X61 and 4-cell enhanced battery!

I rarely use exclamation marks as I think they often distort the message, but this time it feels just right

The reason? I just got a new 4-cell enhanced battery for my X61 and compared to the 8-cell which was included with the notebook, it is like night and day! It is incredible how this one item can make such a big difference.

With the 8-cell you get great battery life yes, but with it you also get:

- A very heavy battery for an ultraportable which makes the X60/X61 feel much heavier.

- A clumsy battery which sticks out and makes your ultraportable look much less like an ultraportable.

- A battery which makes your notebook look much less pleasing to the eye (subjective I know).

You may think that I am exaggerating and certain of the views above can be debated I suppose. A person who is used to a 14-17 inch workstation might not think there is a big difference. But for those who are used to ultraportables, I am sure you know what I am talking about.

IMO, with the 4-cell enhanced battery the X61 finally looks the way it should. And it finally feels the way it should. When I received the package from FedEx I thought I had gotten the wrong product, because the contents felt so light.

Also, I would say that despite the small weight/physical difference between the 4-cell slim battery and the 4-cell enhanced, I actually much prefer the enhanced version as it follows the curves (humps) of the bottom.

I am yet to test real life battery life performance, but I would say that with power supply being so common on flights today (at least on business and above), I would much prefer leaving the 8-cell in the check-in bagage in case of emergencies or for when traveling by car.

Another thing I need to test is the actual weight difference. In all the official documentation I have come across it says the following:

- X61 with Enhanced 4-cell battery 3.11 lb (1.41kg)
- X61 with 8-cell battery 3.59 lb (1.63kg)

To me it feels more like a difference of 0.8-1 lbs and not the minor difference Lenovo states.

In any case, enough ranting for one day. What do the rest of you "X60 series with 4-cell enhanced" guys think?

In closing, I suggest all X60/X61 owners to get a 4-cell enhanced immediately!

 

Cool. I loved having my off-brand 4 cell, but then it crapped out on me. Where did you get yours, and what brand is it?

Thanks for any info!

 

Comparing the 8 cell and the 4 cell enhanced, are the humps the same size?

 

Mine is original. It is with the IBM logo though, not the Lenovo logo. But I know you can get batteries with both logos, so it is not an old battery. Checked it in Power Manager as well. Manufacturer date was December 2006.

Where did I get it? Considering that your unoriginal battery died on you, I think I am going to make your day and many others' now... I got it on eBay - see direct link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150149844083&sspagename=ADME:X:RTQ:US:11

He still has 6 left.

It is original and only costs 40 USD + 21 USD shipping. Talk about getting the best of both worlds. I didn't believe it at first either, but this is legitimate. At least I will vouch 100% for the battery I received. I even ran the battery recall program - and there were no errors found. I will definitely buy from him again.

This eBay seller was extremely quick to respond and shipped right after I had paid the money. Judging by the amount of positive feedback he has received, it seems I am not the only one who is satisfied. It was my first experience on eBay, so I am glad it turned out so well. I am a bit behind the times, when it comes to online shopping but so far so good.

So hurry up orangelounge and the rest of you!

 

Yes. The humps are perfectly aligned with the notebook humps, just like the 8-cell.

By the way, sp00n, I asked you a question in a different thread about your boot-up time in Vista (assuming you use Vista). I assume you missed that. Could you tell me your approximate boot time from BIOS start to being able to use the programs in Windows without delay/stuttering? I need a X61 comparison level.

 

Wow, awesome, I so wish I would have gone with this guy in the first place.
Stupid me, stupid, stupid, stupid.

Thanks so much for sharing!

 

I forgot to mention, I have a X61s which doesn't have the hump on the bottom. The big hump on the back doesn't really bother me though. I also have the 8 cell which I like a lot. The Battery life is amazing, about 8+ hours. I'll test the boot up time right now.

-edit-
My boot up time is about 1:10. I have all the ThinkVantage programs installed.

 

Glad to be of service. I assume you are going to buy one? If yes, be ready for the quickest international shipping I have ever experienced. Placed the order on Aug 10 around 4 pm - received it today (Aug 13) at 10 am.

Well, then I suppose you should go for the slim-line 4-cell as I assume that is meant for the X61s. It does have less power than the 4-cell enhanced, but then again, your X61s consumes less compared to the X61, so no worries.

In any case, thanks for the info sp00n. That's quite quick. Did you run a clean install and then added all the ThinkVantage applications? Do you have Windows Defender (or some other spyware program) running and an Antivirus program running?

Mine takes about 2 minutes before I feel it runs smoothly enough to open programs without extraordinary delay. The harddisk is still active though. Booting into windows takes me less than 45 seconds. But then again I haven't done a clean install yet - just uninstalled Norton Internet security and tweaked a bit here and there, followed by defragmentation. I have been using Vista for about 9 days now and it still seems to like thrashing the disk. Once it is up an running it is very fast though.

 

The slim-line is nice but it gets very poor battery life (<2 hours).

I did a clean Vista Business x64 install with all the ThinkVantage programs installed. Windows Defender is running but no Antivirus program is installed.

Vista feels very fast with 2GB of RAM and a 120GB 5400RPM hard disk.

 

Come to think of it, I still have much more "bloat" than I initially could remember, so my installation is far from clean.

I don't know about Vista Business 64bit vs 32 bit (which I have) in terms of speed. But given that I have 3GB RAM, a faster CPU and the same hard disk, I should be getting at least the same kind of boot times as you. Clean install will definitely be carried out.

Regarding long battery life: I used to be very concerned about battery time, but ever since I became a frequent flyer about 5 years ago, I have basically had the opportunity to plug in the notebook right beside me, just about anywhere I go. Including the car - with the generic car adapter I have.

But of course people's needs are different. Most of the time I run on battery, it is basically just to keep it in shape or when I go to very short meetings.

 

I am thinking of ordering one. Where did you get it from

 

Read this thread and follow the link.

 

How much run time do you get with the X61 and the four cell enhanced battery performing basic tasks such as browsing, word processing, etc...?

 

I just bought the slim-line battery and it definitely makes my X61s "thin and light". The difference is night and day! I paid $94 CDN shipped for the slim-line and a 90W AC adapter bundle directly from Lenovo (so it has a 1-year warranty). You've got me thinking about buying the enhanced capacity battery from the eBay link just for kicks since it is a good price and would get more life than the slim-line...

 

About 2.5-3.0 hours, but I haven't tested it thoroughly though. There is some idling in between of course, when I read i.e. articles and postings.

Note, this is on max performance settings with max CPU speed, full brightness, no shutting down the screen or powering down the harddisk.

 

I think you should. He has 4 left at this time. I have had no problem with mine. It is original and checking it via Power Manager gives "green lights" all the way. Not part of the battery recall either.

When I received it, it had gone through 2 cycle counts but for that price I cannot/will not complain. I guess they have just tested the battery to see if it works probably. I asked why it was so cheap and he told me he got them via some sales promotion. But I think it is more likely that he is simply connected to the factory making the batteries. Many notebook batteries are made in the southern part of China.

Shipping was fast and the guy selling them was very pleasant and extremely responsive. I know I sound like I work for them, but I am just a very satisfied customer