Potential X60S purchase - Got A few questions

[xcgames]

I'm very satisfied with my own T60P purchase last month and cannot be happier. But my GF's sony laptop just started to crap out this week so I'm looking for a potential replacement for her. She wants something small so X60 is pretty much the only option.

I've never owned an X series before so I have a few questions,

This is the spec of the machine I'm looking to buy, but definitely not at the posted price

http://www.pcconnection.com/ProductDeta ... 20145949-2


1. Can I add a bluetooth module to the laptop?
2. Is it possible to clone the 40gb drive to a 100gb 7200rpm drive?
3. X series do not come with optical drives, do you guys recommend buying a port replicator, or just a slim external USB DVD burner?
4. Is this laptop capable of running windows vista aero (i'll upgarde it to 2gb ram)?
5. Does it have 1 DIMM or 2 DIMMs for memory?
6. If i can get the stock system for $1400 shipped, is it a good deal?

[EOMtp]

1. Not "built-in" -- The internal BT module is in the LCD display casing and requires the LCD cable to have the connector.
2. Yes.
3. Both work, but they serve different needs.
4. Yes.
5. 2 (accessible from the bottom "door").

[xcgames]

1. Not "built-in" -- The internal BT module is in the LCD display casing and requires the LCD cable to have the connector.

So it would not be possible for me to upgrade the machine if it did not originally came with BT?

[tomh009]

It's possible to add BT, but it is a bit of a nuisance to install the antenna.

I personally like the Ultrabase as docking my X will then automatically switch to the external monitor. But if you plan to carry the optical drive around, a USB drive is probably a better choice.

Take a look at the Visa promotional pricing, too:
http://usa.visa.com/personal/
or
http://www.visaperks.ca/

[EOMtp]

So it would not be possible for me to upgrade the machine if it did not originally came with BT?

It would require disassembly of the LCD panel and replacement of the LCD cable with one which has the Bluetooth connector. There is no antenna cable.

[tomh009]

5. 2 (accessible from the bottom "door").

A clarification on this -- two slots on the system, only one is occupied by the standard 512 MB module.

[EOMtp]

A clarification on this -- two slots on the system, only one is occupied by the standard 512 MB module.

Two slots total; use them as you wish. (The factory may have used one or both slots, depending on the memory configuration of the original machine.)

[tomh009]

A clarification on this -- two slots on the system, only one is occupied by the standard 512 MB module.

Two slots total; use them as you wish. (The factory may have used one or both slots, depending on the memory configuration of the original machine.)

Use them as you wish, yes. One slot occupied with the standard 512 MB module on this system, as I said, so a 1.5 GB configuration requires only one additional 1 GB module.

[EOMtp]

A clarification on this -- two slots on the system, only one is occupied by the standard 512 MB module.

My mistake, tomh009 -- I read your note as a question rather than a statement.

[tomh009]

's OK. Between us, I think we have answered all the questions now (other than the "good price" one) ...

[pianowizard]

xcgames, if her broken Sony laptop had a widescreen, you may want to ask if she really wants to switch to the 12.1" XGA regular screen of the X60s. It's not just a matter of shape, but also total real estate: the lowest-resolution widescreen has 30% more pixels than an XGA screen.

[xcgames]

xcgames, if her broken Sony laptop had a widescreen, you may want to ask if she really wants to switch to the 12.1" XGA regular screen of the X60s. It's not just a matter of shape, but also total real estate: the lowest-resolution widescreen has 30% more pixels than an XGA screen.

She currently has this machine:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VGN-S260-Not ... B0002XUXBQ

Weight: 4.2 pounds

She absolutely does not want something heavy like my T60P, and I've had trouble looking for a thinkpad that's about 4.2lbs without going for the X60s.

[pianowizard]

She absolutely does not want something heavy like my T60P, and I've had trouble looking for a thinkpad that's about 4.2lbs without going for the X60s.

If you insist on getting her a Thinkpad, then the X60s is the closest thing to what she wants. But you might also want to look at other manufacturers that make light widescreen laptops with built-in optical drive. I used a 12.1" WXGA laptop (the Dell Inspiron 700m) for almost two years and after getting used to it, I found the 12.1" XGA screen of the X series to be much less enjoyable.

Have you looked into these ultraportable widescreen laptops, all of which have built-in optical drives and WXGA display resolution:

Sharp PCM4000 (3.8 lbs, 13.3")
Lenovo 3000 V100 (4.0 lbs, 12.1")
Gateway E-100M (3.15 lbs, 12.1")
HP n2400 (2.8 lbs, 12.1") <---- on my wish list!
Acer Ferrari 1004WTMi (3.7 lbs, 12.1")

Asus and Sony have 11.1" widescreen laptops that are super light and have internal optical drives but WXGA on an 11.1" screen makes things really small.

[rsyed]

if battery life is not an issue, she could try the z61t with widescreen. you have the option between 1280x768 or 1440x900 @ 4,2 pounds. the z61t is not as bulky as the m or the p series - really nice, neat and small. would like one too, but the battery life is a bit scary - about 3 hrs with a standard 4 cell.

cheers

[gunston]

i would presume most of the girls like to have a light lappy on their hand, furthermore, 8cells battery for X60s does a big boost to its battery life (depend on the application activities too )

well, my gf just love using my X60s for Internet Browsing, Word Processing and others...
for me... unpacked and used my "Frozen" T43... sob-sob

[tomh009]

If you insist on getting her a Thinkpad, then the X60s is the closest thing to what she wants. But you might also want to look at other manufacturers that make light widescreen laptops with built-in optical drive. I used a 12.1" WXGA laptop (the Dell Inspiron 700m) for almost two years and after getting used to it, I found the 12.1" XGA screen of the X series to be much less enjoyable.

Widescreen may or may not matter (doesn't to me) ... but for many people the optical drive is really even more of a non-issue. I think my wife has connected an optical drive (an ancient VAIO PCMCIA-powered CD-ROM!) to her X31 only once or twice in the past 12 months. If you don't need it, why carry it around?

And apart from the HP, all the systems on your list are substantially heavier -- and, I would argue, less well built (the HP may, again, be an exception here). An X60 or X60s seems like a perfect choice for her ...

[xcgames]

if battery life is not an issue, she could try the z61t with widescreen. you have the option between 1280x768 or 1440x900 @ 4,2 pounds. the z61t is not as bulky as the m or the p series - really nice, neat and small. would like one too, but the battery life is a bit scary - about 3 hrs with a standard 4 cell.

cheers

Thanks for the suggestion. I was looking into the Z61T series because the starting weight is almost the same, but I doubt the weight will remain the same after I add a WXGA+ screen, a dvd burner and a 100gb HDD.

Maybe someone with a similar spec can confirm the weight of the machine?

[tomh009]

You can find all the weights and dimensions in the tabook, here:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitu ... tabook.pdf

[xcgames]

You can find all the weights and dimensions in the tabook, here:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitu ... tabook.pdf

thank you so much