I think I made a mistake...

I found a good deal on a CF-31 Mk3 for $220 with no HD, but came with caddy and battery. How did I do?

So I think since this is my second toughbook (already have a cf-19), I think I have developed the bug... Haha

Here are the specs:
CF-31VBAEB1M
Description: WIN7, INTEL CORE I3-3110M 2.40GHZ, NO VPRO, 13.1" XGA TOUCH, 320GB(5400RPM), 2GB, INTEL WIFI A/B/G/N, NO TPM, BLUETOOTH, LIGHTWEIGHT BATTERY, DUAL PASS (UPPER:WWAN/LOWER:SELECTABLE), VERIZON 4G LTE, GPS, EMISSIVE BACKLIT KEYBOARD, NO DRIVE, TOUGHBOOK PREFERRED

It actually came with a nice surprise, its already been upgraded to 8gb of ram and had a HD caddy inside, just no harddrive! The bad is the battery is pretty much shot. Lasts about an hour before it dies.

So I am curious, are there any limitations with it being an i3 model besides the speed of the machine?

Also any recommendations on a location to grab a battery and maybe the media bay battery?

 

I think it was a good deal. It's a i3 , so what you still got some good options on it. Myself I would skip the media bay battery but that's me. Don't get the run time out of them for what they cost...maybe 1 1/2 - 2 hours if you are lucky.

 

No USB 3.0 either...

 

That surprised me also.
I need to check into that.

He's correct.
read the linked spec sheet for a CF 31-mk4

https://www.telrepco.com/content/Spec-sheets/TB-31MK4 spec_sheet.pdf
Docking connector 80-pin
HDMI Type A
VGA D-sub 15-pin
Headphones/speaker Mini-jack stereo
Microphone/line in Mini-jack stereo
Serial D-sub 9-pin
Ext. antenna conn. 50 ohm coaxial
i5 models: USB 3.0 (x 1), USB 2.0 (x 3) 4-pin
i3 models: USB 2.0 (x 4) 4-pin
Optional IEEE 1394a (FireWire) 4-pin
10/100/1000 Ethernet RJ-45
Optional 10/100 2nd LAN (Ethernet) RJ-45
Optional 56K Modem RJ-11

 

Yeah that's probably the worst part about this model. But honestly I don't really use USB drives alot so not a huge loss to me. I haven't really noticed a performance issue either with the i3. But I mostly use the toughbooks for some YouTube repair videos and PDF files.

 

To me its no big deal. Unless you are always moving around large files and even then what's an extra minute or so. On my 53 i only use my usb 3 for my mouse. I have my 53 hooked up to my 55 inch flat screen which sits 20 feet away and it picks up the mouse better. My 3 external HDDs are using usb 2.

 

Not sure I get the meaning of your thread.

It seems that you're happy with the Toughbook.. are you saying that you haven't made a mistake?

 

Yes by getting my first toughbook, it's now led to my second toughbook. Hopefully it doesn't lead to more and more lol.

 

Ah - got you.

I thought that you were seeking advice having mistakenly got an i3 rather than an i5..

 

You're doomed. Make some room for more Toughbooks. Now.

 

thats what i thought too

 

I bought 1 years ago, last year I bought another 2 off Sheepman, 2 days ago I bought a 4th off Shawn. They are addictive.

 

Does the i3 offer any advantage such as lower power usage?

Or was it just a cost thing?

 

From Techspot...
Power Consumption. Both Core i3 setups pulled 89 watts in Prime 95 or 25% less power than the i5-4690, which used only 6% less power than the i7. Again both Core i3 models allowed for roughly the same system consumption figures, making them 23% lighter on fuel than the i5-4690

 

Ah awesome, thanks!

 

Can you find what he's looking for ? I keep getting the same results. Which is better on battery power ?

 

A little info from the CF 31 spec sheet and simple math gets you this.
Since they each use a different capacity battery, I divided them both to calculate the power usage per hour for each. The i3 does use less power. swap out the lightweight battery for the higher capacity one to get really long run times.
---------------------------
CF31 mk4
i5 CPU:
– Battery operation: 14.5 hours (3340M),
– Long life Li-Ion battery pack (10.65V, typical 8550mAh, minimum 8100mAh)
– Battery charge time: 3.5 hours off, 4.5 hours on
Calculates to using 91.058 Wh in 14.5 hours
Works out to 6.315Wh per hour or 589.655 mAh per hour
ATI equipped models use more power than this standard model does.
--------------------------------------------
i3 CPU:
– Battery operation: 8 hours (with lightweight battery)
– Lightweight Li-Ion battery pack (10.8V, typical 4500mAh, minimum 4200mAh)
– Battery charge time: 2 hours off, 2.5 hours on
Calculates to using 48.6 Wh in 8 hours
Works out to 6.075Wh per hour or 562.5 mAh per hour
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-i3-3110M-vs-Intel-i5-3320M/763vs817