Bought a X61s and seeking your advice on ultrabase: yes/no?

[dimsumfan]

Been lurking a long time without posting, and first want to say I appreciate all the advice/help available here!

Decided to buy the X61s and thought I had ordered an Ultrabase with it, but apparently didn't. And just learned that the X3 Ultrabase I have for my X31 will not work with the X61s. I can't even buy an "empty" Ultrabase in hopes of inserting my existing CDRW drive in it.

Lenovo is asking $368 for the X6 Ultrabase with CDRW and DVD-read only, or $458 for the CDRW with the DVD burner. Seems like a lot.

I travel a lot, so I like having an Ultrabase for ease of keeping the external monitor, cable internet, etc. connected. So while I can use an external drive for uploading software and burning discs, I'm hoping for a solution to get an Ultrabase at a better price.

Any suggestions? I have a call in to a local laptop store that thinks they can get me the "empty" X6 Ultrabase for about $120, and then a CDRW/DVD-R for $60 (DVD burner is $150).

Looking forward to any and all help! Thanks...

[mfbernstein]

There were some refurbished empty UltraBase X6s on eBay not long ago for ~$100 but they seem to be gone (IIRC from PC Mall). $120 is still comparatively reasonable. If you don't see anything better, PC Connection has an open box (empty) X6 for ~$150 w/S&H.

I gather you don't have a CD module from your old UltraBase X3 (since it would work fine in the X6...)?

[smvp6459]

If the Ultrabase just takes a slim drive, I would think you could get a slim DVD-RW for a lot less than $150. I thought I saw a thread about someone putting a drive into the Ultrabase on their own (and the drive wasn't from Lenovo), but I can't find it right now.

A small selection of slim DVD-RWs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... DVD+Burner

[dimsumfan]

Thanks for this info. I have the CD drive from the X3 Ultrabase, but IBM tech support says it won't work with the X6. Of course, I can give it a try. You seem to think it will work?

There were some refurbished empty UltraBase X6s on eBay not long ago for ~$100 but they seem to be gone (IIRC from PC Mall). $120 is still comparatively reasonable. If you don't see anything better, PC Connection has an open box (empty) X6 for ~$150 w/S&H.

I gather you don't have a CD module from your old UltraBase X3 (since it would work fine in the X6...)?

[Eric Giles]

Thanks for this info. I have the CD drive from the X3 Ultrabase, but IBM tech support says it won't work with the X6. Of course, I can give it a try. You seem to think it will work?

It won't work-the older drive is thicker so it won't physically fit. You will need a 9.5mm drive to be able to fit in the X6 Ultrabase.

[smvp6459]

I don't know anything about the X3 Ultrabase. It doesn't look like it took slim drives:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-46440

It appears that it used the Ultrabay 2000, which must be bigger than the ultrabay slim

[dimsumfan]

Thanks for this info. I have the CD drive from the X3 Ultrabase, but IBM tech support says it won't work with the X6. Of course, I can give it a try. You seem to think it will work?

There were some refurbished empty UltraBase X6s on eBay not long ago for ~$100 but they seem to be gone (IIRC from PC Mall). $120 is still comparatively reasonable. If you don't see anything better, PC Connection has an open box (empty) X6 for ~$150 w/S&H.

I gather you don't have a CD module from your old UltraBase X3 (since it would work fine in the X6...)?

[Antioch]

Most people seem to think it won't work. The interface should be the same, but it is too large to fit.

Either way, at $120 (base) + $40 (Slim Drive) I think that's a very nice deal. Makes me want to order a base from your store after I get my X61s in

[mfbernstein]

Thanks for this info. I have the CD drive from the X3 Ultrabase, but IBM tech support says it won't work with the X6. Of course, I can give it a try. You seem to think it will work?

I gather you don't have a CD module from your old UltraBase X3 (since it would work fine in the X6...)?

Sorry, I mixed up the UltraBase X4 and X3 (I assumed they both used the UltraBay slim drives).

What you could do with the old CD module is get an external USB enclosure, but that's not so elegant.