3-4 year old X60s, what next?

[trentblase]

My X60s is aging, but it's honestly keeping me happy. It seems speedy enough to meet all my web browsing, video watching, and word processing needs. I ain't modeling rocket ships for NASA.

So my question to those of you who have upgraded from something similar to maybe an X200 or X301... is it worth it? My X60s was one of the last Thinkpads actually designed by IBM, so I'm no longer particularly loyal to the brand after the sale to Lenovo. I'm looking at other laptops like the Vaio X, Dell Adamo, and Macbook Air, but none of them really seem to offer a compelling advantage (it would be nice to get SSD or LED backlight I guess... but is that worth buying a whole new laptop?).

Perhaps I should just turn in my geek card now...

[LegendaryKA8]

I haven't used any of the newer systems, but my question would be this:

What do you use your computer for? I have gone the slightly insane path and upgraded my X60s to an X61s. While I definitely noticed a significant speed increase in general, I would also say that an X-series isn't supposed to be a multimedia powerhouse, gaming rig, or a desktop replacement. If all you really do is Office apps, Web browsing, and video watching I'd say your X60s should be able to keep you happily chugging along for a while yet.

Bottom line is: if you're happy with your current system, I wouldn't replace it just yet. If you really need an upgrade, an X61/s would be my personal choice as it does most of the things the brand new systems can do and for a considerably better price... max of 8GB RAM, x64 processors, and slightly better Intel graphics are the main differences between the X60 and X61. In my opinion, that would make it almost as capable and upgradable as the newer systems, at least for a while... unless you need the fastest stuff available right now. There's always going to be new technologies coming out of the gate, so I'd say get the best you can afford and be happy for a while.

[Atreides]

LegendaryKA8 couldn't have said it better, if you're happy with what you have then stick with it. Don't feel obliged to always be pushing for the latest and greatest, if you know that you won't really be taking full advantage of it. I myself just recently bought a used X60s (1702-3QU, same as yours) to use as a web/im/videos/work machine. I couldn't be more happy. I have a larger desktop I use whenever I need to do anything more intensive, but for what I bought it for the Thinkpad has performed incredibly. It hardly ever hiccups, and the battery life is fantastic.

If you are happy with what you're using right now, I wouldn't bother upgrading until more significant advances come along. As KA8 was saying, you could upgrade to an X61/s if you want the extra juice. If you were to ebay your X60s, and buy a used X61/s, my guess is it would end up costing you about $100-150.

Don't turn in that geek card

[Kyocera]

I second or third. I've owned lots of different model TP's. Never thought to upgrading just to be "hip" or "with it" .....only out of demanding softwares.

I stumbled onto this X60 and plan on keeping it for a while. The perfect portable form factor, for me at least.

Maybe if you are bored with yours and just want something younger go for it.

[crazyfrog]

... My X60s was one of the last Thinkpads actually designed by IBM, so I'm no longer particularly loyal to the brand after the sale to Lenovo. ...

ThinkPad was handed over to Lenovo since X41 (T43 is the first T series made by Lenovo). So if you are really loyal to the brand and want a pure IBM ThinkPad, you'd go for an X3x/X40, not X61/X300/X301/X200. You might want to say that your X60s still has IBM logo, that is simply because IBM allowed Lenovo to use its logo on ThinkPads for 5 years as part of the deal.

Actually, Lenovo bought the entire ThinkPad/ThinkCenter design and production departments from IBM. ThinkPad is still designed and made by those who worked for IBM before. Even the service line will tell you they are IBM staff until now.

[pianowizard]

Don't feel obliged to always be pushing for the latest and greatest, if you know that you won't really be taking full advantage of it.

I totally agree. Gone are the days when people needed to upgrade their computers once every three years. Since around 2003, most laptops and desktops have become so powerful that they are way overkill for most users, and should remain very useful until at least April 2014 (when Microsoft stops releasing security updates for Windows XP). My main computers are a 5-year-old Dell OptiPlex GX280 desktop at work and an almost-4-year-old Dell Dimension B110 desktop at home, and both can comfortably handle all the things that I throw at them (and I multitask like crazy!). If you are happy with your X60s, do not upgrade.

[LegendaryKA8]

Very well put. The only situations where I could see someone constantly upgrading their computer as soon as a new generation of components come out are gaming enthusiasts that absolutely need the graphics power to play the latest games at high quality levels(even older notebooks can play newer games if you don't mind toning the quality down; my T60p will play Far Cry 2 and my X61s even manages NWN2 at minimum settings), or if you are heavily into extremely CPU-intensive tasks such as video editing and heavy coding where a fast CPU can save you a huge amount of time.

If you don't fall into either of those two categories, you don't really need to make an upgrade to a brand new system. Even if you do, there's a good chance that upgrading to a decently powerful desktop would be a better choice than going for a new ultraportable notebook.

[archer6]

My X60s is aging, but it's honestly keeping me happy. It seems speedy enough to meet all my web browsing, video watching, and word processing needs. I ain't modeling rocket ships for NASA. So my question to those of you who have upgraded from something similar to maybe an X200 or X301... is it worth it?

My X60s is aging too... very nicely thank you...

As you can see by my signature, I'm a ThinkPad notebook geek that buys about every new model released. My suggestion is to stay put with what you have, and celebrate that you don't have a problem with it. Because in all honesty, my signature below _only_ reflects the _ThinkPads_ I have bought new. I also buy at least three or four of the competing machines each year just for the fun of it, and to compare them. I've had nearly every good brand out there, and at the end of the day, thus far, I haven't found anything I like better than a ThinkPad.

Cheers...

[Tasurinchi]

It seems speedy enough to meet all my web browsing, video watching, and word processing needs

I'm doing the same tasks as you with my older Thinkpads you see in my signature. Maybe the X31 has a little bit of trouble with some HD videos, but the X41 has no problems with any of the tasks, despite the slow stock HD.

So to add my 0.02 cents to what mostly everybody has said. No, I don't think you'll need a new Thinkpad and I wish I had an X6* series...

You even have a dual core CPU, I think the list of software taking advantage of multicore processors is still very short. If this changes in the future you will be able to keep your TP for a looong time... (Unless you really need so start modeling rockets)

Cheers

[proaudioguy]

I have an X60 Tablet which uses the same CPU as the S. I ordered the machine with the 80GB 5400 drive. I put an 80GB 7200 RPM drive in right away and noticed a small difference. A few weeks ago I put in a 320 GB 7200 with 16meg cache and it made a large difference. Now I have a 128 GB Samsung Lenovo drive I pulled out of my W700 and it's even a little faster. The shut down times are phenomenal. The start up times are cut in half or better. I'd say if you have the cash burning a hole in your pocket pick up one of those nice Intel SSDs I see so much hub bub about rather than buying another machine. Also max out the Ram. You can get 4 GB in there even if it's not all addressed. In practice 2 GB seems about the same as 4 in this machine. And of course you could update the system board to X61s, and put Windows 7 64bit on it. That may make as much difference as the SSD. IOW you can make your machine that much nicer for far less than the price of a new machine and chances are it's built better as far as I can tell. FYI my frankenpad A31 is still running strong and barely shows it's age with a 2.5GHz P4m. Battery life sucks though since the technology is so out of date.

[ThinkRob]

ThinkPad was handed over to Lenovo since X41 (T43 is the first T series made by Lenovo). So if you are really loyal to the brand and want a pure IBM ThinkPad, you'd go for an X3x/X40, not X61/X300/X301/X200. You might want to say that your X60s still has IBM logo, that is simply because IBM allowed Lenovo to use its logo on ThinkPads for 5 years as part of the deal.

Quite right. That said, the X60 series inherits far more from its IBM-built ancestors than any of the current models. Its design is really just an iteration on the X4x designs, and was designed when the design team really was composed almost entirely of IBM personnel. From speaking with an IBMer I know, that's no longer quite the case -- Lenovo has brought in more of their people as time has progressed, and now the ThinkPad division has pretty substantial number of staff not "acquired" in the IBM sale. (Take that with a grain of salt. The IBMer in question wasn't a ThinkPad engineer, although he does have connections with people in the PC and server divisions, so I have no idea how accurate that is.)

I do think that the X60 series machines feel far more like IBM machines than the current designs. The case plastics are far more similar to the older plastics -- IMHO something about the texture and rigidity changed with the X60->X200 transition -- and the form factor is definitely an "IBMish" one.

Speaking of which... this gives me an idea to add to my ThinkPad refurb project list...

<runs off to price X60s components>

[ajkula66]

crazyfrog wrote:

ThinkPad was handed over to Lenovo since X41 (T43 is the first T series made by Lenovo).

That's an extremely debatable statement, if one really wants to split hairs, because T43 (as well as X41) was introduced while IBM was still in charge, in the early spring of 2005. At that time (and through the end of 2006) many versions of T42/p were still in production as well, and some of them already had Lenovo logos on palmrest and lid...

Does any of this really matter? No, because 95% or more of ThinkPads were built in the very same factories in China Lenovo uses to this day, and that's going back to A31/p series...

Lenovo's design (not production) brought us the "windows" key which no IBM laptop previously had, and all of that arrived with *6* series.

Having said all of that, X60/s/T are great little machines and if one uses them for what they were meant for in the first place - "on the go" computing - it will be quite some time before they become obsolete IMHO...

[underclocker]

It's all relative...I picked up my first X60s this year, it was used, but in mint condition. It replaced my wonderful X40. The peformance difference is incredible. For everyday tasks, it doesn't lag far behind my T60p primary machine. So for me, my loaded (BT, WWAN, FPR) X60s is new!

I'm planning on keeping it as my travel machine for a few years, as I did the X40 (which was passed on to a forum member in France).

[proaudioguy]

It's all relative...I picked up my first X60s this year, it was used, but in mint condition. It replaced my wonderful X40. The peformance difference is incredible. For everyday tasks, it doesn't lag far behind my T60p primary machine. So for me, my loaded (BT, WWAN, FPR) X60s is new!

I'm planning on keeping it as my travel machine for a few years, as I did the X40 (which was passed on to a forum member in France).

I'd have to say my only complaints about my X60 Tablet are the palm rest that cooks my wrist. I wish they had put a fan and some additional airspace between the WIFI card and the palm rest. The keyboard spacing is slightly different than the older Thinkpads (X32) which disappoints me a tiny bit. I find when I'm typing on it my cursor jumps to some other location. I have yet to figure out what I'm doing to cause this, but it's never happened with any of the others. I'm certain I'm hitting a key or key combo that is causing that.