Large external monitor w/ X61s+Ultrabase?

Can I run a 24-inch 1920x1200 monitor with the X61s and X6 ultrabase? I can't seem to find anything about that, or about how it will look. Is anyone running that kind of setup?

I am especially interested in text quality.

Thanks for any advice.

 

Yes, you can. It works fine. The only drawback is that you are limited to using a VGA connection since there is no DVI on the Ultrabase.

 

Thanks.

Have you seen this setup? Can you comment on the picture quality on such a large monitor?

I get to choose pretty much any setup through my new job, but I just want to be sure that this one is going to look OK. I have noticed a significant difference between VGA and DVI in the past.

 

I have a Dell 2408WFP hooked up to the UltraBase and it works and looks great. I'm certain the picture would be even sharper with a DVI connection, but it's very acceptable.

But the system works fine -- it allows the monitor to show its max resolution and retains the settings (resolution, monitor orientation, etc) when it gets re-docked.

 

Cool -- that's exactly the monitor I'm looking at getting! Do you work a lot with text, or more with graphics/video/etc.?

And do you have the X61 or X61s? As you can see from my other thread, I'm trying to figure out whether I'll miss the processing power if I go with the s model.

Edit: Sorry, kboyer, I just found your old thread about the purchase. Are you happy with your X61? How's the battery life?

 

I work more with text - Cygwin, MySQL-Front, Excel, Word, Outlook, with some PowerPoint and Photoshop tasks once in a while. That big monitor at 1920 x 1200 has a lot of real estate!

I'm currently using an X61 (previously used a T61 earlier this year) but I'm going back to a T61 this month. Couple reasons for the switch -- the T61 is now available with a 64GB SSD and I really want to try out an SSD machine, and I just can't deal with the low resolution of the X61. It's fantastic to carry a 3 lb machine but I use a laptop as much undocked as docked. And when the X61 is undocked and I'm forced to work in 1024, it's just painful! So, I'd rather carry the extra 2 pounds and have 1440x900 again. Also, the Advanced Mini Dock for the T models has DVI.

The battery life of the X61 is just amazing, the best of any laptop I've ever owned. With the standard unplugged power settings and wireless in use, I regularly get 4.5 hours of battery life.

-Ken

 

k,

It sounds like you and I have very similar tastes!

I am now leaning towards waiting to see what the end of the month brings as far as new models, either an X200, X300, or a Dell Latitude E4300. Hopefully all of those will offer digital output in some form, and (as you point out) higher resolution than XGA.

I really could do without widescreen, but apparently you can't have it all...

ED

 

If you're willing to consider the X61t then you'll be able to get the SXGA+ screen which will give you a pretty nice 1400x1050 screen. You'll loose on cpu power though, but it will be the same cpu as the X61s.

 

I have SXGA+ on my 14-inch T60 -- it's small even at that scale! I can't even imagine it on a 12-incher!

Really, the goal is just to run a big external monitor and still travel light.