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X61 still relevant in 2020?

X60/X61 and X60t/X61t Series
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DJKylian
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Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2021 3:02 pm
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Re: X61 still relevant in 2020?

#61 Post by DJKylian » Sun Mar 21, 2021 1:54 pm

xelonakias wrote:
Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:57 am
Yes that does work, the converter quality is the deal here. Also keep in mind that sound output through the VGA-to-HDMI converter needs to pass the sound through a RCA cable from the headphones plug to an input on the converter. You cannot get more than Stereo sound to the best of my knowledge.
They work perfectly with a Creative Audigy 2 ZS pcmcia card which has optical 7.1 as well. Or any usb codec that have spdif or optical in and outputs.

Dekks
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Re: X61 still relevant in 2020?

#62 Post by Dekks » Sun Mar 21, 2021 7:53 pm

TPFanatic wrote:
Mon Feb 17, 2020 11:31 am
X61 is the smallest form factor fully featured ThinkPad. It also happens to be a classic design with the 4:3 screen nearly completely filling its lid area.

The biggest problem with using old ultraportables in their intended purpose is that good batteries are not easily accessible, plentiful, or affordable. I have a neat little X60s that behaves well with an SSD but it's good for an hour at most off the charger. Recelling is an option, but it is not easily accessible, plentiful, or affordable.
Agreed 110% - only IF you have access to good batteries. I don't have any working ones now and can't find a source that's reputable in the UK.
Home - Win 10 MSi GF63 Gaming Laptop /Arch GNOME 3/X230 Tablet /X61 [Korean] - Debian 10/T60p - Ubuntu 20.10 Helix 2
Work - Win10/Thinkpad X1 Tablet Gen 2

iamdmc
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Re: X61 still relevant in 2020?

#63 Post by iamdmc » Thu Jul 01, 2021 5:13 am

Dekks wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 7:53 pm
TPFanatic wrote:
Mon Feb 17, 2020 11:31 am
X61 is the smallest form factor fully featured ThinkPad. It also happens to be a classic design with the 4:3 screen nearly completely filling its lid area.

The biggest problem with using old ultraportables in their intended purpose is that good batteries are not easily accessible, plentiful, or affordable. I have a neat little X60s that behaves well with an SSD but it's good for an hour at most off the charger. Recelling is an option, but it is not easily accessible, plentiful, or affordable.
Agreed 110% - only IF you have access to good batteries. I don't have any working ones now and can't find a source that's reputable in the UK.
Do the USB C mod (or buy a USB C to barrel adaptor), then use USB C PD powerbanks. I use the Anker PowerCore 10,000 slim PD (18W) with my T480s (about 90 mins per 10,000 pack) and X61s (about 60 mins)
ThinkPad P14sgen2 (2021)
i7-1185G7 | 32+8GB RAM | 1TB Samsung 980 Pro (PCIe 3.0 speed) | UHD upgrade | Glass Touchpad | Intel AX210

The X61 is dead... long live the X61

Past IBM ThinkPads: T480s, T450s, X250, X230, X220, X300, T410, X61s, T60p, T41, X31, T23, A21m

pigroasts
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Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2020 2:05 am
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Re: X61 still relevant in 2020?

#64 Post by pigroasts » Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:01 pm

iamdmc wrote:
Thu Jul 01, 2021 5:13 am
Dekks wrote:
Sun Mar 21, 2021 7:53 pm


Agreed 110% - only IF you have access to good batteries. I don't have any working ones now and can't find a source that's reputable in the UK.
Do the USB C mod (or buy a USB C to barrel adaptor), then use USB C PD powerbanks. I use the Anker PowerCore 10,000 slim PD (18W) with my T480s (about 90 mins per 10,000 pack) and X61s (about 60 mins)
[censored] that's a really good idea. off to buy a usb c to barrel adaptor...

mikemex
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Re: X61 still relevant in 2020?

#65 Post by mikemex » Sun Aug 22, 2021 6:21 pm

The problem with any old anything is physical decay. Although there might be notable exceptions (such as industrial grade stuff), most electronic devices can't be trusted to run reliably decades they were manufactured. Capacitors and rubber become dry, plastic becomes brittle, gold platted connections electromigrate and eventually tarnish and change resistance, etc..

Nothing lasts forever.

That being said, an X61 in good shape is not so old to be useless at this point. But there may be some challenges you should be aware of.

Lacking processing power aside, X61 is what I might call a "transition machine". This is, it was released in a period when major architectural changes took place. One of such changes was the switch from non scalable screen rendering (GDI) to scalable one (GPU assisted Aero). This is important, because the integrated intel graphics (X3100) was optimized for the former, not the later (Windows XP and not later OSes). It simply lacks the muscle to do so, but this is relatively easy to overcome in Windows 7 (just disable all eye candy in the performance settings in the system configuration). I'm not even sure if there are drivers for later versions of Windows, as I have never tried to go beyond 7.

The other problem is the switch from 32 to 64 bit software: while it runs in 64 bit mode, it was not common back then, and drivers in that mode may not be so polished or even available. And even if you install a 64 bit OS on it, you won't benefit much from it unless you go above 4GB of RAM, which is not very likely considering this is a DDR2 machine and 4GB modules were super expensive and rare back then,

But also this:
TPFanatic wrote:
Mon Feb 17, 2020 11:31 am
The biggest problem with using old ultraportables in their intended purpose is that good batteries are not easily accessible, plentiful, or affordable.
That's a big drawback about using any old anything: spares. Some years after the initial release, when generalized replacement by a newer generation takes place, the market tends to flood with the old one. This is the right moment to buy what you like. After a while, supplies run dry and the market reaches a stall point because no new stuff is being made. From there, only a few places will have what you need, and they'll offer it for very high prices, knowing that there is no competition.

Myself, I'm struggling at the moment to find T420 era keyboards at a reasonable price. Sure, they are available, but they tend to sell for nearly the price of a complete machine! So I've decided to just hoard complete spare machines if I really like a model; that way I can cannibalize them and not worry much about predicting what I might need in the future.

-Written on my old and trusty X301.
X301: SU9600 | 8GB | 1TB | WXGA+
X1C5: 7600U | 16GB | 1TB | FHD
X1C9: 1145G7 | 16GB | 1TB | WUXGA | WWAN
X1Y8: 1365U | 32GB | 1TB | WUXGA
P14s G1 AMD: 4750U | 32GB | 1TB | PG FHD Touch
T14 G2: 1145G7 | 32GB | 1TB | FHD

dr_st
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Re: X61 still relevant in 2020?

#66 Post by dr_st » Mon Aug 23, 2021 2:24 am

Good timing to bump this thread. :) I just set up my wife's old, no-longer-useful-to-her-or-to-me-or-to-the-kids X61, as a secondary desk station for my parents. It is docked with external monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, running Windows 7 x86. It is much faster and miles more useful than the Pentium 4 desktop with WinXP that used to serve this purpose.
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

crashnburn
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Re: X61 still relevant in 2020?

#67 Post by crashnburn » Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:39 am

dr_st wrote:
Mon Aug 23, 2021 2:24 am
Good timing to bump this thread. :) I just set up my wife's old, no-longer-useful-to-her-or-to-me-or-to-the-kids X61, as a secondary desk station for my parents. It is docked with external monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, running Windows 7 x86. It is much faster and miles more useful than the Pentium 4 desktop with WinXP that used to serve this purpose.
Ha ha! The things the old gen have to use, when they were not former computer geeks :P Wonder what happens to those of us who were, when the time comes :P
T61 8892-02U: 14.1"SXGA+/2.2C2D/4G/XP|Adv Mini Dock|30" Gateway XHD3000 WQXGA via Dual-link DVI
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)

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