How do laptop battery voltages affect runtime?

Posted by Bigbio2002 on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Bigbio2002
Published on 2011-05-13T21:59:21Z Indexed on 2011/06/28 8:25 UTC
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I ordered a new battery for my faithful XPS M1710. I'm not sure of the voltage of the battery I have now, but the new one that the Dell rep got me (after 3-4 times confirming my phone number and laptop model number) is 14.8v. I was a bit concerned about potential incompatibilities (as most of the other compatible batteries listed were 11.1v), but I figure that there's no way that Dell would "recommend" batteries that wouldn't work or fry your system.

Now, my question is, how does voltage affect battery life? If we assume the needed power draw to be constant, a higher voltage would indicate less amperage needed, therefore the battery would last longer before running out, yes? Or am I missing something?

For reference: P=I*V

P = power

I = current

V = voltage (duh)

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