X61 reviewed by T42 owner
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:50 am
Alright, here is the long-awaited (did anyone actually look forward to this?) review of my X61. Here are some relevant specs...
Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz 4MB L2 Cache
2*2GB PC2-5300 667GHz RAM (G.Skill, from Newegg)
200GB Hitachi 7K200 16MB Cache HDD (from ZipZoomFly)
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG WLAN
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Fingerprint Reader
Windows Vista Business x86 (from MSDNAA)
Physical build
The quality is what I expected from Lenovo. The laptop is built sturdy and the hinges feel solid. The laptop cannot be opened with one hand because the resistance of the hinges are too great and the entire laptop will lift up.
One minor annoyance is that if you press on the lid when it's closed, you can move the lid past the closed position. Then when you release it, there will be a popping sound. Also, the left palmrest has flex due to the PC card cavity underneath.
Ergonomics
The TrackPoint is great and feels the same as the one on my T42. The keyboard is a different story. The keys are smaller, have more travel, and are more clunky. They don't necessarily feel worse, just more desktop-like. They are definitely noisier, though. I type lightly and thus prefer the keyboard on my T42, but I will get used to the new one. Also, the fingerprint reader doesn't read well enough and multiple swipes may be necessary for a successful logon.
Here comes my biggest complain: the two USB ports on the right are positioned too close together. The only things that can be plugged in side-by-side are two USB cables. At home, this is not a problem since I connect to a USB hub and plug everything into the hub. When I travel, this becomes a major pain. If I need to copy something from one flash drive to another, I have to either unplug my wireless mouse receiver from the left USB port, or copy the files onto my desktop first.
Performance
Daily tasks like word processing, internet surfing and emailing are performed briskly with little delay. Vista startup and shutdown times are comparable to XP Pro on my T42, maybe faster. Programs start quickly and I haven't had any problems yet. Simulations on MATLAB and MathCAD run faster due to the faster processor. The larger amount of RAM and faster HDD also helps.
Graphics performance is the main weakness of this laptop. While the Aero interface runs smoothly, manipulating 3D objects in engineering programs tends to lag. I also tried running Heroes of Might and Magic V, which is an old DirectX 9 game, and the performance was very poor. At the lowest detail level, no anti-aliasing and no anisotropic filtering, the framerate was unacceptable, especially when there are more objects on the screen.
The XGA screen is brighter than the SXGA+ screen of my T42, but not bright enough for outdoors. The resolution is adequate but not fantastic, especially when it comes to spreadsheets, programming, CAD, and photoshop. An external monitor will be great to have.
The battery life, on the other hand, is impressive. The 4-cell battery gives me more than 3 hours of use with WLAN on and screen brightness at 3/15. Even with screen brightness at max, the battery still last over 2 hours 30 minutes.
Also, the WLAN and BT work flawlessly. I can connect to wireless networks easily and have never had a dropped connection. The BT also paired with my Motorola RAZR and HS850 headset smoothly. I can transfer data and talk on Skype with no problem.
On the issue of heat, the palmrest above the HDD becomes warm after some time, but I can use the laptop on my lap for extended periods of time without cooking my thighs.
Summary
I am satisfied with my X61 for what I paid, and it exceeded my expectations of an ultraportable. It does its job really well, and makes bringing a laptop around so much less burdensome. It is my main computer now, although I still have my T42 at home for more graphics-intensive uses. I plan sell my T42 and replace it with a desktop workstation, though. I am also planning to test Vista Business x64 to see what kind of performance gain I will get with 1GB more of available RAM and 64-bit processing.
Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz 4MB L2 Cache
2*2GB PC2-5300 667GHz RAM (G.Skill, from Newegg)
200GB Hitachi 7K200 16MB Cache HDD (from ZipZoomFly)
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG WLAN
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Fingerprint Reader
Windows Vista Business x86 (from MSDNAA)
Physical build
The quality is what I expected from Lenovo. The laptop is built sturdy and the hinges feel solid. The laptop cannot be opened with one hand because the resistance of the hinges are too great and the entire laptop will lift up.
One minor annoyance is that if you press on the lid when it's closed, you can move the lid past the closed position. Then when you release it, there will be a popping sound. Also, the left palmrest has flex due to the PC card cavity underneath.
Ergonomics
The TrackPoint is great and feels the same as the one on my T42. The keyboard is a different story. The keys are smaller, have more travel, and are more clunky. They don't necessarily feel worse, just more desktop-like. They are definitely noisier, though. I type lightly and thus prefer the keyboard on my T42, but I will get used to the new one. Also, the fingerprint reader doesn't read well enough and multiple swipes may be necessary for a successful logon.
Here comes my biggest complain: the two USB ports on the right are positioned too close together. The only things that can be plugged in side-by-side are two USB cables. At home, this is not a problem since I connect to a USB hub and plug everything into the hub. When I travel, this becomes a major pain. If I need to copy something from one flash drive to another, I have to either unplug my wireless mouse receiver from the left USB port, or copy the files onto my desktop first.
Performance
Daily tasks like word processing, internet surfing and emailing are performed briskly with little delay. Vista startup and shutdown times are comparable to XP Pro on my T42, maybe faster. Programs start quickly and I haven't had any problems yet. Simulations on MATLAB and MathCAD run faster due to the faster processor. The larger amount of RAM and faster HDD also helps.
Graphics performance is the main weakness of this laptop. While the Aero interface runs smoothly, manipulating 3D objects in engineering programs tends to lag. I also tried running Heroes of Might and Magic V, which is an old DirectX 9 game, and the performance was very poor. At the lowest detail level, no anti-aliasing and no anisotropic filtering, the framerate was unacceptable, especially when there are more objects on the screen.
The XGA screen is brighter than the SXGA+ screen of my T42, but not bright enough for outdoors. The resolution is adequate but not fantastic, especially when it comes to spreadsheets, programming, CAD, and photoshop. An external monitor will be great to have.
The battery life, on the other hand, is impressive. The 4-cell battery gives me more than 3 hours of use with WLAN on and screen brightness at 3/15. Even with screen brightness at max, the battery still last over 2 hours 30 minutes.
Also, the WLAN and BT work flawlessly. I can connect to wireless networks easily and have never had a dropped connection. The BT also paired with my Motorola RAZR and HS850 headset smoothly. I can transfer data and talk on Skype with no problem.
On the issue of heat, the palmrest above the HDD becomes warm after some time, but I can use the laptop on my lap for extended periods of time without cooking my thighs.
Summary
I am satisfied with my X61 for what I paid, and it exceeded my expectations of an ultraportable. It does its job really well, and makes bringing a laptop around so much less burdensome. It is my main computer now, although I still have my T42 at home for more graphics-intensive uses. I plan sell my T42 and replace it with a desktop workstation, though. I am also planning to test Vista Business x64 to see what kind of performance gain I will get with 1GB more of available RAM and 64-bit processing.
I currently use a pretty well-spec'ed T42. Here are the performance related specs:
Pentium M 735 1.7GHz (2MB L2 Cache)
2GB RAM and 7K60 HDD
ATi Mobility Radeon 9600 64MB driving a 14.1" SXGA+ TFT LCD
I was going to buy a X61T SXGA+ but held it off because of the bezel problem. My other alternative is to go with the X61. I need the computing power so I am not going to get the S model. Here are the performance-related specs:
Core 2 Duo T7500 NV 2.2GHz (What does NV stand for anyway?)
4GB RAM and 7K200 HDD (Gotta love Newegg)
Intel X3100 driving a 12.1" XGA STD LCD
No Turbo Memory
Will I be satisfied with my purchase? I always thought I need the GPU power but I haven't played a single game in ages. I mainly use MSOffice, MATLAB and MathCad simulations. I do some casual photoshop. AutoCAD will be part of my work next year and it will be a mix of 2D and 3D.
The reason why I am not going for the T61p (obvious choice for CAD) is weight. I have to carry my laptop and various documents around, and the 5-lb T42 is already bothering me.
Existing owners (especially engineers and architects), care to shed some light on my situation?
Fortunately, I have a Vista Business (both 32-bit and 64-bit) license courtesy of MSDNAA. It's good to be a student sometimes. I will probably install the 32-bit since there are still problems with the 64-bit drivers.
But yeah, 1024x768 really doesn't sound exciting to me. I tried it on my T42 for a few minutes and couldn't take it anymore (partly also because it is not the native resolution). I guess I got to sacrifice some things for the light weight, and they happen to be the optical drive and screen resolution.