[ale] [OT] Laptop Battery Worth It?

Jeff Hubbs jhubbslist at att.net
Mon Jul 11 16:03:04 EDT 2011


Your failing display suggests that no further expense on it is 
warranted.  Replace that puppy.

On 7/11/11 2:13 PM, The Don Lachlan wrote:
> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 01:31:19PM -0400, Greg Clifton wrote:
>> I am TOTALLY in Kinney's (spelled it right this time ;-) camp on this issue.
>> Esp. if you are having display issues (could be your CCFT tubes failing or
>> more likely the inverter). If you spend $ on a battery and then the display
>> goes and you spend $ on that and then the motherboard goes and you can't get
>> parts. My mantra "Better, Faster, Cheaper each Iteration" especially applies
>> to notebooks/laptops. You can get some really decent machines for $400$800
>> now.
>> Shop Newegg, Tiger Direct, gotapex.com and dealnews.com for the best deals,
>> but not necessarily in that order.
> So $400-800 every three years? Not for me. I've lived quite happily running
> on older machines. I'm typing this now on a PIII/650. Archaic? Absurd? It
> fits the need (though it isn't my main system).
>
> If the laptop works for his needs and $150 buys another year, even your
> numbers support replacing the battery.
>
> I'm hesitant to buy generic/off-brand components and unless I found strong
> reviews of the 3rd party battery, I'd personally go with the branded
> battery. It's more expensive but far less so than replacing the entire
> laptop.
>
> -L
>
>> On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 11:47 AM, Jim Kinney<jim.kinney at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>
>>> With few exceptions, laptops are not engineered for use beyond about 3
>>> years. A student will use/depend on that laptop so I would get a new laptop
>>> and not replace the battery.
>>> On Jul 11, 2011 11:25 AM, "David Tomaschik"<david at systemoverlord.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>> I have a 4 year old System 76 laptop (Core 2 Duo, 15.4" screen, etc.).
>>>> The battery life on the original battery is now<  45 minutes, which
>>>> makes it fairly useless away from an outlet. I'm going to be
>>>> returning to school for a M.S. this fall, and would like something
>>>> that works in class.
>>>>
>>>> A new battery would be ~$150 shipped from System 76. 3rd party
>>>> suppliers from eBay can be had for about $75. The laptop is in mostly
>>>> good condition, though the screen occasionally flickers, but closing
>>>> and reopening the screen has fixed it thus far. (I've tried reseating
>>>> the video ribbon cable, but the problem persists.)
>>>>
>>>> Does it seem reasonable to spend $75-$150 on this laptop, or is it
>>>> throwing money away? Does anyone have experience with 3rd party
>>>> battery suppliers on eBay they'd like to share?
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> David Tomaschik, RHCE, LPIC-1
>>>> System Administrator/Open Source Advocate
>>>> OpenPGP: 0x5DEA789B
>>>> http://systemoverlord.com
>>>> david at systemoverlord.com
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Ale mailing list
>>>> Ale at ale.org
>>>> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
>>>> See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at
>>>> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Ale mailing list
>>> Ale at ale.org
>>> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
>>> See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at
>>> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo
>>>
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Ale mailing list
>> Ale at ale.org
>> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
>> See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at
>> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo
> _______________________________________________
> Ale mailing list
> Ale at ale.org
> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
> See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at
> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo
>



More information about the Ale mailing list