X31 to X61s disappointement...

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X505 · #1 Post by **X505** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 1:53 pm

Hi everyone, i'm new here but it seams to be the right place to talk about thinkpads

I just want to give my feeling about 2 thinkpad and why i'll certainly sell my x61s to buy another x31 !

I just sold my lovely x31 to buy a brand new x61s with 8 cells battery option.

First, i was really surprised buy the very little 4 cells bat life. Then i was even more surprised by the so called "high capacity" bat !
I could use (web, msn, programming,...) my X31 5h long with the branded battery but noway to go above 4h in the same conditions (LCD, power management, etc..) with the HC bat of the x61s

Some other bad news : the laptop is really hot after 1h on (especially near the wifi card) , the tons of software pre-installed are really useless (as vista), still modem, still no tv-out, too noisy.

The good news : really thin, powerfull (thanks C2D), fingerprint reader, windows compliant keyboard.

Of course, it's my felling so many other users could say i'm wrong but does anyone get the same battery issues ?

Greetings from Paris guys

pianowizard · #2 Post by **pianowizard** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:05 pm

Welcome to the forum!

What's your operating system? My X60s running WinXP Pro lasted 9 hours on an 8-cell battery.

ducky2802 · #3 Post by **ducky2802** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:34 pm

I hear you on the battery issues. The X24 I used with its 4400mah batteries could easily get 4+ hours, and the new ~6800mah hc battery on the x61 comes in under 4.... its all in the processors I guess. It seems to me the p3m on the older x series were designed to be extremely low power at the expense of performance, while the newer c2d are designed to extract the utmost performance per given thermal/power constraints. I would hope though, that the LV processors are designed more like the former... but I dont know. In any case, I really like the new x series and would gladly trade my old x2x for one anyday... plus a secondary battery!

iamdmc · #4 Post by **iamdmc** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:34 pm

Your X61s was hotter than your X31??? And you got 5h battery life surfing the web with your X31???

Excuse me if I don't believe you. I have an X31 with two batteries. Each lasts about 3 - 3.5 hours. It gets VERY hot VERY quickly. The X61s is nowhere near as hot (even at the palm rest) and it has at least 2x better battery life with the 8-cell as the X31 does (even with that docking port battery).

Although I loved my X31, I would never go back. I've gotten as much as 9.5hours out of my 8-cell X61s.

Maybe you don't remember the details about your X31 correctly, or it was just a super-X31 that only exists in some alternate dimension.

qviri · #5 Post by **qviri** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 4:01 pm

iamdmc wrote:I have an X31 with two batteries. Each lasts about 3 - 3.5 hours.

I can easily get over four hours from my 90-ish% X31 battery when it's in XP and with the CPU slightly undervolted.

iamdmc · #6 Post by **iamdmc** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:27 pm

Yes, if you undervolt the CPU, the computer will run longer.

If you use it at normal parameters, then it will be 3-3.5 hours on light usage

X505 · #7 Post by **X505** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:34 pm

iamdmc,

last week i was talking to a friend on msn, 5h long (the bat is brand new) and when i shutdown the laptop i still got 10% left,seriously. The luminosity was set to 75% (i don't remember but i don't like to go down).

And yes VERY hot, it's really uncomfortable to work on...
BTW, how many hours with the 4 cells one ?

pianowizard,

9 hours doing what ? what was the settings (wifi, lcd,...) ?

Thanks everyone for the help

pianowizard · #8 Post by **pianowizard** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:42 pm

X505 wrote:9 hours doing what ? what was the settings (wifi, lcd,...) ?

Mostly Microsoft Office, with occasional WiFi. Display intensity at 2 out of 7. I sold it to a guy who used it more aggressively, but he still got almost 8 hours. And it wasn't even a brand new battery, with maybe 50 cycles. People on CNET also got around 8 hours.

You still haven't told us your OS. If it's Vista, then of course your battery won't last long.

X505 · #9 Post by **X505** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:54 pm

pianowizard wrote: You still haven't told us your OS. If it's Vista, then of course your battery won't last long.

XP, i tried vista 1 day on this laptop...

was it hot on the right of the palm rest ?

thx

pianowizard · #10 Post by **pianowizard** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:58 pm

X505 wrote:was it hot on the right of the palm rest ?

Yes it was. I think that's caused by the wireless card.

richarddd · #11 Post by **richarddd** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:18 pm

I'm sitting here with an X61s and an x31.

The right palmrest on the x61s is definitely warmer than the x31's. Noticeable but not uncomfortable. Reportedly, the Atheros wifi cards run much hotter than the Intels (I have an Intel 4965). The bottom of the x31 gets a lot hotter than the bottom of the x61s. x61 fan is a bit noisier and runs more often.

x31 with standard battery is under 3 hours. x61s with 8 cell lasts much longer (surprise, surprise). XP on both.

The x61 screen is much brighter than the x31's. The x61 is noticeably faster on processor-intensive apps.

The mouse clicks were much quieter on the x31 - almost silent. The x61s goes 'clunk' when you release it.

Aristotle11 · #12 Post by **Aristotle11** » Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:42 pm

I've had an X61t since Sept 2007 and an X31 since it originally came out. THE X31 IS SUPERIOR IN ALMOST EVERY RESPECT. It is lighter, quieter, better keyboard and trackpoint, cooler, smaller, works with NHC, better battery (X61 gets same battery life with huge 8 cell, much less with 4 cell), the X31 speaker is waaaay louder (often can't hear movies on the X61). If I didn't use the tablet functions, the X31 would be a no-brainer. Shame on lenovo for cutting so many corners on this one.

iamdmc · #13 Post by **iamdmc** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:25 am

I think this one will boil down to personal preference.

I prefer the X61s in every respect (including noise). Others might not. The fact is, Lenovo increased its profit about 50% and is increasing its marketshare. Maybe other people like the X61s too.

If you want to stick with your X31, okay- your choice. I, for one (not really just one) would never go back.

gunston · #14 Post by **gunston** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 2:38 am

i am using X61 now, bit regret didn't go for X61s, maybe budget is the only constraint here.

As a pre-owner of X31, it really works at a almost 99% perfect laptop except the heat dissipated underneath.

well, happy with my X61 now if compare to X31, would never go back to X31 because X61 do offer a much more better performance and speed !!!

X505 · #15 Post by **X505** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:42 am

Aristotle11 wrote: [...] It is lighter, quieter, better keyboard and trackpoint, cooler, smaller, works with NHC, better battery (X61 gets same battery life with huge 8 cell, much less with 4 cell)[...]

i'm on your side

X505 · #16 Post by **X505** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:46 am

gunston wrote: well, happy with my X61 now if compare to X31, would never go back to X31 because X61 do offer a much more better performance and speed !!!

yes but for globetrotters, bat life is more important i guess...

richarddd · #17 Post by **richarddd** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:03 am

Aristotle11 wrote:I've had an X61t since Sept 2007 and an X31 since it originally came out. THE X31 IS SUPERIOR IN ALMOST EVERY RESPECT. It is lighter, quieter, better keyboard and trackpoint, cooler, smaller, works with NHC, better battery (X61 gets same battery life with huge 8 cell, much less with 4 cell), the X31 speaker is waaaay louder (often can't hear movies on the X61).

Lighter - I don't have the energy to weigh them or look it up, but I'd have said the x61 is lighter based on holding them

Keyboard/trackpoint - feel is the same, x31 sounds quieter and more solid

Cooler - palmrest a bit cooler on the x31, bottom a lot cooler on the x61

Smaller - with 8 cell, x61 is a bit deeper. x31 is a bit taller in the back (x61 slopes) and looks bigger.

Battery life is much better on the x61

Speaker - x61 is waay louder, once you turn up volume in the OS.

Screen & performance - x61 by a good margin

gunston · #18 Post by **gunston** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:57 am

richarddd,

what is your prefer choice, X61 or X61s ?

Rovers3 · #19 Post by **Rovers3** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:04 am

I currently have a X60, and we just bought the CEO an X61 Both get about 5- 5.5 hours of battery life out of the 8 cell. The XP (Mine) sits on Max battery. The Vista (CEO) sits on power source optimized.

pianowizard · #20 Post by **pianowizard** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:05 am

Aristotle11 wrote:I've had an X61t since Sept 2007 and an X31 since it originally came out. THE X31 IS SUPERIOR IN ALMOST EVERY RESPECT. It is lighter...smaller...

We are comparing the non-tablet X61s with the X31. The X61t, which I owned for a month, is a very different machine than the X61s. The x61s with Ultralight LCD is close to one pound lighter than the X31 and is also much smaller. The X61t with 8-cell battery is the bulkiest and heaviest X-series Thinkpad ever made and is almost as heavy as a 14.1" Z- or T-series with travel bezel. CNET would classify it as a "thin-and-light" laptop rather than "ultraportable" because it's well over 4 lb.

Rovers3 wrote:I currently have a X60, and we just bought the CEO an X61 Both get about 5- 5.5 hours of battery life out of the 8 cell.

How bright is the screen? Are you using WiFi the whole time?

richarddd · #21 Post by **richarddd** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 10:50 am

gunston wrote:richarddd,

what is your prefer choice, X61 or X61s ?

I chose the X61S based on specs (lighter, lower power, screen). I've never touched an X61.

X505 · #22 Post by **X505** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 2:13 pm

pianowizard wrote: The x61s with Ultralight LCD is close to one pound lighter than the X31 and is also much smaller.

for some reasons, i couldn't choose the model i got (the price was very interesting...) so how could i know if i got the Ultrabright option ?

i'll make some bat test with battery eater and post the graphs here.

About the heating, do you know witch wlan card is the hotest ? intel or atheros ?

Rovers3 · #23 Post by **Rovers3** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 2:13 pm

pianowizard wrote:.

Rovers3 wrote:I currently have a X60, and we just bought the CEO an X61 Both get about 5- 5.5 hours of battery life out of the 8 cell.
How bright is the screen? Are you using WiFi the whole time?

Wifi is on Bluetooth is off. Running it on Max battery, The Screen is at about medium when on battery (2 bars) On Max the screen is very bright.
I dumped my X61T for this notebook. C2D 2.0 3 gigs of ram 120 Gig 5400 RPM Hd and have 0 regrets.

X505 · #24 Post by **X505** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 2:19 pm

Rovers3 wrote: The Screen is at about medium when on battery (2 bars) On Max the screen is very bright.

i got 15 bars, so do you ? (i read some post from users who got 8, that's why i'm asking)

Rovers3 · #25 Post by **Rovers3** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 4:56 pm

X505 wrote:
Rovers3 wrote: The Screen is at about medium when on battery (2 bars) On Max the screen is very bright.
i got 15 bars, so do you ? (i read some post from users who got 8, that's why i'm asking)

I think XP it is eight. When i had my Tablet my X61T with Vista it was 15. Software is not the same i guess.

X505 · #26 Post by **X505** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 6:34 pm

Rovers3 wrote: I think XP it is eight. When i had my Tablet my X61T with Vista it was 15. Software is not the same i guess.

i'm on xp

gunston · #27 Post by **gunston** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 6:36 pm

XP is 15 bars too.

X505 · #28 Post by **X505** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 6:44 pm

2 bars on 15 is really a low brightness

gunston · #29 Post by **gunston** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 7:23 pm

X505 wrote:2 bars on 15 is really a low brightness

i am using 5/15 bars for battery usage.

X31 to X61s disappointement...

X31 to X61s disappointement...

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