R61 - question about noise, configurations

I tried to search my questions but there isn’t much info on the R61, mostly T61 owners here. I’m thinking about taking advantage of the current deal but I need some advice from the experts.

- The advert says it’s cool and quiet….how true is that? Has anyone heard if the R61 also suffers from high pitch noise? This is really the most important to me because I just took back two HP’s that annoyed me mercilessly. It took three days for the noise to get out of my head. The HP was constant even plugged-in – and I don’t want to have to use RMclock or anything else that makes the fan go on all the time. If it is noisy, is it only with the battery and goes away with A/C power?

- Which option should I choose: PC Card Slot & Express Card Slot or PC Card Slot & Media Card Slot? How is an express card useful? I don’t know what It's used for.

- Is the 6 cell battery the best balance of bulkiness to battery life?

Below is my configuration that came out to $745. Is there anything I should think about (keeping in mind I’ll buy my own RAM and the fingerprint reader is a cool gadget)?

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5470 (1.6GHz 800MHz 2MBL2)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/o Camera
Intel GMA X3100 GM965 w/ 1394
512 MB PC2-5300 SDRAM DDR2 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
Hard Drive: 120GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo 24X/24X/24X/8X Max, Ultrabay Enhanced
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
6 cell Li-Ion Battery


Thanks in advance for your help

 

I've never heard my R61 make a noise, except for the DVD reader. The fan kicks in sometimes when the AC's not on (I live in Indonesia), but it's still silent.
I haven't played any games with it yet however.

As for the Media/Express card slots, I have no idea. I don't even know what mine has (I didn't customize my laptop).

IIRC the 4 cell battery doesn't stick out of the back. Mine has a 6 cell battery, but it has never bothered me, when I use it or transport it. Someone on the forum posted comparison pics of the 4, 6, 7 cell batteries, and the 7 cell is barely thicker than the 6 cell. No idea about the battery life gain though.

 

i heard the r61 is one of the silentest around.
imo, finger reader is a waste..i know lots of people who have them now and they never use em..its just so easy to use a password, and if you think it'll protect the lappy if it gets stolen, from what i understand the finger reader doesnt go down to the bios level..so someone could just re-format the lappy and bam, security gone

 

Just to be technical, there is no such thing as "silentest". There is quiet, and silent, but laptops are never silent. Even with a SSD there will be noise. (Disclaimer: I have a T60, but I have seen R60s and R61s and T61s in person)

to answer your questions in order:
- I am pretty sure that the R61s are quieter and cooler compared to previous generations. They redesigned the fans for the new series (R61, T61, etc) so that it produces less noise. (I wish I could put one in my T60, that'd be awesome). This whine you speak of is related to the CPU changing power states, and can easily be fixed with the use of some third party software with minimal impact on your battery life.
- PC Card and ExpressCard slot. ExpressCard is the new standard for notebook expandability and connectivity. While there are only a few limited ExpressCard options out there, I am sure that it will expand well into the future (i.e., current ExpressCard options: SATA/eSATA/USB/FireWire/Media Card readers/TV Tuners/Sound Cards/SSD... etc). And again, if you really want the media card reader you can just *buy* and ExpressCard media reader and stick it in the slot and remove it when you dont need it anymore.
- I would go with the 6 cell and the Ultrabay battery if you wanted extra battery life without the battery sticking out in the back. I have a T60 with a 9 cell and while it does stick out the back, it doesn't stick out that much to be honest. I get about 4.5-5 hours of battery life with the screen all the way down, WiFi On, Bluetooth off, doing internet / email. I believe having the UltraBay battery in mine would extend it to probably 6-7 hours. I have heard that T61 owners have poor battery life with the standard battery - this probably carries over to the R61 as well.
- Your configuration seems good for someone that uses it mostly for internet / email / basic use. With that configuration I am pretty sure that you will have a laptop that will stay pretty cool and will not have the fan on very often. If you want to get more out of your laptop then I would suggest upgrading the HDD first (will result in more heat and your fan may come on more often), the video card (if you want to play games... it may make your Vista experience more enjoyable with the Aero Glass interface as an upgraded video card can probably handle it more smoothly with all the 'candy eye' effects enabled), and then lastly the CPU (more heat --> fan will be on more often).

Hope this helps.

 

It goes down to the BIOS level if you want it to. There are options.

Not to mention, your data is protected from falling into the wrong hands if the wrong hands decide to format the drive instead of crack it. So I say "mission success."

If you're still concerned about whether or not they can appropriate your laptop to use it as their own, they already stole it from you, so what does it matter?

 

Thank you for your thoughtful response to my questions acaurora, I appreciate it.

I think I’ll consider the discrete graphics, it may be a nice option.

Regarding the CPU whine; have you heard it on the R61? I’m really nervous because I study in quiet areas and get distracted easily. The HP DV6000T experience I had was completely and totally miserable. There was nothing I could do including third party software to stop the whine on two HP laptops.

I even took it to my IT department at work to ask them what they thought. They told me it was unacceptable and showed me several business class HP’s, with core 2 duo processors, that didn’t have that noise.

Do you think we are talking about two slightly different things? I mean, the two DV6000T laptops I had might have been so badly designed that my definition of “high pitch whine” might be more severe than other people’s experience. I had the whine at CPU idle with A/C or battery power. I tried all the tricks posted on NBR, including RMclock with simple and advanced settings, without any relief. When I look at T61 forums discussing the whine, the issue doesn’t seem as severe – and I assume that Thinkpads are more likely to be owned by discerning people and IT professionals (polite way of saying picky). In contrast, there are pages and pages of DV6000T owners expressing their frustration.

Do you think T61 owners with this noise have been better able to manage the issue?

Thank you

 

The fingerprint reader is a gadget I want. I don’t know why, but I want it!

For $30 bucks I’m sure I’ll find something cool for it to do.

 

If it helps, I have a T61, and on battery, I do not hear any whine.

For $30, you can even scan your nose with the fingerprint reader. I can log into Windows by swiping my nose across the scanner now.

By the way, next time, do not double post. Amend your posts with the "EDIT" function.

 

I placed the order - thanks everyone for your help! This is what I ended up with:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T5470 (1.6GHz 800MHz 2MBL2)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/o Camera
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB)
512 MB PC2-5300 SDRAM DDR2 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
120GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Enhanced
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
6 cell Li-Ion Battery
1 Year Depot Warranty - Express

I probably shouldn't have got the DVD-RW and saved some money, but it'll come in handy someday. I'll make sure to swipe my nose through the fingerprint reader in case both my hands get chopped off.

I'm a little more relieved about the noise issue. After going through three HP's I picked up a $499 Gateway special at Best Buy so I can get some work done in the meantime (It has decent specs and I'll easily flip it out on eBay after I get the ThinkPad). The Gateway MT6711 is a great laptop for the price. It's quiet and relatively cool - much quieter and cooler than the HP DV series – a nice basic laptop. I just happy that other laptops don't have that noise.

Thanks again everyone!