Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon Touch - Unanswered questions

Hi all,

I have been thinking about buying a Lenovo X1 Carbon Touch and have read through a pretty extensive list of reviews and thread posts. The following are some questions that I haven't been able to find good answers to. Many thanks for any help you can provide (and apologies for incidents of laughable ignorance).

1) Screen -- Can anyone provide a visual example of the "screen door effect" (normal-usage shots, not extreme close-ups)? None of the major "professional" reviews mention it. And the only visual examples I've seen are impractically close-up photos. For reference, I have a T500 now, and even though there is a slight "dirtiness" to the clarity on the screen if I really think about it, it doesn't bother me at all.

2) Battery -- What is the battery life on the i7 version? Seems like the i5 version gets ~5 hours, but haven't seen an i7 estimate.

3) RAM -- Is 8GB recommended? I am currently maxing out 2GB on Windows Vista. I assume 4GB could be filled up quite easily with 64-bit Windows + whatever memory new programs require over the next 2 years?

4) SSD -- What is the distinction between the Intel 240GB FDE vs. 256GB SSD? Is it just space and $50 (and would that actually be full 16GB difference)? Why would someone buy one over the other, and why is Lenovo offering 2 options that seem so similar?

5) Price -- Lenovo is currently running a 12% discount. This seems comparable with their usual discount but less than Black Friday or summer deals. Anyone familiar with Lenovo pricing and know if there will likely be better discounts (how much approximately?) when Helix or Surface Pro comes out?

6) Apart from lack of 3D gaming capability and paucity of USB ports, any other issues/features that may lead to a "@#$%#@$ this is really annoying" type of moment somewhere down the road? I realize everyone is different, but let's just assume a user who may possibly want to use it for any application typical home and office users may need.

Thanks for your help!

 

these have been discussed here

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thi...-l/692878-x1-carbon-touch-77.html#post9044766

 

Thanks for the link. I've read through about half of the thread, but it seems like the questions I have are not answered there. In fact, the screen door effect question was inspired by the gripes some users had in that thread. There is a mention that the 256GB drive may be the Samsung 830, but not being a computer expert, I have no idea what that means in relation to the Intel 240GB SSD. At any rate, I've found these forums to be some of the most informational online, and I am hoping that these questions may be helpful not just to me, but also to other prospective buyers, since it doesn't seem like the answers to the questions posed are that obvious (apart from the one on RAM).

 

1. Sort of have to see it for yourself, bothers some not others. Doesn't bother me and I absolutely can't put up with screen bleed/clouding so I'm not indifferent to screen issues. I think someone mentioned that the Verge review covers this.

2. 5 hours with i7, what I have and what I've experienced. 5 hours appears to be typical for an ultrabook with a touch screen.

3. 8 GB is very nice and so I would say it is recommended. Video takes up about 200 MB and doing nothing Task Manager shows 2 GB used.

4. It mattered when it came to availability, not sure it matters now. I have the Intel 240 and it scores 8.1 in Windows Experience which is very good.

5. Price, don't care this never matters to me.

6. Obvious that this laptop is designed to do work, should be considered the best business ultrabook available.

 

Thanks for the helpful info.