Thinkpads Forum

I'm thinking about getting a tough cheap laptop for the work site just for writing reports, networking and email.

The 600X I'm typing on is about the toughest laptop I've ever seen. There's zero flex even when grabbing it one-handed by the corner.

There's also a lot of fun modding you can do.

600x sounds like a pretty good choice to me, too. Depending on your needs, I would also recommend an X2x series machine (particularly the X24, the last and most powerful of them.) They lack optical drives but are very sturdy.

I bought a toughpad CF-27. It seems perfect for the construction site

If you really need solid, get a 770. It'll double as a protection device when walking through a shady area at night.

Spirit-1776 wrote:I bought a toughpad CF-27. It seems perfect for the construction site

The forbidden love child of a Toughbook and a ThinkPad?

Just kidding, of course. The CF-27 should be powerful enough for everyday computing (internet, email, etc...), and able to take a pounding. Good choice.

The downside with the CF-27 is that it has an SVGA (800x600) display, which will require a lot more scrolling than XGA (1024x768). If you want a serious Toughbook -- which is definitely tough, but not very light -- you might want to see if the CF-28 fits your budget.

The Spirit of X21 I did not plan on choosing a name so close to yours.

I bought two cf-27 mainly because they look so military tough. one is like new with 266mhz CPU. The other is in good shape with a 500mhz CPU. last night I moved the faster board into the new case. What I Want to do with the other case is put a screen and motherboard from an X24. I will add a sata, and a USB pcmcia card. The cards will stay inside the case. I will try to simulate the jell pack and install two 7K100 hard drives raid 0. the USB 2.0 will allow me to add a usb hub, internal GPS, touchpad, web cam and other upgrades. Any thoughts?

No worries, Spirit. Some have taken to calling me X21 anyway.

This sounds like quite the project. Will you share some pictures with us when you are done?

f you really need solid, get a 770. It'll double as a protection device when walking through a shady area at night.

And can also be used as a weapon if necessary...

390E - bought mine on eBay from someone in the US, it arrived in Toronto encased in nothing more than a cardboard box, no padding, not even newspaper. Both screen latches broke and some plastic went from around the left hinge, but it's otherwise perfect, spilt a glass of water on keyboard last year, trackpoint quit on me for 2 days then came back! The thing is indestructible!

p11 + up ,tp 600,tp600e,tp600x,t20-t21-t22,a31p.

570/570E - I used mine as a main computer at home and carried it from class to class when I was in school. After getting married, my wife used it as her main computer in her classroom until this year. The only thing I've had to replace was the LCD ribbon cable. Not unexpected after having the lid opened and closed a quazillion times!

Its thin and light with a big display. No rubber coating to rub off like the 600 series. To this day, it still works well and looks nice!

I have used: X31, T23, T42, X21, and X24. Of those, the ones that seem almost indestructible are the X21 and the X24 (indistinguishable to me as far as physical resistence.) I concur with X21 that the X24 makes for a more than suitable computer, even nowadays, as long as you don't need to use high powered software applications like video encoding.

I run an X24 with 256Mb of RAM, loaded with SuSE 9.3, and driving an external 20'' Samsung LCD monitor. I have it running constantly at 700 Mhz, which limits its maximum temperature to 60C even when running video encoding for hours. I can have a bunch of applications open (several Firefox windows, several terminals, XMMs, K3b, Xpdf, and a Gmplayer instance playing a full screen VidX movie) with no maxing out of the CPU capacity whatsoever, and no noticeable lag.

These go on eBay right now for less than $200 right now. A steal, if you ask me.

Physically they are also built like no other. You can pick them up, kick them around, and toss them in and out of your bag, and they will take it. Mine has been with me for more than 2 years, and it looks virtually new.

IMHO, I would caution against the 570 series. I have owned them and they are significantly less rugged than the 600 series owing to their thinness. I second the 770 series. Those things are like 10 pounds of steel and rubber.

I agree that the X2x machines are rugged. I used an X22 for about 5 years, including many times for traveling, never an issue.

The X2x's can take abuse.

How do the x3 and x4 series compare to the x24 in durability? I would much prefer the guts of an x40 over an x24, but if there are some compelling reasons why the x24 is so durable I might give one a try soon.

In my experience, X2s are still more durable than X3s and X4s, but if you want the really light machine with longer battery life, X4x is the answer.

Simply said, X2 will take more abuse than most other ThinkPads and survive with the smile, but the maximum of 640Mb (384 on X20/21) RAM may be limiting to some people, although I've never found it to be, not for daily use anyway. If you can find a X22 with built-in wi-fi, that would be my suggestion. If not, X24 will do just fine, although it will run hotter-but still way cooler than X3x or X4x.

Hope this helps.

For a field machine, you want to have a machine with:

- good battery life
- solid build
- clear bright screen
- not too heavy
- good networking
- good keyboard

A X series machine will fit the bill perfectly, if you can afford one. I suggest X22/X23 since these are not too expensive and have everything you want. If you want best bang for the buck, buy a 600X and a good wirless card - it has a ultrabay and can take in an extra battery (or a HDD or an optical drive), but obvioulsy you will not get the amazing battery life that X series machines get.

Panasonic toughpads are good but they are expensive and depending on your field work, you might not even need all the protection they have ... a thinkpad will do just fine in most cases.

Hi All:
Thanks for the feedback. I bought 2 Toughbooks, CF-27 and CF-28' and I agree with everyone. I just like Thinkpads better for many reasons. It would take too long to enumerate all the reasons but the most important is-They're just better. I'm sticking with the X22 for the field.

As far as the crazy idea I had with the 2 SATA hard drives, I decided to jack up my house, tear out the foundation, and pour a new one because it made as much sense and was easier to accomplish with less expense. It also wouldn't take as long. Plus, it's a task my 11 month old son could help me with.