ThinkPad X220 (i/T) Owners Thread

Sounds like this issue... It's a known problem, no solution yet.

 

Oh right. Except I havent used hibernate at all( what is hibernate used for anyway?) I,m amazed machines of this level have so many basic issues.

 

Hey, can anybody recommend a good DisplayPort to HDMI adapter for the x220 that'll carry audio as well? I mistakenly bought a mini-DisplayPort one that I gave to my bros (who both have macs)

 

Wow, I have none of the issues you speak of. Honestly I think you got a lemon or something. With the 6 cell only I'm getting around 6 hours battery (wall clock).

 

There's a whole thread on it here somewhere. Can't be much past the second page... Short version: the ones on monoprice.com all work and pass audio.

Found it: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/578530-x220-video-audio-out-through-displayport.html

 

Has anyone found or is using a audio cable /adapter which will work for using the Microphone and Headphones at the same time? Wouldn't mind giving that a run through as well. I'm buggered after giving video editing a crack haha! (posted first impressions video in this forum earlier on)

 

An update - earlier I had posted that I was having problems on my home Wifi network with poor connection quality with my x220 and Centrino 6250 adapter. This only happened when connecting to my Airport Extreme router and not elsewhere.

Yesterday there was a huge Wifi/WiMax driver update in Lenovo update and it fixed the problem.

Since that was the only issue I was having with my otherwise fantastic laptop, I'm a happy camper.

 

Will the X220 survive a drop test similar to the X1 as in this demo?
YouTube - ‪Lenovo ThinkPad X1 laptop gets dropped from ceiling‬‏

 

There's no way a regular voltage Core i3 or i5 processor uses only 0.8V of power even at the lowest multiplier. My ultra low voltage Penryn-generation C2D processor still uses 0.85V at 800 mhz, and that is one of the lowest TDP processors Intel has ever produced for the Core line.

How would that work in tablet mode? The screen will cover the keyboard in tablet mode. Someone clearly was not thinking in designing this computer.

 

Anyone who has a X220t. Does it come with a digitizer pen or do i need to buy one of these seperately?

 

it is included! Also has spare tips!

 

Just got my shipping confirmation!

Order placed: June 7
Order shipped: June 13
Order delivered: 3-5 business days after?

As long as it arrives before the weekend, I'll be patient.

 

How have you X220 owners been handling your power profiles? I wasn't terribly impressed with Lenovo's power management software, so I've installed their driver but have been using Power Plan Assistant, software that improves the interface and tray icon for the standard Windows 7 power management.

I've found that the default Power Saver profile doesn't give the integrated graphics enough horsepower to handle HD video without choppiness. While on battery I've found that the Balanced profile will handle streaming Netflix in HD without choppiness.

I've also noticed that the display brightness in each profile doesn't correspond with the value out of 15 the X220 displays on screen. For example a display brightness of 70% corresponds to 12 on the Lenovo scale (expected value for a setting of 70% is 10 or 11 as 10.5 is 70% of 15). I'm working on tweaking my profiles (and creating one specific to video playback while on battery power).

If anyone has tweaked the power profiles and would care to post that information here, it would be very useful.

 

I'm also wondering if Windows power plans consider watching video inactivity. If they do, I'll have to adjust my video profile accordingly for dimming the display, going to sleep, etc.

 

According to CPU-Z on my i5 2520...

0.806 V at 797.5 MHz

Goes up to 1.146 V at 2999.5 MHz

Maybe it is wrong, who knows but according to that... it does.

 

.7655V here. CPU-Z confirms the same voltage.

 

My i7: .765 - .771 at 800mhz

 

Damn that's pretty amazing. No wonder the battery life.

 

Do you guys use UEFI or BIOS with the x220?

 

Apart from usb 3.0 is there anything else useful that you can use the expresscard slot for?

 

Try reading here I guess:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/124472-what-some-good-uses-expresscard-slot.html

The first post was an aha for me - an ESata slot, so you can connect an external raid or larger hard drive at a native speed. Of course lol!

 

Hello everyone!

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for all the opinions and comments regarding the X220!

I plunked my hard earn cash for a X220 i7 even though I have been reading about the throttling issue because my great experience with my T61, my 1st Lenovo laptop. After the T61, I went out and bought a U260, a B310, a B320 for the family and the X220 for myself... Talk about being a fanboy.

After using the X220 for the past 48hrs, I am amazed at the IPS screen, the lightness of it, as well as the long battery life. My back is definitely thanking me, since I am on the road quite a fair bit. The only nitpick that I have is what quite a few of u have mentioned, and that is the fit of the battery. It does have some freeplay and not as snug as what it is supposed to be. Other than that, the X220 has been great. The BIOS 1.16 did manage to quieten the fan noise as well.

I am constantly checking back here on the throttling issues facing the i7 as well as exploring a way to get an Intel 310 80gb ssd to Singapore, where I live.

Thanks all once again!

 

What version of CPU-Z are you guys using? Wondering why mine is higher, granted not much but still higher.

Wonder if it has to do with the stuff I have hooked up to my computer right now. Should try it with just the ac plugged in and note the difference if any. Would an SSD have anything to do with it? I'm rockin a HDD right now.

BIOS, I have a HDD. Boot is quick on a fresh install, takes about 32 seconds to get to a usable desktop.

 

Latest version of Hwinfo32 and CPU-Z.

 

Same for me. I should note I have my cpu speed setting at Lowest.

 

XDCAM EX

also, There are quite a few video capture cards that use expresscard54.

 

eGPU/DIY ViDock

 

I use mine for a Sierra Wireless 890 AirCard WWAN modem.

 

Is there any particular order for making the R&R discs?

Before or After updating the Win 7 load to SP 1 and adding all Lenovo drivers necessary?

Edit: Assuming it is just the initial factory load I created them first and will run Win 7 and Lenovo update after.

The creation of the R&R discs also allows the partition to be erased and the space recovered in the same operation. A bit important with an SSD.

I am assuming an X-25 Intel but haven't opened it up to check yet. Frankly I think I will be happier with it than the 320. A bit bigger NAND media and a very stable controller.

 

Does the x220t use Intel's newest Mobile Intel 6 series chipset? If so, I think eGPU's run through the expresscard slot would be faster.

 

Also, does the expresscard transfer at 6Gbps for use with something like Newegg.com - StarTech ECESAT32 2 Port SATA 6 Gbps ExpressCard eSATA Controller Card?

 

I doubt ExpressCard bus can put out 6gbps even without factoring in overhead.

 

YouTube - ‪Intel 510 Series 120GB Elm Crest SSD Unboxing & First Look Linus Tech Tips‬‏

Is is possible to install a Intel SSD 510 in the X220t?

 

Odd that mine is higher.

Anyone with a 2520 with HDD getting the same result? Around 0.806 v idling or under that?

 

CPU-Z reports my 2520 at 0.786v on A/C (Power set to Maximum Performance).

 

Thanks for the input, this is odd. Do you have the 7200?

Are you using power manager? Wonder if my lack of power manager is the cause. I unplugged everything from my laptop so it was just attached to AC and it still reads 0.806... same with just on battery.

 

No, I am running an Intel 320 SSD, but I can't imagine a different hard drive would change the voltage to the processor in any significant way.

Yes, I am using Power Manager (running on Max. Perf.) on A/C power.

 

Ok, just seems like everyone who does have the lower voltage is running an SSD. I'm waiting for someone else with an HDD to chime in to see if they are at 0.806 as well.

If you drop it down to low performance does the number drop for you?

 

Well I'm running an msata ssd and a hdd.

 

I have essentially the same configuration as vinueuro, but by CPU idles at 0.755V-0.760 (using CPU-Z). I think yours was 0.765V and I haven't seen that on my machine. Is that measurement error? How could the same CPU idle at different voltage levels...?

 

Intel 80GB Soda Creek MSATA SSD + 7,200 RPM stock hard drive here, with an i7. Voltage at idle is 0.786V.

 

I mentioned last week I would post a test result from installing the new Renice 120GB msata drive into my X220T i7.

I ended up using Seagate DiscWizard to copy partitions from my original drive, then used Gparted to re-align the SSD partitions.

Here is the first test I ran -

 

Post the Crystaldiskmark.

 

Was about to do that one...

 

Has anyone had problems on the X220 with the integrated camera.

Shown as "integrated camera" by Ricoh on the W520, but listed as UVC Device in the X220? Couldn't get it going with tech support today so onsite service (well spent xtra $60 on sale) is coming out tomorrow with a replacement camera.

 

Very good for a mSata. I am impressed. My mSata (Intel) should be in early next week. I will be very happy if it is this fast.

 

That performance is pretty good, slightly better than the Intel 80gb but that's to be expected considering the larger size (larger ssd's always perform better). I'd still however go for an Intel ssd over just about any other (Samsung definitely and maybe Crucial are exceptions, but they don't make msata's ssd's that perform well) for the sake of reliability. Hopefully Renice is good in that department, but we don't know yet.

 

So we have .75 (i7), .765 (i5), .786 (i7) and .806 (i5).

You guys all on factory installs? That is really the only difference I can think of. I'm not using power manager, but even on the lowest windows power setting it is at .805.

It probably isn't a huge deal, but these are little things that fester at me till I find the answer. Probably like 15 or so minutes of battery life between the differences.

 

Where are the #s for the 80gb Intel posted?

I looked periodically over the last few weeks, did the auto-notify on the Egg, but decided it wasn't worth that much of a hassle.
All my material is backed up, and I like the capacity headroom and the speed. In a couple of years I'll likely look to move to a faster model.

 

BIOS version might also make a difference.