X24 - To buy or not to buy...

[Tasurinchi]

Hi everybody!

I was a click away to but a cheap X24 (model not specified by the vendor). But I was wondering which more or less modern software will run without performance issues.

With a PIII, old SD-RAM and just 8MB for the ATI graphic card, I think only XP would run more or less flawless, right? Is it any use I can get from this TP? (appart from adding a TP to my collection?)

Of course, I could try one of the tiny Linux distros like DSL or Puppy Linux. But I don't think that even browsing will be a pleasant experience, it seems that nowadays every small site will fill the screen with flash animations.

What do you think?

Cheers

Tasurinchi

[p78]

My brother has an EVO n410c with a 1.2Ghz PIII and he is happy with it, he can watch youtube videos OK (I am not sure if youtube HD videos would work though)

So I would say a 1+Ghz PIII should be OK ...

[Sandstorm83]

Youtube flash sites work fine on my X30 which doesnt differ much from an X24 except that it can take 1 GB SDRAM instead of 640 on the X24. Windows XP SP3 flies on that machine and modern programs like Office 2007, IE8, WMP11 work fine.
Just forget playing HD content but SD content works fine on that type of machine.

[sjthinkpader]

With a maximum RAM of 768MB, X24 will strain to run tab browsers. On the other hand, the dual RAM slot X30 can get to 1GB. Finding a decent battery for the X2x series will be difficult also. I got my X24 almost free.

[p78]

With a maximum RAM of 768MB, X24 will strain to run tab browsers.

Depends on how many tabs . My 512MB X40 runs firefox fine (I am using tete's optimized firefox which is faster but I don't think it eats less memory) (I've got 220MB used memory after startup - NHC and Avira eat quite a few MBs though)

[j-dawg]

Maximum RAM is actually 640MB - 128 on the board and 512 in the slot. With that configuration, my X24 runs Ubuntu 9.04 acceptably, but not fabulously. It does a little better with Xubuntu. Windows 7 actually runs about as well as did XP, but it's not worth the money for a computer that was made the better part of a decade ago (mine is stamped with a build date in August of 2002). In Ubuntu I can watch Youtube videos (though the machine gets pretty hot) and don't have to use the HTML version of Gmail, which basically covers 90% of my needs.

It's a nice machine to have around just for browsing the interweb, but don't expect anything more than the basics.

[qviri]

With a maximum RAM of 768MB, X24 will strain to run tab browsers.

Depends on the browser . Right now I have 33 tabs open in Opera and it is taking up 380 MB of RAM. Probably not advisable to try 30 tabs on an X24, but it should definitely carry a few.

edit: this is on my T60p, not the X31 in sig.

[Temetka]

If it were me I would go for an X32. You get a 16MB video card, DDR memory and you can have a max RAM amount of 2GB. Not to mention the far faster CPU.

Pricing on e-bay seems high in my opinion for those machines. The prices seem to be around $300 and for a tad more you can get an X60.

Of course the is the X40/X41T series of machines with their only problem IMO being the 1.8" HD. That being said I own an X41T and am amazed at how well it runs Ubuntu and Windows 7 and at how quickly I've fallen in love with it.

[Tasurinchi]

Hi all!

First of all thanks to everybody for all the comments and recommendations. After thinking a bit I decided not to buy the X24 and save the money for either upgrading my X41 or for a future X6* series.

I find the 640MB limit and the slow processor to be the main drawbacks, and another one that came to my mind today, when connecting my iPhone to my Desktop, is the lack of USB 2.0 support. I remember my old days using my old T30 with my old iPod mini and it took ages to populate 4GB of data.

And it would be laying around for couch browsing together with my X31 and X41. If I see I can get it almost for free I may change my mind, for the moment I'll let it be...

Thanks agains to everybody... is nice to have a forum like this...

Cheers

[sjthinkpader]

I don't know if you saw this thread.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... =selecting

The X24 came in around middle of the 1st page.

[Tasurinchi]

I don't know if you saw this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=76598&hilit=selecting

Actually I did, but somehow forgot to "absorb" the info, (reading too many threads).

This X24 looks really nice, sleek and it appears to be in Mint condition. But still I will not buy it yet. I can imagine the vendor may even go lower on price. Yesterday I also saw a good T43 and was almost a click away to buy it... Geez if I were more impulsive I would have to move out from my home and leave space only for the TPs

Have a nice start of the week!

Cheers...

[paul*robertson]

I still use a 600x for internet and office. 500mhx and 448 ram, but i do have a 7200 rpm HD. Works fine (i'm using it now) on win 2k. Of course you cant watch HD video clips, but most other stuff is okay.
I would question why get an X24 when you already have 2 thinkpads with 12 inch screens.

[Tasurinchi]

I would question why get an X24 when you already have 2 thinkpads with 12 inch screens

You are fully right

I think it's purely collectors instintc... In fact, getting the X31 was totally unnecessary, as I had the X41 first... But was also a bargain and I could not resist. I will for sure buy an X6* or X200 one of these days... It's a matter of time only...

[DPHMIN]

I am using my X23 with 640 mg of Ram, 80 gig 5400 hdd and XP SP3, and it does everything I ask it to do. My X31 at twice the processor speed (1.7 gig vs 866mhz) and 1 gig of ram is faster, but not all that much. I like the built-in WIFI in the X31 better than the PCMCIA WIFI card I use in the X23. Also, USB 2.0 is standard in the X31, whereas I have a PC card with two ports that I use in the X23.

Since you already have two newer Thinkpads, you may not use the X24 much, but it is still a very usable computer.