x200s: should i buy original battery

Hi All,

After 2 years of great joy with my X200s (7466-3HU), battery gone bad - it's good for 20 mins or so only.
Original batteries seem to be 2 times the price of non-original batteries.

Lenovo sell the 6-cell for $150, while online you can find it as low as $15 ( http://www.google.com/products?q=43R9254&scoring=p)
Set aside the relieability of the seller, I'm referring directly to the battery:
is there any reason to prefer original over the non-originals? is there a higher "expected lifetime" for the original lenovo batteries?

Would love to get your feedback!

Thanks!

 

these got no safety circuit, so they could catch on fire or explode without much warning. Look out for the battery sale in outlet.lenovo.com.

So what is the brand of the cells in your old battery (Sony, Sanyo, LG)?

Also how many cycles do you have on the battery?

 

Look for a battery on ebay by searching for "Genuine Lenovo" and your battery's part number. Make sure the seller has good feedback--preferably at least 99.5%.

The outlet would be alright, except it's a wait for a long train that never comes. If they don't have your battery now, don't hold your breath. Also, they don't heavily discount every battery they post--some are just a few bucks off retail.

 

I'd also try posting in the F/S section of this forum and also on the Marketplace section of the Thinkpads.com forums. I've gotten some great deals on batteries doing this.

 

@ OP:

I think if you can afford it, you should opt for the original parts. That way you are always sure of what you are getting. The Lenovo Outlet - from what I understand - is a good place to look for relatively low prices.

Personally, I avoid places like eBay (though there are always some excellent deals to be found).

Cheers!

 

I just picked up a genuine four-cell on eBay for $40.

 

that's cheap, a genuine battery for my x200t will cost around AU$130 even on ebay.


btw, does lenovo have an outlet store in Australia?

 

no outlet store in Australia, it is only available in the land of stars and stripes, not even the land of Maple syrup gets them.

 

Is this the only difference between the genuine and the clones? The safety circuit?
And how do I know the # of cycles on the battery?

Thanks!

 

go into the thinkvantage power manager, under battery (in advanced mode) it should tell you all the information.

The difference between genuine and generics is more than just the safety circuit, the QA/QC of the battery cells are also different. It is like using a really cheap tire for sports racing, you just don't know when it will fail and whether it is going to cause a life-threatening injury.

 

Oh ok got you.
It says 340 cycles count.
Is that the normal life-expectancy of the battery?

 

Cycles count is not number of cycles left, it's number of cycles already being done up to now. Should be about zero on the new battery, then it increases each time you charge-discharge.

 

Yeah I got this-
so is 340 counts (old battery) is a good average number?

 

There is no universal number, as battery wear does not depend on number of cycles only.
You can estimate wear by comparing "full charge capacity" and "design capacity".

 

Speaking for myself only, I prefer to buy genuine. I've tried cheap n cheerful as well and for various different machines over the past many years. I find the that the real deal tends to last longer (comparing like for like) per charge as well as overall life span. There's the added benefit of quality assurance from the genuine manufacturer. Whilst most OEMs are generally safe and reasonably well made, you can't be quite sure. Once you know about lithium ion chemistries you tend to err on the side of caution.

 

I think apart from longevity differences the biggest problem with purchasing generic li-ion batt is lack of safety measures.