x61 Question

Greetings everyone,

I'm planning to purchase a x61 this week. For a while I was struggling between x61 and x61s. I have a question that I'm hoping an owner can answer for me.

When the battery is taken out and the laptop is running only on the AC adapter, does the laptop hobble? (My previous Acer Craptop would literally lose a standing leg, if you take out the battery. Bad Design.)

Furthermore, does anybody know the specific battery life benchmarks between the x61 and x61s? I can't seem to find any.

Right now I'm deciding between these two units, with the x61 costing $7 more.

x61 - 2.2 ghz, 2 gb RAM, 100 gb HD space

x61s - 1.6 ghz, 1gb + 1gb additional RAM (cost included), 120 gb HD space

I flipped 180 degrees and am now really liking the x61, it's only .3 lb heavier, marginally thicker, but packs a 2.2 ghz processor. So my only consideration is battery life now.

Thanks for helping me out!

Regards,

Jon

 

Welcome to NBR, Jon.

You can remove the battery and run the X61 on AC without any problems. It will not "hobble".

For battery life (although not 100% scientific) I suggest you read these two NBR reviews on the X61 and X61s:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3765
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3800&review=X61s

Note that they are testing the X61/X61s with the 8-cell battery.

With light usage (Internet surfing and Office apps) using the 4-cell enhanced battery, I get around 2.5 hours on my X61 with 5 out of 15 brightness level and no wireless/bluetooth. If I am lucky I get a little more. Depends very much on power settings and activity though.

With the 8-cell battery I get up to 5 hours. I've managed to stretch that, but I was running minimum settings. With 10 out of 15 brightness level and wireless on while web surfing and using office apps, I usually get around 4 hours. Again depends on activity and power settings.

My X61 has the T7300 2.0 GHz CPU by the way. With the T7500 2.2 GHz processor, it will probably give you less battery life.

 

Thank you so much for your response and help.

I have one more question though, would you suggest I get the 3 year warranty or not?

 

Unless you have a specific need for the faster CPU and in my experience most people don't, I'd get the the X61s. I got about 6.5 hours with the eight cell on the review unit.

You might want to check out the warranty guide.

 

Glad to help.

Whether to get 3 year warranty or not... That depends on your needs and how long you are planning to keep the notebook.

But in general, definitely yes. Especially if the extra warranty is not too costly. If your notebook malfunctions the 2nd/3rd year for some reason, the money you have paid for the extra warranty could save you a lot of money in the end. Many notebook parts can be very costly if bought seperately, not too mention the costs of labor. And at the end of the day, even if your X61 does not break/malfunction, you get peace of mind for 3 years. Ask yourself, what that is worth to you.

My X61 was bought in Thailand and came with 3 years international warranty as standard. If it was not included, I would have gotten it on the spot.

In any event, I am sure you will enjoy the X61. It really is a great ultraportable. It is more powerful than any other ultraportable in that size/weight segment and still very well built. My favorite notebook thus far.

 

Turns out the system comes with a 3 year warrant. I guess I don't need to worry.

One last thing I'm very worried about, that I forgot to mention. I called the Lenovo CSR they didn't know... suprisingly.... and furthermore was vague and seemed very annoyed.

The Dead Pixel Policy. I checked on their site, and they say you have to have over 5 problematic pixels.

I previously bought a crap acer, and it had 2 dead pixels. They wouldn't exchange my laptop. It drove me insane. I'm worried about the same thing happening. Those pixel problems really bug me.

Any comments on this situation if it were to occur?

---

Also, what external DVD drive would you recommend? I'm looking at the Samsung SE-T084L. I figured, I'd need one to re-install Windows (it comes with Vista).

 

Here's the deal on deal/stuck pixels. Making LCDs is not an exact science. A good chunk of LCDs made have one or more dead/stuck pixels. If they had to throw them all out, it would greatly raise the cost of the LCD which is one of the most expensive part of a laptop. It would increase the cost of your notebook. Dell and Costco are about the only places I know where you can return notebooks without having to pay a re-stocking fee. You could return the X61 if you got some some deal/stuck pixels, but will likely have to pay the restocking fee. Lenovo does sometimes waive the fee if you buy a machine costs 15% more than the one you are returning.