Thinkpads Forum

Hi everyone.

I recently bought a used Thinkpad X60 (1706-7AU) and I'm looking for some configuration advice. The basic specs are; Intel T2400 @ 1.83GHz, 2.00 GB RAM, and a Hitachi 80 GB hard drive. I'm a photographer so this X60 will be used primarily for tethered shooting in Live View mode for macro and close-up photos.

So far I've updated the BIOS to the latest version 2.19; run DISKPART to clean, repartition and reformat the hard drive; and upgraded the OS from Windows XP SP3 to Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (32-bit). Then I downloaded the Lenova ThinkVantage 4 System Update utility and installed all the Recommended Updates (there were no Critical Updates). Its also suggesting three Optional Updates so I'm wondering if there's an value in installing them:

• ThinkVantage Access Connections for Windows 7
  System Migration Assistant 6.0
  ThinkPad Device Experience for Windows 7

Any advice? Especially on the usefulness of ThinkPad Device Experience? Are there any other utilities/apps that I should install?

Also, does anyone know if the screen is an IPS screen? It appears different from the IPS monitors on my desktops and certainly the viewing angle isn't as wide as on my desktops.

What's a recommended source for parts? I'd like to have a second battery as backup and possibly increase RAM to the 4 GB max (for installing a 64-bit OS). I'd also like to tinker with replacing the current screen.

And is there some place I can find a User Guide preferable in PDF format? I've only been able to find a single page sheet that shows how to turn on the computer and the Guide on Lenovo's site is an executable file which Lenovo advises is not compatible with Windows 7.

Thanks in advance.

- James

Only the tablet version of the X60 use IPS screens, which is why it does not offer the angles.

From a performance perspective the best thing you can do is upgrade to a SSD if you can live with the limited capacity.

ZaZ wrote:Only the tablet version of the X60 use IPS screens, which is why it does not offer the angles.

From a performance perspective the best thing you can do is upgrade to a SSD if you can live with the limited capacity.

Thanks. I guess I'll just have to get used to the screen. I'm not using it for any color critical work; just to view my histogram to ensure no shadow or highlight clipping in my Raw files.

I'll look into an SSD drive if I can find one with decent capacity; raw files tend to add up fast.

- James

You can download the HMM in PDF format here: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-62866
Don't bother with those "recommended" updates.
All parts are available from Lenovo/IBM, most parts are also on eBay.
But if you need anything, ask in our Market forum, better prices, better quality, better sellers.
You can put in 2x2GB RAM, but only 3GB is usable (chip limitation), even with a 64-bit OS.
But since your CPU is a T2400 (Core Duo), 64-bit will not run on that machine.
For that it will need a Core 2 Duo (C2D) CPU. You cannot swap out the CPU in an X60/X61, only the whole motherboard.
If you need the RAM and/or need to run a 64-bit OS, get an X61 or (or the lighter X61s).
They all have C2D CPUs and can take up to 8GB RAM.

Appreciate the link to the manual and the other information.

I don't particularly need a 64-bit OS or additional RAM for what I'm doing right now; I was just more interested in tinkering with the computer. My camera bag is already quite heavy so I'm not sure I'd want to add something heavier than the X60 but I'll check out the Market forum.

RealBlackStuff wrote:You can download the HMM in PDF format here: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-62866
Don't bother with those "recommended" updates.
All parts are available from Lenovo/IBM, most parts are also on eBay.
But if you need anything, ask in our Market forum, better prices, better quality, better sellers.
You can put in 2x2GB RAM, but only 3GB is usable (chip limitation), even with a 64-bit OS.
But since your CPU is a T2400 (Core Duo), 64-bit will not run on that machine.
For that it will need a Core 2 Duo (C2D) CPU. You cannot swap out the CPU in an X60/X61, only the whole motherboard.
If you need the RAM and/or need to run a 64-bit OS, get an X61 or (or the lighter X61s).
They all have C2D CPUs and can take up to 8GB RAM.

jan1215 wrote:I'll look into an SSD drive if I can find one with decent capacity; raw files tend to add up fast.

I forgot the Seagate Momentus XT might be an option too. It's a platter drive with flash drive attached. Once it figures you usage patterns, it offers near SSD performance. The benefit of this is it offers up to 750GB of storage for around the price of a 128GB SSD.

The 500 GB version of the Seagate drive is very reasonably priced; thanks for that suggestion.

I really do appreciate the helpful responses I've received. I took the X60 outdoors today for the first time and was quite disappointed that I couldn't see the screen even in the late evening light. I thought I had a dud until I did some searching around and found that I could adjust the Display setting in the BIOS sto make it brigher when battery powered. Hopefully that solves the problem I encountered or perhaps I should look at an X200 unit.

ZaZ wrote: I forgot the Seagate Momentus XT might be an option too. It's a platter drive with flash drive attached. Once it figures you usage patterns, it offers near SSD performance. The benefit of this is it offers up to 750GB of storage for around the price of a 128GB SSD.

While the X200 is brighter than X61, at 200 nits, is still probably not bright enough for the outdoors. You'll probably do OK in the shade. You've got a couple options. The X200t and X201t tablets did offer some brighter screens that might be worth a look, though because they are tablets, the touch surface does effect the image produced by the LCD, but they're still better than most laptop LCDs. The brighter screened versions are harder to find and command a bit of a premium. The other option would be the X220 or X230. Their IPS screens are 300 nits, which is about twice as bright as the X60. While it'll never match a 1000 nit Panasonic notebook, I think they're at least usable as long as the sun is not shining directly into the screen. They'll obviously be more expensive too. The X230 is coming next month. If you can wait a bit, you might see some good deals on the X220. For example at the end of the X200 run, you could get one with a three year warranty for less than $600. A lot will probably depend on how well Lenovo manages the inventory, but then again, a lot of people are miffed at the chiclet keyboard on the X230 and may snap up the remaining X220 while they can.

You're really tempting me to take the plunge on an X220 . I went after the X60 because I know it would be in for some rough handling; otherwise I would use a Macbook. But I was really surprised how washed out it looked in even diffused outdoor light. Now i'm understanding how you guys all have multiple models

ZaZ wrote:While the X200 is brighter than X61, at 200 nits, is still probably not bright enough for the outdoors. You'll probably do OK in the shade. You've got a couple options. The X200t and X201t tablets did offer some brighter screens that might be worth a look, though because they are tablets, the touch surface does effect the image produced by the LCD, but they're still better than most laptop LCDs. The brighter screened versions are harder to find and command a bit of a premium. The other option would be the X220 or X230. Their IPS screens are 300 nits, which is about twice as bright as the X60. While it'll never match a 1000 nit Panasonic notebook, I think they're at least usable as long as the sun is not shining directly into the screen. They'll obviously be more expensive too. The X230 is coming next month. If you can wait a bit, you might see some good deals on the X220. For example at the end of the X200 run, you could get one with a three year warranty for less than $600. A lot will probably depend on how well Lenovo manages the inventory, but then again, a lot of people are miffed at the chiclet keyboard on the X230 and may snap up the remaining X220 while they can.

@jan1215:
there's no need to use the 'quote' button for a reply, unless you want to highlight a specific part of of the post you are replying to.
Using the 'postreply' button (on the left, under the last post in a thread) saves us from having to look at everything twice.
Thanks in advance.

My apologies; its a habit from the photography forum I post on where the threaded view makes it difficult to understand to whom a specific reply is directed.