X31 or X40?

[*M*]

I've been offered either of these machines:

X31: 1.6 GHz, 512 MB ram, 40 GB harddisk, wifi (unknown if it's the b - b/a - b/g or a/b/g card), battery holds a charge, but he says it only lasts for 1h so amuseing it needs replaceing.

X40: 1.2 GHz (asumeing it's the Banias moddel since the Dothan only came with 256MB soldered to the MB; source. Although he might just have a 256 MB stick in the ram bay), 512 MB ram, 40 GB harddisk, wifi (unknown if it's the b - b/g or a/b/g card), battery is new and he says it lasts for 4h

I've been told they have no visable damage, haven't seen any pictures yet though. He wants ~120 USD for the X31 or ~146 USD for the x40. I'm not sure if this is a good price, which of them is the better choice? Is it worth saveing the money and get a X6x/s instead?

[ssd_thinkpad]

What do you want to do with the model? Do you need battery life? If I would use a x model, I'd want to use it without an additional ac adapter. In this case the x40 model looks far better. The x40 is also lighter. Batteries for notebooks will be very expensive as prices do not decrease so much.

[jronald]

The answer does not really change
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=94910

Ron

[*M*]

What do you want to do with the model? Do you need battery life? If I would use a x model, I'd want to use it without an additional ac adapter. The x40 is also lighter.

It'd only be used at uni lectures/library + traveling; for lightweight computer programming, I'm asumeing Notepad++, Eclipse etc will run fine on either machine. At home I use my desktop. Weight and AC isn't so much an issue they only differ about 300g ~ 400g? Physical size matters though so I don't want anything bigger then a 12.1", tried a 14.1" R51 a few days ago and it was huge. AC's only an issue when traveling, but 90% of the usage will be indoors near an AC, although I'd prefer not to use one.

In this case the x40 model looks far better.

As far as looks go from the few pictures I've seen around the web they both look the same. I'm not buying a thinkpad for looks though I'm buying a thinkpad cause it's solid and has by far the best keyboards out there.

Batteries for notebooks will be very expensive as prices do not decrease so much.

I'd buy an extra battery from DealExtreme either way; X31 - SKU 29647 or for X41 - SKU 29646 / SKU 29119 I've bought a laptop battery there in the past and it worked fine, 35 USD - 45 USD depending on what I do isn't half bad.

----

Still not entirely sure which one to go for, I'm leaning towards the X31 since it has a 2.5" drive which is cheap to swap out as opposed to the x40 which has a 1,8" drive which is expensive to swap out. Are there any common problems with either model that I should know about? How's the screen on either? On my desktop I'm used to my Dell U2410 IPS screen and am slightly worried about going to a TN panel, the GF uses a 13.3" acer timeline for the same things I plan to use my 12.1" thinkpad for, her TN panel seems very "washed out" and black and white levels are horrible, I'm unsure if I could live with a TN panel.

**EDIT**

The answer does not really change http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=94910
Ron

Read the thread so it seems the X31 is the better choice. Now to the other question is 120 USD a good price for it? Should I buy it.

[RealBlackStuff]

Check the RAM if 2x256MB (so-so la-la) or 1x512MB (better).
Also check if the palmrest is not cracked anywhere.
$120 is not too bad if it also includes an AC adapter.

[j-dawg]

If I could have a perfect one of either, it's be the X40 no question.

Because we live in the real world and neither will be younger than ~5yrs...go for the X31. The hard drive issue is really the clincher for me.

[ParatoOptimal]

As others have already said, get the X31.
X31 => 2.5" IDE HDD is pricey compared to SATA HDD but it is what it is unless you go with even pricier SSD.
X41 => 1.8" IDE HDD => harder to find than 2.5" IDE and even pricier than the pricey 2.5" IDE HDD.

Difference in CPUs isn't all that much and it depends what you're going to use it for.
I DO notice a diff between my 1.3GHz X31 and my brothers 1.7GHz X31.

My 1.3GHz was fine from the start for going on line, browsing and email.
I'm just starting to notice it getting a little sluggish with Win7. Maybe it gets clogged-up like all Win OSes.
Maybe I need to clear temp and cache files and free-up some HDD space.

[lightpeak]

The X40 hard drive size is an issue, but if you don't mind paying 80 bucks for an SSD you can turn it into a very snappy machine. The only problem I've found is that the integrated graphics chip is quite weak (what do you expect, it's 7 years old!) and sometimes has trouble playing even 320p video. I'm mostly using it for programming and text editing so I don't really mind, but it might be an issue for you..

[ThinkRob]

The only problem I've found is that the integrated graphics chip is quite weak (what do you expect, it's 7 years old!) and sometimes has trouble playing even 320p video.

I don't think that has as much to do with the GPU as it does with the CPU.

[filmbuff]

an easy choice, it's not even close.

get the x31. it's far more usable and the x40 was over-rated.

[ThinkRob]

It's worth noting that if battery life is your concern, go with the X40. Between the availability of ultra-high capacity batteries and the option to upgrade to a ULV planar (or, heck, just sticking with the highly-efficient LV ones), you can get well above 6 hours of real world usage and *still* have a machine that's lighter and sleeker than the X31.

On the other hand, I prefer the styling and build of the X30-series, so given the choice I'd go with that.

[ryanhe]

For what it's worth, my experiences with my X31 have been fantastic. I got it on ebay for $50 with free shipping, the Ultrabase X3 and AC adapter because the seller thought it died since it was giving him a blue screen at boot up. I put in a new hard drive, installed Win2k and it's been a fantastic small computer(runs circles around my HP mini). If I were you, I'd go with the X31, it can be upgraded past the X40 (2 vs. at most 1.5GB RAM) and hard drives will be easier/ cheaper to obtain. I haven't dealt with the X40 so I can't comment on that side of the argument, but the X31 is a great, durable little machine.

[richramo]

I second that, I picked up my X31 about 5 years ago secondhand for $AU300 and it hasn't skipped a beat. There were a couple of cracks near the screws when I purchased it (super glue works wonders).

It gets kicked around a lot and has been everywhere with me. I use it as my primary computer as I'm not a big gamer or into photo editing and fine it great for the net and general use.

I recently picked up a X61s as I though it was quite cheap ($AU320) and I though it might be time to upgrade but I still find myself using my x31, while the x61s sits in the laptop bag.

For me it is the durability and reliability that makes the x31 a great little notebook rather than then the speed (pretty quick for the 1.4 Ghz processor and 1G RAM) or the bragging rights of having a shiny new laptop.