Lenovo ThinkPad X120e review (via Engadget)

yo will probably be ok with the solo core. but im for the E350.

 

cNET's review is up:

Lenovo ThinkPad X120e Review - Laptops - CNET Reviews

 

According to that CNET review;

That kinda sucks.

 

LoL @ the video from Cnet about the thinkpad trackpoint. 'nobody really likes them' ... uhhhh really!?

Damn they are handing out all decked out dual core models for review. I still wana know if the cheapest single core is hot, can handle 1080p flawlessly and battery life even though I can guesstimate this all.

 

Single core E-240 and dual core E-350 have identical GPU, so playing 1080p shouldn't be a problem. I don't think that single core E-240 have noticeable lower consumption, my opinion is that most of power consumption is GPU related.

 

Well according this post on the official Lenovo Facebook page, he said it will be available on Feb 15 in North America and Canada. It was posted just 6 hours ago.

 

Oh I see. Guess someone can't get their story straight then.

 

I am not sure how much better the new flash 10.1/.2 is, but I know with previous flash single core C2D cpu were struggling to play flash HD even with the intel HD gpu, as flash HD at that time kind of required a dual core cpu min to work.

 

GAHH! Disappointment!

 

If youre in Europe then its not much of a problem even if X120E isnt released in your country, you can always order online from other EU country

 

And pay extra for tax and shipping

 

Surely you jest, the launches always prioritize US first, do as I do, always get someone to get the new tech for you, aside that you inevitably buy it overpriced at your country.

 

If you live in EU then you shouldnt pay any taxes and shipping shouldnt be too high either.
Some countries might have different VAT policies, but you can always check them out to make sure that no taxes are to be paid if buying within EU borders.

 

Not even the dual core E350 AMD APU can handle 1080P flawlessly. You will see framerates around 20 fps. I've done some testing with the dm1 and with cccp codecs, I have done mkv files at 720P and 1080P with no problems. 720P flash works perfect as well. 1080P is a problem though. That's also using adobe final 10.2 version of flash. So far, html5 is reported to not be much better but that standard is yet to be defined. AMD and adobe are said to be working on the 1080P flash issue. Not sure its a cpu bottleneck as much as coding issue.

Now as for the lenovo X120E, the heat should be a deal breaker. The HP DM1 clearly blows the 120E out of the water on the heat department. The dm1 barely gets warm at all. Its insanely cool machine. The 120E is hitting well over 100 degrees in some areas. I can't emphasize how important that is. Heat is your WORST enemy on any notebook. Its the root of many a failure and generally can reduce the life of a system more then anything else. The 120E is a fat, 1 inch slab. I don't think the keyboard would be that much better then the DM1, since the dm1's is nothing less then fantastic IMO. The keyboard is not going to be much better on the lenovo, the thermals are going to be significantly worse then the dm1, its going to be thicker, the speakers are going to be crap next the the dm1 as well.. the dm1's speakers are crazy good.. just ask anyone who owns one. The trackpad on the DM1 has a very nice texture and is the best one I have ever used from HP, and I have used many. But again, the heat, is a real problem and a disappointment for the lenovo.

HP in contrast, said they did allot of engineering on reducing the thermals by placing metal inside to help absorb and disperse heat out of the machine. They have also experimented with many different types of polymers to help reduce the thermals. They came up with cool sense software which also works very well and even on quiet mode my dm1 barely gets warm at all. My conclusion is the lenovo does have the matte screen, and "the look" that a business person may require. But the DM1 is the better engineered then the lenovo at any price.. and it costs less. Every manufacture has its good and bad models. Sometimes a manufacture will nail it from time to time. IMO, HP really nailed it with the dm1 and its one of there best overall designs I have seen from them.

I should also mention that the dm1 has a vastly improved screen from the last generations dm1. Although it is a glossy screen, it is not too reflective. It has decent horizontal viewing angles as well. Brightness is really good so you can still use it in some out door settings. Compared to what HP used last time, its much nicer. Reflections have not been a big issue for me so whatever Hp did, they came up with a decent LED panel with a good coating mix. HP was really proud of the dm1 at CES and they have every reason to be. So far, I have not seen any other new fusion model to doubt my dm1 purchase. I thought the lenovo may have, but early reviews are not that promising for the X120E. Down firing speakers (BAD), Heat, thick, ugly extended battery.. Really not sure why some think its nice looking, but that's all personal tastes.

 

It sucks the only computers that can handle 1080p are the bigger ones. Anyway the screen isnt high res enough to take advantage of 1080p. Infact it may even slow it down because the res of the file is higher than the native screen res.

You are basing the heat off the laptopmag review? We dont know how comprehensive the measurements were though. It could be that the x120e dissipates heat more uniformly both top and bottom, and the HP had the top more thermally insulated so heat transfer is primarily down the bottom. Meanwhile laptop mag I think only takes a few thermal measurements on the top. Who knows. I am not sure laptop mag made measurements in all orientations under controlled environments. Plus, HP may be kicking up the fan more too. I dont know that either. When it comes down to it, it is the same processor and similar specs. Therefore given similar tasks, it would generate the same thermal energy plus or minus.

If HP kicks the fan up higher to fix the problem, there is a drawback to this (noise). Also lenovo can impliment this too. If it is how the chasis is designed influencing thermal conduction/heat transfer then there is plus and minus to both sides. If heat is uniformly distributed, it is more annoying to the human user. If heat is primarily transfered down the base, it may be annoying to the user when using it on their lap, or depending on the surface it is resting on, cause higher temps for the laptop. I can see it swing both ways. Ultimately it is AMD who needs to make lower power consumption chips.

 

That is really odd. My old AMD L625 and ATi 3200 could handle most 1080p video with ease. The only slowdown was with .mov movies. That was with CCC 10.7 and adobe flash 10.2. Maybe since it is new they still need to get the drivers sorted out?

 

Well, its not surprising brazos is slower than K8 cpu's (90% is what i've heard) since AMD cut down on some things to provide better efficiency & fit the GPU in the same die as the cpu & make the whole thing smaller & cheaper to produce.

 

Pricing is nice, but the dual cores push it to nearly 600 bucks.

 

Delayed till March 8th, confirmed on lenovo's twitter account. HI DesertNM may have convinced me to go with the dm1z

 

Wow! Really? march 8th now? Is that the same globally or just the us?

never count your chickens unless they have hatched

 

US launch is set for March 8th. I was ready to pay about $550 for the x120e next week, but I can get the dm1z shipped out for $450. I'm ready to click the buy button.

 

Is this just for the us or is it like this for everyone. whatever happened to their 'global release date' in feb?

It always sucks when something is overpromised and underdelivered. now everyone is bummed out cause we keep hearing the feb 15-16 day thrown around. we hear there is no heat now too so lets hope thats actually true also.

I duno i can wait 3 more weeks as im in no hurry but this definately may take a hit on their sales. lets not forget, this isnt like a pre-order sort of deal where even though you wait longer, you will get it on the day of release, delivered. You still have to add on the extra 2 or so weeks for payment processing and manufacturing, so you are probably looking at more than a months wait till it arrives in your hands.

the dm1z is still too ugly for my taste.

 

I dont understand how HP is offering the dm1 for $550 - $100 Instant rebate = $450. How is HP offering this price for the Dual Core processor yet Lenovo and Sony are asking for atleast $550 to $600.

I think laptop mag found some issues with video & heat and contacted lenovo about the issue. Lenovo probably pulled the launch because of the issues.

 

For one, they are offering windows home vs windows pro for the x120e. The upgrade cost alone makes the price difference.

Plus, in my eyes it looks a hell of a lot better than that dm1z, and you cant put a price on style. just ask LV and prada

However, graphics problem @ 1080p and heat issues are both deal breakers in my book, so if that is an issue then ill pass on this x120e like i did the x100e

 

Guys, I've been eyeing the x120e and the dm1. Big deciding point for me is quality/reliability, I've seen the reliability ratings for HP and they're the worst ( http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/laptop-reliability-survey-asus-and-toshiba-win-hp-fails/). Is the dm1 any different?

I'd wait for the 1215B but I need something before March. Most of the AMD Fusion's are unreleased. Should I just pay more for a Asus U35jc-A1 / u36jc?

 

As reliability is concerned with the long term, nobody knows cause they are both new products, one isnt even released yet. Best you can do at this point is look at the history of products made by each company. In general both are probably quite reliable in terms of electronic function. Mechanical sturdiness and ability to take physical abuse is a different issue but that depends on the product again. I duno about the dm1z, but the x120e is basically a x100e build. That one seems quite sturdy as netbooks go. Neither are as good as toughbooks.

 

Thats EXACTLY what happened.

 

@Aske90

You make some good points, I usually never look at HP when I buy a computer. I've heard too many reliability issues with HP. But my finger is itching to buy because of price and good review of the dm1.

My Asus 1000HE is still going strong with its weak processor. The 1215B looks good but there is no launch date.

 

Perhaps HP is selling it at a loss and hoping people buy Office and other marked up accessories with it. Wish Lenovo would sell the x120e at that price...would consider that over the z61t I'm looking at..

 

Guys, isnt the HP dm1z shipping with Windows 7 Home?

Isnt the Lenovo Thinkpad x120e shipping with Windows 7 Professional?

Isnt the upgrade from Home --> Professional around $100? Isnt HP themselves asking for $99 for this upgrade?

 

@Smellycant

Yes and yes, I understand that its win7pro that is keeping the price up. Wish lenovo offered win7home as well.

 

They might down the line, who knows.

I wished they sold a barebone without RAM HDD and OS, so I can buy them from newegg or a third party cheaper and slap on linux and score a really good deal. Never happens tho.

But if youre talking about value, I believe the value of x120e and the HP dm1z is similar, in that you gain some lose some, but given what they are selling you it will cost as much from the competitor. Absolute starting price is different and that matters, but value may be along more similar lines.

 

Exactly! I have an SSD and will install win7ultimate.

You lose me here, not sure what you meant towards the end.

 

I mean for the price they are charging, the value of the goods from both hp and lenovo are similar. Its just they are charging different prices for different service options. It will otherwise cost the same and be of the same value if everything is the same on both.

e.g. one offers Windows 7 Pro and cost $100 more and the other offers Windows 7 Home and cost $100 less, meanwhile the upgrade from Home-->Pro cost $100.

 

makes sense, thanks

 

Still conflicting reports on the release date. I saw this bit of info today:

Lenovo ThinkPad X120e

 

The news probably hasnt trickled down the ranks? Or maybe it will be released on time anyway? Well we do know that CDW is ready to ship them out I think but they too probably havent recieved stock from lenovo yet.

Who knows, we will find out early next week. If its not up, wait another 2 weeks. This is their comeback kid so they dont wana mess it up again with the heat issue probably.

 

The older x100e comes with Windows 7 Home Premium, you have to pay $50 to get Pro. That's cheaper than HP's Pro upgrade though. Why would they opt for only having a Pro option on the x120e? I like how it's 64-bit now, if it was 32-bit I'd go download a 64-bit ISO, put it on a flash drive, and install it with the included license key.

Also, you likely get better build quality on the Lenovo, plus a matte screen, is that worth the extra money? HP is known for having poor reliability, plus that's a consumer grade laptop while the Lenovo is a business grade one. I think it's worth the extra money if it'll last longer.

 

It's odd that they offer only AMD on this and intel on the Edge 11. IMHO, x120e aims at business user which is less likely to use the graphic power of the fusion. Better CPU would be more benefit than better graphic on their target market. Wish they offer new sandy bridge on both x120e and edge 11 though.

 

No, I doubt they pulled the launch because of that. The deal is the x100 also had some heat issues. And the x120e shares the same chassis as that model. About the only difference that I have read is they put in a HDMI port. Now the HP DM1 in comparison, is a complete top to bottom redesign. HP put some metal parts inside to help absorb and dissipate heat as well as working with different polymers to help improve the thermals. Lenovo did nothing. They took an existing model that has some thermal issues and dropped a different APU in it. I think the X120E may be a bit cooler, only because the APU itself runs cooler and takes less power.

As for the lenovo looking so good that's all in personal tastes. But to me it looks old and its basically unchanged from what thinkpads looked like 15 years ago. But even so, the heat is a total and complete deal killer for me. The X120E track pad is so small its unusable. You better like the trackpoint or use a wireless mouse or you will be frustrated.

I think for Lenovo to fix the problem they have allot of work ahead of them which would require a new case design. Not going to happen. They want to rush this out ASAP. Whats holding it up is component shortages no doubt.

As for HP reliability, everyone who has the dm1 swears by the great build quality, me included. Its solid. No keyboard flex, great screen etc.. One also has to remember that it does not have an optical drive, which IMO is the component that will fail the most often with HP systems. Being that it does not have that, its not a problem. HP also still stands by their products with a 21 day 100 percent money back, no questions asked guarantee. Even dell does not do that anymore. If you want more then that, Costco is selling the DM1 with a 90 day money back guarantee and a free 2 year warranty. Look at costco online for that fantastic deal.

 

@HI DesertNM

While HP did a fine job designing the dm1z, you missed a big reason why it runs so cool. The dm1z has a fairly loud fan, as noted by many reviews. The faster the fan runs, the cooler the machine. While the metal parts may absorb heat better than other models, the fan is a big reason it runs cool.

I think the x120e will be warmer pc since HP has a better cooling system(loud fan). While heat may continue to be a problem, it can be remedied by an ssd. A 7200 RPM hard drive can definitely heat up a laptop. Heat can also be remedied by updated video drivers, the x120e's video issues may be causing the computer to heat up.

I think the HP will be less reliable because its a consumer grade laptop selling for $100 dollars less than most of the competing Fusion computers. The x120e is meant for professionals on the go. I also take reputation into the equation and give the nod to Lenovo for build quality.

While the price and value of a dm1z at 450 is very enticing, I'm waiting for the x120e. The keyboard is a major component on any laptop and the x100e/x120e keyboard dominates in the category. Dedicated pgup and pgdown buttons are necessary in my POV. It's even spill resistant.

The x120e's chassis hasn't changed, because so many people loved the design other than heat and battery life. The chassis is solid compared to most netbooks and is classis lenovo(which I love). Battery life is greatly improved with 6+ hours of continous use and it has matte screen(big plus).


also, about old design, quoted from a comment on the Engadget review,

And about old designs being "ugly"

-The Boeing 747 is arguably one of the best looking commercial jets in the skies today, and the design is from the 60's.
-Many of Dieter Ram's designs for Braun are far older than the Thinkpad.
-A modern day Porsche 911 still resembles one from the 60's.
-Most of today's "modern looking" sans serif fonts are designed in the 60s. Helvetica? 1957. Univers? 1957. Frutiger? 1968. Futura? 1927. None of them are outdated looking - rather, they're some of the most modern looking fonts out there. And they're all over 40 years old - classics.


Just because a design is old doesn't necessarily mean that it's outdated or bad looking. Rather, it's probably a classic.

 

I'd rather spend an extra $150 and get a X201i, but that's me.

 

where do you see the x201i for 700? I see it for 850 new.

 

I also rather spend just a little xtra too. I have used edge KB and while better than 90% of KB it's still no real thinkpad KB. Case and bezel is flimsy as well by comparison. Just spend a little extra and get a real thinkpad or even a L/SL series for about the same.

I really wish lenovo would stop polluting the thinkpad line with substandard thinkpads, good way to destroy a brand.

 

I didn't realize it had went back up. The X201i seems to float between $750 and $850 price wise. I've seen it as low as $720. It looks like it's on the high side right now. MSRP on a dual core X120e is $580 plus tax, which makes it $620. If you wait for it to float back down, it would be about $150 or so more.

 

Where did you get that info? I see it's still not up at Lenovo.com yet.

 

I got friends in low places. Seriously, I think I did see that somewhere, but I can't recall off the top of my head. That would seem in-line the X100e dual core pricing, but I don't know that anything's set in stone just yet.

 

Oh dear god, Garth Brooks...

According to the pdf here, it will have a starting price of $399. I'm amusing that's the C-50 model.

http://shop.lenovo.com/ISS_Static/ww/wci/us/ww/pdf/x120e_datasheet.pdf

(I found this after I made my last post )

Down towards the bottom and to the right, it says:

 

E-240, not C-50.

BTW, check last page, its being compared to X220, some vague info on X220 there ! Ok, nothing exciting, but still a word form Lenovo !
Roger, Id suggest you to post this one at X220 thread !

 

Dual core is E-350, and single core is E-240, not E-250.