X61s versus X200s opinions please

Sorry to bother you all again. I have decided to buy an X200s and take my chances. Just had to return (if I can) or sell on Ebay a Samsung X360. Cheap yes, flimsy yes, but my lady gets headaches from the glossy screen (as do I) so the machine has to be replaced (great performance though).

Now she really likes a standard 4/3 screen in mat, like the X61s, but is not crazy by the trackpoint. A few queries on X61s versus X200s:

1. What is the weight of an X61s?
2. I read it comes with a 150 nits or 180 nits screen brightness?
3. Are the keys apart from the enter key and a few others the same size as the X200s or is the keyboard in general a slight size smaller on the X61s.
4. What is performance like ? (just general Word, movie, internet, skype use)
5.Are the power bricks similar size ?
6. My lady commented on the size of letter as well on Samsung and that is 1280 x 800 on a 13 inch screen, so I dont think the letter size on X200s would please her

Thanks for all the help.

 

I know this is a Lenovo board but are there any other machines I should look at that have good performance, mat screen with webcam (oops does the X61s have a webcam?), and a resolution of no more than 1280 x 800? And one decent speaker? I know the X200s has a 2 watt speaker, did the X61s have a 2 watt speaker as well?

 

I'm not sure how the X60t compares, but the keys are a little squished and the right palm rest (where the wireless is) gets hot. I love the machine, but those two things are real issues for me. I don't think they have webcams. Given those, I think the x200s would be much better. The wide screen format gives you the bigger keyboard in a 12" format. I'm not sure about the other stuff but thought I'd contibute what I know about mine.

Thanks...

 

1) The x61s is listed at 2.73 lbs. with the "slim 4-cell", 2.83 lbs. with the "enhanced 4-cell", and 3.30 lbs. with the 8 cell. The x200s is listed at 2.43 lbs. with the 4-cell, 2.71 lbs. with the 6 cell, and 3.05 lbs. with the 9 cell.

2) The x61s offers both a standard and a "UltraLight" display. The UltraLight display should be slightly thinner, lighter, and brighter. However, I have been told that the overall quality of the UltraLight screen is lower than the standard 150 nit display.

3) The x61s is listed as a 97% keyboard. I believe the main keys are 97% compared to the x200s, and the side keys (Enter, CapsLk, etc.) are substantially smaller.

4) Performance of the x61s is perfectly acceptable. The x200s is about 15-20% faster for the CPU (extra 260MHz, 2MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB). The main performance difference is that the x4500 GPU in the x200s accelerates decoding of h264 and VC-1 video; the x3100 in the x61s does not.

5) The power bricks are identical for the x61s and x200s.

6) The DPI ( chart) on the x200s is 144, 125 on the x200[T], 114 on a 13.3" WXGA, and 106 on the x61s. DPI can be adjusted in software to make up for some of this difference. Conversely, there is no way to get extra pixels on the x61s (1.296M on the x200s, 0.786M on the x61s).

 

I believe the ultralight display has been gone since quite a while ago.

I've a question: are the hard disk drives on both the same? (can you switch between them?) What about other Thinkpads?

 

The 61 series and all the current models (except x300/x301) use 2.5" SATA drives. You can swap these without issue. I'm not 100% sure about the 60 series, but all the earlier models (e.g. T42, x31) used PATA drives that are NOT compatible.

 

Jon thank you very much for a very comprehensive answer. It would help so much if Lenovo had a 15 day return policy in Europe, then at least one could try and see. The resultion/speaker matter is known within 10 min of usage. Any idea what the real life battery times of that enhanced 4-cell on the X61s? 2.83 lbs is a very nice weight. But I guess those older machines do not come with webcams or 2 watt speakers like the X200s. And another query, the X61 and X200s come with different ultrabase docks correct ? Not one size fits all?

 

The x61 and x61s use one dock, the x61 Tablet uses another, all x200 models (s & Tablet) use a third Ultrabase.

Is there a shop, dealer, etc. where you can see an x61 or x61s? The models have been out for a long time, so it shouldn't be too difficult to locate one for a quick check of the screen and speaker.

Also note that the x200s (LED model) does NOT have a webcam or WWAN. The WXGA variant of the x200s (Europe only), x200, and x200 Tablet all offer webcams and WWAN.

 

Thank you. yes am aware of the no webcam with LED screen on X200s ... I am getting the one with the 1280 x 800 and webcam. Still a tad worried about the screen resolution but hey better than 1440 x 900 for me ... I may get that X61s for my lady first and see what happens ...

 

x61 all the way.

-high resolution of x200 can be a strain
-x61's thin bezel is prettier
-Word and etc..runs smooth..

btw between 150 and 180 nit, it really doesn't matter. Initially i chose 150 but canceled my order because I thought it would be too dark. So I got the 180 nit but I actually turn down my brightness. Your eyes get used to it very quickly.

 

Fafan how is that speaker on the X61 / X61 s series ? And those models dont have a webcam yet correct ? The X200s comes with the same resolution in Europe as the X200 so 1280 x 800. It does have a webcam ... Is 1280 x 800 the basic resolution for all 12 inch wide-screens or did the older type wide screens have a different resolution?

 

The vast majority of 11, 12, and 13" widescreens use WXGA. Most of these are 1280x800, but some are 1366x768 (16x9), or 1280x768. The x200s (US model) and x301 offer 1440x900 (same as 15.4" MBP).

 

Jon so is it right to say that the letters on a widescreen 12inch (1280 x 800) would not be much smaller than on a 4/3 screen with 1024 x 768 ? Do you know of any other brands that offer a small size form factor witj webcam, matt screen and ok speakers? Just need options fot the lady, I am ordering my X200s end of this week. 2 watts will be enough but I better check the exact model again.

 

I was about to open this kind of thread, because I want to know how bad the XGA is on X61t. I will be using the tablet as notetaking and coding. any answer? I purchased x61t recently and wanted to get SXGA+ but it was out of stock..

 

For note-taking it won't make much of a difference. However, for coding XGA can be quite low (especially in an application like Visual Studio that has lots of menus and frames) as you just can't see many lines.

The important thing to compare is DPI (look at this chart). 12.1" XGA is 106 DPI. 12.1" WXGA is 125 DPI. You need to go to 14.1" at WXGA to get back to 107DPI.

The trouble you are going to have is finding the combination of matte screen AND okay speakers. Most notebooks with matte screens are business models and have poor speakers and often lack webcams. You could check out the Dell Latitude or HP Elitebook lines, as they will really be your only other matte options.

 

How about a Toughbook? The W or Y series would be up your alley, but the speakers aren't very good. I'm not sure where you'll get both good speakers and the build quality you want, except maybe from Apple. But then you get the glossy widescreen. The Y is actually being discontinued outside of Japan in favor of the new widescreen F series (the Y8 is available there, or here with a Japanese/English keyboard and at a premium price through an importer), and has a $600 instant rebate until it sells out. That equates to a $1615 pricetag at Provantage, for example.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2008/01/07/Panasonic-ToughBook-CF-Y7/p1

It seems like it may be your best bet, even though it doesn't have the webcam or good speakers.

 

Hi Jon, do you can actually feel the 15% and 20% speed increase? I'm thirsty for speed

 

It is entirely dependent on your activity.

Most normal applications (Office, Firefox, Outlook, Programming, Dreamweaver, etc.) are bound by non-CPU factors. Generally either disk speed, internet bandwidth, and/or the inability of a user to feed enough information is what slows most applications down.

However, if you frequently find yourself transcoding media, compressing/encrypting files, compiling large programs, or other tasks that can saturate a CPU for several minutes on end, then YES you will notice a difference. If you actually fall into this group (which I doubt), you should probably buy something like the x200 (standard) or T400 that offers a 2.4GHz C2D or better.

 

the speaker is horrible and the sound is too soft.
But using an earphone gives you stereo instead of mono so it's okay

size resolution wise..
yes XGA on my x61s is too small to do any kind of browsing/word/excel sheet at the same time. So if you use excel spreadsheet alot or do any kind of research online to write papers, you will find yourself tabbing in and out.

I usually have an external monitor to do these kind of work but for traveling x61s is simply the best.

I pretty much think x200/x61 doesnt differ much in terms of power (if you are looking for power you wouldn't be looking into ultraportables anyways) and resolution is pretty much the same. You can't do intensive coding/photo editting in either XGA or SXGA or w/e.
I would say go with the looks and price.

 

I don't mind tabbing in and out ... would you say the speaker on x61s is sufficient for a skype conversation in a quiet room? and is the x200s speaker definitely louder ?

 

well...i've never used skype so i'm not too sure..
so using an external speaker or headset's not an option?

when I'm watching a movie, I have to turn it on max just to be in the comfortable hearing range. But i think you wouldnt have a problem with skype in a quiet room. My room is very noisy cause the portable a/c is about 10 ft away from me.

can't say much for x200 since i've never used it.

The volume could also be attributed to the software's settings and such, because youtube gives me enough volume at only half the maximum volume, but not at other sites and such.

again i say it would be sufficient. why would they make a speaker that no one can hear very well..perhaps other x61s owners should post their experience..

 

I think this is right on. My old laptop was 1280x800 and my new x200s is 1440x900 - the extra room makes coding much more pleasant. I don't think I could ever go back to anything less.

My eyes aren't great and I wear reading glasses but still don't have any problems staring at the x200s screen for 4+ hours at a time.