Laptop Battery Guide
Written by Mark
Whenever you shop for a laptop, battery life is always an important consideration in the selection process. The first thing that you need to know is how much battery life you require to keep your laptop working. At the same time you need to remember that battery consumption depends on different factors and you need to evaluate them closely. For instance a 17” screen will consume more battery then a 15” screen. Also, using the optical drive present in your laptop will cause your battery to drain out faster. Therefore, you need to closely evaluate the usage of your laptop and determine which battery will prove to be perfect for your laptop.
Types of Batteries
The batteries used in laptops have changed from time to time. Earlier the laptops came with Ni-Cad (Nickel-Cadmium) batteries. However, these batteries had a number of disadvantages and proved to be inefficient. Then came the NiMH (Nickel-Metal-Hydride) batteries, which provided better efficiency and longer battery life to laptops. The present day laptops come with the Lithium Ion batteries which use the latest technology and are also highly efficient. Moreover, these batteries also come with a longer shelf life.
Number of Cells
The next thing that you need to consider while shopping for laptop batteries are the number of cells it has. Every cell present in the battery comes with certain capacity. Therefore, if you go for a 9 cell battery instead of a 6 cell one, your battery will have almost about 50% more capacity.
If you are a frequent traveler and need to use your laptop while traveling, then it will definitely prove useful for you to go for the maximum cells, so that you can work for 5 to 6 hours without recharging your battery. However, at the same time you also need to remember that, different laptops come with different power requirements. Therefore, you need to compare the batteries according to these requirements and then choose the most suitable battery for your laptop.
Other Factors
The other factors that you need to consider while buying a battery for your laptop include its weight, size, setup etc. You would obviously not want your laptop to become heavy and bulky just because of its battery.
Conclusion
It will always be better for you to buy a Lithium Ion battery with the latest technology and number of cells required for your laptop model. You can always keep spare add-on battery with you to provide back up at times of crisis.
