Finding good laptop batteries can be incredibly difficult these days. As laptops get more complicated, they begin to use more power. Power is rapidly gulped down by fast modern processors, as well as larger screens. Without a good battery, laptops can last for just a couple of hours without being plugged in. Thankfully, Dell has worked hard to maintain their batteries, and they offer reliable, high quality batteries for their laptops. Let’s take a closer look at just what it is that makes Dell batteries so different.

Dell offers a variety of batteries – different ones are available for different laptops. Sometimes, a laptop will come with multiple battery options – two different batteries with different Watt hours (Whr) ratings, which have different run times. You want to choose the one with the higher Watt hour rating so that you can get the most life out of your battery and really experience the difference that Dell batteries can make. There is no real way to tell exactly how long one battery will last as even two batteries on the two identical systems can be used at different rates depending on the settings and applications that are being run.

With older batteries or other brands, charging can take hours, but with Dell’s new Express Charge feature, the battery will be over 80% full after just one hour of charging, and should be complete within 2 hours. This is great for people who need to charge their battery quickly. You don’t have to stay tied to an outlet for long with Dell laptop batteries.

Other companies make laptop batteries that are supposedly compatible with Dell laptops, but Dell recommends that you don’t use them as they have not been tested and may not work or may even pose a safety hazard. Laptop batteries can hold quite a bit of power and are potentially dangerous if they were to be discharged improperly. Most other batteries will probably work acceptably with a Dell laptop, but Dell recommends against trying them, and does not guarantee their performance. Dell offers replacement batteries for their laptops, and they are easy to install – the old ones just have to be popped out and the new ones put in. There really isn’t a lot of maintenance involved in replacing a laptop battery.

In addition to the regular battery, Dell offers a “battery slice,” which is an extra battery that attaches to the bottom of your laptop to provide additional laptop runtime. This is a great way to enhance your already great Dell battery.

Dell batteries really stand out from the crowd, but, like all batteries, they can only last for so long. In order to maximize the amount of battery like you get out of your Dell battery, you can do a few things to optimize your laptop. Optimization techniques include turning down screen brightness, making sure that unnecessary radio mechanisms are off, like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, adjusting processor settings, and making sure that power settings are turned up so that your laptop goes into screen saver / hibernates very quickly.

As you can see, there’s quite a bit to know about Dell batteries. Dell batteries really stand out from the competition. Dell makes great laptop batteries which charge quickly, hold a long charge, and perform well. Try out Dell batteries and laptops today to see how they really stand out!

Dominic Munroe.