Dell laptops and their "additional" battery... - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

KnifeMissile · 05-23-2006, 06:34 PM

Everytime you order a laptop from Dell, they always give you the option of buying an "additional" battery but I'm confused over this terminology. When they say "additional" battery, do they mean another battery that you could swap with the "primary" battery that comes with every purchase, or do they mean another battery that's in your laptop along with the primary one to give your laptop longer battery life? This point is clarified nowhere on their site and it's rather important to me to know the difference. It could mean the difference between buying my laptop from Dell or not!

Any insight into this is greatly appreciated.
Thank you...

shakran · 05-23-2006, 06:37 PM

It's a battery that you swap out. Lots of companies offer this. You keep 'em both charged and then you have a spare battery if you're in the field with no access to power. If you have the cash it's often not a bad idea to buy the second battery because there's usually a good discount. I know compaq used to (might still) knock about $100 off the price of the battery if you bought the second one.

Psycho Dad · 05-23-2006, 06:46 PM

All the Dell laptops we use at work (Inspiron I think) can have two batteries at a time. You have to remove the CD or floppy drive and then put the battery in its empty bay.

billege · 05-23-2006, 08:16 PM

When I bought my wife's Inspiron a few months ago there were two options, they were not dependant on each other.

You could, for the paltry price of $100 UPGRADE the standard battery to the higher capacity one. In this case, the upgraded was just that, you got a better battery for a hundred bucks. Catch is, you can buy a dell branded li-ion battery online at almost any reputable vendor for about 70 bux, which I did. See the catch there? An upgrade through Dell was more money than an additional battery from another vendor. Scam.

The secondary battery deal was about the same idea. Through Dell you pay way more than the battery is worth, but the secondary DOES get you the 2nd batt; which is good.

Other lesson: don't buy a secondary power pack from Dell. Buy it for less than half from another vendor.

That goes for almost every upgrade they offer that's not an actual laptop component. IE: the CPU or video card or screen.

KnifeMissile · 05-23-2006, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psycho Dad

All the Dell laptops we use at work (Inspiron I think) can have two batteries at a time. You have to remove the CD or floppy drive and then put the battery in its empty bay.

A second battery or an optical drive? That's quite the choice...

tres · 05-24-2006, 03:44 AM

In My case, and in most dell laptops they have a "Hotswap:" port. usually for a CD/DVD or a battery. When they offer you the "additional" battery its usually the same as the one that comes with it. However you should think about one that fits in your "swap port". In My case, I use the port for a 2nd harddrive or a CD/RW/DVD, or a Floppy drive, or spare battery, depending on what I need at the time. If I know I'm going to be away from an outlet for a while I'll take out the spare harddrive or the CD to save on unnecessary battery usage.. and it just makes sense to slip in the spare batt...

Psycho Dad · 05-24-2006, 03:45 AM

It isn't that you have to make a choice, it is that you just have to remove the drive to use two batteries. A long flight or something where you were not going to be able to easily access AC power but did not need a CD or floppy this comes in handy. I leave my laptop in the overhead so it isn't much of an issue for me.

05-23-2006, 06:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
KnifeMissile Location: Waterloo, Ontario	Dell laptops and their "additional" battery... Everytime you order a laptop from Dell, they always give you the option of buying an "additional" battery but I'm confused over this terminology. When they say "additional" battery, do they mean another battery that you could swap with the "primary" battery that comes with every purchase, or do they mean another battery that's in your laptop along with the primary one to give your laptop longer battery life? This point is clarified nowhere on their site and it's rather important to me to know the difference. It could mean the difference between buying my laptop from Dell or not! Any insight into this is greatly appreciated. Thank you...

05-23-2006, 06:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	All the Dell laptops we use at work (Inspiron I think) can have two batteries at a time. You have to remove the CD or floppy drive and then put the battery in its empty bay. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

05-23-2006, 08:16 PM	#4 (permalink)
billege Watcher Location: Ohio	When I bought my wife's Inspiron a few months ago there were two options, they were not dependant on each other. You could, for the paltry price of $100 UPGRADE the standard battery to the higher capacity one. In this case, the upgraded was just that, you got a better battery for a hundred bucks. Catch is, you can buy a dell branded li-ion battery online at almost any reputable vendor for about 70 bux, which I did. See the catch there? An upgrade through Dell was more money than an additional battery from another vendor. Scam. The secondary battery deal was about the same idea. Through Dell you pay way more than the battery is worth, but the secondary DOES get you the 2nd batt; which is good. Other lesson: don't buy a secondary power pack from Dell. Buy it for less than half from another vendor. That goes for almost every upgrade they offer that's not an actual laptop component. IE: the CPU or video card or screen. __________________ I can sum up the clash of religion in one sentence: "My Invisible Friend is better than your Invisible Friend."

05-24-2006, 03:44 AM	#6 (permalink)
tres Insane Location: Long Island, NY	In My case, and in most dell laptops they have a "Hotswap:" port. usually for a CD/DVD or a battery. When they offer you the "additional" battery its usually the same as the one that comes with it. However you should think about one that fits in your "swap port". In My case, I use the port for a 2nd harddrive or a CD/RW/DVD, or a Floppy drive, or spare battery, depending on what I need at the time. If I know I'm going to be away from an outlet for a while I'll take out the spare harddrive or the CD to save on unnecessary battery usage.. and it just makes sense to slip in the spare batt... __________________ "Its better to be hated for who you are, then loved for what your not" --Van Zant "Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."

05-24-2006, 03:45 AM	#7 (permalink)
Psycho Dad Mulletproof Location: Some nucking fut house.	It isn't that you have to make a choice, it is that you just have to remove the drive to use two batteries. A long flight or something where you were not going to be able to easily access AC power but did not need a CD or floppy this comes in handy. I leave my laptop in the overhead so it isn't much of an issue for me. __________________ Don't always trust the opinions of experts.

05-23-2006, 06:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	It's a battery that you swap out. Lots of companies offer this. You keep 'em both charged and then you have a spare battery if you're in the field with no access to power. If you have the cash it's often not a bad idea to buy the second battery because there's usually a good discount. I know compaq used to (might still) knock about $100 off the price of the battery if you bought the second one.