ThinkPad X220 (i/T) Owners Thread

Gom, my X220 came with SP1 pre-installed, by the way. I remember you mentioned yours didn't (I believe)

 

I'm also sorry to hear about the issues you've been having with your x220s. I had the jittery trackpoint problem at first, but between updating the driver, disabling the touchpad, doing a fresh install of Win 7 on an SSD, installing SP1, and allowing it to finish indexing my trackpoint works great. Sorry I can't be more specific as to what fixed it.

There's a tiny amount of light bleed in the lower right corner of my screen, but it's really no more than on any other LCD I've worked with. I only notice it on boot.

 

I hope I'm not scaring anyone with my machine. Defects happen, I just happened to get two lcd related ones. As far as the keyboard acting weirdly, I think it may be the part of my hand brushing against the touchpad while using the trackpoint. Will have to wait and see.

Short palmrest and continuous fan should be consistent for everyone. I haven't done anything even remotely close to pushing it. It comes on regardless of what you're doing within a few minutes of starting up.

 

Anyone here gotten their x220 Tablet yet?

 

Btw, the status lights below the screen are very dim. Is it only me?

 

The status lights are about as bright as on my last thinkpad, that is to say that they're dim and don't distract from the screen.

 

That's not a bug, it's a feature.

 

huh?

Looks like heat might be an issue. My machine idles in the low-mid 60s and climbs into the low-70s with moderate load. For refrence the T400 idles in the mid-high 40s.

 

Mine idles between 35C and 45C. What are you using to measure by the way? Thinkpad Fan Control kinda sucks, especially it's RPM monitor. It updates only once every 5-10 seconds or so. And SpeedFan doesn't seem to be able to measure RPMs on the x220

 

Just that bright status lights are distracting, and not very useful.

 

Oh GomJabber, since you say you don't have these issues (I'm assuming the fan issue as well), can you tell us your BIOS version? Maybe you got one with an older BIOS since you were one of the first to receive yours

 

Mine's idling around 40C now too. I'm using tpfancontrol to monitor.

Btw, when you look through the grill, is your heatsink flush with the bottom? Mine's a little higher, and I can see the base plate and a little of the copper below that.

 

@thecrafter
I've got BIOS version 1.04.

 

Well there we go. So pretty much confirmed (lol, one person not having the issue all of us are is far from confirmed, but yeah..) it's a BIOS thing. All of us have 1.11 and have the constant fan running, you have 1.04 and do not.

 

Mine is the same.

So vin, does your fan rev up every few seconds and back down, or stays constant? Take a close listen please.

 

Update on the defective screen, there also seems to be some kind of burn in effect. Initially when a dark image was displayed the were was one vertical line in the left of the screen, and one horizontal toward the bottom. These lines were a few shades lighter than the black image. I thought it this was a straightforward defect, but they were gone when I checked later. Now there's a wide line on the left exactly the size of my task bar (I have it on the left bc of the aspect ratio) that isn't going away.

crafter, my fan doesn't rev up and down. It's around 3500rpm according to tpfancontrol. Sometimes goes to 3800 when loaded. BIOS 1.11.

 

Be good to see pics. It isn't possibly an artifact of the Power Saving in the Intel Graphics drivers is it?

 

The two desktop IPS displays I've owned have the same sort of short-term ghosting. I'm not sure, but that may be an inherent (or at least common) trait of IPS.

 

It's still subtle enough that I don't want to even bother considering my not great camera. It's getting worse though, I'm starting to be able to see the outlines of the icons in the tray and the firefox toolbars are beginning to burn in as well. Light bleed at the top and bottom seem to be getting worse. I showed it to someone in my house to confirm I'm not imagining all this and they said they could clearly see the light bleed.

EDIT: akavlie, thanks for the note. Maybe the ghosting is normal then. I wish that were the extent of the issues.

 

Sounds like your screen has some serious issues. Ghosting is quite noticeable in some situations on my IPS monitors, but it's typically relegated to the edges of light windows showing up on dark backgrounds for a few minutes. And you've got noticeable light bleed to boot... I'd return it post-haste.

 

I don't think they'll let me return it for this without a restocking fee, but I'll try. Ironically, I have an identical build X220 unopened in the next room. Before I found out about their price match policy, I canceled the first order and reordered for a lower price. Cancellation didn't go through and they shipped together. They're paying for shipping on that one and not charging a restocking fee though since it was their mistake. Maybe they'll let me keep the unopened one and send this defective one back (doubt it). Already setup a case for the screen and bezel to be replaced, should receive the service box tomorrow or day after.

The ghosting isn't limited to edges, it's all over the screen. Maybe crafter and Gom can see if this is something they notice in their machines. The taskbar is an easy one to check for it on.

 

I don't notice any burn-in or ghosting

edit: actually there is a little burn-in, nothing really noticeable though. And for the backlight bleed, I have a bit as well, only on the bottom of the screen. It seems to be because some parts of the monitor are tighter than others. You can make it worse by pushing on the bottom part of the monitor panel, for example. It will cause more bleed

 

OK I can't take this fan. It revs up exactly every 5 seconds and the higher rev only lasts a second or less. The fan spins so fast it can't that there's a blockage or it would make the sound every revolution, but it does it only once every ~15,000 revolutions. Since it's exactly 5 seconds I'm thinking it's a BIOS thing but two or three of you say the speed remains constant for you so I dunno. But if others also say theirs is constant I'll return it and get a refund. Think I'm done with Lenovo. Numerous problems with both machines I've gotten from them. It's too bad because this laptop is really good if it wasn't for the fan and backlight bleed (I watch a lot of movies... noticeable in dark scenes).

 

Simple solution I'm using to just minimize noise even though i don't have the fluctuation problem.. use tpfancontrol and manually set it to 2. Keeps it at just under 3k rpm. The noise is a lot lower even though it's only 500rpm less, and it still stays around 40C. (with bios control over the fan, it's now dropped to ~35C).

This is a very obvious issue and since a previous BIOS version didn't have it, we can expect it to be fixed in a future update. Just use tpfancontrol to control it till then.

 

If it was me, I would demand a brand new model, rather than do any kind of repair- or a FULL refund. You absolutely have that right, I'm sure.

Anyhow, mine is due today.

BTW, just phoned up UK customer services and they said that if for any reason you are not happy with the machine, call them within seven days and they will pay for return shipping and give you a full refund. Not sure if this peace of mind guarantee applies in the US though.

 

Is the so called Outdoor screen IPS ? I find it hard to find out which is the IPS ?

 

Is the X220T out in the UK?

 

+1 on this. Even the Lenovo supported user forum is sadly lacking in responses to questions. I've been considering an X220T, but am starting to have second thoughts!

 

Hello All!I really really need your supported from you.
I from VietNam.The weather in VietNam always is 35-40 degree C.My country so hot,very hot,hot hot and hot
So I want buy an laptop may be use 18/24 hours in day.Will X220 satisfy my requirement?

 

If temperatures are your concern then I don't think you need to worry with the X220. I used my T61 in Hong Kong at 35c and I was overheating not the machine! The new X220 should run cooler than the older machines so it will be fine in those climates.

 

Thank you so much!My work is coding,create application,web design..I usually sit in front of computer 18/24 hours.Will be X220 harmful for my eyes?

 

I would not worry about your eyes. With your lack of exercise, your heart will give out long before your eyes. You need to get out more.

Bronsky

 

Just received mine. First Lenovo I've ever used. I'm at work so I couldn't play with it too much. The only issue I'm seeing is what seems like a lot of flex when I push the Power and Thinkvantage buttons. Is this normal? It seems to be raised up a bit in this area also. The rest of the keyboard seems solid.

 

Can someone with a default unadulterated X220 factory install please post the exported Power Manager - Power Plan configurations (for all 5 profiles). When installing Power Manager driver & util from Lenovo's site the profiles are not the same as factory.

Thanks.

Also, Laptop runs awesome! Get a the similar 'burn in' effect that last for no longer then a couple minutes if you fully discharge the laptop (battery out, unplugged, and hold down the power button for 10 seconds) it starts to go away.

Installed Intel 320 160gb SSD and 8gb RAM with a fresh install of Win 7 Ultimate, did not use Lenovo's Intel HD Drivers, set up for UEFI only. So far no problems, works great, fast, 5.6 Windows Experience Points. 9.8 sec boot up without tweaking services yet or rapid boot.

 

Lenovo's 12" sleeve seems to fit really well... excellent job

source: X220 Serie - Seite 176

I guess the tablet could fit nicelely with the extended battery then...

 

Well my situation seems to have worked out nicely. Lenovo agreed to take back the defective machine without any restocking fee, and I'm now using the second one. No bezel gap in this one and very minor bleed only at the bottom of the screen, what's probably considered normal. One mouse button is very loose and rattles so I'll swap in the keyboard from the first machine.

Btw, this is the first model Thinkpad I've owned (T41, T60, T400, X200T, X61T) that's got no battery wobble.

 

Does anyone here have Elpida or Samsung RAM in dual channel? I have one stick of Elpida 2GB and one of Samsung 2GB with the exact same specs to the T, timing and everything, but CPU-Z has does not show they are in dual channel. I've read that it's a myth that the sticks have to be identical for DC as long as they have the same specs, which these do.

The only thing I can think of is that the Elpida is 2Rx8 and Samsung 1Rx8 (I think x8, but it's 1R for sure, whatever that means. But it seems to have to do with the number of RAM chips on each side)

 

Is it the right mouse button? Same here. Guess that means it's normal

Oh you say it didn't happen in the first machine. Nevermind

 

Yea right button. The other machine doesn't have it though. It's not unique to the X220, I've had this is in one or two other models. The parts page shows three keyboard suppliers as usual, I'll note the fru's when swapping them; keyboard feel is the same between both.

 

Did you order it with 4gb? I was going to just get another PC3 1333 2gb stick from ebay since they're pretty cheap, but what you posted is my concern. Maybe it's better to just get a matched pair?

 

IT IS HERE! I can join my own thread! Time to install the ssd and do a clean install of Win 7 Ultimate! And add the 8GB of ram.

 

Great. How is your opinion or pro's/cons of build quality and design so far?

 

Wll I got the ssd and ram installed, and am liking it a lot. It is lighter than the Asus 3810T next to it, and everything seems put together nicely. The hingws on the screen are strong, the keyboard is nice. Like it!

 

Sounds good.. Ups man can't come any quicker

 

And also just my luck my Asus usb optical drive has just broken, so now I have to clean install Windows from usb drive. Currently following this guide, the .iso download is at 21%.

 

Out for delivery........

 

Jay- Hows the screen? I heard a few people complain about backlight bleeding and ghosting.

 

So far mine looks good, can't really tell since I still have to install an OS. Here are some unedited pics of it:

 

And now I just noticed the computer did not come with the Windows sticker with the key on the bottom of it. But I do have a Win 7 Ultimate cd from school with a key.

 

I missed it the first time too. It's under the battery.