w500 9 cell battery question

I am going to purchase a w500, if you get the 9 cell battery does it physically stick out? At my high school we had some laptops with extended batteries that made the laptops huge. Is there a noticeable physical difference from the 6 cell (other than the weight)?

 

It sticks out the back about 1". It does not raise the laptop up. If you plan on using it on battery frequently, I would say the 9 cell is a good choice despite the fact that it sticks out.

 

thanks for the info

 

Hi, i'm ordering a w500 and I am considering my different battery options. is the 9 cell battery annoying or ugly? I am considering getting the 6 cell battery with the ultrabay battery. Would i better off getting the 9 cell. I will be using this laptop to take notes with in college and in the library, so I might not have an opportunity to charge it all the time.

 

I have a T500, which is structurally exactly the same as the W500.

The 9-cell battery sticks out about 1 inch from the rear of the laptop. For me, this is not annoying at all, in fact, it makes for a comfortable "grip" for holding the laptop. Since I frequently use it away from a power outlet, I find that it is definitely a worthwhile option to pay a little extra for.

The UltraBay battery is nice, however, the software is designed to completely drain the 3-cell UltraBay battery before it uses the main battery. Draining any Li-Ion battery constantly is very "harsh" on the battery, and will cause it to lose capacity very quickly, therefore, with normal usage, the UltraBay battery will quickly drop in the amount of charge that it can hold.

Therefore, I recommend going with a 9-cell rather than a 6-cell + UltraBay battery.

 

does it still fit into a 15" laptop case with no problems?

 

Depends on the case. It fits snugly into my Zeroshock III laptop sleeve, which in turn fits nicely into my Samsonite messenger bag.

 

Is it user upgradeable?

 

You should consolidate all your questions about the W500 in a single thread, rather than making so many new threads, especially since two of them were about the 9-cell battery.

No, it is not upgradeable short of unsoldering the graphics chip (thereby voiding your warranty and nearly guaranteeing that you destroyed your machine). Besides, you wouldn't have any standard chip to replace it with.

 

sorry, and thank you for all the information.

 

i have another question. Can I upgrade the CPU myself on this machine, and is it compatible with the qx9300?

 

You can upgrade the CPU, although I would suggest switching in your original CPU if you ever need to send the laptop in for warranty service.

No, it is not compatible with any quad core processors, which includes the QX9300.

 

thanks for the info

 

when is the next upgrade of the thinkpad going to come around? Would it be wise for me to buy a cheap laptop and then buy a t/w500 when the next upgrade comes?

 

The next Thinkpad won't come out until the Capella platform is released, which isn't due until Q4.