ThinkPad X220 (i/T) Owners Thread

I don't know that for a fact, but since it's one of the last few steps in tearing the laptop down, as well as the fact that you're playing with one of the most delicate components (the CPU), would most likely void the warranty.

For me with that program, my CPU stayed around 60C using the default profile (which no doubt most people here use, not realizing it isn't meant for this set up)

 

Hi all,

I might be purchasing a X220 for business use, and have a few questions about it. I hope you can help me!

1. How is the battery life in "real life" usage? That is to say that I won't be watching YouTube videos, or any kind of multimedia for that matter. Primarily I will be working on word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, web browsing + email. Given these uses, would the 6-cell be able to consistently reach the 6-7 hours that people report? I am expecting 4-5 hour periods of time without any charging, so having 6-7 hours means that I can go overtime without any worry. Also, how long does it take the charge the battery? If I were in this scenario: 8am-12pm on battery, 12-1pm charge, 1-5pm battery; would that 1 hour of charging time (loosely speaking, realistically would be from 45mins - 1.5 hrs depending on the days) be enough to fill up my battery for another 4-hour round?

2. Heat concerns: heat is not really an issue (I have a Dell SXPS 1645, and these things could frying eggs when gaming), but I'm curious to know how warm the bottom of the unit gets when under regular workloads. I would assume that it's well within normal temperatures? I tend to have the usual splatter of MS Word (maybe 2-3 docs), a few spreadsheets, IE + Opera, Communicator, and a few other random applications opened and idling simultaneously.

It's going to be a really big step going from my current Dell (16-inch, 6-7lbs) to an ultraportable X220 (12-inch, 3-4lbs). You could even say it's half the mass of my Dell! I used to be a software dev, but I've been moving up, down and sideways throughout our org in the past few months - I feel like it's a corporate version of Snakes and Ladders. Long story short I am now an analyst and in more meetings that I can shake a fist at. My Dell is not cutting it (with only 2-3 hours on a charge, I may as well stay home), and it certainly does not fit on an airplane tray table.

For what it's worth, the model I can get (through work) is the "base" X220 model available in Canada. The general specs are:
i5-2410M
2GB-1333MHz
250GB, 5400RPM
ThinkPad ABGN (i think it's this one?)

I don't need a powerful system at all: my Dell can handle heavy tasks with aplomb. I'm really looking for a solid marathon runner. I've had a bad experience with the T60 in the past, where I ended up returning the unit (it was clearly a lemon, no one's fault), and I have no qualms over Lenovo. But this one would be my first "owned" Lenovo so if I do bite the bullet I want to make sure I've got it right (not enough time or money to fiddle around with returns, etc )

 

2) On my machine with 2410M, it only got slightly warm underneath when running wprime for 30 mins. And I mean just slightly.

And no heat on the top side at all.

 

Thanks for the update, you're the first one to receive one that I've heard of. Not much news on the aspect ratio, I was really pissed about that when I read about it and I honeslty do not believe people want this! Anyways, I think I'll be able to manage, 70% of the workload will be done on a 1920x1200 Eizo screen at work anyways. For the rest, I agree, we'll accept it and get used to it while grinding our teeth. It's a true shame for the space that is right there though. In landscape mode I expect I can make use of the vertically stretched screen by most applications huge menubars and the win taskbar at the bottom, so an A4 page will most likely fill the rest. As for landscape, no idea. I'd have to move at least the win-taskbar to the right/left hand side or let it fade out.

How is the overall tablet functionality? I have ordered the gorilla glass version since I didn't and still don't think that I would make use of multitouch due to windows restrictions. In most scenarios I see me using the stylo anyways... like taking notes in a meeting, annotating PDFs (scientific papers and theses etc.). I expect OneNote to to a fairly good job of providing for notes of meetings, conferences etc., as for the PDF annotation, I'm not certain yet. I think Acrobat Pro is not really great for stylo-driven "editing"?!

What I wonder about... will it be odd to use a stylo on a 100% smooth/glosssy screen. After I thought about it I can imagine that the Multitouch screen might give a better tactile feedback when using the stylo, since it has a texture. Is there some resistance when using such a stylo on a gorillaglas? Writing with no resistance at all might proof to be quite annoying, or am I mistaken?
I figure, that even if not using the touch feature, the multitouch display might still be the better one for taking notes. I was looking forward to the outdoor-viewability of the gorilla option but that is not of primary importance for me. Any ideas?

the X220T is still not even available for ordering here in germany, that's why I could still change the company-internal-order

 

I made a post on my blog about how to tear the x220 apart for an mSata drive :

IBM Lenovo X220 break down/tear down for mSata SSD (intel 310, Renice X3 (SF1222), etc) | Vivi The Mage

 

Heat: Have not noticed any real heat to be concerned about. Slightly warm to the touch and that is with wPrime for 10/14 minutes time.

Battery Life: It depends. With a few YouTube on notebook reviews and heavy internet usage, I get around 4 3/4 hours. Web browser only with some music listening, I get 3 3/4 +hours of use. Have not done strickly internet, but my last look and it was going for around 6 hours plus. One of these days I'll do a stick internet usage/work application only test. Hope this helped a little. Brightness set at 13. Lower than that and I find its not worth the battery saving to have a dimmer screen.

 

I'm pulling close to 6-7 hours with about 7 brightness, cpu speed low, tpfancontrol on, with light web browsing and occasional video watching. I have a 300gb intel 320 too.

 

I am really trying to decide between the X220 and the new HP Elitebook 2560p, I love the look of the HP Elitebook and the trackpad a lot more, any advice?

 

If the 2560p is similar to HP's other models, you'll definitely want the X220 for the IPS.

 

Frankly, the only thing that's truly terrible in this machine is the absolutely awful speakers. They're worse than previous X-series, sound tinny but also distort in the high frequencies. I wish I could get the smart audio equalizer to work to turn down the upper range.

Fan noise isn't audible unless you're in a room that has no other noise. The hvac vent and ceiling fan completely drown it out each by themselves. Even in a quiet room, it's just a steady hum. Only one or two people have reported the revving up/down. And it's a non-issue in the long run since it's already been escalated to engineering and they've promised it'll be resolved in a future bios update.

The only backlight bleed I notice is slightly in two places at the bottom left. It's only noticeable at all if the screen is pitch black and that's really pretty rare now since almost all movies fill the screen with this aspect ratio. So really you only notice it during start up. If it ever bothers me, I'll have it replaced under warranty. That's what it's there for. Even if I had to live that small amount of backlight bleed, I would gladly for this magnificent screen.

At brightness 7, you should only be using 6.8-7.2W average during browsing with an SSD. This yields at least 9hrs. Turning up the backlight to close to full bightness reduces it to 6.5-7hrs. This is pretty impressive imo. When companies give a battery life, it's usually with wifi, etc turned off and screened completely dimmed. You'd get over 10-11hrs if you did that in the X220.

The most impressive thing about this notebook is the build quality. Absolutely nothing else I've ever handled comes even remotely close, that includes other Thinkpads. It's a brick. The latchless design is growing on me as well. The T-series have a latch worth having in that the switch is on the lid, but X-series consistently have had it on the base which is just a pain imo. This is much better.

So I guess, I don't see what people are complaining about. This thread is proof that people won't ever be happy with what they've got, too bad. Lenovo has given us one of the finest notebooks ever produced imo. Sure it has a couple small issues, but the overall user experience entirely overshadows that. The only way I'll replace it anytime soon is if the 2012 model keeps all the positive features in the X220 and Ivy Bridge completely transforms power consumption.

 

I'm just not seeing your claimed battery life? Do you have an i5 or i7, and do you have the 6 or 9 cell?

 

i5-2520, 6-cell. Factory image Windows (this is important).

 

I do have the factory image. In fact, moved all the partitions onto my SSD when i first got it. Yes, the partitions are all properly aligned.

 

The IPS screen on the X220 got old fast for me. I ended up returning the system. Serious "burn-in" issue with the display. I'd always end up seeing the Google Chrome toolbar outline for at least 15 minutes after minimizing. The screen also gave me serious eye strain after a while using it. The images always looked "cartoonish" compared to the "Outdoor/Glossy 400Nit" screen on my X201 Tablet.

What made me return the unit however was the annoying fan noise. Constant revving up and down.

Also the trackpad (which I never used) was just plain ugly/tacky to look at every day. The X201 is much classier in that regard and no stupid click pad.

It's strange that the i5 in my X201 Tablet (2.67Ghz) is much faster than the processor in the X220, yet the fan is always whisper quiet and the machine is cool.

 

I see no burn in, and I work with video/graphics all day. Strange, are others having this problem? I have an office full of desktops with IPS displays, and I've never seen any type of burn-in on a single one.

 

I haven't noticed any burn in either. Interesting that this is the first I've heard of it. Thought that was a screen of the distant past. I'll try an image and leave it on for about an hour than minimize it to see if this is a problem.

 

Can an x220 owner measure the palmrest area in inches and post it here? It's hard to get a feel for just how small it is without seeing it in person.

 

2 7/16 inches from the end of the space bar until the beginning of the "angle". It is about 2 3/4 inches from the end of the space bar until the edge of the entire palm rest.

Sorry if you know metric

 

Sorry I didn't answer sooner, but I have not had internet service for the last 8 days.

I got one of the first X220's. Mine did not come with SP1 on the factory image. I installed SP1 to the factory image (Win 7 Pro) and don't have any issues to report. I've always installed Windows Service Packs when available without any problems (W2K, XP, Vista, Win 7).

It's a little cheaper ($194.81) at Cost Central:
Lenovo ThinkPad Battery 19+ (0A36280) - UPS & Power

 

There is defnite ghosting, but you only see it on a very dark background. For me the areas the cause this are the taskbar and the firefox bars. Again I only see this on a nearly black background, so while it is very present I never actually come across it esp since the taskbar and firefox bars are nearly always up, and it doesn't last long. It was as evident on X220 #1 as this one, so maybe it's normal? When I posted about it when I first received the two X220's, someone said ghosting to a certain extent is a characteristic of IPS screens.

 

Ok,
I have been testing rapid boot and it doesn't have any affect on my notebook. almost identical boot up times with and with out < 2 sec difference.

 

Thanks for all your replies. I'm not too concerned about the heat, honestly, but Ii just wanted to check that it's not a lap-scorcher (I foresee a lot of traveling, and expecting to work as such).

It seems that with moderate screen brightness and "light" internet usage (WiFi on constantly, but little disk activity - strictly folders open in SharePoint and open documents), I should safely hit 5 hours, and hopefully with change at that.

Thanks again for the replies, but would still appreciate any other feedback!

 

Thanks benman for the coupon code!

However, slight change of plans for me. I won't order a laptop until July I think. Even though there are very good introduction deals on the X220 now, wouldn't it be smarter to wait the two months before ordering and see what prices/the market in general is like then?

 

Just to add my comments after a couple of days use:
- I don't see any backlight bleed apart from possibly a very slight reflection around the plastic surround in dark conditions. Definitely not a problem.
- The fan does seem to stay on a lot when operating on mains power at high performance. But it's so quiet that it doesn't bother me. I've had MUCH noisier laptops.
- The underside barely gets warm.
- One point I haven't seen commented on before. The general construction is well up to Thinkpad standards and the keyboard is great. But I notice that there is some 'give' when I press the extreme left column of keys (tab, caps lock etc). It seems there isn't a support under that edge of the keyboard.

 

Hi Sally

Haven't got the machine in front of me but the only flex I could detect was in the long strip at the back with the thinkvantage and vol, mic controls.

BTW, when you press vol mute, does it mute/ unmute erratically? Not that it really matters.

 

David, that strip on mine is quite secure. I've just worked the speaker mute a few times and it's quite reliable. If anything it needs a slightly firmer push than the mic mute.
When I press the left Shift key firmly, I can feel the keyboard give slightly and the other keys along that edge move visibly. It's no more than you might expect with a lesser make but it spoils this otherwise perfect keyboard. At some time I will remove the keyboard and see if a bit of packing will firm things up.
I'm enjoying using the X220 so much that I haven't bothered to switch on the desktop today.

 

Glad yours arrived eventually and you like it. I remember reading from others that Lenovo send out replacement keyboards if you report an issue. It's one of the easiest things to remedy.

 

Set my screen brightness to 12 and steady internet surfing and I'm getting around 6 hours and 50 minutes or so. I set my battery charge to 95%, which also plays a roll in how much this system can do, since I'm not getting a full 100% charge.

Perfectly happy with the battery life. Perhaps a few yrs from now batteries will improve to last even longer. Maybe they will have a power cell integrated to the outer side of the screen to charge the system while outdoors...

:laugh:

 

Let's face it, it's bound not be too long into the future before today's battery technology is considered Jurassic.

 

You're talking 9 cell, right?

 

Nope....6 cell. Been on this for the last hour of so testing it out again with internet/forum use and up loading a couple of pictures and the battery indicator shows over 5 1/2 hours left.

 

So do you manuall set the charge to 95% instead of letting the app "optimize for battery life"?

 

I've been told on this forum that letting the application do it for you might be problematic at times and most use the manual settings. Works for me to do it manualy. Others can weigh in on this question

 

Here's what i got with the master card marketplace deal:

x220 (not tablet)
core i5 2.5, IPS display, 320gb 7200rpm, 4gb, camera, fingerprint reader, bluetooth, upgraded wifi card, 6cell

system: 1,031-123 ecoupon= 908
warranty upgrade 3 years onsite+TPP=207
NY state tax= 90

total=1205

pretty sweet deal if you ask me. today is the last day!!!!

 

I think part of the problem is that the battery meter seems to fluctuate quite rapidly.

 

I've been using 'Battery Bar', which is meant to be a lot more accurate. There is also a battery meter somewhere in Windows itself, I believe.

 

I am definitely seeing ghosting as well in my WinPE setup environment, and to be honest, it bothers me a bit. Nevertheless, I plan to continue setting up my machine and seeing how it all works out once I'm back in Windows.

 

Well I whipped the keyboard out to have a look. The left-hand side of the keyboard is supported by areas of firm plastic under the Fn and Tab keys, and a rubber pad under the speaker mute button, that is stuck onto the fan. Obviously if they don't all line up the keypad can bend a bit. I put a 5mm square of tape a few layers thick on the back of the keyboard under the Tab key, and it is now rock solid!
In your case David it sounds as if it's the top of the keyboard that isn't resting firmly on the rubber pad. No doubt you could sort it in a similar way.

 

Hmm, interesting. Maybe that explains why I needed to press the vol mute a few times to make it work. Cheers

 

Do you guys know what Lenovo's pricing strategies tend to be? Will I be best served taking advantage of the X220 offer now even thought I won't be able to get it until late July (due to traveling), or would it be best to wait two months with ordering? A lot happens in two months, but will the X220 probably be at a higher price point by then? I guess it comes down to a question of whether new and improved machines have already started to push the X220 out by then. Otherwise I may be faced with a much higher price than the current intro offer, right?

 

Thanks SR45 for those numbers. I'm guessing with the i5-2410, 6 hours should be a pretty safe bet, at least for the first couple of years. I was considering the HP Elitebook 2540 with the i7-640, DVD-RW, 8GB memory and 7200RPM HDD, as the battery life is about the same (my co-worker has one, he gets anywhere from 5-7 hrs), but the Lenovo comes out to be almost half the cost of the HP after the Lenovo EPP discounts we get. With that price, I could use the saved funds and easily upgrade the components myself.

 

Shame ... I have had a few IPS monitors over the years, and have never experienced ghosting, not even while gaming on them.

 

Prices vary alot depending on sales, coupons, etc. I got mine with the corporate perk deal shown below and others may have paid more or even less. It just depends on the time of yr and or holidays/school programs.

i7 cpu
ISP screen
320 Gb Hdd 7200 rpm
6 Gb memory at time of sale
finger Print reader
6 cell battery
N 6300 3x3
windows 7 premium
3 yr onsite warranty + accidental coverage
Taxes
$1,345.00 out the door.

 

If ghosting or backlight bleed is the only issue and the rest of the machine (noise/temps) are fine, then I think it best to keep it and get the screen replaced further down the line within the warranty period. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting a better screen but worse performance.

At least I wish I'd done that myself rather than sending it back for a replacement.

 

That'd be what i'll do ... just waiting on it to ship!

 

Just wanted to return and let everyone know that now that I'm back in Windows 7, the burn-in situation really does seem to have been reduced. In fact, it's hardly noticeable at all in nearly all situations, and I'm quite sensitive indeed to such visual anomalies.

Overall, extremely happy with this laptop thus far. Fan seems quite silent indeed and very unobtrusive (though I haven't yet attempted video rendering... we'll see), and the heat isn't bad at all, either.

Hope this sets someone's mind at ease.

 

can we replace the OEM HDD (250gb, 5400rpm) with Seagate Momentus XT 750Gb?

 

I'm getting about 7 hours off a clean install with the screen around level 5. Frankly indoors, I don't feel I need it any higher than that. I've even reduced it down to 0 on occasion. If the sun was blinding through a window or something, things would be different. But even with sun shinning in I was at level 3 with no problem. Everyone is different, but that is my experience.

I have no idea how they were getting almost 9 hours with the 6 cell. Even on the factory image I was only getting about 7 with everything reduced at 7 brightness and with power manager. On a clean install I see no difference, my WEI score actually went up .2 also. This is without power manager.

Could be because the fan is revving all the time on mine? Maybe that is reducing the battery a lot. I know all the reviews were using a previous bios and had no revving.

As far as heat (2520), I had mine on for the entire battery duration yesterday (6.5 hrs). Doing photoshop work, internet, skype, website editing... by feeling the bottom I knew it had been on, but honestly it was barely even warm. The top felt cool. Ambient temp was almost 80. I've actually never had a laptop feel that cool after a whole day of work.

 

I'm not sure. The height of the drive must be 7mm, which is not standard.

 

You got 6.5 hours on a 6 cell while doing intensive work like that? Did you keep track of the total run time, or are you just estimating from the battery meter?

Wow, i just made a new discovery.

As per this thread:
X220 - fan constantly on / revving up and down - Page 4 - Lenovo Community

For those having problems with fan noise, try this. First, make sure you have lenovo power manager installed, version 3.52. Select advanced mode. Select "Power source optimized" profile. Select "System settings". Select "system performance" under the battery column. MAKE SURE "BALANCED" IS SET, NOT "LOW". This is crucial! Select "optimize fan control to:" Balance all parameters.

Select apply. Once I did this, two things happened. First, fan speed is now on very low. Two, I have MORE battery life than if I would have set the system performance to Low.

Very strange, but this is what I have to report. I'm gonna post this on the thread on Lenovo forums, too.


EDIT: Wow, I'm clocking in at 7 hours of battery! However, the fan just ramped up to its usual loudness.. At least my batter meter is reading 7 hours, now!