How tight should the hinges on a new X31 be?

[Thinker]

Hi,

My 31 is great, but the hinges are extremely tight. It takes a considerable amount of force to open or close the screen (I would say about 10 lbs of force approximately, maybe even more).

Is this normal behavior? The computer itself seems to be of very high build quality, but I wonder what the effect of repetitive screen opening and closing might be.

How tight are your X31 hinges? Should I be concerned?

Thanks,

Ruben

[ozone]

Well Thinker... mine hums and yours has tight hinges. Hmmm... the hinges on mine I think are "normal". If the lid is open, it stays in that position, but I do not have to "force" the unit open. If it seems too tight, something (a bolt?) may be overtightened or there is too much friction between contact surfaces. The metal hinges will be fine likely, but the casing around/holding the hinges might be a bit of worry. Probably somebody who's had a ThinkPad for much longer than me can comment better. Maybe it's no big deal.

[Thinker]

Hi Ozone,

Yeah, I think the hinges shouldn't be this tight. And you are right, I am not worried about the hinges themselves, but about the anchor points and surrounding area. I think I exagerated a little bit about the force needed to open it. Maybe it's more like 5 lbs.

I also started thinking that since the screen is much shorter than my previous laptop (about 3 inches shorter) and the distance to the revolving axe (the hinges) is thus shorter, it makes sense that it takes more force to produce a similar torque.

I would appreciate comments from other X31 owners nonetheless. Maybe I'll also call IBM to inquire about whether this is normal.

Ozone, let us know if/when you figure out about the high pitched whine.
Hope you solve it

Ruben

[ozone]

Ha ha ha... well, regarding the whine, my wife confirmed that she can hear it, but that it's not very noticeable to her. Her suggestion: turn on some music. You know, it does kind of work.

At the office, I bought a used dock and with the dock's built in fan, it's loud enough that all you notice is the fan, not the whine.

Still worth a call to IBM, but I guess it's not worth stressing over. Unlike your hinge situation, I don't think the whine is potentially indicative of anything serious (well, I'm hoping not).

Good luck with the hinges.

[Thinker]

Your whine is not probably a sign of anything bad. Like your wife said, turn on some music. Or better yet, if you have kids let them be in the room while you work on the computer. The whine will automatically stop being on the top of your annoyances list.

The hinges seem to have softened up a little bit after a week of use (probably opened and closed the laptop around 15 times), so I'm not going to worry about it all.

If you unveil the mistery about the source of the whining let us know, by all means.

[MichaelMeier]

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[Thinker]

15 times only in one week?
I move it more in one day.

My hinges (T42p) were tight at first too and they softened quite a bit over the months. I hope that process will stop soon or I'm afraid that the display will fall over when opened. It is by far not that loose yet, but I hope it will stay as it is now. It is just right now.

Hello Michael,

About twice or three times a day, yes. I have been using it so far as a desktop replacement (i.e. on my top of my desk )

Interesting to know that the hinges in your T42 exhibited the same initial tightness and have softened up quite a bit. Like you say, hopefully they won't get too soft. I wouldn't worry too much about that though, as I have never heard about a TP going so soft on the hinges that the screen won't remain in the upright position. I wonder if there is some mechanism (tightening some screw maybe) by which tightness might be adjusted.

How is the build quality of your T42p, by the way?

Ruben

[MichaelMeier]

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[Thinker]

How is the build quality of your T42p, by the way?

Let me put it this way: great.

I love almost everything about this device. [...]

And for the word "almost" up there: there is a little flex in the plastic right above the DVD drive bay. But that is no problem at all and does not really pose a problem.

I completely understand how you feel.
I got a new X31 a couple of weeks ago, and as soon as I took it out of the box I knew I was up for something special. It is just a beautiful laptop with an awesome build quality.

I was laughing when you mentioned touching the lid of your laptop, because I have done that also. The material seems very strong, yet it has almost a sensual texture (magnesium perhaps?) Now I only do this when my wife isn't watching, at night.

So far my only laptop had been a Toshiba Tecra 8100. Don't take me wrong, this is an excellent laptop which has served me well for almost 4 years and which works just as well as the day I bought it, but compared to the X31 it just feels like a Fisher Price toy. And regarding the design, I feel Thinkpads are just plain elegant (The R series less so). That's what a laptop should look like. Somebody in this board has described it as some sort of understated elegance and I agree. Simplicity and function driving form, as it should always be with any sort of electronic equipment.

I hope your laptop doesn't give you any more trouble.

Edit: Regarding the flex above the DVD drive, do you think this is something that could be fixed by replacing the palmrest with the padless one? If I ever get a T42 that's probably the first thing I would do anyway, since I utterly dislike the touchpad and I think it was a mistake on IBM's part to introduce that into the TP design.

Regards,

Ruben

[MichaelMeier]

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