Laptop Batteries

The laptop battery is one of the things you won't think about unless you realize it's not working or out of power.  When you buy a laptop it should come with a battery included, but many people don't know what kind to get.  Actually, this is a very simple decision when you find out the differences.

Lithium Ion is the most popular type and you may see this written as LiON.  It provides between 2.5 and 3 hours of battery life on average for a 6 cell (batteries are divided into cells to standardize size and life expectancy) and 4 - 6 hours for a 9 cell.

Depending on how often you use your laptop away from an outlet you may want to consider the option of a second battery.  Secondary batteries usually come in two main varieties.  On many laptops you allow you to swap out the main media device from your computer and plug a battery in that spot.  An example would be to swap out a CD-ROM and plug a battery.  Another way that some laptops use a secondary battery is to be clipped on to the back or sometimes they are attached with a cable.

The price of a second battery can range anywhere from $50 to $200s depending on what kind and from where you get it.  When considering whether a second battery is necessary, think about how much you will use it your laptop when it isn't plugged in.  If your laptop is going to sit on your desk and almost always be plugged in, then you may not want to spend the money on it.  But if you plan on taking your laptop with you to class or the library or really anywhere that you might not be able to plug the power cord in, then you may want to consider buying that second battery to extend your laptop life.

It is important to note that the average life of a battery is two years.  Most companies will only keep their batteries under warranty for one year.  After that you may find that your battery no longer charges or remains powered for long periods of time (an example would be a battery that used to have 3 hours of life now only had 30 minutes). This could be caused by a number of things but one of the main reasons is that your battery has simply died and will need to be replaced.

 

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