IBM ThinkPad X31 1.4GHz Pentium M: A Traveler's Best Friend
by Matthew Witheiler on April 11, 2003 5:59 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
Construction - Under the Hood (continued)
The back of the X31's motherboard has quite a bit going on too. With a motherboard this small it is necessary to pack components rather tightly.
The largest chip on the back of the X31's motherboard happens to be the south bridge component of the 855PM chipset, the ICH4-M. The ICH4 supports a total of six USB 2.0/1.1 ports of which the X31 makes use of two.
In the around around the ICH4 south bridge are a number of logic chips including a Ricoh R5C554 combination IEEE 1394 firewire and PC Card controller and a National Semiconductor PC87392VJG Super I/O controller (for keyboard, PS/2, parallel, and serial port control).
Bluetooth and modem support utilized by the X31 are provided by an Actiontec BMDC200 combination Bluetooth and modem card. The card is very similar to the one used in the T40 series notebooks and simply appears to be a later revision of the same card.
The system's two SODIMM slots are also located on the bottom of the system. Our unit came configured with one 256MB stick of Mosel Vitelic PC2100 memory. This left one SODIMM slot free for future expansion.
Again, the back of the X31's motherboard is fairly crowded.
Our X31 used a 40GB 4200RPM Hitachi DK23EA-40 mobile hard drive. The drive shares similar specifications with other 4200RPM drives we have seen including a 13ms average seek time and a 2MB buffer. IBM likely opted to go with a 4200RPM drive over a 5400RPM for power reasons. Unlike powerful thin and lights and desktop replacement notebooks, the name of the game in the ultraportable world is less focused on performance and more focused on power savings. By choosing a 4200RPM drive over a 5400RPM one IBM could squeeze more battery life out of the system.
As we mentioned previously the speaker on the IBM X31 was less than impressive. Pulling it out shows the speaker to be one of the smallest speakers we have seen in a notebook with audio quality to match. Again, we were more than willing to accept a small speaker in a system as small as the X31.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
8 Comments
View All Comments
DL2 - Saturday, March 20, 2004 - link
I currently have a Dell x300. I have had a problem with a spot appearing on the LCD. I have already had the screen replaced once soon to be again. I have heard that the X31 is more durable than the Dell. Can anyone out there that has the X31 speak to this? Specifically, I am interested in the durablity of the screen as it pertains to being able to carry it on trips without the slightest bit of pressure causing problems with the screen. Thanks.DL2 - Saturday, March 20, 2004 - link
eshepard - Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - link
Is the Mini PCI slot in the machine user-accessible? I'd be interested in installing WiFi there, if possible. Thanks.Anonymous User - Thursday, October 2, 2003 - link
I own an X31. You can boot from any USB device. The option is presented in BIOS.A note about the USB 2.0. Each Thinkpad model line (X31, T40, etc) has many options available. Some are standard on specific model numbers, others are not. Read the specs in full and ask questions before you make a $1200+ investment and you should be fine.
Anonymous User - Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - link
I purchased an X31 and the models they are currently seelling through their express program DO NOT come with USB 2.0! You have to be aware of what model series you are getting. I am very annoyed by this. Especially as I was going to purchase an external USB2 optical drive. Anandtech should investigate this!jeffdique - Monday, August 11, 2003 - link
I'm thinking about getting an X31 myself, and I have a similar concern, especially as regards getting Linux on the machine. The results of a google search on 'usb boot x31' seem to indicate it can boot from *any* USB storage device, including memory keys!Anonymous User - Saturday, August 9, 2003 - link
i'm considering purchasing the x31. however I've always had a laptop that has an internal optical drive. the x31 does not. how does one restore windows? is any USB 2.0 external optical drive bootable? thanks.northernhats - Tuesday, September 21, 2010 - link
I just purchased a used X31, It has all of the speed and durdability and the screen does have a great pretection line. I have not suffered from any mouse dents in the screen or on the edges, if thats what you need to know.Me, personally would rather have a mouse pad instead of the mouse button but I guess thats what makes the X31 model more durable during trips, the little mouse button does not make contact with the screen.