IBM ThinkPad 600

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IBM ThinkPad 600 series
IBM ThinkPad 600X
ManufacturerIBM
Introduced1998
Discontinued2000
ProcessorIntel Pentium MMX, Pentium II, Pentium III
Frequency233 MHz - 650 MHz
Memory32-64 MB SDRAM (PC66 on 600/E, PC100 on 600X)
PortsSerial, Parallel, VGA out, USB, IBM docking port, IBM external floppy drive port, CardBus, Video Out

The IBM ThinkPad 600 series was a series of notebook computers introduced in 1998 by IBM as an ligher and slimmer alternative to the 770 series. Three models were produced, the 600, 600E, and 600X;[1] the series was succeeded in 2000 by the ThinkPad T20 series.

Features[edit]

The 600 series was designed to be a more portable version of the 770 series, featuring slimmer dimensions and a weight of around 5 pounds (2.3 kg), by using lightweight but strong carbon fiber composite plastics. The 600 series also introduced the new UltraSlimBay (not to be confused with the UltraBay Slim as found on the later T40/T60 series), as well as easily interchangeable RAM and hard drives; all 600 series machines shipped with 32 or 64 MB of RAM integrated on the motherboard from the factory.

The 600 series originally shipped with either Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0, with later models shipping with Windows 98 or Windows 2000; all 600 models could also run Windows 3.x, OS/2 Warp 4, Windows Me, or Windows XP as well as various Linux distributions. None of the 600 series models included wireless adapters or Ethernet ports as an option, but these could be added through a third-party PCMCIA/CardBus card.

One common problem of the 600 series was a battery defect, where the battery would discharge rapidly or otherwise have a poor battery life; use of a third-party battery as well as a BIOS update can help alleviate this problem.[2]

Models[edit]

  • ThinkPad 600 - First model shipped, featured either a Pentium MMX at 233 MHz or a Pentium II at 233, 266 or 300 MHz. This model had the option of either a 12.1" SVGA TFT display, a 13.0" XGA HPA display, or a 13.3" XGA TFT display, and shipped with an external floppy drive, a built-in CD-ROM drive, and a choice of a 3.2 GB, 4.0 GB, or a 5.1 GB hard drive. The 600 also had infrared, USB 1.0, and a modem as standard features, and shipped with either 32 MB or 64 MB of RAM (upgradeable to 288 MB/320 MB using PC66 SODIMMs)
  • ThinkPad 600E - Featuring a Pentium II processor at either 300 MHz, 366 MHz, or 400 MHz, all models of the 600E featured at 13.3" XGA TFT display as standard. This model shipped with an external floppy drive, built-in CD-ROM, either a 4.0 GB, 6.4 GB or 10 GB hard drive, and 32 MB or 64 MB of RAM on the motherboard (upgradeable to 288 MB/320 MB/512 MB using PC66 SODIMMs). The 600E also was the first of the 600 series to offer a DVD-ROM drive as an option, as well as a TV output port (using a special dongle that was supplied to provide composite and S-Video ports).
  • ThinkPad 600X - The final model of the 600 series, featuring a Pentium III at either 450 MHz, 500 MHz, or 650 MHz (with SpeedStep technology) and a 13.3" XGA TFT display as standard. This model shipped with a 6 GB or 12 GB hard drive, a Mini-PCI Modem, either a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and 64 MB of RAM on the motherboard (upgradeable to 512 MB using PC100 SODIMMs).

Comparison[edit]

Model Introduction

Date

Withdrawal

Date

Base

Price

Display

Options

Resolution

Options

CPU Memory Video

Controller

Audio

Controller

Hard Drive

Options

Misc

Info

TFT HPA
600 Apr 1998 Aug 1998 ? 12.1"

13.3"

Color

13.0"

Color

640x480

800x600

1024x768

(XGA)

Pentium I - 233 MHzMMX

66 MHz Bus

512 KB cache

or

Pentium II - 233-266 MHz

66 MHz Bus

512 KB cache

32-288 MB

66 MHz

SDRAM

NeoMagic

NM2160B

2MB iDRAM

Cirrus

CS4237B

3.2 GB 4.0 GB 6.4 GB 10 GB UltraslimBay options:
  • 1.44 MB FDD

Li-Ion Battery - 3 hr

600

(Sep 98)

Sep 1998 Jun 1999 ? 13.3"

Color

- 640x480

800x600

1024x768

Pentium II - 300 MHz

66 MHz Bus

512 KB cache

64-288 MB

66 MHz

SDRAM

5.1 GB 6.4 GB 10 GB
600E Nov 1998 Mar 1999 ? 13.3"

Color

- 32-288 MB

66 MHz

SDRAM

NeoMagic

NM2200

2.5 MB SGRAM

AGP

Cirrus

CS4239 ISA

CS4610 PCI

6.4 GB 10 GB UltraslimBay options:
  • 1.44 MB FDD

Li-Ion Battery - 3 hr


600E

(1999)

Mar 1999 Mar 2000 ? 13.3"

Color

- Pentium II - 300-366 MHz

66 MHz Bus

256 KB cache

4.0 GB 6.4 GB 10 GB UltraslimBay options:
  • 1.44 MB FDD
  • 24-10X CD-ROM
  • DVD-ROM

Li-Ion Battery - 3 hr


600E

(400)

Jun 1999 Jan 2001 ? 13.3"

Color

- Pentium II - 400 MHz

66 MHz Bus

256 KB cache

64-288 MB

66 MHz

SDRAM

6.4 GB 10 GB
600X Dec 1999 Jan 2001 ? 13.3"

Color

- Pentium III - 450-500 MHz

100 MHz Bus

256 KB cache

64-576 MB

100 MHz

SDRAM

NeoMagic

NM2360

4 MB SGRAM

AGP

Cirrus

CS4624

CS4297A

6.0 GB 12.0 GB 18.0 GB
600X

(2000)

Feb 2000 Feb 2001 ? 13.3"

Color

- Pentium III - 500-650 MHz

100 MHz Bus

256 KB cache

32-160 MB

60 ns

EDO

References[edit]

Preceded by
IBM ThinkPad 560
IBM ThinkPad 600
April 1998-December 2000
Succeeded by