Thinkpads Forum

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... AUS%3A1123
i've seen this guy relisting the same laptop over 3 times now at 450 dollars lol

cogitordi wrote:Also, the 1024x768 resolution further reduces the appeal of the X60s.

I recently bought a used x200s, which cost much more than an x61 that I also considered. The x200s has better screen resolution and can address 4GB RAM.

RAM is worth having, 'nuff said. I would take an x61 over an x60. I believe that there was only one x60 model that had a Core 2 Duo (i.e. 64 bit) CPU.

I also read that there are heat problems with the x60 and x61. True?

I would take an x60 or x61 over a 32-bit Atom netbook with a 10.1" screen. But if the netbook were 11.6" and could use 4GB RAM (e.g. AMD's latest, newer Atom CPU), the choice resolves to battery life, weight, price, and OS.[/quote]

depends what you do with it, 2gb of ram + win7 does pretty well for most desktop apps on the go, i'm just not sure how much mutltitasking or heavy use anyone would want to do on a ultraportable, i leave that for the home desktop.

heat is ok, it is cool when in battery mode, it does feel hot when at full tilt though, but i guess the case does sort of heat sink the system so i'm ok with it. if you keep it on your lap bad idea, but that is a bad idea by default.

I donot actually think CPU is of a concern at all. For average use, most X/T3 serious will be more than enough for average use. My wife is using an X31. I bought her an X61S, she tried a few days and just didnot like it (thus I am using it now). X31 still serves her well. I have an X31 that stays in my car all the time. More than enough for average use.

I also own an macbook pro 15inch i5 (the so called pretty recently technology). Frankly speaking, other than Final Cut Studio, I find no difference between it and my Thinkpad X31, not to mention my X61S.

Properly configured, any laptop beyond 1.5G CPU should serve as a general computer well. Computer hardwares have progressed such that we do not need to upgrade that often, although hardware makers will convince you otherwise.

bigtiger wrote:I donot actually think CPU is of a concern at all. For average use, most X/T3 serious will be more than enough for average use. My wife is using an X31. I bought her an X61S, she tried a few days and just didnot like it (thus I am using it now). X31 still serves her well. I have an X31 that stays in my car all the time. More than enough for average use.

I also own an macbook pro 15inch i5 (the so called pretty recently technology). Frankly speaking, other than Final Cut Studio, I find no difference between it and my Thinkpad X31, not to mention my X61S.

Properly configured, any laptop beyond 1.5G CPU should serve as a general computer well. Computer hardwares have progressed such that we do not need to upgrade that often, although hardware makers will convince you otherwise.

Well, the good reason for X60 over anything previous is the SATA it uses. Cheap SSD upgrade = the best thing you can do for any laptop.

bigtiger wrote:I donot actually think CPU is of a concern at all. For average use, most X/T3 serious will be more than enough for average use. My wife is using an X31. I bought her an X61S, she tried a few days and just didnot like it (thus I am using it now). X31 still serves her well. I have an X31 that stays in my car all the time. More than enough for average use.

I agree that the x31 and x32 are still useful TPs. (I prefer the x32 for its USB 2.0, though.) I have an x32 and it's fine for single-tasking. The CPU does however have to breathe hard for Web sites that use Adobe Tr^H^HFlash. The Core Duo and (especially) the Core 2 Duo CPU are the minimum I would look for today.

IvanAndreevich wrote: Well, the good reason for X60 over anything previous is the SATA it uses. Cheap SSD upgrade = the best thing you can do for any laptop.

This is an important point for buyers to keep in mind. SATA is a better future investment.

Yes, SATA is a great advantage. I am also aware of that. IDE drives are not only expensive but hard to find now.

IvanAndreevich wrote: Well, the good reason for X60 over anything previous is the SATA it uses. Cheap SSD upgrade = the best thing you can do for any laptop.

Thats what did it for me

I have recently sold an X31 and now probably my x40 to replace with 2 x60s
The main reason for this was as ivan mentioned the jump to sata, cheaper drives & easy upgrade to ssd if wanted. The extra video memory (although not great multimedia machines i can watch 720p video on youtube & maybe even 1080p if the wind blows the right way) (although the screen resolution would limit this) im not sure but dont think this was possible on x31-x40? X60 prices now make it very attractive to make the step up.
Downside noticed so far, palm rest heat & my x31 & x40 screens both seemed a little brighter, slightly inferior build but still way better than 95% of the competition?I think the advantages are worth it & should suit me fine for a general purpose ultraportable for certainly a couple of years or until x200 prices drop to around £200 when i will consider another upgrade

I've been buying off-lease used desktops and laptops for years, for myself, friends, and clients. I had one bad one once, which the (eBay) seller replaced instantly.

I think a lot of these machines, the laptops especially, are issued to people who leave them in their desk drawers for the two or three years until they're issued a new one. The X60S I'm using now, for example, looked absolutely brand new when I got it.

So my experience has been just excellent. I've tried to pick reputable sellers, and I'll only consider a purchase if there are high-res photos of the actual machine. But like I say, this strategy has worked very well for me.

Merc wrote:2. If the laptop has 2-3 GBs of memory and all you do is office work, web browsing and light photo editing (...)

I sometimes feel like entering a Kafkian world. 2-3GB of RAM just to do basic stuff? I don't know how old are you but I did "light photo editing" on a Pentium 66 MHz with 16MB of RAM and Corel Photo Paint 5...

I think the issue is that people believes they HAVE to have the lastest version always, which is progressively slower and more inneficient.

mikemex wrote:I think the issue is that people believes they HAVE to have the lastest version always, which is progressively slower and more inneficient.

My Panasonic ToughBook CF-Y4 has only 512MB of RAM and for the basic stuff that I do on this laptop, it is fast enough. In fact, it doesn't feel any slower than my Dell Latitude D820, which has 3GB of RAM and a much faster processor. (Of course, the Panasonic *should* be slower than the Dell but the difference is too small to be discernible.) Both computers are running Windows XP with SP3.

One thing I have found is that the IBM EPP is the best place to get refurbs, in near mint condition. My family has bought two T61s, and they came with new plastics, very mininmal wear on the keyboard, and brand new batteries. If you can find a company selling refurbs as opposed to off-lease, you are a lot better off. The other thing about the IBM epp is the prices - X40 is $143.20, T61s were ~250$ (they are sold out now, so I don't have the exact price.

On the topic of what we need vs. what we want, I am setting up a new computer for my grandfater (Thinkcentre M55, refurb), to replace his old P4 desktop. While the P4 does what he wants, it is starting to slow down, and while 1gb of ram is eneough for just about anything, 512mb is cutting it close, especially when you load up lots of TSRs and whatnot on startup (he would have <50mb of ram free at startup). The issue is that he has the software he wants to use, so even though there is nothing excessive that he wants to do, he needed some upgrading (including a new graphics card to drive the widescreen monitor he bought), so he bought a cheap ($200 refurb M55) This also means that I can replace my Piii desktop with a P4 .

What's the link to IBM EPP?
Can anyone purchase from them?
Thanks

ParatoOptimal wrote:What's the link to IBM EPP?
Can anyone purchase from them?

Item 4 in the Thinkpads.com Forum "Rules of the Road" explains:

Rules of the Road wrote:4. Don't ask how to get an EPP (Employee Purchase) or Educational Discount. If you are a member of one of these groups, ask them: they will know better. Questions about the Thinkpad are welcome. Questions about the the specific purchasing program itself should be directed toward your qualifying organization. There are so many special deals available to all on new thinkpads EPP, Educational and the like pricing is nearly meaningless. Lenovo, Ecoupons and LogicBuy all offer some amazing price discounts.

Phil.

HA, HA! I didn't even know what EPP stood for never mind that it was banned.

Why is that? I told you it was banned in a reply to the same question yesterday.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 68#p612768

There seems to be some confusion.
I made both posts the same day.
I got your response and point taken.
There was no need for me to respond that I didn't know what it was nor that speaking of it was not allowed.

I got THIS response after already being spanked by you and I laughed at MYSELF because I didn't know what EPP was and posted as much to avoid any further posts to not ask about EPP. I read in another thread on this forum where someone posted getting better deals at EPP than found on ebay. That's why I asked for a link in the first place so I could find out what it was and what the deal was. I made no further posts about it after you notified me that it wasn't allowed.
Thank you

Looking into upgrading my X31, as was posted above it does breath hard on many of the current websites.

I wasn't looking into the x60s/x61s as I thought they were smaller and possibly not as comfortable as the x31, wouldn't an x61 be closer in format to the x31 ?

Both the x30 and the x60 series have the same size if you look at the keyboard. It's possible that the x60 are generally thicker than the x30 series, I do not know this. The x60s and x61s are lighter and smaller than the x60 and x61.

GpsPasSion wrote:I wasn't looking into the x60s/x61s as I thought they were smaller and possibly not as comfortable as the x31, wouldn't an x61 be closer in format to the x31 ?

The X60 was the successor to the X31 and X32, and the X60s to the X40 and X41.

Going from an X61 to an X200, whats the difference?

blink wrote:I have recently sold an X31 and now probably my x40 to replace with 2 x60s
The main reason for this was as ivan mentioned the jump to sata, cheaper drives & easy upgrade to ssd if wanted. The extra video memory (although not great multimedia machines i can watch 720p video on youtube & maybe even 1080p if the wind blows the right way) (although the screen resolution would limit this) im not sure but dont think this was possible on x31-x40? X60 prices now make it very attractive to make the step up.

Just an X61T tablet as I was tired of not being able to watch videos with my X31 but the Video card on the X61T doesn't seem to be a lot better, 720p is ok in a small window, but not very smooth in full screen mode (banding mostly), and since the CPU is not maxed out it has to be the culprit.

Have you noticed that too?

paul*robertson wrote:Going from an X61 to an X200, whats the difference?

the biggest difference is in the fact that X200 uses a 12.1 inch widescreen rather than the 12.1 inch standard aspect ratio screen. Obviously, you also get the better CPU/GPU package, expresscard slot rather than the cardbus slot (which means you can get the diy vidock).

Additionally, the X200 uses a full size keyboard and the X200 ultrabase comes with displayport, which offers you the ability to run two external LCD without additional usb2dvi or usb2vga adapters. Lastly, you can order the X200 with integrated webcam.

I personally really like the size factor of the X200 (and the potential for upgrade to the 1440x900 screen even if it is bit expensive/or AFFS mod), while the X61 do offer a run of the money against a netbook.