Thinkpads Forum

I am looking for some advice on which to go with. I currently own the Z61p (my review here: http://www.hothardware.com/articles/IBM ... ad%5FZ61p/) Recently I changed roles with my company which requires substantial more travel. This make lugging the Z61p around rather difficult as it is bulky and heavy. I am looking to replace it with either the X61 or the T61p. Ideally I would like to go with the X61 however a few recent drawbacks have come to light for which I would like clarification on.

1.) From what I have heard, the dock for the X61 does not have a DVI port? This is key as all my monitors have DVI as does my TV. Is there another dock option other than the Ultrabase? Can I use my Advanced Dock?

2.) The X61 does not have an ExpressCard 54 slot only 34 via adapter. Is this confirmed and has anyone got a shot of the adapter? This is important as I eventually plan on using an external PCI-E graphics enclosure such as the Magma or Asus XG Station.

3.) If I go with the WWAN adapter from either Cingular or Verizon, do I loose the ability to add turbo cache? The X61 model provided through EPP with the WWAN does not allow a Turbocache selection/option.

4.) It is unclear to me the resolution of the screen on the X61. What is it?

Any assistance would be appreciated.

{ISV-K}SVX wrote:4.) It is unclear to me the resolution of the screen on the X61. What is it?

It's pitiful, 1024x768. Some people like it, but because you're used to the Z61p's 1920x1200, the X61's resolution would be a huge disappointment for you.

I recommend getting the T61p, and to minimize its weight, take out the optical drive and use the X-series AC adapter. Or, get the X61 tablet with 1400x1050 resolution.

{ISV-K}SVX wrote: 1.) From what I have heard, the dock for the X61 does not have a DVI port? This is key as all my monitors have DVI as does my TV. Is there another dock option other than the Ultrabase? Can I use my Advanced Dock?

The current X61 series (typical X61, X61s and X61 tablet) do not have DVI port in neither their unit nor ultrabase. There is currently no other docking that supports DVI on this series.

T61 and T61p also do not have DVI port in their units but support DVI connection thru docks.

Got to be honest, I am struggling with the T series. Other than the Santa Rosa chipset, UWB, and only slightly lighter weight, I don't see much reason to upgrade from the Z61p.

Heh, so then why ask? Seems like you don't want the upgrade.

I agree with the above posts - the T61p and X61 are completely different machines. The T61p is 8the* mobile workstatation while the X61 is an ultraportable machine. True, the X-series has become a lot more powerful than it used to be, but it will not measure up to the capabilities of a T-series p machine.

The X-series has 1024x764 LCDs, the T61p has a 1920x1600 LCD.
The X-series has Intel x3100 graphics, the T61p has a nice nVidia Quadro card.

Also, it is true that if you get WWAN you cannot get Turbo Memory as the WWAN card takes up the second PCIe slot. However, this assumes that you also have a WiFi card using the first PCIe slot. If you don't have a WiFi card then perhaps you will have the option of installing Turbo Memory (but I don't know if the online order form is intelligent enough to understand this so you may have to speak to a phone representative).

To me it seems like you are more interested in a powerful desktop replacement rather than a light and relatively powerful travel machine. If weight and size didn't bother me I'd go for the T61 - but I have a powerful desktop and as such only need a light and small machine for being mobile.

{ISV-K}SVX wrote:only slightly lighter weight

The T61p is about 1 pound lighter, which does help. If you decide to upgrade to a T61p, in addition to my above suggestions, get a 6-cell battery instead of the 9-cell.

Antioch wrote:Heh, so then why ask? Seems like you don't want the upgrade.

That is just it. When I started researching, it was about weight and power. I have since discovered that the T is not much less than what I have now nor does it seem to be much more powerful. I am not sure it is worth the upgrade now (hence all the my questions on the X)

The X is truly where my heart lies. It is leaps and bounds above the x20 I had 3 1/2 yrs ago and weight is perfect for my needs. It apparently is still lacking in certain obvious areas such as screen resolution and lack of DVI on dock, etc.

Anyone got an X61 tablet they could share their thoughts on?

I think I am going to hold off on the X series at least until they get DVI, better LCD, and an internal DVD rom like others. I am now leaning to the T. I will take this up on the T forum. Thanks for your input guys. Much appreciated!

{ISV-K}SVX wrote:Anyone got an X61 tablet they could share their thoughts on?

I have a 7762-D6U that I'm very pleased with so far. I've only had it a few weeks now and really haven't had time to explore the tablet features as much as I'd like, but it does everything I need in a small, lightweight and sturdy package.

That annoys me that they broke dock compatibility on the 6-series, between the X and other models. I do believe there are docks for the X41/t and older that can handle DVI...

Although, I will rarely use an external monitor, especially with the 1400x1050 screen in the X61t I'm getting. And, my monitor doesn't do DVI anyway, but the ability would've been nice.

As for the tablet features, I've not used them under XP Tablet (JUST got 27 XP Tablet-based X61ts in,) but I have used a Lenovo demo 7762-95U, and liked it a LOT. Before, I wasn't even a fan of tablet PCs, but I found that a tablet's really better for web browsing - web pages are meant to be read vertically, and a tablet lets you do that properly, for one.

bhtooefr wrote:That annoys me that they broke dock compatibility on the 6-series, between the X and other models. I do believe there are docks for the X41/t and older that can handle DVI...

Most of the stuff in the docks are just pass-through. (Notable exception being a dedicated USB 2.0 hub in the full Docks.) If your Thinkpad can't output DVI (none of the X series can), a dock isn't going to change that.

Why can't the X output DVI, though?

Same dock connector, same chipset, same graphics as the T61, which can.

bhtooefr wrote:That annoys me that they broke dock compatibility on the 6-series, between the X and other models. I do believe there are docks for the X41/t and older that can handle DVI...

The X3 and X4 UltraBases do VGA only, not DVI. Each generation has had its own UltraBase, and the form factor changes along necessitate that. Other improvements over the X3 UltraBase include audio jacks, an on/off switch, four USB ports and none of the built-in USB are blocked.

Right, but my point was that the X2 and X3 could go into a Dock II, which has a DVI passthrough (I know the X2 can't do DVI, but...)

I will grant that I just looked up the X4 Dock, and it has no DVI passthrough.

bhtooefr wrote:Why can't the X output DVI, though?

Probably for the same reason budget LCD screens only come with D-SUB inputs, even though DVI is internally simpler to process.

bhtooefr wrote:Right, but my point was that the X2 and X3 could go into a Dock II, which has a DVI passthrough (I know the X2 can't do DVI, but...)

I suspect the Dock II was not very popular (I know it worked with the X3 series, but I don't know of anyone actually using one, instead of an UltraBase) -- probably because it did not have an UltraBay.

The Dock II has an Ultrabay 2000...

My bad -- dock confusion! But the question follows, then: why are so few people using a Dock II with an X3 series ThinkPad?

Well, what with it being expensive, large, and kind of loud, it's probably somewhat overkill for just using an optical drive.