Good news for Latitude X1 owners!

[channelv]

Hi Ivar, my motherboard is identified as 0G6951 (this is the one with the Cypress PLL ID). I'm surprised that I've gone through three X1 laptops and haven't come across one with the PLL and motherboard you have - bad luck I suppose :/

Please let me know if you find out what program was used by your friend.

[channelv]

Hm I tested a 16gb SDHC card in a few X1s and they did not work. However the 8gb and 4gb SDHC cards did work. I have a lot of experience with the X1's internals and all the controller chips are the same Ricoh chip, however the physical reader itself I have come across two revisions. I have the newer one and it still won't read the 16gb SDHC cards :/

[ivar]

I wonder if one can install SATA 1.8" (SDD) disks in Latitude X1 using the
"SATA to 1.8" IDE Hard Drive Adapter Card" as the one found here:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.19736




Hi channelv,

I found this old post on the forum concerning overclocking of X1 using other
tool than the one which worked for me:
Dell Latitude X1 review
post #27 by fenara.

I am going to replace my memory to a faster one to check if it will make possible further overclocking. On my X1 there are no problems with heat even when I go for 1.4GHz max clock (well, in the winter), which I do sometimes to sligltly speed up something. I guess it should be 2GB stick in order to make (hopefully) the on-board 256MB memory (which is most likely slow) unaddressable by the chipset.

I am jeaolous to the Asus EEE community which made their own customised linux kernels (adapted to their specific hardware) which allows overclocking and fast boot. It would be nice to have the same for our Latitutde X1 (but it requires ad hoc programming for a special PLL chip on-board which is very much beyond my skills).

[channelv]

Hi guys. Thanks for the link to that thread, I hadn't seen that thread before. Unfortunately that didn't work for me either, but I'm not really concerned much about overclocking much since I use the X1 on the road and hardly much on AC outlet power, so I'm more concerned with battery life than overclocking. About you wanting to try faster memory, I have Corsair 2gb DDR2-667 in my X1, and it still only runs at 400mhz rather than 533. I think it has to do with the 256mb of 400mhz DDR2 soldered on the motherboard, since Vista tells me I have a total of 2.25gb RAM (although I doubt it can address the extra 256mb).

I really don't think that adapter would fit inside the X1, as the adapter I'm using for the ZIF SSD barely fits already. Also the ZIF adapter uses the ribbon cable which is flexible. That adapter looks like it would just be too long and no way to fit it inside.

I have a question for you guys - what battery life are you getting (and which battery are you using, regular or extended)? My battery life is pretty pathetic. With the regular battery, it is only about 1.5 hours at best, and that is with using RMClock to undervolt all the way to the minimum 0.7 volts.

Also, I find that my screen is pretty poor which I know is confirmed by others, but I almost always have to use it at at least 1/2 to 2/3 brightness, as low brightness (which I try to use to save battery life) is almost useless unless I'm in a very dark room.

[ivar]

Originally Posted by channelv

... I'm not really concerned much about overclocking much since I use the X1 on the road and hardly much on AC outlet power, so I'm more concerned with battery life than overclocking.

In fact, my main motivation to investigate overclocking for X1 was to perform underclock in order to have more battery time in critical situations on the road. Unfortunately, while I can overclock stable for +25%, the stable underclock is less than -5%, so that there is almost no use of it (I hoped for -10% at least).

Originally Posted by channelv

About you wanting to try faster memory, I have Corsair 2gb DDR2-667 in my X1, and it still only runs at 400mhz rather than 533. I think it has to do with the 256mb of 400mhz DDR2 soldered on the motherboard, since Vista tells me I have a total of 2.25gb RAM (although I doubt it can address the extra 256mb).

Of course, don't expect that using a faster memory will magically make FSB faster.
I only hope that it will have lower latency (thus allowing for a further overclocking, maybe) and that using 2GB will make the lower speed on-board memory not visible to the system.

Originally Posted by channelv

I really don't think that adapter would fit inside the X1, as the adapter I'm using for the ZIF SSD barely fits already. Also the ZIF adapter uses the ribbon cable which is flexible. That adapter looks like it would just be too long and no way to fit it inside.

One can stip off SDD from its metal/plastic case and win some extra space in this way in order to fit i the adaptor ... It is just a vague idea at the moment.

Originally Posted by channelv

I have a question for you guys - what battery life are you getting (and which battery are you using, regular or extended)? My battery life is pretty pathetic. With the regular battery, it is only about 1.5 hours at best, and that is with using RMClock to undervolt all the way to the minimum 0.7 volts.

The same with me (after 2 yrs of use of the small battery). I also use 2 extended batteries which give me apprx 3.5 hours each.

Originally Posted by channelv

Also, I find that my screen is pretty poor which I know is confirmed by others, but I almost always have to use it at at least 1/2 to 2/3 brightness, as low brightness (which I try to use to save battery life) is almost useless unless I'm in a very dark room.

I always use it at max brightness. It is not possible to work outside under the sun with this notebook. The screen of another X1 I have seen was even dimmer than mine. I would qualify the brightess as good, but not excellent. Is your screen glare on matt? Mine is matt.

[How2do]

Here we go ..

[ivar]

An inspiring complement to my post #103 is the discussion here:
For those with slow 1.8" PATA drives wanting SATA...

[channelv]

How2Do, I'm sure everyone appreciates much your screenshots!!

One big thing I hate about the X1 is that the CF card can never go over 1mb/s transfer rate with ANY card I tried with it and I also tried a barrage of drivers for the Ricoh chip. I'm using Vista. Is everyone experiencing this as well or is it just me?

On a side note, 32gb shdc cards are available now! But my X1 only supported SDHC cards up to 8gb anyways. I know one person here said they got a 16gbSanDisk extreme III SDHC card working. Am I the only one as well that cannot get SDHC cards over 8gb working on my X1? (I actually have two X1s and have tried it on three others at work).

[richdraves]

Sorry if this is a FAQ... I'm new to the forum and still figuring things out.

I installed Windows 7 on my Latitude X1 (the public beta - build 7000). Seems to be working fine so far but I'm having an issue with the Wi-Fi. The driver is installed but the media is disconnected. How to switch the Wi-Fi on/off? Fn-F2 is switching the bluetooth not the Wi-Fi.

Thanks,
Rich

[How2do]

channelv,
That person is me. I am using a 16gb SanDisk extreme III SDHC card in my X1. I'd love to check a 32gb shdc card also.

richdraves,
Your Wi-Fi could be disabled in the BIOS.

After upgrading my X1 from Samsung 32gb SSD to Mtron 32gb SSD I don't feel it works faster, though the Samsung worked at the Ultra DMA Mode 2 and the Mtron works at Ultra DMA Mode 5. I think there will be a difference only for reading/writing large files.