for your informative little Review.

These days, the X220 9c already offers 95Wh. The 6c capacity was also increased to 64Wh. So i guess there is no need anymore for huge 12c batteries. Still a nice Option to have on the X200 I guess. It's a very lovable machine in overall, especially with the PVA screen mod. 16:10 is a big plus as well.

 

Wow, I didn't realize the X220's 9 cell has 95 Wh. But if they made a 12 cell out of that, it could have 127 Wh and with the slice, combined you could have 191 Wh

I think once you have any Thinkpad long enough they become loveable

 

True.

It's interesting to see this 12 cell for the X220 extends out further rather than downward. Others that I've seen for the T6x, etc, do expand downward, and offer an increased incline in the process. That might be preferable to some.

 

That's great news. I just purchased a 9-cell battery for my T500. Been without one for nearly 2years.

 

i would never get anything other then multiple 6 cell batteries

having the battery stick out the back has got to be the ugliest thing and makes the amazingly slick x series just look good awful

you show people your laptop and they are like, is this thing sticking out the back.

its so small and nice, a perfect complete package that i think gets ruined with any battery that sticks out.

 

In my eyes it looks better with the 9 cell rather than the 6c. Flush batteries are too mainstream. But that's just my opinion.

No one has ever commented my battery though.

 

It's pretty much a battery that just happens to come with a laptop attached.

 

I like the 9-cell batteries. It makes it easier to hold my X200 while providing a longer run-time.

 

I ordered the 9cell for my T500. Hopefully it will perform well like yours.

 

Just received my battery from the same seller for my T500. It's a 9cell (12 cell is not available for this model). Ran a few test with it and it's working fabulously. Very recent manufacture date and uses Sanyo cells instead of generics. Took exactly 15days to arrive.

Full charge capacity: 71.20 Wh
Mfg date: 2012-10-12
First used date: 2012-10

Seems to be getting nearly 4hrs with moderate use so far. I will be happy if this last 2+ years, only time will tell.

 

The 9c of our T60 lasted 5 years and still has 68Wh. Nearly 600 cycles. No charge thresholds were used.

 

^^you must be one of the lucky few that have a panasonic batt.
The sanyo cells I've come across all crapped out around the 2yr mark no matter how you use them.

 

The T60 doesn't really belong to me, but I can use it if I want to. And yes, it has Panasonic cells.


My X220 6c is Sanyo too, and it's definitely loosing capacity quicker than my 9c with LGC cells. It's got nearly 300 cycles and about 1.5 years of usage behind it. Should still last a bit though.

I recommend using charge thresholds. They really do make a difference.

 

No one has ever commented on my 9c battery on my 14" ThinkPad, but it surely looks big and I do wish it was flush !
Its nice to use it as a handle when carrying laptop around, but its still too big and heavy.
I used to like it tho, but now I know that my next laptop will have flush battery, sub 1.5kg weight, ultrabook slimness and, perhaps, slice battery.
But thats going to happen somewhere around 2014 or 2015, because my 2010 bought ThinkPad works just fine !

 

Are you still able to set charging thresholds for the non-Lenovo 12 cell battery?

 

As long as the battery is recognized by Lenovo Power Manager it should work. I have used non-Lenovo batteries in my ThinkPads and they are able to take the charge thresholds I set them for.

 

After about a month of using this aftermarket battery, I am disappointed.
The battery is slowly (quickly actually) losing it's capacity.

Design capacity: 71.20Wh
Full charge capacity: 64.64Wh
Cycle count: 17
Mfg Date: 2012-10-12

Despite using "quality" Sanyo cells, this battery is not maintaining its design capacity originally rated at 71.20Wh. I've used the battery reset feature 3 times already and no improvement. I guess I can't expect much from a $37 ebay battery.