New Thinkpad Line up

Lenovo will probably stick with 4 or 8GB soldered and one slot open. This allows the ThinkPad to remain thin.

 

Well... X20*/s and X30* series were pretty thin - not to mention light - and still had two RAM slots available...

 

My t440s has 4GB soldered and an 8GB SODIMM installed, and registers as dual-channel. I forget what it is, but I think there's some Intel feature that in my case allows half of that SODIMM to run in dual-channel with the soldered RAM, and the rest single-channel. I may be wrong on this though.

That said, 2 slots would've been welcome. If I'd had those, I probably would've put in 16GB.

 

Dual channel memory barely makes a difference, don't kid yourself. In real world performance, the differences are neglectable. Maybe 5-10% if you're lucky, but nowhere near 30-40% I do get your point about upgrading, though. That said, if I'm getting an X250, I'll probably max it out all the way, anyway.

 

Dude, dual channel makes a HUGE difference for iGPU performance. For everything else, yes, you'll barely get a 5-10% boost if you're lucky. Have you not seen any memory scaling benchmarks for integrated graphics? That's where memory frequency and memory bus width matter the most. If you take the time to search around, you'll find a lot of benchmarks.

Performance and Scaling Overview of Intel HD Graphics 4000 - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

"The 20% higher bandwidth of DDR3-1600 vs. DDR3-1333 (both single channel) results in a performance which is a good 11% higher. A second storage module leads to a 34% performance increase."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v63dHvE3xBI

"I wanted to see how much of a gain I would see with dual channel ram vs single channel ram. 3DMark06 scores went from 4300 to 6200, so definitely a big boost for my Steam games."

And I would know from personal experience as well, since upgrading my X201 (years ago) from single-channel to dual-channel resulted in a 30-40% boost in graphics benchmarks.

 

More benchmarks here: Is Your Gaming Laptop's RAM Slowing It Down? | Maximum PC

Again, if you search you'll find them. Everybody just jumps on the "dual-channel doesn't make a difference" bandwagon without understanding why. GPUs are much more hungry for memory bandwidth compared to CPUs. So going from a 64-bit bus to a 128-bit bus or even going from a 1600MHz to 2133MHz memory clock doesn't make much difference for a CPU. But for a GPU it's a big deal, and typically as the GPU gets more powerful, it becomes even more hungry for memory bandwidth. That's why with dGPUs you'll get much better performance with GDDR5 than you will with DDR3.

 

Any link to back this up? Just reading it cheers me up but I kinda failed to find any details on that (well, not sure what query to use in google for it). My T500 said good bye a month ago and I'm on company terrible T440. I was even looking for T430 to buy to revert from the touchpad that gives nightmares but now, there is new hope

 

#LenovoHangouts: Meet ThinkPad Helix - the 2-in-1 for Business - YouTube

Of course, official statements about unannounced products are rare.

 

Awesome, thank you. I guess asking for good old keyboard layout(home, end, pg up/down) is too much, but fixing the trackpoint is still great news.

 

Huh. Interesting. I guess I was wrong.

I don't use my laptop for games, and my desktop has a dedicated GPU, so I guess it never applied to me.

Holy smokes , that woman is scary-lookin'.

 

Does anyone know when the new models with be on the US website?

 

Come on Lenovo! Throw us a bone here! My legacy ThinkPads need replacing and I’m about to give the latest Surface Pro a spin due to the zero disclosures here!

 

We won´t see anything with Broadwell until CES.

If you need something now, then go ahead and buy something now.

 

Sometime Spring 2015, see figures attached

 

Well, thats expected with the Broadwell time-frame...

 

You didn't hear this from me... lol
Broadwells will be in the new lineup. X1 Carbons are being announced in Jan. '15 and T450's in Feb '15. Both are dropping the Ultranav trackpads and going back to the 5-button mice.

 

I guess I will renew my X220 warranty for one more year. Its up Dec 1st. I am waiting on the new Thinkpad Yoga/Helix. Stinks they won't even announce until January at CES.

 

Why renew 1 whole year, we have 2-3 months left?

 

My luck is something will break in that 2-3 months.

 

Don't think so negative , it's not an ACER xD

 

Acer has served me well.

 

Hopefully the "New Keyboard Design" on the X1 Carbon translates to "Back to the old keyboard design".

Also cool to see the return of 2 DIMMs on the T450. No mention of that for the X1 Carbon so it's probably soldered again. Now the wait for the X250 and T450s specs...

 

So they are adding back the physical buttons to the trackpad like it used to be before the release of the T440?

 

Anyone notice T450 only available up to HD+? Maybe there will be a T450S with FHD, etc? Any word on graphics too?

Noticed it said mechanical docking on integrated only, so it must be like the t440s, with dedicated graphics only on models without docking. Hopefully they actually make it available in the U.S though.

 

Looks like the new Thinkpad Helix is up on the website for ordering. Also see a 14" Thinkpad Yoga - is that the new generation?

 

The new Helix, yes (but its only a limited release, no Pro keyboard, and no LTE), the ThinkPad Yoga 14, not yet, the new gen (or rather the refresh of the current Gen) will be available in Spring 2015.

 

Got it. I'd want the pro keyboard and vPro processor so will sit tight. Can someone please school me on the differences of the new generation Thinpad Helix versus new Thinkpad Yoga that will be coming out? I'd like to have something that works great on the go as well as can dock with a dual monitor setup.

 

Just curious, why do you need a vPro processor? It includes Intel AMT which is proprietary thing that even has access to your bios settings. And of course vnc-server is also there. Those "features" sound really scary for me.

 

When I go to Laptops & Ultrabooks | Lenovo Outlet (US) , and select to view only T series, I see 21 laptop of the Tx40, many with more than one in stock, and not single one Tx30.

While if you look at the G series laptops, you will see that there are more Ivy-bridge than Haswell .. infact, there is only Ivy bridge.

I think this should be a hint to lenovo about how the people like the new trackerpad/trackpoint.

 

This is mildly interesting, 3YR Sealed Battery > Lenovo Quick Pick. The 20BW t450s uses the same battery as some of the current gen ones. 20BX not on the list...

 

That looks more like battery replacement service to me. In which case, the t440p and t540p being on there is strange - I thought those didn't have sealed batteries (just a single, external one), unlike most of the ones on the list.

 

FYI we've received a request to remove certain assets that were considered confidential by Lenovo and have complied. You're welcome to continue discussing and speculating, but if you wish to share information not publicly available, do so privately. Thanks.

 

I didn't realize there was non-public information in this thread, but if anyone has any information that they know is non-pubic, please add me to your PM list .

 

I'm so confused with what to get it's hilarious...

 

So Lenovo representatives do lurk around on NBR! Why aren't they implementing all the stuff we thinkpad users want already?

 

You mean what you had

 

I believe all of the information contained in this thread is non-pubic.

 

So it looks like the Helix 2 dock only has one hdmi output. How would one go about connecting two external monitors?

 

I've also looked at the new helix and I found out that the tablet itself has another micro hdmi port but I don't know if you can use both at the same time. The pro dock on the other hand has a mini display port which would enable daisy chaining if you're monitors have support for that.

 

That is disappointing. You'd think the dock would have the best technology (and sufficient ports) as possible. Daisy chaining would mean I'd have to go out and buy new monitors that support that.

 

.........................

 

You can most likely run two displays off of the hdmi/display port on the dock and the micro hdmi on the tablet. It is however true that a docking station with only one video output is pretty weak.

 

When is the next x250 coming out? My old x220 has charging issues and I want to upgrade before it stops charging entirely.

 

I don't know if you have got the news yet:
Lenovo has announced the W550s and the W541.
Reddit: ThinkPad W550s announced : thinkpad
W550s: https://www.thinkworkstations.com/products/thinkpad-w550s/
W541: https://www.thinkworkstations.com/products/w540/
I know the link says w540 but it goes to w541 product page.
The W541 is basically a W540 with dedicated trackpoint buttons. The W550s is a slim ultrabook also with dedicated trackpoint buttons.

 

Not really sure what makes the W550s an ultrabook. It weighs ~5lbs, and it's ~.90 mm thick. :hi2:
source https://www.thinkworkstations.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ThinkPad-W550s-Datasheet-3.pdf

 

I got it from the article that reddit linked to : Lenovo Newsroom | Lenovo Takes Mobile Workstation Performance and Versatility to New Heights with the ThinkPad W550s
I'm not sure of the definitions of an ultrabook though.

 

Hey guys,

I have been using Thinkpads for a while now, but my X300 is kind of getting dated and i was planning on getting a X240, but current Thinkpad enthusiasts have instructed me to keep away, because of the new keyboard and clickpad. Should I ignore them and buy the X240 or wait for the X250 ? Are there any hints of when the X250 might come out ?

 

I just got a X240 at work. I have a X220 at home (also used one at my old job for a couple years). I want to give the X240 back.

They should have kept the old keyboard, clickpad, fully removable battery, and power adapter. Power adapter can be solved with an adapter though, the rest can't.

 

I was on the look for a X230, but they have gotten so expensive now, its ridiculous. So, i started looking at the X240, but the reviews from the thinkpad enthusiasts have been horrendous. I have used the new clickpad on T440s, and to be honest, i also hated it. The clicks were loud and felt like a cheap knock-off of MB pro. Not to mention the fact, that dedicated buttons are gone. I love Thinkpads, but lately, they seem to be losing their way. So that was the reason of my question, should i wait for a bit and see if the X250 is better ? Is it realistic to expect them in March ?

 

X230 owner here. Am waiting for the X250.

Praying it has:

- 16GB Ram
- A decent screen (X230 is ok apart from the resolution.. too low.. 1366x768)
- Dedicated buttons for the trackpoint
- Decent latest gen i7 processor (not the core-M rubbish!!!)

I can wait until March, these things last a long time, my W520 is still going strong 4 years later but I leave that at home and remote in (private cloud haha).

For what it's worth, I don't mind the keyboard at all, also have the old style keyboard on my other Lenovos but the X230 was the first small model with the newer chiclet keyboard, and it doesn't affect my typing.

If it has the above I'll buy a fully loaded one as soon as I can.