Thinkpads Forum

It's probably just me, but I'm just not getting along with Lenovo's descriptions of X60 options.....

o Batteries: There are three? The highest capacity one is over $200?! Does it form a cylinder when installed, extending the back of the machine an inch or so, like other ultraportables I've used?

o Dock: The X6 comes with an optical? Or do you have to order one separately? Which size, Ultrabay, slim, or so skinny you can't see it edge-on? There are both a combo (just burns CD), and a kitchen-sink, burns dual-layer deluxe unit?

Are the serial and parallel ports "real" ones, or problematic USB-converted? Does XP pick them up as standard, and share them? Can you set the parallel to PS/2 or ECP? Choice of (fake, I know) IRQ and LPT/COM, for printing from DOS apps?

o Cases: Is there a "sleeve with handles" style? Is it bottom-padded, like the IBM cases of yore? With air? Will it fit an X with the big battery?

I believe this is the lowdown on the batteries:

8 Cell High-Capacity: This protrudes quite a bit from the back as you guessed.

4 Cell Enhanced Capacity: This is the standard one?

4 Cell Slim-Line: I believe this only fits the X60s properly (from forum mutterings)

Extended Life: This sticks into the docking port on the bottom of your machine, so it can be used simultaneously with one of the other batteries.

o Batteries: There are three? The highest capacity one is over $200?! Does it form a cylinder when installed, extending the back of the machine an inch or so, like other ultraportables I've used?

I think there are actually four batteries available for the machine: 3 connect to the battery "bay" and one connects to the docking port.

There's a:
-4 Cell Slimline Battery - Prismatic (this is smaller, lighter, is flush with machine, and doesn't raise it any higher; however it doesn't have as much power - I still got 3 hours off of it with regular usage in power saving mode)
-4 Cell Enhanced Battery - Cylindrical (this is slightly bigger, slightly heavier, sticks out the back slightly, and raises the laptop off its built in back feet; it has more power than the prismatic 4 cell)
-8 Cell Battery - Cylindrical (Big, heavy, sticks out the back at least an inch, raises the machine up about .5 inches; it's supposed to last about 8 hours).

Then there's an extended life battery. It connects to the docking port and includes a plastic piece so that it's like a miniature dock. I believe it's a 4-cell cylindrical battery but costs as much as an 8-cell.

I have the slimline and the 8 cell, if I've got the facts wrong about the 4-cell enhance or the extended life, please someone correct me.

trentblase wrote:I believe this is the lowdown on the batteries:

8 Cell High-Capacity: This protrudes quite a bit from the back as you guessed.

4 Cell Enhanced Capacity: This is the standard one?

4 Cell Slim-Line: I believe this only fits the X60s properly (from forum mutterings)

Extended Life: This sticks into the docking port on the bottom of your machine, so it can be used simultaneously with one of the other batteries.

Exact. One could also add the Ultrabay Slim Battery which you can put inside the Dock (instead of the opticalreader/HDD).

Of course you have to chose between Extended Life Battery and the UltraDock !!

smvp6459 wrote:-4 Cell Slimline Battery - this is smaller, lighter, is flush with machine, and doesn't raise it any higher

This description is correct, the battery fits flush with the back and the bottom of the computer and does not increase any of those dimensions. The computer rests on the built in rubber pads on the rear corners of the case.

smvp6459 wrote:-4 Cell Enhanced Battery - this is slightly bigger, slightly heavier, sticks out the back slightly, and raises the laptop off its built in back feet;

This description is incorrect, the battery fits flush with the back, and protrudes downwards on the bottom raising the computer a small amount, approx .5 inches. This battery has rubber pads that the computer rests on instead of the pads in the rear corners of the computer. My experience returns about 50 % more run time than the 4 cell slim battery.

smvp6459 wrote:-8 Cell Battery - Big, heavy, sticks out the back at least an inch, raises the machine up about .5 inches; it's supposed to last about 8 hours.

Nice description here. (my experience returns about 160 - 180% run time over the 4 cell slim battery.

Interestingly, my experience with the 4 cell slim battery is amazing, of course it depends on what types of applications I'm running, but for writing reports and working with excel I have noted 2.5 hours of operation! I could not believe it, and this has been repeated frequently....

3 hours+. More like 3.5 hours here if I pay attention to LCD brightness etc.

thibouille27 wrote:3 hours+. More like 3.5 hours here if I pay attention to LCD brightness etc.

True, I tend to run with the brightness on full...

archer6 wrote:

thibouille27 wrote:3 hours+. More like 3.5 hours here if I pay attention to LCD brightness etc.

True, I tend to run with the brightness on full...

And I'll receive my big fat 8 hours battery soon