Is it worth to buy a thinkpad x41?

[phil75]

Hi,
I have the opportunity to buy a thinkpad x41 for AU$400 but I am wondering if the laptop is going to last for a long time... It looks in good condition and I know that his performances and size are perfect for what I want to do with it. How long can I expect using this computer again?
Thanks,
Philippe

[ZaZ]

The X41s are nice units, but the 4200RPM hard drives are slow and have limited upgrade options. If you can find a good condition X3x unit or add some more $$$ to get a X6x machine, they'll offer you better performance.

[sjthinkpader]

AU$400 does seemed to be high by US standards. Considering that an 1.8 inch HDD will cost about US$80-110. If the HDD size is sufficient for your use, AU$300 would be a good price.

[marYn]

x41 hard drive is very limiting factor. from technical side it is 1.8" drive BUT also non-standard one. it has connectors on the longer side while standard 1.8" drive has it on the shorter side.

it is quite slow and available in capacities up to 60GB.

this makes this model to be almost un-upgradeable. few available drives on ebay are therefore very expensive.

anyway you may try to buy compact flash adapter and try to use CF cards as SolidStateDisc check other topics for more info.

[underclocker]

$400 AUD is about $335 USD. I do not know the Australian market, but in the US, X60s machines are occasionally selling for under $400. X41's often under $200. Also, note that there isn't much difference between an X40 and X41. X40's might even be prefered because with an SSD upgrade, they won't show the hard drive error that X41's would.

X41's are nice, but the shortcomings are noted above. I'd suggest waiting for a lower priced X41 or an X60s - or a visit to the U.S. (or a friend traveling between the two).

[antenna]

I spent $400 on an essentially perfect condition X41 about 4-5 months ago and am actually very happy with mine. I did look at the X61 but they were nowhere near $400 over here at the time. Prices over here don't generally compare.

I was concerned about the HDD and performance before I bought the thing but I have no complaints with the speed at all. Everything appears to be well built and put together and I expect to be using it for the next few years.

Of course I can only say I think mine was worth it... for me..

[rek]

Like others have mentioned, when I was shopping for something "better than a netbook but not costing a lot", I preferred the X40 to the X41, as I knew it'd let me replace the HDD without having any BIOS annoyances.

The netbook craze should help the useful lifespan of the X40/41 machines, as their performance is still superior to the current crop of Atom-based netbooks. OS vendors are cognisant of the netbook market and are starting to cater for it, and this can only help older Pentium-M based notebooks. In terms of physical longevity, you can't really do much better than T or X series ThinkPads.

From one perspective, you can think of the X4x series as being "netbooks ahead of their time" - there isn't a huge weight or size difference between them and 9-10" screen netbooks, the keyboard is in-another-league better, and have much better docking and port facilities. Second hand X4s are also half the price of new netbooks

Should the HDD issue be something that annoys you, the only realistic upgrade path is a 1.8" PATA SSD from vendors like Kingspec and Lenovo - or possibly use CF cards with an adapter. People have discussed this elsewhere in this forum. I was going to buy a Kingspec SSD for my X40, but somehow talked myself into buying an X60s instead (and still having to spend the extra for an SSD to match )

BT my X40 is for sale and in your price range, should you be interested... link: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=79050

[Puppy]

I'd prefer X6x today because there is one mini pci express slot you can use for a WWAN card.

[sjthinkpader]

We use removable cards for WWAN since we can share the use amongst several PCs. X6x are nice but they are not built as well as older models.

[control]

I believe so, I chose my X41t over a netbook.
Bigger screen, better keyboard, faster cpu, more solid design overall,
battery life is pretty equal with the standard and extended life battery
and it was cheaper for me used off of ebay.

[ajkula66]

rek wrote:

From one perspective, you can think of the X4x series as being "netbooks ahead of their time"

I'd reserve that phrase for 240/X/Z (especially Z) and S30/31 series...

control wrote:

I believe so, I chose my X41t over a netbook.

That's probably the biggest small notebook one could go for, and the heaviest one as well. But nothing beats an IPS/AFFS LCD...

If I were buying a small ThinkPad today-with the idea of competing with a netbook pricewise-I'd be looking at X60/s.

However, my personal choice as a daily "on the go" machine is the first non-ThinkPad I've ever owned for personal use, and it's in my signature: Panasonic CF-R4. Having said that, I had to learn to live without a trackpoint, and with a machine that is an absolute PITA (like any Panasonic) to work on. Apart from that, it's a splendid little laptop, and I hear that the newer ones (CF-R6 and later) are built even better. But inexpensive they're not.

My $0.02 only...

[sjthinkpader]

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