ThinkPad X220 (i/T) Owners Thread

Just got my X220T. I'm somewhat miffed that the 6-cell battery sticks out behind and below as much as it does. I'm wishing that I'd have upgraded to the 9-cell now since I was under the impression that the 6-cell wasn't this bulky.

I was able to easily add the bluetooth module that I mistakenly neglected to add to my original order. I'm planning on doing a quick write-up with the part numbers I used once I receive and install the new LED cover from IBM (that I forgot to order with the bt module).

The screen is going to take some getting used to. The 16x9 aspect ratio is ridiculous in both orientations on a screen this small. Too short and wide in laptop mode, and too tall and narrow in portrait mode. There is plenty of room for a larger screen, and the bezel above and below the monitor is huge. Some of that is due to the taller hinge for the tablet, but it's annoying to see all that wasted space on the top and bottom to support the aspect ratio that everyone seems to want these days.

The touch-screen layer does add noticeable reflection when used in direct light, but I was able to crank the brightness up enough that I could still see the screen in direct sunlight. It was dim, for sure, but legible. It's as bright as I could ever want when used indoors. Despite the infernal aspect-ratio, I was over-all very impressed with the quality and brightness of the screen.

Upgrading to an SSD was not a hassle. I created the factory restore disks with a usb dvd burner, swapped out the hdd and restored. The ssd's partitions ended up properly aligned.

 

Similar experience for me with the screen. Perhaps I'm too fussy though.

Surprised to hear that about the customer service considering Lenovo have such a good reputation. But not exactly shocked either.

The X220 scored highly in the poll though. It's a great notebook other than those niggles.

 

Part of the problem is that on an IPS screen, blacks are much blacker so any light bleed becomes more noticeable. On the TN screen in my Macbook, black areas not directly facing me are light gray, so of course any light bleeding won't be visible.

Also, the nicer you are to customer service reps, the nicer they are.

 

Looks like you're the first to get your X220T shipped so far. Others shouldn't be too far away. What do you have to comment about the "grainyness" of the screen due to the mt layer ?

 

Nice != Useful

 

I can't really say for certain, as I have nothing equivalent to compare it against. All I can tell you is that it's not something that jumped out at me as being an issue. Although, now that you bring it up I may start noticing it...

I kid, I kid. I'll let you know if it bugs me now that you've pointed it out.

One thing I can mention is that I believe the touchscreen layer reduces the brightness when viewing the screen from extreme off-center angles. Compared to my T60p's flexview screen, the x220t's display isn't as bright when viewed from the sides. You can still see what's on the screen, it's just a bit dimmer than what I'd imagine it'd look like if that touch layer weren't on there. Personally, this is not an issue (more of a nitpick anyways) since I'm always looking at it straight-on.

Sorry for being a broken record here, but what's killing me is the 16:9 aspect ratio. I'm sure I'll learn to grudgingly accept it but jeez, you could probably stick a much larger 4:3 panel into that space, what with the ocean of of bezel that surrounds the current one. Maybe it'll be possible to swap it out some day, but with the touch layer, I doubt it would be easy.

 

I don't think that's a mult-touch thing, it's the IPS screen's quality. The X220 looks slightly dimmer from a horizontal angle as well.

 

so if im gonna be installing more of my own ram, which 4 GB one should i pick? 1 DIMM or SODIMM?

i guess i would want the physically smaller one, SODIMM?

and also, should i just install 8 GB of new RAM or just buy 4 more at the same speed and install that with the initial 4?

 

SODIMM is specifically for notebooks; DIMM will not work. Also, I'd get a 2x4 GB pack of 1333 MHz to ensure you get dual-channel enabled memory.

 

When you guys put the keyboard back into place (after removing of course). Is there a gap between the palmrest and the directional keys. I can see the metal hook coming off the keyboard and I don't know if that is the way it is suppose to be.

Can anyone verify if there is a gap between the palm rest and the keyboard?

The left side where the Fn and Ctrl buttons are, there is no gap

 

There is a very small gap.

 

is there a reason why when you config an x220 with an i7, it says USB 3.0 next to it, but when you config an x220 tablet with an i7, it doesnt say anything about USB 3.0 next to it?

is it still offered with it?

 

theres a really amazing deal on mastercard marketplace right now for the X series, and im configuring both of them exactly the same, but the tablet doesnt say USB 3.0 next to the processor

also, FYI, upgraded tablet with standard HDD and RAM is coming out to 1188 pre tax. upgraded x220 with standard HDD and RAM is coming out to 923. both are amazing prices IMO.

 

I don't believe the tablet version was ever offered with USB 3.

 

yea there doesnt seem to be anything official saying that it would be

but why wouldnt it be, that doesnt make any sense!!! arrrgh

btw i just ordered the x220t for 1305 after tax and everything. what a steal. got an i7, everything upgraded except for HDD and RAM. went with the multitouch too...

 

I hate you.



I was going to wait to buy.

Edit: Got the i7, 7200rpm, 4GB-1DIMM for $1,080.

Now I only have to wait three months for my light-bleeding, tinny-speakered, noisy-fanned, lava-hot, crappy-touchpad computer to arrive!

edit: Estimated ship date June 3rd.

 

Is ghosting or even permanent burn-in a risk with ips displays, like the x220's?

Petrov.

 

I don't see the option to upgrade to 9-cell when customizing the X220T.
Checked it again today to reconfirm and yup, there's no 9-cell option.

Searching for batteries return no 9-cells for X220T.
They only have 9-cells for X220.

Btw, congratulations on being the X220T early birds.
My X220T is due on 21st.

 

My X220 is due to arrive tomorrow and I was hoping people would chime in with advice on best practices for setup with a new machine where I am sticking with the factory install. Specs are Windows Hope Premium, i5 2520, IPS, 4gb, 320gb 7200, centrino advanced n 2x2, bluetooth.
What settings should I adjust; what drivers should I upgrade, what should I uninstall,etc.
Thanks in advance...

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/len...ad-x220-i-t-owners-thread-33.html#post7457946

 

Now that you mention it, I am probably remembering the 9-cell upgrade to the x220 non-tablet. I was pricing them both out at the same time. This makes me feel better.

 

Can you give me the link to order it ?

 

Hi guys! Just got my i7, x220 yesterday. Here are my thoughts.

1. Battery life: wow, definitely not as impressed as I thought I was going to be. It seems as if these sandy bridge processors have a HUGE range of power consumption. This i7 is perfectly capable of ramping up to full speed and destroying my battery life. After playing with the power manager all day, I have settings now that give me between 5-7 hours of light web browsing, IPS screen brightness set to 7. I have the 6cell.

2. FAN: total buzz-kill. This thing is running constantly, even under 0 load. I'm already in dialog with the people on lenovo forums on this issue. In the meantime, I use TPfancontrol to get some relief. Bios 1.11

3. IPS screen. Minor backlight bleed at the bottom. Contrast is excellent, and color is close to sRGB (full normal gamut.) ALSO: ips backlight is a battery killer, for real.

4. 720p webcam: the resolution sucks, period. Color is not very good and the white balance is flaky. HOWEVER, the low light sensitivity of the sensor makes up for the shortfalls, a little.

5. Microphone array: the drivers that came with the laptop were faulty with google talk. As soon as you started the call, the microphone would stop working (this was reported elsewhere in the thread.) As soon as I updated the drivers, the problem went away.

Overall, I like the machine, but lenovo is definitely going to have to address the fan issue, which im thinking may have something to do with the power-consumption/battery life problem some are seeing.

 

Weird how none of this was mentioned in any of the glowing online reviews. Makes you wonder if they were paid off...

 

First, the 720p webcam issue was mentioned in a review. Microphone issue was fixed. Backlight bleed for me is very slight, within very acceptable limits.

As for battery and fan issues. There was some talk of the reviewers getting earlier bios's. This probably had an impact. Also, none of the reviewers got i7 machines. I knew it going in that the i7 was going to have less battery life... I guess that's just the issue at hand.

 

ok so i hear some pretty strong hate towards this notebook and/or lenovo on this forum. but is there really an alternative for an ultraportable with 7-8 hours of battery and a full powered core i3/5/7? i'd sure love to know if there is and i'm missing it.

 

The sony SB might be an option.

There is always a certain amount of inflated expectation in these situations. The x220 was no exception.

As for battery life, don't expect to get any more than 7 hours, on an i7, with 6 cell, and doing anything more than really light browsing on medium/low ips lcd brightness.

As soon as you do anything that requires the cpu to ramp up, the battery life drops off a cliff. Even a simple skype video call will almost instantly half your available battery life. Also, there's a chance you'll need to use TPfancontrol to reduce the noise of the fan, since many of us are having fan loudness issues.

All in all, this is an excellent machine, and I expect to have the fan blowing like a jet engine when I start my first video editing project on the laptop!

 

i think i'll get the core i5 since all the reviews had that config and got great battery numbers. also they got great benchmarks with it too so i'm satisfied with those numbers

 

Sounds like a good plan. I got the i7 only because I edit video on a regular basis.

 

Also, the fan issue appears to be hit-or-miss: Not everyone is reporting it. From what I've read here, it appears there might be some quality control issue with the thermal paste on the processor: Most of the laptops appear to be ok, but some have a bad paste job, which heats up the processor causing some performance issues under load and fan issues. (This is just my impression from reading these forums. Do not take it as given. Mine shows no issues.)

 

This is also my suspicion, on the thermal paste. If I don't hear anything from lenovo on this issue over the next two or so weeks, I'm sending the laptop to the depot to get serviced.

 

apparently they raised the stock price up, so my price is probably dead. but if you go through mastercard marketplace, go to the lenovo employee pricing plus link on their site, and they have a good deal on all thinkpads. ends tomoro

 

I get reduced prices through that offer, but I can't get the 15% LENOVOVIP coupon to work?? Cf. this:
Lenovo thinkpad i5-2520m/IPS/BT/WebCam x220 $834, x220t $1181 lenovo corporate - additional 15% off. - Slickdeals.net

Or do I HAVE to go through the Mastercard Marketplace?

 

Why not pull it apart and apply your own thermal paste?

 

you can just use this code for 12% off

USXEPPPLUS0509

 

That is why I take those reviews with a grain of salt. User reviews count for way more. I hope the X220 is not what they mean when I keep seeing the phrase "Legendary Thinkpad Quality". Then again, it may just be a legend.

 

ha! maybe I will. If I do, I'll be sure to report my findings.

 

I don't have all the issues everyone else is talking about (2520). I can't even see any bleed on my screen in a pitch black room on the boot screen. Maybe I just got real lucky? My fan is annoying as hell, that is the only issue I have. I've had no overheating issues to speak of and frankly even after running a few adobe progs for hours it is cool to the touch. Maybe gaming would be different, but I don't do much of that. Frankly if I was going to game on this, I'd be rocking a cooling pad.

Yes, I do believe they could've eeked out a little more screen for how big the surrounding bezel is... but I don't know all the specifics that went into the build. I knew it was small going into it, I have no problems there.

After a clean install I get about 7 hours of solid battery. I'm pretty good with that given my old laptop got around 2.5.

 

Well the bad news is that you will definitely void the warranty doing so. And it's not easy at all. You have to literally take the entire laptop apart, not just the keyboard or anything. It's one of the very last steps in dismembering the laptop.

And I can confirm heat is not an issue. It goes on full blast pretty much when the CPU is at 35-40C which is normal temps. It shouldn't go on until 45+ and even then not full speed like it is now.

You would definitely notice it in a pitch black room at boot up if you had it (but only in pitch blackness really). Must be lucky.

Hey how are you measuring the battery life? Estimating, or using Lenovo's battery meter? Or Windows' meter? I ask because the Windows meter reports vastly different figures than Lenovo's, around 35% more but I don't know which is accurate, I think Windows' is.

 

Ineresting, that it voids the warranty...

 

From the way you describe the fan noise, it sounds worse than mine did. Sure mine was always on, even at idle, but it was a gentle whirring that wasn't annoying. I wouldn't describe it as 'full blast'. When it ramped up while doing wprime, it barely sounded any louder than at idle. The Dell Vostro 3350 was much louder when it ramped up, which it did often and during light tasks.

 

I honestly haven't been observing the meter on the computer, I have yet to check their accuracy. My Windows meter right now says 30% and I have two hours left.... so I guess if it is actually holding true then it would be 7 total.

My computer usually comes on around 8am and I usually have to plug into power right around 2-3pm... ha, that has been my way of telling. So I usually get around 6-7 hours depending on use. Don't really know how reviewers were getting almost 9 hours on six cell. Even with a factory image I was getting 6-7. I'm getting the exact same without power manager on a fresh install.

I don't have power manager installed so I can't check Lenovo's. Still debating on that program or not. The only thinkvantage program I have installed right now is the fingerprint. Think it is worth it to pop on power manager? One thing I like about it is that you can stop the battery from charging, I haven't found that feature in windows 7 yet (if it even exists).

 

Maybe the discrepancy between the 9hrs in the review and the 6-7 experienced here is partly due to the fact that the older bios didn't have the fan spinning so fast or always being on?

 

That could be, but can a fan running even full speed 24/7 really reduce battery life by 20-25%? I doubt it, but maybe. Maybe someone with tpfancontrol (which basically turns the fan off for the most part) can chime in and say what battery life they're getting?

 

That may be the problem. I can tell you that my fan has been whining for damn near the entire time I've had it on battery. I would think that would have a decent effect on battery, but who knows how much. I could see it shaving off an hour or so on battery.

 

Notebookjournal compares the IPS vs TN Displays on the X220:
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Looks good...the right one is definitely IPS ... right? hahaha

 

Nice review, for all you 'non German speaking' folks, the IPS is on the right

Seems the extra $50 is money well spent

 

I've taken down a few laptops to the mainboard level, but what I didnt know is that it would void the warranty.

Actually, I've been monitoring my temps and cpu speeds all day, and I can confirm what you found regarding temps. The cpu doesn't get all that hot.

 

Also, I used tpfancontrol when the unit was on battery, It was easier to get 7 hours, but nowhere near 8 or 9.

Also, with tpfancontrol, I never saw the temps go above 55c. Which, is like nothing for these chips. The bottom of the laptop felt just a tiny bit warmer. I think I'll use the tpfancontrol when im on battery and have the cpu on the lowest setting. When i get back to the office to edit video, I turn it off.

Seems like a decent interim solution.