Considering an X60s

[Terrahawk]

Hi everyone,

I currently have an X31 which I quite like. However, it is getting a little slow in some areas (maybe I am just getting impatient) and I am considering upgrading to an X60s. I am looking at one available for NZ$850 or thereabouts at the moment. It has a Core Duo LV 1.66 GHz, 2GB RAM, 80GB HDD and an Ultrabase X6 with DVD/CDRW. I am not exactly sure of the Type and Model number.

What I'm interested to know, is whether you think I'll notice much difference in general day-to-day use (e-mail, web, MS Office, SSH terminal and remote desktop, sometimes all at once). If it's not worth it, I'll save up my pennies and get an X300 or X301, mostly because I like the idea of having an optical drive available. However, this machine is available now and appears to fit the bill. It even looks like it will run Vista with Aero(of which I have a spare licence sitting around gathering dust at the moment).

Thanks for your opinions,

[qviri]

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[Terrahawk]

Hard drives in both X31 and proposed X60s are 5400 RPM. I'm not really likely to upgrade them as I don't tend to use much space and all my documents, pictures and other files are saved to a server with plenty of space.

[plympton]

Adding another gig of Ram + swapping out your (old?) 40 GB hard drive for a 160 or 250 GB hard drive might be a better alternative. 5400 != 5400 always. I have a 160 GB drive in my X32 and in benchmarks it really flies!

The X60 might have a better display, as your X31's backlight could be fading at this point, and it never was a sunlight substitute. You could easily put an AFFS/IPS display on your X31, even increase the resolution to 1400x1050 to get more space for those terminal windows.

I put an XGA AFFS display in mine - makes staring at the B&W terminal screen much more pleasant.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=78438

Personally I really like the X3x form factor over the X6x. The six-cell is "just right", it's well balanced, the power cable is in back as it should be , they run cool, and you can undervolt lower than any dual-core Intel chip allows (even the LV ones only go down to .950 volts, I believe).

Dual core won't help with general web stuff in my experience (T60), but it's nice for encoding, media playback, etc.

-Dan
PS: What's Aero good for, anyway? I honestly don't know, as I always tick "best performance" on every Windows install I do.

[dwilsonfl]

I have much the similar reasons for looking to move up from X40 to X60 class machines. It seems clear that emerging uses like Hulu would benefit from better video.

Picked up an X41t but it's heavy and too complicated. I like the X40's simple and light form factor. The big drawback is the funky and slow HD, so if I could move up to SATA normalcy I would hope that would be a big change.

Thoughts?

[force]

I find it interesting that many people are in the same situation, (considering) going from the X3* to X60s.

I do enjoy the form-factor of the X32, but the X60s just feels that much lighter. My primary reason was to keep the portability but to have something that was more up-to-date and quieter.

I used to like having the power connector on the back out of the way, but it often leads to me fumbling around trying to remember where the plug is. The position of the battery out the back on the X60-series also makes more sense to me, as you usually have the screen open to an obtuse angle, and that space isn't being used anyway:

Code: Select all

  \__
  ^ this space not used
    when screen is open

The extended battery uses this space which would otherwise go unused, which is useful on say, an airplane tray table. The downside is that it sticks out when the lid is closed, adding to the depth of the unit.

I also like how the X60 and some of the later models have the keyboard at an angle when the unit is resting on a table. On the X32, the battery makes the unit sit completely level. It's not a bad thing, and it also distributes the weight forward so it's easier to open the lid. I have seen an unofficial extended battery for the X30-series that puts an 'extended palmrest' in front of the computer to hold extra cells. I've used a Dell that had a similar battery, and it's not at all uncomfortable to use.

Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with the X60s or staying with the X31. They are both perfect in terms of power, form-factor, and portability.

[Saysana13B]

What do you think about the Solo core versions of the X60? I don't want to thread crash, or start a new thread, but I am too thinking of upgrading from an X31.

[Terrahawk]

I'm more keen on a dual core X60. This is mostly because since experiencing general use of a dual-core Athlon 64 X2 4400+ machine with both XP and Windows 7 (and comparing it against a single core Athlon 64 3700+), I found it so much smoother for pretty much everything. Creating new tabs in IE8 was fast, having multiple tabs open and switching between them was fast too. On my X31 with the 1.6 GHz P-M, it felt like molasses in comparison. I guess 1.6 GHz P-M to 1.66 GHz Core Duo is not that big an improvement overall. However, what I'm looking for is just something more responsive without having to buy one an X61 or an X30x machine, both of which are still relatively expensive here.

[Terrahawk]

Thanks to everyone for their comments. Unfortunately, someone else has ended up buying the X60s before I could get in, so I may as well wait until something else comes up now. Maybe someone will be wanting to get rif of an X300

[force]

I got the chance to use both the X60s and the X32, and I have to agree with plympton that I like the form factor of the X32 over the X60s. Sure, it's heavier than the X60s, but to me it feels more solid. For some reason, the keyboard feels less cramped, even when I'm not using the Windows/menu keys. There's much less wiggle on the X32 keyboard (not sure which manufacturer) than there is on the NMB X60s one. I think this has to do with the attachment method of the keys, since the NMB has for closer to the center that slot into the plastic hinge.

The P-M in the X32 also takes less power than the Core Duo, but not by too much. It definitely seems to run cooler, though. I wanted something that would be able to run as silent as possible; so far, I haven't had much luck getting a 1.83GHz CD to do that.

I'm torn between which to use as my portable computer. The X32 is heavier and less powerful, but I like the feel so much better. Maybe I should get a case that can fit both so I can switch between the two. =)

[syrahnose]

I too live in NZ, where the prices we pay are considerably higher compared to elsewhere. That said, I bought my x60s 3 years ago and it has been the best laptop (my6th) I've ever owned. light, great 6 hour battery life with 6 cell (my second) and a second slim line for added weight reduction. I moved to a 320gb 7200 hd which increased speed and upped ram to 4. It still is rock solid machine, great keyboard and fast enough.

My advice is to buy hd and RAM off US or singapore internet sites as much cheaper.

I'd love to buy a new x61 but they seem to have passed and need to move on to x200 or x300 instead, which I'll probably do in next year.

Grab a x60s for that price.