Solved! Why do manufacturers use weaker or stronger batteries on their laptops? Why isn't its standard?

[Bruno Vincent]

I'm really confused about batteries and why laptop manufacturers do what they do...

Like in this case, there are 2 Lenovo laptops. Same model, one has a 15.6 screen and the other has a 14 inch screen.

Same Ram, same CPU, same HDD.

But...

Batteries are as follows:

15.6" Lenovo: 2 cell 30 w/h
14" Lenovo: 3 cells 52 w/h

Why are they putting a stronger battery on the smaller screen laptop?


Lenovo 14" Lenovo 320S-81BN002WTA (14)
https/online.advice.co.th/product/notebook/notebook-lenovo/notebook-lenovo-ideapad320s-81bn002wta-gray-

Lenovo 15.6"
https/www.jib.co.th/web/index.php/product/readProduct/27894/124/NOTEBOOK--%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%B8%E0%B9%8A%E0%B8%84--LENOVO-320-15IKBRN-81BG001CTA--BLACK-

Is the number of cells and the w/h a true indication of battery life with 2 identical machines from same manufacturer and nearly identical specs?

 

[rgd1101]

same spec?
one have 920mx, the other have mx150

usually is keep the weight/price down

and the 320"S" look to have higher battery. when comparing the 15" 320 vs 320S

 

[Bruno Vincent]

same spec?
one have 920mx, the other have mx150

usually is keep the weight/price down

and the 320"S" look to have higher battery. when comparing the 15" 320 vs 320S

Does the graphic card make a difference for batteries? And for the same specs, these examples may not be 100% correct, but in some cases yes, I have seen nearly identical machines...

Would a 3 cell 52 w/h battery last twice as long as 2 cell 30 w/h battery on the same laptop? I mean, one = 156 watts and the other 60 watts?

Is 2 cell 30 w/h on the machine on top even enough for 1.5 hours of charge?

 

[Karadjgne]

You assume the 15.6" is a better laptop because it has a larger screen? You have to assume that there's an idea of intended usage for each machine, differences in storage with hdd vrs ssd, even multiple drives, differences in cpu power consumption, gpu power consumption, extras like Beats Audio or media usage etc. While the 15.6" screen will use more battery power just on the screen alone, it's total intended usage power may actually be significantly lower than the 14" model, bringing either unit to roughly the same amount of usage time according to battery size. It might also be that that particular 14" is the top of the 14" chain and the 15.6" the low end unit in the 15.6" chain. Only Lenovo could possibly give an accurate answer for sure.

 

[Karadjgne]

It's a laptop with finite battery time. Everything makes a difference. You'd assume a 15w cpu might use more battery than an 11w cpu, and mostly that'd be true, but depending on usage that might be reverse as the 11w cpu can take more time to complete hard tasks due to slow clock speeds vrs the 15w cpu. Yes gpu can make a huge difference, even in a pc, a gtx750ti using less than 75w, a gtx 950 using 120w or a gtx1050 using less than 75w. It's just more apparent on a laptop as battery life is regulated

 

[Bruno Vincent]

You assume the 15.6" is a better laptop because it has a larger screen? You have to assume that there's an idea of intended usage for each machine, differences in storage with hdd vrs ssd, even multiple drives, differences in cpu power consumption, gpu power consumption, extras like Beats Audio or media usage etc. While the 15.6" screen will use more battery power just on the screen alone, it's total intended usage power may actually be significantly lower than the 14" model, bringing either unit to roughly the same amount of usage time according to battery size. It might also be that that particular 14" is the top of the 14" chain and the 15.6" the low end unit in the 15.6" chain. Only Lenovo could possibly give an accurate answer for sure.

Thanks , the problem is Lenovo and actually all manufacturers pretty much ignore me...only way to get support is to buy first, they ask for serial numbers, they don't answer email, facebook, and when I DO get in touch with a guy in Bangladesh, he has no clue, and to make things even more complicated, all models differ from country to country and nobody really knows nothing with all models combinations...

Like a lottery, I wish there was better pre-sales support and documentation , searches on these model numbers return nothing and even on Lenovo's own website, they don't mention max RAM capacity, no batteries MillAmps, and only randomly can I get specs on watts/hour, and half the time info is wrong, only way to know for sure it seems it to buy the laptop and look on the box....frustrating!