# How long do laptop batteries last? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 24, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834 "2004-04-24T19:53:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GreyWanderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@GreyWanderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreyWanderer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834/1 "2004-04-24T19:53:39Z")
I’m probably going to get a laptop sometime in the future, and I was wondering how long I can expect one to last? Are there big differences between the various models? Are the ones that last longer much more expensive? ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834/2 "2004-04-24T20:01:59Z")
Mine lasts three hours, but I think I’m an unusual case… ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834/3 "2004-04-24T20:35:56Z")
Do you mean lasts on one charge, or lasts in general? I believe that the Lithium ion batteries are good for somewhere around 150/200 charges… My battery lasts about an hour to over 4, depending on what I’m doing. Web surfing is about 3 hours. ---
**Author:** ![GreyWanderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@GreyWanderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreyWanderer)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834/4 "2004-04-24T20:40:11Z")
I mean on one charge. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834/5 "2004-04-24T21:25:12Z")
Mine’s good for 2-3 hours, but I don’t use it much. ---
**Author:** ![Oat1957](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Oat1957](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oat1957)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834/6 "2004-04-24T22:27:04Z")
Mine is good for about 3 hours on a single charge. ---
**Author:** ![Alereon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alereon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alereon)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834/7 "2004-04-24T22:27:26Z")
It depends wildly on the type of computer you have. Laptops based on the Intel Centrino mobile platform will have the longest life, while those based on desktop Pentium 4 CPUs (usually cheap laptops) will have the shortest. Furthermore, your usage pattern will greatly affect lifespan, as will the capacity of the battery. If you’re watching a DVD you may not be able to make it through the movie, if you’re typing up a document in Word with the backlight off it might last for hours and hours. ---
**Author:** ![GreyWanderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@GreyWanderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreyWanderer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834/8 "2004-04-25T01:31:03Z")
Ok, so I can’t really expect to do anything more than watch one movie on a trip? ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834/9 "2004-04-25T01:57:12Z")
If you wanna do that, I’d just buy a personal DVD player over a laptop. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-do-laptop-batteries-last/241834/10 "2004-04-25T02:26:46Z")
Wow. I expect far too much out of my electronics. I think I’m gonna go apologize to my GameBoy…