Thinkpads Forum

I'm thinking to buy X61s and was wondering how is VistaUltimate performance on this machine? I use Photoshop CS3 and Office 2007 a lot and need flawless and fast machine.

On a 2GHZ X61 with 1GB of RAM, Vista Business wasn't very fast. Upgrading to 2GB made a big difference. In any case, Photoshop demands lots of RAM.

Still, if you're primarily concenred about performance, you're much better off sticking to XP and getting an X61 (not X61s).

I've used CS3 on X60s with 2GB ram and was quite ok for small to moderate files, when they were really big, i had to be patient on times. However, for the small size and weight, exceptionally good. I ran office without any problems.

On X61s (1,4 Ghz, 1GB ram) Vista Business is very, very bad idea. I had to change to XP pro...

I am really really hoping that Vista B. will run at least "moderately" ok on X61T 1.6 GHz and with 2 GB RAM...

I have an X61s (1.4 GHz, 2GB RAM, 5400RPM HDD) with Vista home basic and I have not noticed it being slow whatsoever.

I far prefer Vista to XP now that I've acutally used it. I really don't understand all the bad press that Vista receives - IMHO it is an obviously superior operating system in every way.

With 2GB of RAM (i'd recommend for most Vista machines), the X61(s) runs Vista well imho, office 2007 runs great, photoshop is not super fast but it never really is, 4GB of RAM and a 7200rpm drive might help if your really concerned, Intel Turbo Memory might also be a consideration for you.

If the second miniPCI slot is free, can I install 1G turbo memory myself? Where could one buy the module (Turbo Memory miniPCI card)?

jamess wrote:If the second miniPCI slot is free, can I install 1G turbo memory myself? Where could one buy the module (Turbo Memory miniPCI card)?

Yes you can. Amazon.com sells them.

Just found it there. Thanks!

I have X32 1.6GHz with 1.25GB of memory and upgraded hard disk. I use it with Windows XP. I'm not sure I want to buy X61 if I can't run Vista B on it. This is soo disappointing.

jamesdin wrote:I have X32 1.6GHz with 1.25GB of memory and upgraded hard disk. I use it with Windows XP. I'm not sure I want to buy X61 if I can't run Vista B on it. This is soo disappointing.

I'm using an x32 right now and my x61s is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. I'll be swapping the hard drive for a 7200 rpm unit and then installing XP Pro on it and I am expecting a very big jump in performance. not that the x32 is a slouch but the core 2 duos are something else. I don't think the x61s is really well suited for vista but it doesn't really bother me because I am not that keen on running it anyways.

Are there particular features in vista that you want or need?

The X61 is well suited for Vista, the only thing that doesn't score well is graphics but then I don't think you can argue that all integrated graphics systems are unsuitable for Vista (which would be the case by that argument).

Jamesdin, don't be put off, i'm speaking as someone who liked the X3* systems, hated the X4* systems and love the X6* systems. Photoshop CS3 will for sure run better on an X61 running Vista (with the 2GB) than it ill run on the X31 under XP

jamesdin wrote:I have X32 1.6GHz with 1.25GB of memory and upgraded hard disk. I use it with Windows XP. I'm not sure I want to buy X61 if I can't run Vista B on it. This is soo disappointing.

By all reports, X61 (at least with 2 GB) runs Vista Business and Ultimate very well. The CPU is more than sufficient, and the Aero is very happy with the X3100.

I have a 1.6 GHz X31 with 1.3 GB right now (essentially very similar to your X32) and I have an X61 on order. I fully expect to run Vista Business on it, and I have not seen any negative reports (apart from ones at 1 GB -- but that's just memory, nothing to do with the X61 per se) to convince me that this is a bad idea. I'm getting it with 1 GB, and adding a 2 GB module and a 7K200 disk, and I may add a 4 GB SD card for ReadyBoost (why not, it's cheap enough!). Vroooom!

I thought the SD reader's speeds aren't fast enough to take advantage of ReadyBoost?

Here in Taiwan they sell 4GB and 8GB USB Flash memory which can apparently be used as a Turbo to enhance Windows Vista so even if the SD Card reader isn't up to speed the USB 2 port should be up to speed.. I am off to Hong-Kong next week and am wondering myself how an X61 would run with the new 200 GB 7200 RPM HDD from Hitachi along with a 4GB or 8Gb flash memory boost on the Windows Vista X61. I think in Hong-Kong they only offer the 2.0 Core 2 Dup CPU and not the 2.2 like they do in America

Thanks for all replies. I've decided to wait for a new Penryn X series. I think X60 series is a beautiful machine, but since new mobile CPU from Intel will be released by the end of this year, I figured new X series will be sporting this new CPU sometimes in early 2008. Who knows, maybe they will surprise us with a wide-screen LED screens as well. It's a high end PC machine after all.

I noticed that some people are buying over 4GB+ of memory for Vista. Can 32bit Vista address more than 3GB of memory??

The Montevina chipset (which will support the Penryn CPUs) is expected to be released next spring, about a year after Santa Rosa. Accordingly, you can expect to see the next X series models next summer.

Vista x64 can address 4 GB on an X series; with the standard 32-bit version, you can only see 3 GB, although, you will still get the benefit of dual-channel memory access.

my x61t has 2gb of ram an 1gb turbo memory and a 5.4k 80gb hdd. nothing special.

it runs vista ultimate with aero just fine, office runs great, everything is speedy. That is with the 1.6ghz low voltage chip, the regular x61 or x61s should be more than sufficient.

And mine is very snappy (X61, 2.0 GHz, 3 GB, 7K200, Vista Business). 3.4 experience index (based on graphics) -- CPU, memory and disk are all in the 5.0 range.

Intel is releasing Penryn "in the second part of 2007". Mass production is expected by the end of the year, which makes the chipset on schedule for Q1 2008 release.

I think another good reason to wait for Penryn is full support for Direct X10, and onboard WiMax.

Penryn gives you nothing for WiMAX or DirectX 10 -- it's just a CPU, and alll that functionality is in the chipset. And the Montevina chipset isn't coming this year.

In the first half of 2008, Santa Rosa will be refreshed with Intel's innovative 45nm Hi-k dual core mobile processor, codenamed "Penryn." Later in 2008, Perlmutter said Intel will deliver "Montevina" processor technology, also with Penryn, for greater performance and energy efficiency. With approximately 40 percent smaller components, Montevina will be ideal for mini- and sub-notebooks, and will include integrated hardware decode for high-definition video.

http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/ ... corp_a.htm

You won't see a new X series until the Montevina chipset is released -- the current models are not scheduled to go out of production until late next summer.

I am currently running Vista Business on my X61s (1.6 lv, 3GB ram, 100gb 7200) and it runs great!

I am actually quite surprised on how well it runs. I will also be installing a 1gb turbo card tomorrow.

tomh009 wrote:And mine is very snappy (X61, 2.0 GHz, 3 GB, 7K200, Vista Business). 3.4 experience index (based on graphics) -- CPU, memory and disk are all in the 5.0 range.

For some reason my X61s shows a 1.0 index for 3D graphics. I have the latest video drivers from Lenovo.

spune wrote:

tomh009 wrote:And mine is very snappy (X61, 2.0 GHz, 3 GB, 7K200, Vista Business). 3.4 experience index (based on graphics) -- CPU, memory and disk are all in the 5.0 range.

For some reason my X61s shows a 1.0 index for 3D graphics. I have the latest video drivers from Lenovo.

Try running the index again.

Also try installing the latest video drivers directly from Intel's website. They are newer than the Lenovo ones I think.

Jackboot wrote:Also try installing the latest video drivers directly from Intel's website. They are newer than the Lenovo ones I think.

I'm running version 7.14.10.1244 of the video driver. I think it was from Lenovo ...

Jackboot wrote:

spune wrote: For some reason my X61s shows a 1.0 index for 3D graphics. I have the latest video drivers from Lenovo.

Try running the index again.

Also try installing the latest video drivers directly from Intel's website. They are newer than the Lenovo ones I think.

I was in the same boat with you, after I tried 3 times install/un-install, it finally works!
I tried download the one from Intel, but it seems like it's hardware specific, can't install it...

I tried installing a copy of Vista on my T60 last night. Even though I have 2Gb of RAM it only detected 1Gb - but the performance was very snappy. I would expect the X61s to do just as well, if not better (faster chipset).