Upgrades for an old Thinkpad X61?

[Nick McEnjoy]

Hello everyone,

My old X61 is still running well after 4+ years of service. I recently installed Windows 7 and it works great. Should I:

1) Upgrade the memory from 2GB to 4GB? Does it make any difference?
2) Buy a new battery (because the original one died two years ago)?
3) Any other suggestion/alternatives?

In short: should I invest $150 into that old but reliable X61?

Thanks & regards,
Nick

 

[Harvey]

Hello everyone,

My old X61 is still running well after 4+ years of service. I recently installed Windows 7 and it works great. Should I:

1) Upgrade the memory from 2GB to 4GB? Does it make any difference?
2) Buy a new battery (because the original one died two years ago)?
3) Any other suggestion/alternatives?

In short: should I invest $150 into that old but reliable X61?

Thanks & regards,
Nick

I wouldn't, but then, I would have made that choice before I invested in buying a copy of Win 7. Recently, I've seen a number of good deals on good laptops ~ $350 that come with a 500 GB HD, 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, dual core AMD or Intel 64 bit CPU, LED backlit screen web cam, wireless n and more and a 64 bit copy of Win 7.

Assuming the price of a copy of Win 7 is ~ $100, added to the $150 you're talking about, and you're only $100 away from a brand new machine that's faster and better equipped than your current laptop with a brand new warranty.

Another thing you could look for is that Office Depot and Staples occasionally run specials where they give you $50 for any old laptop with a working screen that can boot to a Windows desktop. That deal is not available, right now, but if you see it, check the details closely to see if your machine would qualify.

If you uninstall Win 7 from the laptop, you could use it for another new build, like maybe a desktop, and you're back to being much better off with the new lappy.

Getting back to your old machine, if it's running a 32 bit version of the OS, and your machine can "see" 2 x 2 GB sticks, you may improve the performance a bit by going to 4 MB of RAM. The OS can see only 3.x GB of that RAM, but the onboard video can access the extra RAM, instead of borrowing it from the memory available to run programs. I did this on my Compaq lappy running 32 bit XP Pro, and I've got all the RAM the OS can possibly use is available.

Hope that helps.

 

[Nick McEnjoy]

Thanks for quick reply, Harvey.
I got my Windows 7 Pro 64-bit for 30 bucks two years ago when I was in college.
But yes, I agree with you. On the other hand, I want to use the X61 for some more time. It still serves me well with my modest needs: office, mail, web, some basic VB coding.

How about a pair of Crucial sticks ($50) and an after market battery pack?

I was looking at the X220 but that thing cost ~ $800. On the other hand, I've heard that some "Ultrabook" will come in few months.

May be I should leave the X61 "as is" and wait for some "Ultrabook".

Cheers,
Nick

 

[Harvey]

Yeah, the $30 Win 7 deal for students is a winner. :thumbsup:

Regarding batteries, do your homework regarding the safety of any after market battery pack. There are far too many cases of cheap lithium ion batteries exploding or catching fire. Even some major laptop manufacturers have issued recalls for particular runs of their original batteries.

 

[gmaster456]

I'd get a new battery for starters. And for your needs, I'd say you'd still be fine with 2 gigs. A new battery is all I'd put into that machine. But if your budget was bigger, I'd recommend an SSD, as that can be transferred to a new laptop.

 

[AsianriceX]

I think you'll be hard pressed to find a laptop in the $300 weekly special range that rivals the build quality of your X series Thinkpad.

If it feels sluggish, you may want to get that new battery or a 90W AC adapter if you don't have one. According to this link the laptop will throttle to 800MHz if your battery isn't present and you're not using a 90W adapter.
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:X61

I'm not sure if it'll throttle if you have the dead battery installed and you're using a lower rated adapter.

Definitely spend the extra for a Lenovo branded battery if you use Lenovo Power Manager software. That program will bitch and moan if your battery is not OEM.

I agree with gmaster456 on the SSD. If you can spring for it, it'll really speed up general performance with the added benefit of being transferable to another machine should the laptop decide to die later on.

 

[Nick McEnjoy]

Hello everyone,

Harvey,
I e-mailed a vendor (AGP Tech) and he replied the cheap battery packs (30 bucks) have no brand name cells. Brand name cells cost $8-$9 apiece. That's why the brand name packs are so expensive. I will not go that cheap way.

Gmaster456,
I agree. I will get a new genuine pack. I can either get one from Lenovo or eBay (about $20 cheaper). What do you think?

AsianriceX,
Thanks a lot for that link. I never had a clue that battery can dictate the processor speed. What a shock! I did not realize (or remember) how my X61 behave when it had the functional battery. I think my adapter is a 65w. I should buy a new battery pack. And yes, once a Thinkpad, always a Thinkpad. That's my issue

I think Gmaster456 is right about the RAM. The X61 seems okay with it. I think Windows 7 was a bit busy (hence the sluggishness) during last few days. Now it seems fine.

I'd like to have a powerful box and I can buy a new one now, but that is too... easy. I want to extend the usability of my equipment as much as I can. Someone one said "We can live within our means..." and I just want to manage to do that :biggrin:

Thank you very much for all your inputs.

Cheers,
Nick