X60s qestions...

[andreas74]

Hey all,

I think ill return my new sony vaio SZ2 and get a thinkpad instead.
The sony is my first non-thinkpad laptop (been using a T40p and an old A20m), and , yea, i think once you had a thinkpad, its hard to use anything else..
Anyway, im one of those guys who is not 100% sure whetever to get the X60s or the T60. Leaning towards the X60s a.t.m., as i think itll have enough power as a home-machine for me too (using external monitor / keyboard, which i already do on the t40), apart from the obvious super mobility. Also, since i still have a T40 (that is just going to the doctor (6 days before warranty ends - talking about efficiency;)), the X would complement it nicely i think.
Ill be using it for: programming (Visual Studio and some Zend PHP) and also music making. I dont need good grafix-crunching.
So im pretty sure the X60s would be sufficient. (Im still used to a 1.6 pentium m with 512 ram;)

Ok, heres the questions i have :
- Do all X60s suffer from the hot-right-palmrest area? The model im about to order is:
X60s 1704-56G , L2400
It has the intel wifi card (its a special-offer thing, so theres not much to configure here).

- Is the X60s really a quiet computer? This is very important for me. I hate noisy fans that make high pitched whinning sounds. And, after using a T40p for 3 years, i know what a noisy fan is;) ... Ive heard some noise-horror-stories with the T60, and it actually is one of the reasons i lean towards the X60s here, to be sure the thing is NOT very noisy. Any comments appreciated.
( i know, this is an endless topic, also very subjective...)

- would you say the X60s is as sturdy as the T60 ?

Thanks !

[Spif]

I have the 1704-56G model.

Palm-rest area doesn't get hot at all, just a bit warm. Temperatures will rise a bit when downloading big files, but it is in no way uncomfortable to me. However, it *is* something you will notice, mostly because the rest of the laptop remains very cool.

I am using the Intel card with maximum power-saving mode, so that could be the reason it doesn't get very warm.

[andreas74]

Ok thanks!
I'll be using it on high-performance quit a bit though...
How noisy is your X60?

[getlow]

my x60s 1704-69u is very quiet.. every so often the fan will turn on, lasts about than 10-15 seconds then shuts off and even so it's not bothersome.. the palmrest does get warm (not hot by any means)which doesn't bother me at all.. hardly ever notice it (only notice it when i read posts like these asking if it is hot or not)

[dfumento]

My X60s is barely warm on palmrest. Fan is quiet. I also use it for programming using external LCD for home and work. The portability is wonderful.

Mine has built-in Verizon EVDO so that I don't have to look for/pay for hotspots. Cost is $60 month w/2 year contract which is a Starbuck's coffee per day.

[andreas74]

thanks for the infos... just got back from returning the vaio sz soooo, i need a new thinkpad, NOW!!!
If only i could decide....

[Spif]

How noisy is your X60?

Only had it for a few days, so these are just my initial impressions.

The laptop seems to be very quiet in general, especially the fan. Most of the time I only notice the fan is running when my hand is near fan exit.

The device located under the right side of the keyboard is the most noisy part of the X60s. I think it is the hard drive, although I'm not entirely sure. It is audible from time to time, but it is not so loud it bothers me in any way. This could be because I've been installing and updating applications ever since I got the laptop, maybe this small problem will get better when I stop accessing the hard drive so frequently.

Regarding sturdiness, I have found the build quality to be as high as seen on the T series. My dad's T60 has a lot of areas with a bit flex, whereas my X60s doesn't have any at all. All in all, the two laptops have a very identical feel to them, main difference is only the size. Both are excellent machines.

I'll report back when I have used it some more.

[andreas74]

Are you doing any processor-intensive tasks on your X60s?
Im just wondering if the fan noise is also within an acceptable range when maxing out the cpu...
could be that im just a bit paranoid cause of the size of the thing. Small = small fan = high rotation speed needed = high-pitched noises...
Cause thats what i went thru with the sony sz...
But it certainly looks like this is different on the X60s ...i hope:)

[andreas74]

another thing im wondering about is..
The L2400 1.66 is as powerful as a T2300 1.66, is that correct?
Been reading some contradictory things on this now...

[andreas74]

so, to answer my own question, it looks like yes, ~ -5% maybe, but pretty they perform pretty much the same. if someone thinks im wrong with this, please make some noise...
alright, looks like the decision is pretty much made. I go for the X60s .
just one last thing ... has anyone used the pcmcia port on it? ill be using a (type II) soundcard on the thing (rme hammerfall). im pretty sure therell be no problems at all, as long as the cardbus thing on the x60s is up-to-standard (well, i dont mean the newest express standard, but , as said, typeII cardbus.. ))
thanks again!