Thinkpads Forum

Hello everyone,

Right now I'm stuck in an interesting situation. I have configured two X61 machines and I am completely unsure of which one to get. There is a $124 price difference between them, the X61S being more expensive.

I will be buying the ram and hard drive from newegg.

Here is the X61s:

1.8ghz
Bluetooth/Fingerprint reader
4GB ram
200GB 7200RPM hard drive
A/B/G/N Wifi
Ultralight Screen
8 cell and 4 cell slimline

Here are the specs on the normal X61

2.2ghz
Bluetooth/Fingerprint reader
4GB ram
200GB 7200RPM hard drive
A/B/G/N Wifi
8 cell and 4 cell slimline

I am worried about the future-proofness of the x61s; while it would be very nice to have something that runs cool and quiet and is lighter, it is a full 400mhz slower than the x61 (and more expensive).

To further complicate things, the X61s has the Ultralight screen, which isn't offered on the normal X61.

Which one would you go for and why?

computerpro3 wrote:Here are the specs on the normal X61...8 cell and 4 cell slimline

Wait a minute, the X61 can't use the slimline battery, which is only for the X60s/61s.

That was a typo. I meant to say 4 cell enhanced battery.

BTW do you play piano? I am studying to be a concert pianist at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

computerpro3 wrote:That was a typo. I meant to say 4 cell enhanced battery.

That's what I thought. You'll notice the weight difference between the UltraLight X61s and the X61, which is probably around half a pound. If that matters to you, get the X61s. Also, the UltraLight screen is much brighter than the non-UL, so if you're going to use the laptop outdoors, the X61s would be better. On the other hand, if you don't mind the extra weight and if you only use the laptop indoors, get the X61.

computerpro3 wrote:BTW do you play piano? I am studying to be a concert pianist at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

I used to play a lot. Not much any more, like twice a year, but I'm still a good sightreader.

For me first choice because it is more portable, lighter, hopefully longer battery life, but that is just for my liking

get the x61s. you will appreciate the reduced heat, improved battery life and lighter weight. The CPU is hardly ever the bottleneck in any case.. a faster hard disk or SSD will make a MUCH greater difference (or, for 3D gaming, a better video chipset - the X3100 sucks).

If you can afford the price difference, then get the X61s -- even if it did not have the UltraLight screen. Given the UltraLight screen, it's not a close call! I hope you realize that "UltraLight" in small part describes the weight differential, but the big "Wow!" factor is its comparative brightness.

If price is large consideration, then you can lower that considerably by getting the machine with the least amount of RAM and the least expensive hard drive, and replacing those components on your own.

I guess I will get the X61s then. I like the idea of being able to use the slimline battery when I only have two classes a day.

I've been looking into SSD drives, and while there are some available for around $500, it appears the only one fast enough to be worth installing is the mtron, which runs over $1000. Is this accurate?

See: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=57073

Good choice with the s model

I'm this close to pulling the trigger on a 32gb mtron, but I just don't know about only having 32gb since I will be using vista (takes up about 10-15gb alone).

It's not like this is my main machine though, and I store my music and movies on my 60gb ipod when I travel, so I think it might be fine. I also have an 8gb flash drive already...

What I'm thinking of doing is grabbing the 32gb memtron and picking up a $80 16GB sd card and keep it in the SD slot for storage of music and stuff. That will give me nearly 50gb which will be enough easily.

Sounds like you got it figured!
Good luck with the machine, hope you enjoy it!

computerpro3 wrote:...snip... I am studying to be a concert pianist at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Do you favor any particular composers or periods? I just attended a concert at Carnegie Hall with an unbelievable playbill:

Messiaen - (the overplayed piece by him)
Schubert - Sonata D. 960
Beethoven - Hammerklavier

For encores he played:
Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op. 23 No. 1
Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit - Ondine

It was fantastic!

Jarvi currently conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, right?

You've made a good choice. While I enjoy my X61, I sometime wish that the sceen is brighter and that the battery life is longer. Other times, I wish it is lighter. I never felt I need to push the T7300 to the max, anyway. 4GB RAM and 7K200 HDD made everything acceptable even in Vista.

hart22 wrote:

computerpro3 wrote:...snip... I am studying to be a concert pianist at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Do you favor any particular composers or periods? I just attended a concert at Carnegie Hall with an unbelievable playbill:

Messiaen - (the overplayed piece by him)
Schubert - Sonata D. 960
Beethoven - Hammerklavier

For encores he played:
Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op. 23 No. 1
Ravel - Gaspard de la Nuit - Ondine

It was fantastic!

Jarvi currently conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, right?

Believe it or not, I am originally from the New Haven area! Small world.

Honestly I have a hard time selecting my favorite composers or even periods. Sometimes I think Bach is the most profound; others Rachmaninoff. Right now I am working on Mozart's 21st concerto (just finished writing my own cadenza!) and I am having a hard time imagining a more deep composer than him. Then there is Beethoven - no other composer uses silence like he does.

Jarvi does conduct at the CSO and I think he is fantastic. My teacher performed some Beethoven with him and the CSO a couple months back and it was incredible.

I envy you being so close to Carnegie; I miss the northeast.

You've made a good choice. While I enjoy my X61, I sometime wish that the sceen is brighter and that the battery life is longer. Other times, I wish it is lighter. I never felt I need to push the T7300 to the max, anyway. 4GB RAM and 7K200 HDD made everything acceptable even in Vista.

Good to hear. I have a friend that works for Lenovo and he's going to get me the employee pricing on Tuesday, so I'm hoping it will come out pretty cheap and I can use the savings for a nice SSD. That should make it pretty much perfect.

computerpro3 wrote:I envy you being so close to Carnegie; I miss the northeast.

And you should envy me too, because I have a friend who gets lots of free tickets from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. He said he'll share them with me whenever I visit him.

hart22 and other classical music fans in the area: It would be fun if we can see a concert/opera in NYC together. We can bring our Thinkpads and talk about them, too!

pianowizard wrote:hart22 and other classical music fans in the area: It would be fun if we can see a concert/opera in NYC together. We can bring our Thinkpads and talk about them, too!

That sounds likes fun, except what would we do with our ThinkPads at the concert? I wouldn't trust mine with one of those guys at bag check...