Just bought a x201, have some questions

Hey guys, I've been reading a lot of threads and reviews on this website and they have been very helpful!

I also just ordered a thinkpad x201 off lenovo's website for $980 w/

core i3 380m
2GB memory (going to upgrade to 4GB myself)
webcam + fingerprint scanner + touchpad
250 GB hard drive
9 cell battery

After reading many reviews I still don't know exactly how long a 9 cell battery would last. I've seen reviews saying that it'll only 5 hours from standard web browsing and I've seen users say that they last up to 9 hours. Can anyone further enlighten me on this?

This is my first Lenovo laptop so I don't really know what to expect. I've heard all about their sturdy construction, roll cage, and magnesium alloy chassis. How does the x201 stack up against it's full sized brothers? How sturdy is the construction in this tiny notebook.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

You mean this is your first ThinkPad! Congrats on your new machine. I too just got my x201 but with a 6 cell battery. It lasts me for about 5 hrs - brightness at 14; wifi on; browser with 3 tabs open, 2 PDF docs open and 2 MS Office apps open. With the 9 cell you should at least get 7 hrs....depends on your usage pattern though and thus like in everything else YMMV.

 

Congratulations on your soon-to-arrive X201 and first ThinkPad!

I've been using an X201 with 9-cell battery. Battery life depends on how you use the notebook. It's 7~8 hours on average. On my day trips, I have the battery fully charged and never bring the power adapter with me.

You will enjoy the X201. As far as construction and performance are concerned, the X201 is a true ThinkPad: sturdy and durable. The keyboard is awesome. The more I use it, the more I appreciate it.

 

Wow brightness at 14 it only goes to 15 doesn't your eyes burn.

 

Yes it does hurt my eyes...but then I am only waiting to clean install Win 7 after which I will do the finer adjustments to suit my purposes. The machine is still in the state and condition in which it originally came. My x201, btw, is only 3 days old!!!!

 

That's good to hear, but I am a little curious. I see that you old notebook was a 14inch hows the switch I'm already thinking about getting the x230 or the x130e . Hopefully the switch isn't too terrible.

 

That is precisely the question I grappled with for a few months before I got the x201. But despite all my apprehensions, I don't find any problems with the smaller screen. I don't know whether I 'd be enamoured by a 10" screen, but I don't find the 12" screen a problem at all. The 1280x800 res works well and to be honest, I think the x201 screen is much crisper than the R400.

I was also worried about th keyboard - particularly the palmrest. Again, my fears were unfounded. In fact, I find that I type much faster on the x201. Despite there being some flex in the upper right quadrant - around the PgUp, backspace keys - the keyboard is very good.

So, I don't think you will have a problem with the switch to the X series. I don't know about the x120/130 though.

 

even at max brightness the screen isnt that bright IMO, probably im used to my 300nit 2ccfl dell screen.

 

In normal usage away from the outlet, I see 7 hours on average, with very little power tweaking - and usually with me overriding the screen brightness settings to bump it up for working outside. I've managed to stretch it up to 12+ hours of use on a single charge, but I had to severely limit my usability during that time period - no wifi, screen brightness set to low, etc.

The X201 is about as sturdy as they come, aside from the more robust T series notebooks historically. Many of the T series design bits do filter down to the X series, and compared to my experiences with past gen X/T series notebooks, I think that the X201 is on par with the T series for robustness and durability now. The only tougher notebook out there is the Panasonic Toughbook.

 

Ouch! Fn + PgDown ASAP

I can tolerate a max of 7-8, not more. Normal usage, the brightness is 3 and at night times, it's down to 0.

OP - depends on your usage really. Keep the screen brightness low, and use the max battery life power setting. This should cause a good increase to the battery life.

 

check out a thread i started regarding this very issue. i made the jump from 14 to 12 and have had no issues.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/564820-contemplating-x200-201-220-read-here.html

as for the op question, with a 6 cell i get a solid 4.5/5 hrs with wifi, multiple tabs in firefox, brightness at 11 and rainmeter running on my desktop. i'd imagine a nine cell would get you 8 easily. still have not tried battery stretch.

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm looking forward to the laptop arriving. How long does it usually take for Lenovo to build and ship a laptop?

 

The X201? You can expect to have it in your hands within 10~14 working days. (I received mine in 10 days: Sunday CTO placed, Friday UPS delivery.)

 

I received mine in about 3 weeks (or a little less).

 

hm bummer, I was hoping for quicker build and delivery. Oh well, I'll stick using to my desktop for now!

 

There is that saying..."all good things to those who wait"!

 

yes the laptop came! I love it, the battery life is superb and the screen isn't as bad as i thought.

One thing I noticed is that the battery is really loose. i ended up stuffing a piece of credit card in the gap and taped it in. Now it's relatively tight.

I'm really glad that I got this laptop!