Compal HEL-80 battery life?

I'm looking at buying a a Compal HEL-80 in the next couple of months, and I've got a few questions about battery life.

First, how much of a difference is there between the 6-cell and 9-cell batteries? How many hours of typical usage can I expect from each?

Second, for those of you who have upgraded to Vista, have you noticed any changes in battery life? If so, has your battery life increased or decreased?

Third, what's the best place to purchase an extra battery?

Also, one other related question: what are the dimensions of the laptop with a 6-cell battery and with a 9-cell battery?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Mark Erikson

 

You get about an hour more life with the 9-cell.

You can get an extra battery through your reseller--but I would suggest you wait until you know you need one before buying a second battery. Reasons are in the battery guide.

The 9-cell battery sticks out 3/4" in the back.

 

"An hour more life"... compared to what baseline? Is that 3.5 hours versus 2.5 hours? (yes, I know it'll vary by user, I'd just like to get a better feel for what's typical).

Also, just to check: the 9-cell makes the dimensions 14.25" x 11.15" x 1.5"? I'm planning on buying a Waterfield designs sleevecase for it, and want to make sure the size is right.

 

Well it's 6 cells versus 9, so you'd be getting about 2/3rds of the battery life of the nine cell. Out of the box, my HGL-30 gets just over 4 hours doing non-demanding tasks like browsing/word processing. I think the HEL-80 would be about the same. So I'm guessing the 6 cell would get a little under 3 hours.

 

It totally depends on your power settings, screen brightness, and what applications and other devices you are using. When I did my review and tested the battery life--I got approximately 3 h 40 min without adjusting anything and with wifi on about half the time. I then did another with lower screen brightness and very little activity--I got just over 4 hours.

When I use the system on battery for active internet usage and other office applications though, it seems to be less than that.

It totally depends on how you set up your system. You can undervolt your CPU and work at 1/7 screen brightness. And you can also disable devices and programs you don't need to stretch out that lifespan. I don't do any of that since I am always close enough to a power source when my batteries run lower.

Oh, and yes, your dimensions seem to be about right for your sleeve.

 

Thanks. Actually, I just finished going through the multiple reviews on the main NotebookReview site, and found the answers to both those questions.

I'd still be interested in hearing from any new Vista users as to whether or not you've noticed differences in battery life.