Laptop Batteries (1 Viewer)

Got a problem with my battery folks:

I don't know a heck of a lot about hardware, but I understand that batteries are measured by their MAH??? (something) Amp Hours???

I assume a computer gets 1.2 Volts per MAH? Anyway, that's what I hear from the battery experts. I don't understand much about that though. All I know is that my current battery gets about 2 hours of life. I thought about getting a 12-cell beast, but apparently it would make the computer sit in an awkward way, so I'm considering just keeping my current 9-cell, and buying either another one of these, or a 6-cell.

Anyone have any suggestions on this? And, is 2 hours of life normal for a 9-cell battery? It seems as though that would be normal for a 6-cell, but not a 9. I am only assuming that I have 9 cells in my batt., because the back of the gadget says 10.8V on it. That would be the correct calculation, if my assumptions about Volts and MAH's are correct...

All over the place!

Volts and MAH are not connected like that. Your laptop needs a specific voltage to run. Depending on the battery construction (the chemicals used) the cell voltage is between 1.2 and 1.5 volts. So if you have 9 cells and they are connected in series, and you've got about 10.8volts, they are 1.2volt cells. Probably nickle metal hydride. You can't use 6 or 12 because the voltage is wrong.

While the computer is working, it is drawing current. Current is measured in amps (abbreviation A), low current in milliamps (mA). The battery capacity is measured by the amount of current per hour, ie milliAmpHour, or mAH. The bigger this figure, the longer the battery will last.

As batteries age, their voltage stays pretty constant, but their capacity deteriorates.

So, in summary:
1) The battery voltage must match your existing battery
2) Obviously it must fit physically
3) The battery life is dictated by the mAH rating, balance life with cost
4) Forget about numbers of cells