The SL300 could be my next Laptop - A couple of questions - please help me decide

[TPUser]

1.    The main SL series page states up to 2.8GHz but the options only go to 2.53GHz. Will there be a 2.8GHz option anytime soon, or is that a typo on the first page?

2.    How do you set up a home office with an external monitor and keyboard/mouse without a docking station option. I don’t want too many cable connections to deal with anytime I take the Laptop in and out the office. What are the (dis)advantages of using an USB replicator vs. connecting the laptop directly to an external monitor. If I get a wireless keyboard/mouse and connect to a wireless router, would I even need a port replicator? Can I run dual monitors without a port replicator? (I don’t have any other USB connections in the office to be made on a regular basis).

3.    Will there be a Win64 (together with a 4GB RAM) option for the SL series computers similar to the X200?

4.    What’s the performance difference between a SSD and a HDD together with the Turbo Memory Module?

5.    Does the SL400/SL500 also come with a LED backlight display, or will that only be available on the SL300?

[Omar]

You should call the hotline for a faster reply...

1.) No.

2.) Buy this: ThinkPad SL300/400/500 Enhanced USB Port Replicator (43R8770)
Convenient cable management and connectivity for monitor, headphones/speakers, LAN, 5 USB devices
=> The Port Replicator is only for convenience, it is not necessary. Just connect everything to it, and then uplink it via USB to your ThinkPad, instead of connecting each peripheral seperately.

Limitations:

• No DVI or Display Port (only VGA)

• max Resolution for external Display: 1440x900  (should be a 19" or 19"wide max, 20" might be possible too i suppose)

• LAN-speed max 100Mbit 

See here the technical decription:

The Lenovo Enhanced USB Port Replicator (43R8770) features:

• Compact mini-tower design: Reduces footprint on desk.
• Hot pluggable: Allows you to dock and undock or connect and disconnect devices without rebooting the system.
• LED on front: Displays connectivity status.
• VGA monitor output: Supports video resolutions up to 1440 x 900 at 60 Hz; 1400 x 1050 at 60, 75, or 85 Hz with superior quality. No additional cables are necessary.
• VGA monitor port.
• Dual display settings: Allows you to switch between primary and extended video modes with the push of a button.
• One forward-facing USB 2.0 port: Ideal for use with memory keys and other "quick access" devices. This USB 2.0 port is backward-compatible with USB 1.1 devices.
• Four rear-facing USB 2.0 ports: Ideal for most USB devices, including printers, keyboards, and mice. These USB 2.0 ports are backward-compatible with USB 1.1 devices.
• Stereo headphone-out jack for speakers and headphones.
• Microphone-in jack.
• USB-to-Ethernet (10/100) dongle: Connects to Internet/LAN connectivity.
• Supports Windows XP and Windows Vista (in normal and Aero modes)

=> AFAIK not 64Bit driver supported!!!

If you have a wireless Keyboard/mouse and wireless router, then there won't be any disturbing cables... the port-replicator would be pointless... 

You can't connect two external Displays to it, but you can use the ThinkPad Display too.

3.) No 64Bit support yet. Might change in the future, but not available right now.

4.) Only the SL300 has LED backlight display (as to be read in the datasheet..).

Message Edited by Oemer on 08-22-2008 12:45 AM

[Sxooter]

Dual monitors (meaning the built in screen and an external monitor) should work, at least it works on my machine under ubuntu linux.  If linux can do it, Windows should be able to.

But the real issue is the SSD versus a real HDD there's not comparison right now.  Currently almost all SSD hard drives use a crap controller that means that random write accesses slow to 250 to 1000 milliseconds.  This causes the whole machine running on them to stutter and stop every time some application writes a log file or things like that.  The Intel controller based SSDs, currently only made by intel, do not suffer from this horrific behaviour, having random write access times in the sub 30 ms range.  For now, avoid the SSDs unless you can live with herky jerky performance.