by Skyshade, South Carolina USA
I know a lot of people visit this site looking for advice and recommendation on buying a new laptop, but no matter what laptop you buy it eventually will get old with the usage and some of you will come back trying to solve a particular issue or finding information on replacement or upgrade parts. Battery is one of those possible replacement parts and, unfortunately, you usually need a new battery two or three years after the laptop is purchased when sometimes even the original manufacturer does not carry the battery anymore.
The good news is that you should find plenty compatible batteries advertised in Froogle or eBay, so your chance of finding one battery for your laptop is high. The bad news is you usually cannot find any review or detailed information on either the battery or the seller/manufacturer what-so-ever.
Fortunately, we here at NotebookReview.com have a chance to test one of the batteries from Mugen Power, which provided us with a list of Sony compatible batteries to choose from. The test unit we received is their HLI-TL7605 battery, compatible with Sony laptops using PCGA-BP2NX battery. These laptops include Sony’s GRX, GRZ, and GRV series.
External Comparison
Based on my recent search for a battery for my cell phone on-line, it is very interesting to see so many negative responses about either receiving the wrong battery or a battery that doesn’t fit (in dimensions). Well, I have no complain like this for this test battery that I received.
To be fair, when I was first asked about the review opportunity, I told them I have three different Sony models that I can test. I didn’t say which one I would like to test, but at least I got one that I can test, so I would still say they gave me the right battery.
On the other hand, the dimensions of the HLI-TL7065 are very, very close to those of the original PCG-BP2NX, as you can see from the comparison pictures below. It is a little bit tighter fit, but it’s not that you have to push to get it in the battery compartment of my GRX-550. In fact, it’s more like the original PCG-BP2NX is quite loose and will slide itself out if you open the compartment door.
There is also a picture (poorly taken) that compares the two connectors. Again, there is no difference except the original battery has a dirtier connector.
Top view of the original battery (left) and the test battery (right)
Bottom view of the original battery (top) and the test battery (bottom). Notice the difference in capacity
Comparison view of the connectors
One thing I did notice a difference is on the claimed storage capacity. You can see them in the pictures, too, with the original battery claiming a 4000 mAh and the replacement battery claiming 4400 mAh. It is not uncommon to see such a difference in these after-market replacement batteries because of the different internal parts used. Since the replacement had a higher capacity, I really had no complain but to hope the number claimed is true.
Battery Performance
Once I plugged the new battery in, the computer had no problem booting up or any other problem. It took roughly two hours to charge it, which is consistent with the charging time of the original battery. A partial charging graph done with Battery Eater Pro 2.51 was created later and it showed that the battery took 32 minutes to charge the first 25% or so (Windows kept giving me warning windows every minute about Battery Eater violated this and that, so I had to terminate the charging plot). Again, this is consistent with the charging time suggested for the original battery.
Charging plot done with Battery Eater for HLI-TL7605 Battery in Sony GRX-550
Looking at the Battery Eater display, it showed that this new battery has a 4112 mAh (59210 mWh) design capacity and only a 3848 mAh (55420 mWh) full charge capacity, compared to the 4112 mAh for both design and full charge capacity in the original. I was somewhat disappointed initially, but realized that it could be the fact that the battery has not gone through break-in and the capacity is not properly calibrated. I decided to go ahead to do the discharge test and see if it would change anything after my tests.
System InfoManufactureSony CorporationModelPCG-GRX550(UC)ModelExR2461477OSWindows XP Service Pack 2CPU InfoCPU ManufactureIntel CorporationCPU ModelPentium 4 mobile (production)CPU Frequency~1192MhzCPU Extensions| MMX | SSE2 | HT | APM CPU Cache InfoLevel 1 Instructions12Level 1 Data8Level 2 Data512System RAM infoTotal Memory:511MbMemory slots2 ( 1: 256Mb; 2: 256Mb; )Display Device InfoAdapterMobility Radeon 7500Resolution1024×768OpenGL render deviceGDI GenericOpenGL driver version1.1.0Vertex shader version1.1Pixel shader version0.0Hard Disk Drive InfoS.M.A.R.T.Supported and EnabledHDD ModelTOSHIBA MK3018GAS HDD Serial32QK1498T HDD FirmWareQ3.02 C Main Battery InfoDevice NameManufactureSony Corp.Serial #Unique IDSony Corp.ChemistryLithium IonTemperatureTermal Control Not PresentDesigned Capacity59210mWhFull Charged Capacity55420mWhDesigned Voltage14.4VCurrent Voltage16.574VManufacture Date0/0/0Cycles Count0Cells count4Force charge supportNot SupportedForce discharge supportNot SupportedBenchmark resultsCPU BEmarks385GPU BEmarks2295RAM BEmarks3029HDD BEmarks1397Work DonePi calculations0 CyclesHDD readwrite0 MbFames Rendered0 FramesResultsTotal time0:00:00
Battery Eater initial report on the new battery. Notice the Full Charged Capacity is lower than the Designed Capacity
Using Battery Eater, two tests were conducted on the new battery. One was the classic test, where heavy duty work is running to drain the battery and find the minimum time to discharge the battery completely, and the other was the idle test, where the system is on but otherwise doing nothing to give you the maximum battery life. The original specification calls for 2 to 2.5 hours of, so I expected the idle number to get close to 2.5 hrs (be more, because of the claimed 4400 mAh capacity) while the classic number will be equal or less than two hours.
For the test, I turned off the screen saver and all other battery saving options. A USB wireless mouse was connected, as well as a wireless PC card. The battery clocked in 1:44:57 in the classic test and 2:25:30 in the idle test. Both numbers were as I expected and showed that the replacement battery is indeed capable of meeting the original specification.
System InfoManufactureSony CorporationModelPCG-GRX550(UC)ModelExR2461477OSWindows XP Service Pack 2CPU InfoCPU ManufactureIntel CorporationCPU ModelPentium 4 mobile (production)CPU Frequency~1194MhzCPU Extensions| MMX | SSE2 | HT | APM CPU Cache InfoLevel 1 Instructions12Level 1 Data8Level 2 Data512System RAM infoTotal Memory:511MbMemory slots2 ( 1: 256Mb; 2: 256Mb; )Display Device InfoAdapterMobility Radeon 7500Resolution1024×768OpenGL render deviceGDI GenericOpenGL driver version1.1.0Vertex shader version1.1Pixel shader version0.0Hard Disk Drive InfoS.M.A.R.T.Supported and EnabledHDD ModelTOSHIBA MK3018GAS HDD Serial32QK1498T HDD FirmWareQ3.02 C Main Battery InfoDevice NameManufactureSony Corp.Serial #Unique IDSony Corp.ChemistryLithium IonTemperatureTermal Control Not PresentDesigned Capacity59210mWhFull Charged Capacity55420mWhDesigned Voltage14.4VCurrent Voltage14.778VManufacture Date0/0/0Cycles Count0Cells count4Force charge supportNot SupportedForce discharge supportNot SupportedBenchmark resultsCPU BEmarks0GPU BEmarks0RAM BEmarks0HDD BEmarks0Work DonePi calculations4847 CyclesHDD readwrite41222 MbFames Rendered303647 FramesBenchmark OptionsResolution800x600x32FullScreenDisabledModeClassicResultsTotal time1:44:57Discharge rate (minimum)118 mWhDischarge rate (maximum)4294929137 mWhDischarge rate (average)3939436595 mWhResult Graph
Battery Eater report for the Classic test
System InfoManufactureSony CorporationModelPCG-GRX550(UC)ModelExR2461477OSWindows XP Service Pack 2CPU InfoCPU ManufactureIntel CorporationCPU ModelPentium 4 mobile (production)CPU Frequency~1195MhzCPU Extensions| MMX | SSE2 | HT | APM CPU Cache InfoLevel 1 Instructions12Level 1 Data8Level 2 Data512System RAM infoTotal Memory:511MbMemory slots2 ( 1: 256Mb; 2: 256Mb; )Display Device InfoAdapterMobility Radeon 7500Resolution1024×768OpenGL render deviceGDI GenericOpenGL driver version1.1.0Vertex shader version1.1Pixel shader version0.0Hard Disk Drive InfoS.M.A.R.T.Supported and EnabledHDD ModelTOSHIBA MK3018GAS HDD Serial32QK1498T HDD FirmWareQ3.02 C Main Battery InfoDevice NameManufactureSony Corp.Serial #Unique IDSony Corp.ChemistryLithium IonTemperatureTermal Control Not PresentDesigned Capacity59210mWhFull Charged Capacity55420mWhDesigned Voltage14.4VCurrent Voltage13.934VManufacture Date0/0/0Cycles Count0Cells count4Force charge supportNot SupportedForce discharge supportNot SupportedBenchmark resultsCPU BEmarks0GPU BEmarks0RAM BEmarks0HDD BEmarks0Work DonePi calculations0 CyclesHDD readwrite0 MbFames Rendered0 FramesBenchmark OptionsResolution800x600x32FullScreenDisabledModeCustomResultsTotal time2:25:30Discharge rate (minimum)1878 mWhDischarge rate (maximum)4294944152 mWhDischarge rate (average)4289992382 mWhResult Graph
Battery Eater report for Idle test
Ideally, I would like to have the original battery run through the same tests and then compare the results. Unfortunately, my original battery is as old as my laptop and it had worn of some of its capacity. It only achieved an hour and ten minutes or so in the classic test. In any event, I believe the two battery tests had demonstrated amply that the new battery is as good as the original.
On the other hand, the break-in for a new battery was completed after the two tests — both completely drained (to 3% or so) the battery. Long and behold, the Battery Eater reported the full charge capacity as 4375 mAh (63000 mWh) instead of 3848 mAh (55420 mWh) in the latest report, matching the 4400 mAh claim on the bottom of the battery.
System InfoManufactureSony CorporationModelPCG-GRX550(UC)ModelExR2461477OSWindows XP Service Pack 2CPU InfoCPU ManufactureIntel CorporationCPU ModelPentium 4 mobile (production)CPU Frequency~1194MhzCPU Extensions| MMX | SSE2 | HT | APM CPU Cache InfoLevel 1 Instructions12Level 1 Data8Level 2 Data512System RAM infoTotal Memory:511MbMemory slots2 ( 1: 256Mb; 2: 256Mb; )Display Device InfoAdapterMobility Radeon 7500Resolution1024×768OpenGL render deviceGDI GenericOpenGL driver version1.1.0Vertex shader version1.1Pixel shader version0.0Hard Disk Drive InfoS.M.A.R.T.Supported and EnabledHDD ModelTOSHIBA MK3018GAS HDD Serial32QK1498T HDD FirmWareQ3.02 C Main Battery InfoDevice NameManufactureSony Corp.Serial #Unique IDSony Corp.ChemistryLithium IonTemperatureTermal Control Not PresentDesigned Capacity59210mWhFull Charged Capacity63000mWhDesigned Voltage14.4VCurrent Voltage16.925VManufacture Date0/0/0Cycles Count0Cells count4Force charge supportNot SupportedForce discharge supportNot SupportedBenchmark resultsCPU BEmarks0GPU BEmarks0RAM BEmarks0HDD BEmarks0Work DonePi calculations0 CyclesHDD readwrite0 MbFames Rendered0 FramesResultsTotal time0:00:00
Battery Eater report after the tests. Notice now the Full Charged Capacity is higher than the Designed Capacity
Conclusions
In conclusion, the HLI-TL7605 battery is a good after-market replacement to the Sony PCGA-BP2NX battery, just as advertised. The charge capacity is slightly better than the original and the drain time is indeed matching the original specifications. Hopefully, the good results on this particular battery can also be found in the other batteries by Mugen Power and people will have less headache looking for a replacement battery for their Sony laptops.
Where to buy:
www.lionbattery.com
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