Buying A X220 (Hopefully) Tonight. Had A Few Questions?

So Question Number 1 Is...

1. Has this fan pulsing issue been resolved? Is it being experienced by all users or only a select few?

2. Throttling Issue? Is this only a factor for those with the i7 ?

3. Any other issues i should be aware of before purchasing?

4. Is this a fair price for what I'm getting?

ThinkPad X220 - 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty
Estimated ship date: 8/11/11**

Intel Core i5-2410M Processor (2.3GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB)1
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 6412
12.5" Premium HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, 2x2 Antenna
Intel® HD Graphics 3000
4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM)8
Fingerprint Reader
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
ThinkPad Battery 29++ (9 cell)60
No Bluetooth
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN)10
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable65
4286 : 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller

Estimated total: $825.39*

Also it says estimated ship is the 11th think it might be earlier?

The upgrade to the 9 cell was free is it worth the extra weight and piece sticking out of the back or should I opt for the 6 cell?

 

I haven't noticed the Fan Pulsing issue or the Throttling issue on my i5-2540M. YMMV

Price is half of what I paid for mine, with not many more features. Seems fair to me, but I haven't followed current prices that close.

Personally I prefer the 6-cell because of overall size and looks. Others prefer the 9-cell for longer computing away from the mains.

 

I hope all goes well with the fan.

I actually had to Google YMMV, haha i felt so dumb.

And that's what i cant decide, its a free upgrade and i feel "bad" for not
taking it but on the other hand my dorm room is within 400 yards of my classes.

Thanks for the answers,

Anyone else have anything to add?

Spencer

 

I just bought a x220 today. I had all the same features as you except i had:
Windows Pro. (just because lenovo reccomended it lol)
Bluetooth (many items such as printers, mouses, keyboards have bluetooth in them, its nice to have.)
2GB ram (upgrading to 4GB ram in the site is more expensive then buying 8GB ram and installing it yourself)
720 webcam (girls)

in total i paid $815 (not including taxes)
used barnesandnobles discount plus ~10% off from a coupon offered few days ago. (made a quote)

 

Looks good, price and all. I'd get it.


About the 9 or 6 cell.....stick with the 9 since its free upgrade. Besides the added battery life and being more desirable, it will be easier to find a well fitting case for it too.

 

Regarding the 6 or 9 cell, see the following discussion: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/596589-regretting-9-cell-battery-vs-6-cell.html

 

Fan issue has been reported only on a few X220 so it is not a widespread issue. For some, bios updates have remedied the problem.

Again, another YMMV issue, however the majority of users with this problem comes from i7 machines.

If you are getting an IPS panel, there is light bleed on the bottom border, ghosting can occur, and white spots have been reported (one on my machine). Looks like the IPS display quality varies widely for the X220.

That is a decent price. Coupons can be had if you want for a sale bringing it down to $750.

Placing my order, it took them 10 days to make and ship my x220. It just depends if they have the parts in stock for you custom order.

It is worth it in my case, since I need the extra battery life (7 vs 12 hours). It does stick out like a sore thumb in the back and adds extra bulk.

 

1) The fan pulsing seems to affect some (but many) X220 owners. See here:

X220 - fan constantly on / revving up and down - Lenovo Community

The pulsing has been resolved in some models (e.g. T520) and will possibly be fixed on the X220 too in the next BIOS updates.

2) AFAIK, CPU throttling affects both i7s and i5s. It should also be resolved in upcoming BIOS updates (resolved in T520). Here is some discussion of the problem:

X220 cpu throttling problem - Lenovo Community

3) For other issues, see other threads on this forums or on Lenovo Forums (e.g. Index of X220 issues being worked on - Lenovo Community )

However, note that most of the issues reported by customers are not present in all machines (don't forget that you are dealing with a small sample of very vocal customers) and will probably be fixed.

4) I don't know if you are paying extra for 1 DIMM 4Gb RAM (vs 1x2Gb). If you are, then you may probably want to go with the base RAM and then upgrade it yourself.

 

I'm not sure what others have experienced re: throttling.

But my laptop only throttles when it gets too hot, so ensuring you have good thermal contact between CPU and heatsink is important.

I ran prime95 and noticed that my cpu throttled when temps reached above 85+, but after replacing the heatsink compound my temperatures were 81c with only 1x multi lower than max (throttle)

 

What problems might occur with this configuration?
In the future I will be upgradring the HDD to an SSD. What problems migth occur when/after doing so?
Is there anything I need to know before buying this laptop?

I am going to use this laptop for school. Therefore I also have a couple of questions about the design of the X220:

How is it in everyday use?
How is this new ClickPad?
How is the keyboard compared to the X201? (I was quite disapointed with the keyboard on the X201)
How is the latchless lid?

If you don't have the time to answer all of my questions I would be very happy if you just answered a couple of them

Regaards from Denmark

funny pictures

 

Both the 9cell and the 4gb of RAM were free upgrades.

I think i might be adding blue-tooth also.

As far as the battery goes I'm still not sure..

Thanks to you all,

Spencer