Planning on getting a X31

I'm looking for a portable used laptop for college. After much research, I've come to a conclusion that the X31 will best suite my needs.

1) What's a reasonable price for used a X31 with a Pentium M 1.4GHz, 256MB RAM, 40GB HDD, and all the standards that come with this laptop except for the port replicator? I'm trying to keep my budget under $300; is this possible?

2) How much battery life can I expect from this laptop?

3) The X31 comes with a builtin 802.11b network card (part of the Centrino package), can I upgrade it to a 802.11g card? About how much do those cards cost?

4) I'll most likely buy one without the port replicator to keep the price down, which means there will be no CD/DVD drive and floppy drive. How can I install the OS without a CD/DVD and floppy drive? Can I just buy a USB CD/DVD drive and install from that?

These are all the questions I can come up with. Thanks in advance.

 

I just recieved my X30, and I am pretty much in your shoes (college, used laptop, wanting a Thinkpad X). I would say an X31 like that won't be less than $400 on eBay, which is the lowest prices you'll find, in my shopping experience. I too wanted an X31 but could only afford the X30, which I got with Ultrabase X3, a 2nd battery, 3Com PCMCIA wireless card, and a CD-ROM drive for the base for $350 shipped. The computer is in impeccable shape, which was a plus as well.

You will want (and probably most models will have) more ram than 256, as even my older X30 has 512, and it is quite zippy for its age. Unless you are willing to spend more, do consider the X30, but keep in mind many models don't have antennae in the LCD, so putting in a MiniPCI wireless card may be a bit of a hassle. I just use a PC Card and it's fine though. It also does not have USB 2.0, just the older, slower 1.1. Again, a PC Card solution can fix that, but it is an issue. As for a wireless PC Card, figure anywhere from $30-50 for a good one. A USB card may be around $20-30 from what I saw on newegg.

As for battery, it really depends. Used computers' batteries are really a mixed bag, with mostly rotten eggs. Most of the batteries are quite old as well, and crappy. That said, a good X31 battery should give you anywhere from 4 to 5 hours, I believe. The better of my two batteries gives me about 4, but I have not tested it yet (just going on the timer thing).

Keep in mind it's not a port replicator that has the built in optical drive, but rather a "base." It fits onto the bottom of the X and is still portable, though ugly and bulky. It can also accomodate another battery to give you something like 8 hours of battery life, or something like that. An external should work just fine if you want to go that route (I lucked out since I have both the base as well as an external DVDRW).

I am really glad to hear someone else is in the situation I was in about a week ago! My X30 is really a lovely machine, I've only had it about 2 days, but it is a sight to behold. While an X31 would've made me jump for joy, the price was just too much. If you feel the same way, do look at the X30.

 

I think Ebay may be my only choice. I've already looked on Craigslist and no one in my area had a X series for sale.

The X30 isn't based on the Banias core, correct?

 

Unfortunately it is not. The X31 is a Banias chip, whereas the X30 is Pentium-III Mobile. Check ThinkWiki.org for other specs if you'd like.

 

For performance and battery life, how much of a difference is there? Do you think it's worth to pay the extra amount for a Banias chip?

 

It looks like I'll be getting the X30 instead.

Is it possible to isntall one of those Intel Pro-Wireless mini-PCI cards in the X30?

 

I don't have much experience with the two processors, so I couldn't tell you about the performance. It's fast enough for simple word processing, Firefox, AIM, and all the rest, though. It has 512mb of ram, though.

I believe the X30 has a MiniPCI slot, but keep in mind it may not have the antennae built into the LCD lid, meaning you may have to put them in the machine yourself. Check the tawbook.pdf <ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitute/psref/tawbook.pdf> for info on each model.