First 12 hours with my x61s

[apbudha]

Specs:
1.8 core 2 duo
UltraLight LCD
2 gb memory ( added one of these)
Intel ABGN
8 cell
Vista Home Basic
3 yr depot
keyboard (dunno, but i don't think its nmb)
7k200 (went through a Acronis Imaging fiasco)
12" shaggyMac screen protector
12" zeroshock III sleeve from shinza

Initial impressions:
"Its so little" <---still this impression even though i used a x31 for 3.5 years. Somehow it seems significantly smaller than the x31, like the keyboard for example. Thinness of the screen probably plays a role.

Setting up:
So I decided to clone the hard drive using Acronis TrueImage Home 11 trial version, the new drive being in an enclosure. I wasted a lot of time on this. The first time I chose 'automatic', and it seemed to go through the steps and complete, but then it gave me a "no MBR" error when I popped in the hitachi disk. The next time I tried 'manual' and then tried to resize the new partitions as I wanted, and the program threw some kind of error I don't recall. The next time, which I did 'manual' but let it do the partitioning for me, it was going ok, but then it went into suspend mode in the middle of it! (Bear in mind it reboots and runs in a kind of Windows-safe mode screen, so I didn't know how I could change this suspend behavior) I did this again, but tried to press keys and move the trackpoint around halfway through so it would have a chance to finish while I was in class. Well sure enough when I got back it was suspended. The original disk in the drive would not boot (just gave me a flashing underscore in a blank screen), however the new drive booted fine. (?!?)

So I continued onward....

After the clone to the 7200rpm/200gb disk I had popped in I wanted to do a factory restore. This went fine until I clicked on a window that said click to reboot when it was still running scripts in the background. So just a potential pointer for those about to do this. Let it finish on its own.

Hardware:
(4:3| thinklight|trackpoint) how I missed you. Going between my acer and x61s this afternoon, I tried to use a non-existent trackpad on the x61s and tried to use a non-existent trackpoint on the acer! This might play into the expectation/Gesalt and the "its so tiny" experience.

Disappointment:
I'll be honest, the right palmrest bugs me. In the battery settings i have set it to "Maximum Battery Life" and in the Wireless device in Device Manager I have set Ad Hoc Power Management to "Maximum Power Savings". I also see "Maximum Power Savings" set in the power plan of Max Battery for Wireless Adapter Settings, probably the same setting I mentioned in Device Manager. This didn't make a noticable difference to me; I am open to other tweak suggestions others have finalized on that could improve this : }

When I pulled out a usb external hard drive connection I noticed it cooled, and cooled even moreso when I shut off the wlan device with the button in the front. I did not really notice a difference when I put it on battery like I thought/had read about. So I would say with wireless off it goes from "bugging me" to "mildly annoying".

When I receive my recovery cds I will reinstall on my 5400 drive and see if that makes a significant difference. Also this was my first day with the laptop and i want to see if any of this changes as time goes on. Although I don't think the whole Vista indexing thing is going on or causing it.

From posts, etc I gathered that with the Intel card and power savings mode for the wireless this would be something I would hardly even notice, but it has been a bit more than that.

Just wanted to share my experience thus far. Oh and I am not bothered by fan noise at this point. Also the performance is just blazing so far.

[EOMtp]

... When I receive my recovery cds I will reinstall on my 5400 drive and see if that makes a significant difference. ...

Save yourself the trouble; it will not make any difference whatsoever. The right palmrest heat is not from the hard drive. Furthermore, the Hitachi 7K200 runs as cool as any drive you will put in its place.
Enjoy your new machine!

[smvp6459]

I don't know about the AGN or Vista, but in XP with the ABG you can change the setting in the device manager for "transmit power" to lowest - I find that reduces some of the heat on my X60s.

[apbudha]

I unscrewed my keyboard and found the following part number:
42T3467, which is listed as a nmb keyboard for x61t. Considering I have a x61s, is that strange?

I also did see the translucent blue pad springs, so that might dispel the chance of the "rebranded" chicony. So, did I get lucky? I have read posts favoring both keyboards, but Rons's post here:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... t=keyboard
is very specific and convincing towards the nmb.

So apparently then these are not out of production.

[richarddd]

Disappointment:
I'll be honest, the right palmrest bugs me.

This is what's keeping me from an x61. I'm on wi-fi a lot and I type a lot. Until they fix it, I'll stick with my x31.

[wolfman]

It seems to be a personal thing as well. Each person is potentially more sensitive than another - I use wifi all the time on my X61 with the AGN card and I don't mind the heat at all. I do notice some heat, but it's not - in my opinion - a show stopper that makes me wish I hadn't bought the machine. YMMV.

[apbudha]

Allow me to flesh this initial experience out even more.

First of all, I never have to bring my power adapter to campus again. Compare this 3.30 lb to 5.30lb + adapter, and then pile on several textbooks. That right there was a big part of my decision. It is even significantly lighter than my prior x31, with all due respect to that little tank. As another poster commented it is so light you cannot open the laptop with only one hand on the lid. I'm wondering if this is too light (i.e. you have to be more cautious with it), the weight is barely noticeable on the lap as this thing is paper thin.

Also, as another poster mentioned, it does not get hot on your lap. I sat through a 2 hour meeting just now with it in my lap taking notes the entire time. [You cannot say this about the x31, which requires a buffer (pillow, notebook) after not too long.] So then when the lights went out for a project presentation I had the thinklight there to illuminate the keyboard : } but I didn't need it because the display is so bright! It has such a small footprint it is easy to whip out during class/meetings/talks, without concern for loud typing and an obnoxious fan.

I do not like how the Fn key is in the place where the Ctrl key should be, and will take some getting used to.

I have cycled it to 0% battery and shutoff twice, so I think I am set with conditioning the battery.

I did notice the fan running last night, but only once it was completely silent. I installed the TPControl which essentially shut it off, but then I stopped the service since I don't mind the fan doing its job.

I was aware of the heat concern before buying it, but right now I still think the x61 series is a solid affordable ultralight laptop choice, with a serious keyboard to boot. And so far I don't think overall construction has suffered since it was an IBM produced machine, based on what I've seen.

[richarddd]

It seems to be a personal thing as well. Each person is potentially more sensitive than another - I use wifi all the time on my X61 with the AGN card and I don't mind the heat at all. I do notice some heat, but it's not - in my opinion - a show stopper that makes me wish I hadn't bought the machine. YMMV.

According to this thread http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=53277 the AGN card runs the coolest of any of the cards.

[apbudha]

According to this thread http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=53277 the AGN card runs the coolest of any of the cards.

your terminology "coolest" I think might be misleading. Better to say "less hot" or "less warm"; but even with the wireless radio off there is a bit of heat coming through, and on both sides.