Thinkpads Forum

Hi everyone. I do a fair amount of financial modelling and use statisical software packages on a regular basis. As such, I found my current x60s (l2400 and 2gb ram) slow. I was thinking about upgrading to the x60 (C2D 1.83GHZ) or x61 (C2D 2GHZ). Do u guys think that this will make a difference? Will the x61 be significantly better performance wise than the x60? If the performance is going to be the same (no lag), I'll stick with the X60s. Thanks.

Core 2 Duo gains you ~15% over Core Duo; if you add to that a jump from 1.4 GHz to 2.0 GHz, you are probably looking at a performance increase of over 50%.

Is your modeling software CPU-bound (ie the CPU is maxed out while your working on your models)?

Yeah the cpu gets maxed out at times and the entire system lags. The LV2400 Processor is 1.66 GHZ so I guess we could be looking at roughly a 40% increase in perfomance? Also, the 800 MHZ FSB would add some boost.

The chipset supports an 800 MHz FSB, but at least the current crop of ThinkPads still run at 667 MHz.

you can upgrade the cpu to a faster core 2 duo..

BillMorrow wrote:you can upgrade the cpu to a faster core 2 duo..

Bill, I didn't think the X series CPUs were upgradeable? My X31, for sure, has the CPU soldered onto the motherboard.

Is there a way to upgrade the cpu in the x60s? I would prefer that to buying a brand new laptop. Please let me know. Thanks.

thinkpadmba wrote:Is there a way to upgrade the cpu in the x60s?

I believe you can upgrade the CPU by switching the motherboard for one with a faster CPU soldered on. I can't even imagine the cost of this procedure.

thinkpadmba wrote:Is there a way to upgrade the cpu in the x60s?

No -- unlike the socketed CPUs on the T-series, the X-series motherboards have soldered CPUs. (Note: Replacing the motherboard is not attractive as a new X-series replacement motherboard costs as much from IBM/Lenovo as the full X-series notebook did when it was bought new.)

I have a couple of questions too:
How does the C2O processor in the X60 compare to the new processor in the X61? For everyday use will I notice a huge difference?

Is the graphic card of the X61 much improved compared to the X60? I am planning to use an S-IPS screen with an X60/X61. I can save a lot by getting an X60 over the X61.
In regard to the screen: Is there any way to get DVI out of the X60?

Cheers,
Rasmus

RasmusP wrote:How does the C2O processor in the X60 compare to the new processor in the X61? For everyday use will I notice a huge difference?

No difference.

Is the graphic card of the X61 much improved compared to the X60? I am planning to use an S-IPS screen with an X60/X61.

No difference with respect to using the screen you mention.

Is there any way to get DVI out of the X60?

No.

Note: One could provide more complicated answers to your questions, but the net net answers in the context of your questions are the above answers.

For the graphics -- probably no difference for business apps (and no difference in terms of driving an external IPS monitor over the VGA connector) but the new X3100 integrated graphics are significantly improved, though. Once Intel gets their act together on the drivers, the X3100 should be capable of moderate modern games, though surely not the high end.