Is the X61s worth the money, even as of now?

So I decided to cancel my X200s order because I didn't think it was worth the $1600 (after tax) cost for the config in my sig. Unfortunately, Lenovo has already shipped my order so I'll have to ship it back to them to get my money back...*sigh*. Needless to say, I still want a Thinkpad but I don't want to spend too much since I'm about to graduate college and am currently looking for a job. I can get an X61s for about $650 but is it worth it? I understand it's strengths and weaknesses over the X200s but could I get some evaluations on your experiences with the X61s and how it's holding up?

Thanks!

 

What do you need your laptop for? The x61s could certainly be fine for regular business use and word processing. If you are worried about the laptop just holding up...it is a thinkpad so you should be okay .

 

Well, since you're likely going to have to pay the 15% fee to return the laptop, you might as well open it up and test it out just for fun. The X200s is worth every penny, although I know what you mean when you say it's expensive.

Honestly, I wouldn't go for the X61s. The screen resolution, brightness, and smaller keyboard are deal breakers for me.

Why not take a look at the X200 instead? There's marginal differences between that and the X200s, but the price is excellent!

 

Yeah, you're pretty much hosed on the restocking fee, which is going to be over $200. I had the opportunity to review the X61s for NBR. It's a nice little solid notebook if you don't mind the XGA. Whatever its shortcomings compared to the X200s, the X200s isn't worth $1,000 more unless you're a resolution freak. I'm not the biggest trackpoint fan, but I know I'm in the minority here on that one.

 

Thanks guys. I called Lenovo about canceling my order before it shipped so I won't have to pay the restocking fee if I leave the package unopened, according to customer support. It's only if I were to open the package that I would have to pay the restocking fee. Lenovo said they would also pay the shipping charges also so I wouldn't have to worry about anything there.

I was considering the X200 but the X61s just looks a ton sleeker than any of the X200 series and doesn't have that huge bezel that really turned me off to the X200's. From what I know the X200 is noticeably heavier than both the X61s and X200s and has a comparable battery life to the X61s. I'm just concerned about the limited resolution and dimmer screens on the X61s so I was hoping you guys could comment on that. Also, are there any issues with the wireless card (overheating the right palm rest) or heat issues in general with the model? Also, how is the performance (range and stability) of the 4965AG card from Intel?

EDIT: I'll be using my computer for web browsing, word processing (lots of this), spreadsheets, and very basic multimedia (music). It just needs to be portable and durable so I can take it anywhere. I currently have a Macbook that I'm trying to sell because Mac OS doesn't fit my needs...I prefer Google Chrome over Safari 4 and Office 2008 just fails in comparison to 2007 on Windows...plus the system is a bit heavy for my liking. :/

 

The x61 series does get warm if you don't have the WWAN I believe...because they put in another fan or something. Really is your weight requirement so critical though? What are you coming from? Or what is your use? Most x200 users are very happy with the weight/battery life.

 

The x61s is still a very solid notebook. I think the x200 series has a slight edge in keyboad size, resolution, and speed; but the x61s has a smaller cross section, has a good keyboard, and it's still plenty powerful for business and web related activity.

There is no notebook on the market for <$800 that I would rather have than the x61s. Its build quality and battery life is far superior to any consumer grade notebook you would find at that price point. It is also far faster, has a superior keyboard, and is only about $300 more than a comparably sized (10") netbook.

 

Whew, dodged a bullet on that one. Yes, the WiFi card does get a bit warm, but the X61 is so thin, one must expect some heat. Supposedly the Atheros card runs a bit warmer and has better range. I actually recently had a Fujitsu notebook in my possession with the Atheros card. It saw networks my Intel card never knew about. How ever much more the X200 weighs, I doubt it's very noticeable unless you're over sensitive to those things. I don't find the higher brightness levels too bad on my R60, but that cuts into battery life. What sucks is the viewing angles, but the X200 won't be any better in that regard. The nice thing about a standard is it's taller making text larger and easier to read.

 

There is a Samsung X360 floating around on Amazon for $750 AR. Should consider that as well.

 

i read all the posts and the only thing i don't get is what is everyone doing with their laptops that they can feel the power difference between 2.0 GHz and 2.6 GHz processors?
I have a X61 with C2D 2.0 GHz with 4 GB RAM and seriously it doesn't feel any faster than my old Dell Inspiron 8600 with intel pentrium M (i don't remember exactly) at 1.6GHz, both running Vista x86.

 

I have X200s and a friend of mine has X61 - both are phenomenal laptops. For obvious reasons X200s is better than X61 but I would probably buy X61 if it had higher resolution screen. Keyboard is a little bit smaller on X61 but it doesn't make much difference really. I was using X30, which has roughly the same keyboard and screen (resolution-wise) as X61 and keyboard's size was never a problem for me (comparing to X200s).

As it was already pointed out, if you don't mind low resolution screen you'll be ok with X61. I don't think X200s is any "faster" than X61, not in general use anyway.