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Confusion on Inspiron XPS Battery Options
Hi
I need your help to clear up some confusion I have on the Inspiron XPS battery options. I understand that there is no secondary battery option for the XPS, as there is for the Inspiron 8600 or 600m. However, there is an option to buy a second primary battery. What exactly does this mean? Does it mean that you can only install the additional battery by swapping it out with the primary battery? Or can this additional primary battery be used in conjunction with the first? If this is the case, does it go into the media bay, or is there another place to plug it in, allowing you to run the laptop off two batteries simultaneously while keeping the DVD or CD ROM in place?
Also, what is the approximate time you can run the XPS off one and/or both batteries while doing standard word processing, spreadsheets, browsing, or viewing a DVD? I'm curious. I'd only consider buying a laptop that can support at least 4 hours of run time on battery power, so I'm leaning toward the 8600. But the XPS battery options have me confused.
Thanks in advance for your help, and please pardon my ignorance.
Rayt2
I have a question, in similar lines to the one here. I have just bought my XPS. And yes I plan on keeping it at home, plugged in, traveling with it at most once a month. Good thing I got a laptop bookbag with it! :) Anyhow, because of that, I am nto sure how to store my battery. I assumed the best way to store it is to remove it and store it somewhere, but that would leave me with a huge hole on the bottom of the laptop. I don't think I want to do that. And if I leave it in, I'm afraid that will contribute to the decline of the battery....I am assuming. Is there any truth to this? Can I in fact leave it in the laptop, and not worry about it discharging a little when not plugged in and off, and recharging a little to top off each time I do that and creating a horrible battery memory? My assumption is that it is best to have the battery not connected, and let it sit, discharging as it is not being used, until I need it for best battery life. Please advise =)
thanks,
Mike
mattcowger
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Posted April 28th, 2004 01:00
Leave the battery in the machine. It wont hurt the battery at all. Leaving it disconnected vs. connected wont have any effect - LiIon batteries dont have a memory effect.
Just avoid discharging the battery completely, and you'll be fine.
godim
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Posted April 27th, 2004 10:00
A second primary batery needs to be swapped with the other primary battery. For this you need to hibernate or turn of the pc, remove the empty primary battery and put the full second primary battery in its place.
The 8600 also supports battery swapping from standby mode but I don't think the XPS has this feature.
Standard battery time for the XPS is 1.5-2 hours with the 92 watt batt & 2-3 hours with the 132 watt battery (without the subwoofer).
The 8600 easily gets 3 to 4.5 hours when doing the tasks you describe.
I get 6-7 hours with the primary battery and modular battery together
Note that the XPS is a desktop replacement system and is meant to sit on a desk with a power outlet nearby. It is not at all designed for portability (huge, heavy laptop & power adaptor, short batteyr life). If you play to use the laptop away from power outlets often I highly recommend a P-M based system as the 8600.
If you however keep the laptop largely at the same place and always have a power outlet nearby, go for the XPS as it is a more powerfull machine