ThinkPad X220 Info/Ordering/Shipping Thread

Thought you ordered one long time ago. Did you get a good deal on that?

 

Finally, after a month, it has shipped. According to USP, it's going to be here on the 25th, which is of course a day I won't be home all day.

 

Thanks for the advice on the x220 vs x1. I'm leaning towards keeping it.

Lenovo just charged my credit card today, so I'm expecting it'll ship out soon.

 

Nah I didn't order, I saved as price quote. It was student discount + 15% off + free 4gb ram upgrade, so 776.79 before tax, 854.65 after recycling fee and tax (CA sucks). Now that I ordered I'm not sure if getting the i5-2410m was necessary over the i3, but oh well.

I am leaving on the 26th so I really hope I don't run into what ZaZ is putting up with. A month and then a week in shipping would cut it really close...

 

Like dhill, I ordered an i7 during the "doorbuster" sale. $930 before tax.

Quantity Part No. Description Item Price Line Total
1 4286CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM

$930.18 $930.18
0A69630 SBB INTCR I7-2620M PROC USB3.0
45M3092 VBB GENWIN7HOMEPREM64
0A59833 SBB GEN WIN7 HOME PRM64 EN
0A69642 SBB 12.5PRMHDLDBCLTDPYMBBBRDAN
45M4572 VBB 4GBPC3-10600DDR3 1333SODMM
45M4839 SBB KEYBOARDUS ENGLISH
0A69643 SBB FINGERPRINT READER
0A69657 SBB CAMERA, HD 720P
0A69654 SBB 320GB HRDDSK DRV,7200RPM
0A68287 SBB NO MSSDRIVE
0A69647 SBB TP BATTERY 29++(9CELL)
41W1787 SBB CPK NORTH AMERICA
0A68261 SBB BLUETOOTH 3.0
0A68255 SBB IC ADVN 6205 2X2AGN
44C7950 SBB INT WRLSSWDAREANTWRK UPGR
0A69659 SBB LANGUAGE PACK US ENGLISH
40Y9213 + 1YR TPP

I made my order at 1:25 AM EST on the 17th, got my shipment confirmation yesterday, the 20th, and according to UPS it arrived in Anchorage yesterday at 1:47 PM (5:47 PM EST)

 

A surprising number of X220s with i7s are popping up on eBay...

 

Before you go ahead and order the x220 with an i7, if you're thinking about gaming on it (e.g. civ 5), then suggest you take a look at this:

Uncontrollable CPU Throttling (e.g. Civ 5) - Lenovo Community

Some of these issues I've also mentioned on these forums. Just thought it worth knowing if you are thinking of taking the plunge...

I can also replicate this semi-permanent throttling by running 3dmark06. After doing a run of 3dmark06 the cpu generally throttles permanently down to 800mhz after the 1st,2nd or 3rd 3dmark06 run. Interestingly, I'm not convinced it's heat related. For example, I ran HWinfo32 the whole time from a cold boot, and the cpu temp only maxed out in the high 60s, but the cpu still throttled from 3ghz down to 800mhz on the third 3dmark06 run...the plot thickens. the 3dmark score pre-throttling was over 4,000. Post throttling it was in the low 2000s.

Petrov.

 

Sad to hear about the problem. Sounds like you need to throttle someone at Lenovo

 

Does this problem only happens while gaming? or will it happen in any other scenario? I really dont play any games thats why I'm asking.

Update: I found this thread here that mentions it even throttles when watching youtube videos or listening to music and thats with the i5 processor it seems.

Another thread worth reading here.

 

I don't know, but I can't see why it would be limited to gaming. The frustrating part is it throttles all the way down from 3ghz to 800mhz in one go, so the user experience is awful when it throttles. Also, it stays throttled down once it's started until you cold boot, even a soft reboot doesn't rethrottle you back to 3ghz!!

Petrov.

 

So is this problem only on the i7 processor and can this be fixed by Lenovo in the future by providing a Bios update? This sucks. Now I have an X220 with an i5 that I received on Friday unopened in the box (it's the order I'm going to return) and I'll be getting the one with i7 by this Tuesday or Wednesday. The i7 actually cost me $7 less than the one with i5. Is this really a big problem? should I keep the one with i5 instead, no usb 3.0 either on that one?

 

The throttling issue seems unfortunate. I had similar issues on with my Core2Duo ULV that I only solved with 'Notebook Hardware Control', but I know of no new similar application for newer CPUs.
I ended up cancelling the i5 one to avoid restocking and return shipping fees after nobody I knew wanted it, and hope that decision pans out. USB charging would have been nice, but considering how much the other upgrades usually cost on the doorbuster deal ($68 for 1DIMM 4GB, $60 for 320gb 7200rpm) I can't really say I regret it...yet.
It seem that the throttling is not limited to the i7 chip, either, as mello posted, and on balance it probably won't be nearly as bad what I had to deal with with my old laptop. We should prolly just wait-and-see.

BTW: just got shipping confirmation. Hopefully will be here by the end of the wk.

 

ah crap. won't be hear this wknd. hope ups requires a signature. what are your experiences with that everyone?

ah: never mind.

 

Yeah, hopefully if this is a big deal and gets a lot of complaints, it gets resolved in some way by Lenovo or by doing some tweaking around. Good to here your order has shipped. They do require signature, even though it doesn't mean they won't leave it at your door or with a neighbor or just take it with them (steal) and just say you signed for it. Had a bad experience recently with UPS so thats my opinion about them now...LOL.

 

I tested this with the i7-2620;
at the Power Manager, turned Performance slider to Max (all the way to the left), then click on the little fan icon at the button that reads Lenovo Turbo Boost+.
Ran CPUZ and the Hardware monitor;
CPUZ consistently reports 2691.xMhz, 27 multiplier and Bus speed 99.7;
then I started CineBench R11.5 64bits; CPU score is 3.05.

You can also run perfmon;
remove all existing counters, then choose CPU frequency, set the y-axis max to something like 4000, then choose whichever graph type you'd like to see.

I don't see any throttling issue - but the fan is loud.

In power manager, I then set it to energy saver - and I see the perfmon charts dipped to below 1000, while CPU-Z still shows 2691.x;
ie CPU-Z seems to only know what the rated frequency is.
see this link
Different ways to determine CPU speed in Windows XP or in Windows Server 2003

addendum: this fired up my curiosity;
Intel Core i7 2620M Notebook Processor - Notebookcheck.net Tech

theoretically it'll go beyond 2.7GHz to 3.2 or 3.4 on 1 or 2 cores;
I ran Prime95 and set it as a single thread - but i don't see any of the cores going beyond 2.7;
does that mean that I have to do something in BIOS...

 

Can I suggest you download 3dmark06 and run that test say 3-4 times continuously and back-to-back and then see what the i7 is running at when you finish those? My CPU doesn't throttle down to 800mhz running prime 95, but does using 3dmark06 a few times or civ 5 - which is weird, because the temps in prime95 go a lot higher than with 3dm or civ 5!

Petrov.

 

Could you both try wprime too? Very easy to use.

 

Well, in one of those threads linked (i think by petrov) some users reported the cpu not throttling in benchmarks tests, but doing it during regular use like playing games, watching videos and such. Ill try these tests anyway when I get the laptop this week and see what happens.

 

Some interesting results. I have rune a wPrime test (1024M). Core 0/1 reached 95/93C respectively, but the CPU did NOT throttle down on the CPU benchmarking (nor did it when I ran prime 95 for half an hour).

HOWEVER, running Civ 5 or 3dmark06 will result in semi-permanent (ie no rethrottling backup without a cold boot!!) throttling down typically within as little as 10-15 minutes (or less!) - even though the CPUs don't even get to the mid80s temperature running those graphic-intensive tasks. This leads me to believe there is some other trigger on the semi-permanent throttling other than CPU temp.

The likely suspect to my mind is the GPU core speed. When I run the CPU benchmarks (wprime, prime 95), the GPU stays at 650mhz. When I play Civ 5 or run 3dmark06, HWinfo32 indicates that the GPU core rose to 1300mhz (2x stock speed). I wonder if anyone else agrees this could be triggering the semi-perm throttling?

Petrov.

 

35 continual minutes of wprime and both my cores never went higher than 82 Celsius*, in around a 23 degree ambient (I guess), which will be similar to yours. I'm just mentioning this because I know your machine is still pretty new and easily replaceable by Lenovo, should you desire.


* i5-2410, factory install, max performance (turbo).

 

Petrov, great input on the problem about the possibility of the gpu being the cause of the throttling problem. Im also following your other threads in the lenovo forum, please keep us updated in how it goes with the lenovo engineer. Also, did you already try updating the Bios as suggested by the lenovo tech in the other forum? If you did, did it help in some way?

Now, can someone else try the same test as petrov by using graphic intensive bechmark or app to see if it will cause the same issue? Maybe david1274 might try it on his machine. You can read more about how petrov is replicating the throttling issue in this thread.. You should perform the 3dmark test 3 to 4 times back to back to start seeing if the cpu is throttling or not. Please post the results here or on that other thread at the lenovo forum. Thanks in advance to anyone doing this.

 

Thanks mello, hope this proves of some use to someone somewhere! I was planning on doing the bios update after / if the lenovo engineer pays me a visit tomorrow. Wanted to try and eliminate causes one by one. Will keep you posted.

Petrov.

 

Downloaded 3dMark (287MB's!) but got the message "No DirectX 11 support. Found feature level 10_1".

 

Ordered my x220 system April 17th, then added 3 year TPP on April 21st. Original ship date was May 17th. Adding the warranty moved it to May 25th. Just called, and was told the new date is June 7th. That's a month and a half!

This laptop better be worth the wait!

By the way, I would cancel, but I ordered the slice battery with it for only $157 US. The slice seems to be what's holding up the shipment. On another note, if you just want 3 years of TPP without the onsite support, it's MUCH cheaper.

Part Number Desc Price
41C9340 + 3YR TPP $139.00

It took me a while to search for the part number, so I thought it may be useful to some here.

 

I was searching for this for a while, so figured I would post this for everyone else.

Clean Install Directions from Lenovo:

Lenovo Support - Windows 7 Clean Installation - ThinkPad T420, T420s, T520, W520, X220 and X220 Tablet

 

By the way, there are some interesting differences in the extended warranty programs and part numbers:

The basic extended warranty costs more but provides fewer returns.

ThinkPad X220 4291 3YR Onsite + 3YR TPP 41C9344
ThinkPad X220 4291 3YR Onsite 3YR TPP Basic 0A34684
ThinkPad X220 4291 3YR Onsite 4YR Onsite + 4YR TPP 41U4785
ThinkPad X220 4291 3YR Onsite 4YR Onsite + 4YR TPP Basic 0A34686
ThinkPad X220 4291 3YR Onsite 5YR Onsite + 5YR TPP Basic 04W7010

ThinkPad X220 Tablet 4299 3YR Onsite 3YR TPP Basic 0A34624
ThinkPad X220 Tablet 4299 3YR Onsite 3YR TPP Tablet 04W7148
ThinkPad X220 Tablet 4299 3YR Onsite 4YR Depot + 4YR TPP 04W7149
ThinkPad X220 Tablet 4299 3YR Onsite 4YR Depot + 4YR TPP Basic 0A34625
ThinkPad X220 Tablet 4299 3YR Onsite 4YR Onsite + 4YR TPP Basic 0A34626
ThinkPad X220 Tablet 4299 3YR Onsite 4YR Onsite + 4YR TPP Tablet 04W7150

 

I spoke with a sales rep about this in April and the gist is something like this:

TPP Basic: Only 1 Accidental damage claim, after this claim, your warranty will still remain valid, however it essentially becomes just a standard warranty w/o TPP.
TPP: No limit on number of accidental damage claims
Both: Warranty support for the duration of the contract.

 

Placed my x220 order (i5, 6 cell) on 5/12 and will receive it tomorrow, 5/24.

 

It's 3dmark06 you want, not 3dmark vantage or 3dmark11 (which you downloaded!!)!

Petrov.

 

Do you mean this? It's even bigger at 581 MB Surely not

http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmark06/download/

 

That's the one!

Petrov.

 

For US people, Going to buy a thinkpad x220 laptop for my mom. but am still thinking about
it. Is the base price really $949? or is it really true that this price is a sale price?
will it really be $1395 at some point? thanks for future answers.

-zo

 

$949 is the "regular" base price. You may increase that base price when selecting "upgrade" items during on-line configuration. At check-out, you may apply a discount coupon to reduce the final price -- 10%, 12%, 15%, 18%, or deeper. (Lenovo calls this "additional discount" to remind you that $949 is "already" a discounted price. ) Watch out for those time-limited coupons that are offered throughout the year, particularly on holidays.

 

Ok, back in a week when I've finished downloading it

 

Petrov, I saw the other thread and saw what happens after the engineer worked on your laptop. So is this really a problem that only affect the i7 and not the i5? Do you think i should keep the laptop with tje i5 and return the one with the i7 instead? Thanks.

 

Hi Mello. I've no idea if this will affect i5's as well as i7's - but given I think you have both an i5 and an i7, why don't you test them both to see if you can replicate the problem?

Simply download 3dmark06, set the laptop's performance profile to max turbo (or power optimized) in power manager, run hwinfo32 in the background. Then run about 4-5 (to be safe) full runs of 3dmark06 consecutively with minimal breaks in between, and at the end of it see in hwinfo32 if your i5 and/or i7 are running at 800mhz...

It'd be good if some other people could test this on both i7 and i5 machines, and shouldn't take more than an hour of your time...

Petrov.

PS Alternatively, if you have Civ 5, just play that for an hour and see what your cpu is running at at the end of it...

 

Has anyone checked whether this throttling occurs in linux. That is if it occurs in linux as well as windows it is more likely hardware related.

 

Well.... the x220t order just got delayed again!
dunno what is going on but for reference, i placed the orde 5/6. supposely it was to take 8 days... instead got an estimate of 6/8. but the last week they upped it to 5/26. I just checked today and its set for 6/16!!! why do they do things like this?? i already got all my accersories in previous shipments and I just am waiting for the unit! Now i gotta call... and its late... so either stay up another 30 mins and maybe oversleep or wait till tomorrow and have others jump ahead of me in line.... sigh..

 

Sounds good. Actually, I only got the i5 at the moment and the i7 hasnt get to me yet. I have not open the box yet because since it is going to be a return. I really dont want to open them both and then when its time to return it be charged restocking fee because of it. Ill see what I can do when I get back from work. Thanks for your finding on this and for your suggestions.

 

So that $949 wont get higher anytime soon? I am well aware of the
ecoupons but thanks for the reminder tho. very well said too. thanks! +1

-zo

 

Unfortunately (or fortunately), tech prices seem to fluctuate quite a bit both up and down. You just have to find what you think is the best deal on the day you want to buy and take the plunge. Can't second-guess it tomorrow or next week.

 

That's no good it got delayed by a large amount there. So has it been shipped, or it's still in Lenovo?

In other news, I finally got my order placed through $1070.20usd, excellent price. The US orderer will place it then I guess sometime soon I'll have status updates like the rest in here

Objective is to have it before I fly out on 6/25th, So It should be ok

 

In case anyone else has been checking the status of customs in KY. My package which arrived at KY on 5/22 has received an import scan and has been given a delivery date. Hopefully Lenovo sent in the appropriate customs forms and there won't be a delay.

 

Mine says it's supposed to be here tomorrow, but hasn't left Louisville. Hmmm...

 

As long as there's no delay in customs once the import scan starts, next day delivery seems to be the norm for most people.

 

We shall see.

 

Newbee would appreciate your help.

I have two X220s in route but only need one. I chatted with a nice lady who said to contact her when it arrives to arrange a return with no restocking.

I assume I'll pay for return shipping but want to make sure I avoid 15% restocking. Any sage advice on what to do/not do?

PS - I've enjoyed reading everyone's postings ... I'm both excited (about the possibilities) and afraid (about potential problems). Guess time will tell.

Thanks

 

What you did is sufficient. And you do not need to pay for return shipping as well. They'll send you a shipping label once you call back. Just keep them happy that you're sending back an unopened system and also bought one system as well.

 

Well I managed to call right at 9am est 3am my time and some guy came on and told me that my unit it scheduled to ship out the week of the 25th. So I guess I can throw the website's estimate out of the window. Iam hoping it ships by wednesday so I'll get it by friday avoiding the holidays but not exactly countning on it due to my experience.

 

Mine's shipping by that time frame also according to Lenovo chat rep. Ordered 5/6.

Such a long wait.