New X200s questions

Does anyone here have the X200s with the 1280x800 LCD? Is it a LED LCD? The next question is for anyone that know about power managements. What is the difference between low and lowest settings in the CPU management. Does the power throttle work the same across Intel cpu lines? e.g SU9400(1.4) vs SL9400(1.8) would the lowest speed be 800mhz or 44% of the CPU max? Is it normal for the CPU to be capped @66% of max when running on battery. It seems to run like that on my x61t(1.8ghz). And lastly will the SU9400 perform better and still use less power when running @adaptive speeds compare to the SL9400 @lowest speeds?

 

Your questions are better served by a list, try and use one next time.

1) The WXGA is CCFL rather than LED.
2) Not 100% sure between low and lowest, I've never noticed a difference.
3) I know the SL9400 and P8600 both have a low of 800MHz, I assume the SU9400 does as well.
4) Default setting on battery is to cap at slowest speed (usually 800MHz). You can set this to adaptive as well and it will generally stay at 800MHz as well.
5) The SU9400 should perform better and get better battery life than the SL9400 at slowest speed. Additionally, both the SU9400 and SL9400 may get better battery life and will perform better at adaptive rather than slow assuming your apps are well programmed (e.g. they don't contain infinite loops).

Personally, I'd just get the SL9400. It runs very cool/quiet, is extremely energy efficient, and offers superior performance (frequency, bus speed, cache size) compared to the SU9400.

 

The lowest setting cap the CPU maximum state at 33%, while the low setting cap the CPU maximum state at 50%. I doubt that you will see a difference.

 

You're right it is better as a list. It didn't look so hard to read when I was typing in the reply box.
1) Is it the same LCD as the X200? Is the top cover thinner than the x200?
4) Is there a setting to remove the cap limit? Are all laptop designed to cap on battery usage, not just thinkpads?
5) That is good to know. when I use my x61t it's always powersaver. I think a lot people use their laptop on powersaver than adaptive when unplugged. Am I wrong?

The SL9400 is the top choice after all. There doesn't seem to be any config with 1.4ghz in stores/E-stores. While I agree the SL9400 it is what you say. I kinda of considering the SU9400 based on my usage on my x61t. Most of the system process on the laptop is on idle most of the time. I only read and type on it.

6) Do you think the SU9400 can play HD or maybe a h.244 AVC. 1280x720 video without lagging?
7) Do you think a 9cell can retain energy comparable to a 4cell after 2yrs? Based on a single charge a day(730 charge cycle). I wonder if it is worth the extra $30 even though a 6cell will be enough.

 

I don't notice the difference. Windows Reliability Monitor report both of those settings at 44%.

 

1) To the best of my knowledge it is identical (right down to the same top cover). Additionally, the WXGA version of the x200s should offer a webcam and WWAN (the WXGA+ LED version does NOT).
4) The default is locked. However, you can easily remove it. The "Max Performance" is locked at full and not recommended. I set up a "preferred" profile for myself that is identical settings on battery and AC (10/15 brightness, adaptive CPU, dim display after a few minutes, turn off display at a few minutes more). I find this provides the best balance of performance and battery life in most circumstances.
5) Power saver (locked at slow) is default. Most people (although maybe not most on this forum) don't change defaults.
6) To a degree that depends on bitrate, but the SU9400 should be able to play back most h.264 and VC-1 videos without problem. Additionally, a video encoded at h.264 profile 4.1 or lower (e.g. Blu-Ray class video) is accelerated by the x4500MHD GPU and relieves your CPU of much of the load (provided you use a good video player, e.g. MPC-HC). Flash video is another story as it's horribly inefficient and the "HD" versions often play poorly on 2GHz+ C2Ds.
7) 730 cycles over two years is a fairly heavy load (I only put 500 on my original T40 after 5 years of use). However, the battery should still hold at least 33% of its charge after that time. Although at a certain point it just makes sense to buy a replacement battery.

 

That's the settings as registered in Windows Battery Manager. The exact value is going to vary. Ultimately, it will try to stay within the range, I think.