x301

Hi,

I am setteled on buying x301, I have these questions.

1- does the 6 cel sticks out of the laptop and by how much

2- does it have a built in light.

3- does choosing this option: "ThinkPad X300/X301 Series 3 Cell LiPolymer Bay Battery " means that it is only the bay, and i would need to buy an extra battery

 

I'm 99% sure that the "Bay Battery" is a full-fledged battery that fits in the modular bay (where normally the DVD drive is). You won't need to buy an extra battery.

 

it doesnt sticks out.

it add an extra height at the front of the laptop making the notebook sit flat.
normally, with 3-cell standard battery, the battery sits flush, the laptop front is lower than the back, making the notebook sits at an angle.

yes, thinklight available at the top of the lid. it is white-LED variant. turn it on/off quickly, by pressing fn+PgUp.

the ultra-bay battery is an extra battery on top of the standard battery. you will loose the cd-drive. you will need to buy a CD-drive if you choose that option and want the cd-drive.

swapping the bay require removal of a single screw.

 

One other note about the bay battery. ThinkPads don't manage these in the most intelligent way. The bay battery is always drained first, and all the way down to 0% before the computer switches to the main battery. As a result, the bay battery will build up cycles very fast and have a relatively limited service life.

Get the 6 cell for sure. It only raises the laptop by a fraction of an inch, but increases battery life by a substantial amount (I think 70-80% more than the 3 cell). The 3 cell bay battery is also worth considering if you require more battery life than the 6 cell can provide, just be aware of its limitations.

 

Thanks,
Any idea how much that extra thickness / weight would be?

 

can you get the option for the extra battery bay and battery, but not slide the extra battery in till it is needed.
Thanks

 

woah i didnt know that, that is bad, real bad.
thanks, i wanna give you rep, but the system said i need to spread some more around @.@

update: repped!

lenovo should consider an option in the battery manage for configuring, lets say... use the auxillary battery until ...% (by default 20%) before swithing to main battery. or use the main battery until ... % before swithing to aux battery. ideally, the system will manage this to better maximise the battery life. for example, after draining the aux battery more than the main, the next time a discharge cycle start, it uses the main battery first.

to the OP, dont get the 3-cell battery, running a battery down to 0 too often is a no-no, and charging a notebook battery 100% all the time is not good for the main battery.

 

very insignificant, it makes the notebook sits flat rather than angled!, thats a good thing right? get the 6-cell, you'll love it! i have it for my x300.

of course, configure your notebook with the dvd-drive pre-installed. then order the 3-cell ultra-bay battery.

although i dont recommend that. the ultrabay on the x300 is design for infrequent removal, it uses a screw, which i imagine can get worn out, if you so choose to swap the bay too frequently. plus, storing the battery would mean that the battery will continue to aged/oxidised while being unused.

if you really need more battery life, then get the ultrabay battery pre-installed, then buy an external usb cd-drive. but it still doesnt solve the problem of the machine draining the aux battery to zero.

i get around 4 hour on my x300 with heavy use. a lot of internet browser window (IE7 and opera) open, quickly flicking pages, changing, tabs, windows media player running in background, streaming internet radio, visualisizer on, msn messenger running, windows aero running.

 

Yeah, the problem has been there for quite a while - it's the main drawback to the UltraBay battery. As of now, there is no way to manage it other than manually ejecting it before it hits 0. Hopefully Lenovo adds it to a later Power Manager release.

Therefore, I would recommend the 6-cell instead of getting 3-cell and UltraBay.

 

software eject? thats a good idea. how do we re-arm the battery again then? restart the OS? remove and install the battery again, with screwdriver each time!?

not that i want to get the ultra-bay battery but its an insteresting dilema nonetheless.

 

Unfortunately, the Elite x301 does not have the option of "Lightweight Travel Bezel"

If I am understanding the issue correctly:

I guess I will have to order the one with the battery and order a seperate "Bezel" to cover the bay slot.

Even though I have no need for the extra battery or the DVD Drive, but the above is the only option to save money since the elite is configured by lenovo to save money if you want all the options.

 

why would u do that!??!?!

why travel bezel? thats a waste of money!

get the cd-drive. seriously; how are you gonna re-install the OS when things happens? external HDD? how are you gonna install software?

the cd-drive is very lightweight. very insignificant. the notebook bag will probably be heavier than the notebook itself, even when configured to the most heaviest config.

 

Get the drive simply because if you ever decide to get it later on...it will put you back a couple hundred. You could always take it out and not use it if you don't want it, but the times you could use it would make it very convenient.

 

Thank you guys, i will go with the drive.
You guys are great help, got most the answers i needed here in a record time, not sure if Lenovo sale rep are as knowlegble as you guys are here. Thanks

 

The drive really doesn't weigh much at all. I'm not sure if you would notice the difference between it being in or not.

 

I think we can safely assume that Jon is more knowledgeable than most Lenovo sales reps.