Thinkpads Forum

I have a few more detailed questions about the X61 tablet.


0. I noticed the Lenovo RAM options are only for 667Mhz RAM. Can the x61T take advantage of 800Mhz RAM? e.g.

http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs ... A3A5CA7304



1. Am I correct in assuming that when in tablet mode, the pen acts exactly like a mouse? That is, it activates all the Windows GUI elements (e.g. pushing buttons, pulling down a menu, etc.)? I am getting the non-touch screen (1400x1050), in case that matters.

1. b. If so, can I do a right-click with the pen?


2. Do I need to buy a screen protector? I remember on my old Palm PDAs, I used to get a lot of scratches on the screen when I used the stylus. Is a protector screen needed?

2b. Does the warranty cover screen scratches?



3. I am thinking of getting the 2-year depot warranty. Is the additional 2-year Protection Service worth it?


4. I read elsewhere that the Microsoft Office Home and Student edition includes OneNote, is that right?


5. Is there any difference between the wireless cards, namely the (a) Thinkpad ThinkPad 11a/b/g, (b) Intel PRO 3945ABG, and (c) Intel 4965AGN? If I run Linux, which of these wireless cards is the most compatible, generally?


6. Not really related to the Thinkpad in particular, but does the Adobe Acrobat Profesional software allow me to annotate PDFs with a TabletPC? (e.g. write notes, underline, highlight, etc.)? If not, is there any software that does allow these annotations?

0) no. Ram is dual chanel so 2x667>800 (FSB speed)
1) yes, pen button usually is right click. If not you can install latest wacom driver and assign what you like to the button (although tis does not make real sense imho)
2) not needed but many do recommend one

2b) I would argue that yes, if they are from regular use (i.e., scratching it with the pen).

5) 3945abg is well supported in Linux (The others might be as well supported in latest versions of iwl drivers, but in previous versions these had some difficulties).

6) not really. PDF annotator is better. Or use xournal in Linux for free, this is actually the best.

zephyr wrote:I have a few more detailed questions about the X61 tablet.
0. I noticed the Lenovo RAM options are only for 667Mhz RAM. Can the x61T take advantage of 800Mhz RAM? e.g.

No, the X61T only supports 667 MHz RAM. Also, ThinkPads can be picky so I recommend you get actual 667 MHz RAM rather than chancing that your machine will run 800 MHz RAM at 667 MHz.

1. Am I correct in assuming that when in tablet mode, the pen acts exactly like a mouse? That is, it activates all the Windows GUI elements (e.g. pushing buttons, pulling down a menu, etc.)? I am getting the non-touch screen (1400x1050), in case that matters.

1. b. If so, can I do a right-click with the pen?

Yes, and yes. For right clicking, you can bind a button on the pen, or in Windows, press down on the pen and the right-click menu will appear.

2. Do I need to buy a screen protector? I remember on my old Palm PDAs, I used to get a lot of scratches on the screen when I used the stylus. Is a protector screen needed?

I've gone so far 6 months without one... I'm not sure whether I can recommend one. The reason against using one is dealing with improper application (e.g. air bubbles) or a change in surface texture that I may not like.

2b. Does the warranty cover screen scratches?

3. I am thinking of getting the 2-year depot warranty. Is the additional 2-year Protection Service worth it?

I'm pretty sure the base warranty does NOT cover screen scratches (they are not manufacturing defect, and Lenovo makes no claims on being "scratch-free").

Yes, the ThinkPad protection is worth it--and I also believe it covers screen scratches.

5. Is there any difference between the wireless cards, namely the (a) Thinkpad ThinkPad 11a/b/g, (b) Intel PRO 3945ABG, and (c) Intel 4965AGN? If I run Linux, which of these wireless cards is the most compatible, generally?

Do NOT get the Intel 3945ABC-based card--its range and connection quality are completely inferior to the Lenovo cards (commonly referred to as the "Atheros" cards) and 4965 AGN.

I'm using Kubuntu 7.10 with an Intel 4965 AGN and despite being a new card, it works great in non-802.11n mode. The Atheros 802.11a/b/g card is also well-supported in Linux, however the newer Atheros 802.11a/b/g/n is very new and is rumored to not yet work well.

tamasrepus wrote:

zephyr wrote:I have a few more detailed questions about the X61 tablet.
0. I noticed the Lenovo RAM options are only for 667Mhz RAM. Can the x61T take advantage of 800Mhz RAM? e.g.

No, the X61T only supports 800 MHz RAM. Also, ThinkPads can be picky so I recommend you get actual 667 MHz RAM rather than chancing that your machine will run 800 MHz RAM at 667 MHz.

Thanks, but I don't understand that last bit. The front-side bus of the X61T is 800Mhz. But I assume you meant to say "No, the X61T only supports 667 MHz RAM." I thought the RAM can be (and should be) as fast as the FSB?

zephyr wrote:

tamasrepus wrote:

The Intel "Santa Rosa" reference motherboard design that ThinkPads use has a 800 MHz bus from Northbridge chip to CPU, but only a 667 MHz bus from Northbridge to RAM. The speeds do not need to match--this isn't the first time Intel had an FSB/memory speed mismatch, and I don't have a good reason to tell you why designed it this way (power savings?).

tamasrepus wrote:
The Intel "Santa Rosa" reference motherboard design that ThinkPads use has a 800 MHz bus from Northbridge chip to CPU, but only a 667 MHz bus from Northbridge to RAM. The speeds do not need to match--this isn't the first time Intel had an FSB/memory speed mismatch, and I don't have a good reason to tell you why designed it this way (power savings?).

Thanks, that will save some money when I buy 4GB of 667Mhz versus 800 Mhz.

tamasrepus, you got this mixed up somehow. Ram is just dual chanel. So 667 is actually "too fast" already, even 530 would do it. Anyway, better use 2x the same timing otherwise you can get hiccups. Finaly, you only see a performance gain if you use shared memory graphics at high resolution as there are no apps in practice that can benefit from this fast Ram access.