X2x series Built-in Microphone

[denisky]

First of all I'd like to say hi to all members in this forum... this is my first thread...

I have Thinkpad R51e, but I think this laptop is too heavy and bulky for me... I'm thinking in buying X22/X23/X24, and I have several question:

1. Which model of these thinkpads which have a built-in microphone? I always want to have one since the R51e doesn't have one built-in.

2. I am a college student and only use the laptop for programming, browsing, listening MP3. I want the one with the longest battery life (5 hours maybe?), and not too hot to my lap. Which model is suitable for my needs?

btw, I'm sorry for my bad english...

[ryengineer]

1. I believe all X2x had internal microphone, please confirm it through tawbook:

ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitute/psref/

[fixup]

X20 and X21 both have built-in mic that works great for VOIP (such as Gzmo and Skype, I tested). The mic is close to the screen while the speaker is close to the right hand palm corner at the bottom, so they are far away, a very good thing for voip about echo. They both run deadly cold (not even warm) and quiet (no noise at all), especially when I set the CPU clock to 500MHz which is still fast enough for Youtube (MP3 should be no problem at all). I also use VC++ 6.0. My old 3.6Ah battery runs for about 3 hours, if you get the new 4.8Ah you should go over 4.

[denisky]

Wow... what a quick reply!

Well, you said that the X20 and X21 run cold, but how about the X22/X23/X24? Do they run as cold as the X20/X21?? Are they hotter than X20/X21 as they have faster processor??

[underclocker]

Welcome to the forum.

The X20-X21-X22's all run cool. The X23 and X24 are a little hotter, but some Arctic Silver on the CPU helps. Certainly, not are "hot" like T41p's, etc.

Regarding battery life, you'd be lucky to get 4 hours with a fresh battery - most of these 5-7 year old machines do not come with fresh batteries!

However, the X2x machines are very solid and reliable.

For really long battery life, IBM says up to 11 hours with two batteries (one one back and one on bottom), you'd have to pick up an X40.

[denisky]

thanks mate for the answers...


I forgot to ask these questions:

1. Is it possible for me to install the current Lenovo ThinkVantage softwares (Power Manager, Presentation Director, Access Connections, etc) on these 7 years old laptops?
2. Have you guys ever installed these softwares on your X2x Thinkpads?
3. Will these softwares run flawlessly?

These softwares are very useful for me... and I'll love to have a companion for my current R51e, running with the same softwares like the R51e...

[fixup]

Wow... what a quick reply!

X20 owners are decent people. Those who can appreciate X20 cannot be wrong. I only wish I've known these thinkpads earlier. However, there is no any thinkpads in stores for me to try and I cannot risk $$$$ to find out how cold (or hot) it is. Those stupid magazine reviewers never say the things I want to know about such as temperature and noise level. A guy was selling a X20 for $85 in Craigslist and nobody cared for a month. Then I was going to buy a router for $80, then I thought why not get that IBM? Wow, it changed my computer scheme ever since. Now all my computers are X20, only one desktop for heavy loads (hibernated most of the time) and an OQO for pocket. Sorry about the rant, cannot help, yeah, this thing is that good.

[fixup]

thanks mate for the answers...


I forgot to ask these questions:

1. Is it possible for me to install the current Lenovo ThinkVantage softwares (Power Manager, Presentation Director, Access Connections, etc) on these 7 years old laptops?
2. Have you guys ever installed these softwares on your X2x Thinkpads?
3. Will these softwares run flawlessly?

These softwares are very useful for me... and I'll love to have a companion for my current R51e, running with the same softwares like the R51e...

I always don't want to run anything that's unnecessary, so I only run these:

1) Power Management driver. This is the only driver needed after XP installation. All other device drivers are included in XP. I disabled the PM service and all the PM functions are still working fine. I also disabled the ATI hot key service.

2) The PS/2 TrackPoint driver. The one built into XP is very limited and cannot reveal all the goodness of the TP. Once the latest TP driver installed, this stick is the best mouse I've ever used. Make sure you enable scrolling and move the sensitivity bar all way to the right, otherwise this stick is the worst thing ever.

3) RMClock. It does not install anything on my computer (love such software). I use it to check battery info. I hate that Battery Max. I edit the registry to set CPU clock:

Code: Select all

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\PowerCfg\DefaultProcessorThrottle\0]
"DefaultProcessorThrottleAC"="3"
"DefaultProcessorThrottleDC"="3"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\PowerCfg\DefaultProcessorThrottle\1]
"DefaultProcessorThrottleAC"="3"
"DefaultProcessorThrottleDC"="3"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\PowerCfg\DefaultProcessorThrottle\2]
"DefaultProcessorThrottleAC"="3"
"DefaultProcessorThrottleDC"="3"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\PowerCfg\DefaultProcessorThrottle\3]
"DefaultProcessorThrottleAC"="3"
"DefaultProcessorThrottleDC"="3"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\PowerCfg\DefaultProcessorThrottle\4]
"DefaultProcessorThrottleAC"="3"
"DefaultProcessorThrottleDC"="3"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\PowerCfg\DefaultProcessorThrottle\5]
"DefaultProcessorThrottleAC"="2"
"DefaultProcessorThrottleDC"="2"

0-Max performance, 1-Battery optimized, 2-Max Batt. (locked to the slowest speed), 3-Dynamic switching

[Terrahawk]

thanks mate for the answers...
1. Is it possible for me to install the current Lenovo ThinkVantage softwares (Power Manager, Presentation Director, Access Connections, etc) on these 7 years old laptops?
2. Have you guys ever installed these softwares on your X2x Thinkpads?
3. Will these softwares run flawlessly?

When I had an X20 and X21, I had the latest versions of the following software installed:
- Thinkpad Power Management Driver
- Thinkpad On=Screen Display and Hotkey driver
- Battery Maximiser
- Thinkpad Keyboard Customiser
- Trackpoint Driver

I could not get Presentation Manager to work properly - it loaded but it gained and lost features depending on which video driver you had installed. The built-in Microsoft driver allowed you to swap between LCD and external display when pressing Fn+F7. However if you installed Presentation Manager, Fn+F7 would no longer work. In fact, it would often bring up an error box. So I gave up on Presentation manager (running on XP).

Battery Maximiser works well though.

[mini_g]

Just to give you a heads up, my X20's mic has picked up the fan and HDD sounds when the mic boost was running.

[fixup]

When I use the built-in mic for voip, I don't need to enable the gain boost and my friends told me my voice was loud and clear.

The Hitachi and Toshiba 10GB are very loud while the Hitachi 20GB is deadly quiet. The Hitachi 40GB is still ok.

As for the CPU fan, the X21 is deadly quiet. For X20, you have to add a 470uf capacitor to smooth out the (faint) ticking noise.

[denisky]

Thank you for the replies... I think I will buy a good used X22...

[denisky]

I am so happy today!! I just got my new (but used) X22+docking for about $280. Is it a good deal?

I am amazed with its size and weight. I did a comparison with R51e, the X22 is much much smaller and has more solid build.

The lack of internal wifi is not a problem, as I know a seller here in Jakarta who sells 3com X-Jack PC Card at a very reasonable price.

[j-dawg]

I am a fan of the X2-series. My X24 is more than capable of handling everyday tasks, but nobody believes it because of how small it is. They also don't believe me when I tell them it's six years old.

[denisky]

After using my X22 for some voice chat, I am really happy because my friends said that my voice is loud and clear! This is what I missed from R51e since it doesn't have an internal microphone. There is a slight noise from the fan though, but overall my voice is very clear. No mic-boost is activated. IMO, it would be better if IBM put the internal microphone far from the fan (i.e: beside ThinkLight). I wish.