ThinkPad X220 Info/Ordering/Shipping Thread

I live in Portland so no sales tax here. I agree about the i5 vs i7. I was looking for i5-2520 (2510 and below don't have the new AES instructions) and just the 6-cell but the deal was only with those upgrades to I took them . I personally don't mind the battery sticking out but maybe I can sell this and get a 6-cell.

Good to hear about your other x220s'! I kinda realize that only the most vocal people post and maybe over-analyze and 99% are probably perfectly happy with their x220s, but still the doubts linger until I see it for myself

 

Don't get me wrong. Thats an amazing deal. Best I've seen so far (especially without the tax)! I just couldn't wait because I needed a new computer, so I got it with the Barnes and Noble student discount + a coupon code. If theres anything wrong with your computer, just call up your sales rep to organize a return. They should pay for restocking and shipping. Thats why I experienced 2 of these computers because my first one had a construction issue.

At the price you got it for, I recommend you might as well get a warranty for it (accidental protection). I've seen so many computers die in college that its definitely worth it. Even if you're extremely careful, all it needs is one idiot to pull your power cord by accident.

 

Advice well taken about the warranty and I've been contemplating just that. I hope they don't slap me with the 15% restocking fee just because they might consider a problem too minor!

 

I finally ordered my x220 yesterday. Est. shipping date: 07/21/11 (!!) Hope this is totally unrealistic (since i didn't even configure it with a SDD)
Specs: i7-2620M, 4GB (1DIMM), IPS, Webcam, Win 7 Home Prem 64bit, Fingerprint Reader, 320GB 7200RPM HDD, 9-cell, Intel 6205 2x2, BLUETOOTH 3.0

 

Hey zapho,

Good work on the price! I just ordered one also on June 8th and got that exact config for 960+tax using the amex deal. I wish I had done it a day earlier.. apparently it was even cheaper!

I am a little nervous about these problems too. I hope everything works out this is going to be my main computer
PS: Mine is estimated to ship the 24th. I hope I get the same email you did

 

got the email that my x220t shipped yesterday morning. gonna check online site for the status when I'm home

order date: 5/11/11
ship date: 6/11/11

 

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)

 

Lol, which state is that??? Very slick.
If it helps, I haven't encountered any of those problems with my doorbuster. The trackpad is pretty crappy/almost useless though.

 

Just be adamant and hold your ground. Your sales rep would love to rebook and order for you also (adds to their sales also i believe).

Lastly, if you need to contact anyone for lenovo, call their sales line. They pick up the phone the fastest.

 

Great deal now...
Up to 25% off Lenovo ThinkPads + 8% Cash Back - RedFlagDeals.com

 

Customs is still giving Lenovo grief in Lexington.

My W520 was in and out of Lexington in a day. Customs now puts reasonably long holds on Lenovo products.

Someone at Lenovo must have angered someone at Customs.

 

From my shipment (Out for delivery! Can't wait!):

Louisville, KY, United States
06/10/2011 3:42 P.M. Departure Scan
06/10/2011 11:54 A.M. Import Scan
06/10/2011 1:44 A.M. Arrival Scan

Less than 2 hours total...

 

Mine finally shipped! Wait a minute...

China 06/11/2011 1:20 A.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS
06/11/2011 8:34 P.M. Origin Scan
Shanghai, China 06/11/2011 8:40 P.M. Export Scan
Shanghai, China 06/13/2011 3:43 A.M. Departure Scan
06/12/2011 8:05 P.M. Arrival Scan
Anchorage, AK, United States 06/12/2011 9:32 P.M. Departure Scan
Louisville, KY, United States 06/13/2011 7:41 A.M. Arrival Scan
Shanghai, China 06/14/2011 3:37 A.M. Departure Scan

 

I have been about to pull the trigger on an X220 for a month now and have been hesitant due to both the reported problems (examples above) and, frankly, because people are reporting such amazingly low prices that I don't seem to be able to figure out how to obtain.

A few questions, please:

1. What is the Amex "daily wish deal?" How does one employ it and is it generally the best discount deal around?

2. What is the Barnes and Noble student discount? Is it stackable with Lenovo's own web discounts and things like LogicBuy's 10% off deals?

3. Any pointers for monitoring for the best deals?

I thought I had a great opportunity today, using the app. $450 off on the Core i5 versions +10% of for the Logicbuy coupon, and the 25% "doorbuster" sale on the Core i7 version (which came out almost the same price as the Core i5 because so many "options" of the i5 versions are standard on the i7), but with only the IPS screen option, BT, Webcam, Intel 6205 wifi, 9 volt battery, the i5-2410 version priced out at $1,070 (without sales tax) and the i7 priced at $1,187. These prices are $200-$300 more than the prices reported here.

Thanks much for the pointers on this.

Last question: is the consensus that the early bugs are either worked out or were overblown and at most occurred on a small percentage of units, whose owners were frequent posters here? I'm not really that concerned with fan noise, or even throttling if it is likely solved with driver updates, but screen ghosting/bleeding, overheating and the msata SSD slot not working would be total deal breakers for me.

Thanks so much for your comments. I realize there are earlier posts about these, but I'm looking for up to date comments, as the situation is clearly fluid.

 

OK, apparently only a random sample are pulled for customs. I missed on my W520 so I suppose it is acceptable Karma to be caught the second time around.

 

The AMEX deal required that you pay with an AMEX credit card. It was posted on slickdeals.net. You'd want to keep any eye on that site (and especially the 'Hot Deals' subforum). Also search for AMEX daily wish deals on google to signup for email spam from AMEX. They have very good deals but very small quantities so they run out in seconds (I only got thru once to get a PS3 for $200).

My understanding is that ghosting on IPS screens seems extremely rare (i've only see one or two complain) so I'm not worried about this unless I end up seeing it on my machine.

I don't think there is an overheating issue (not widespread anyway). Just a fan noise issue which seems to be highly subjective to who is using it.

As for the mSATA, it is very expensive and stock quantities are also limited. So I fear that not many have actually bought it and therefore the issue is not that widely reported. Some see it only with the i7 models (conflicting with the USB 3.0 hardware), while some seem to see it with 2x4GB RAM and not with 1x4GB. And some have it working perfectly fine with i7 and 2x4GB RAM.

Basically a mixed bag for everyone of the issues. So it's a bit of a gamble.

I'm getting mine by end of the week so I'll try to post back on what I see.

 

China 06/11/2011 1:20 A.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS
06/11/2011 8:34 P.M. Origin Scan
Shanghai, China 06/11/2011 8:40 P.M. Export Scan
Shanghai, China 06/13/2011 3:43 A.M. Departure Scan
06/12/2011 8:05 P.M. Arrival Scan
Anchorage, AK, United States 06/12/2011 9:32 P.M. Departure Scan
Louisville, KY, United States 06/13/2011 7:41 A.M. Arrival Scan
Shanghai, China 06/14/2011 3:37 A.M. Departure Scan

I wonder if the second "departure scan" in red is the customs paperwork.

 

Thank you so much for that incredibly comprehensive and informed response to ALL of my questions! Please do report in as to your experience, and I will get myself hooked up to those sites and try to snag me a bargain. I don't have an amex, but my wife does, so I can do it. Do you know anything about the Barnes and Noble discounts or if Lenovo offers education discounts on top of their other discounts?

+1 rep for you if you can get one with so few posts. If not, I owe you one! (EDIT: it did accept the point, but they take a while to show up. If you don't see it soon, let me know and I will have a mod do it. Not a big deal, but I always take more credence in members with a lot of posts and a lot of rep pts.) Welcome to NBR; you will be a great member

 

$1187 for the fully equipped I7 is a great price.

Some of the numbers quoted here are employee purchase deals with discounts and unless you are going to change employers you won't get those.

 

Go to:
Lenovo - Barnes and Noble Gold

Sign up for a free account and then sign in. Buy a laptop at a steep discount, no extra steps required.

Oh and at the checkout, look on the right side for a link to add a 5-10% discount to the order. Yesterday it was 5% for anything, today on my T420s they gave me 10% extra.

EDIT: I called Lenovo (number and extension at the top of the page in the order screen for reps with the barnes and noble thing) today and they redid my order so it included the 10%. I originally ordered last week when it was just a 5% coupon code on top of the barnes and noble discount.

 

Thanks but don't worry about the rep stuff lol. I don't really pay attention to it. I don't know much about B&N or the lenovo education discount but looks like bogatyr answered that for you.

 

Found a better deal using the Mastercard Marketplace which lets you access Lenovo "Corporate Perks" if you use your Mastercard + a 10% stackable coupon ( USX10XT420S0613). I configured:

Intel Core i7-2620M | Windows 7 Home Premium 64 | 12.5" Premium HD | 4 GB DDR3 | Fingerprint Reader | 320 GB 7200rpm HDD | 9 Cell | BT | Intel 6205 | Standard Warranty

for $1,009.03 + tax. That might make it the best current deal. Happy bargain-hunting

Edit: Seems to be the seem deal as bogatyr

 

Would be nice if they just had a set price and that was it. Rather than everyone jumping through hoops just to find the best deal.

 

That keeps people looking.

 

Thanks to all of you for giving me so many helpful links for better discounts - and to the person who said I had gotten a great deal on my own, lol. One follow up about this post regarding the B&N program - but my question would apply to the others as well - are you saying that if you call to order from Lenovo and mention B&N's discount program or, for that matter, Master Card's program, might they phone reps give you that pricing without requiring you to go through the sponsor's website, join their club, etc? Or did I misunderstand your point. I have purchased Sony products with an education discount just by mentioning that my wife is a teacher and my daughter is in college; they never asked for proof of any kind!

 

No. You go to the discount site which will refer you to their link to Lenovo.com with their pricing. You add the purchase to the Cart, then save the cart, and then you call Lenovo CSR and give them the acct you created so they can see the saved cart and they will sell it to you at the saved cart price.

Now it has cost you nothing to actually have a sales rep looking out for you.

I have 2 accounts because each trip to the Lenovo.com site from a different retail partner requires a unique acct registration.

 

any way to apply that B&N on top ofa AMEX daily wish discoutn? I just bought a computer but if I could get extra money off that would be nice

 

Louisville, KY, United States 06/12/2011 9:55 A.M. Arrival Scan
Anchorage, AK, United States 06/11/2011 11:44 P.M. Departure Scan
06/11/2011 6:10 P.M. Arrival Scan
Shanghai, China 06/12/2011 1:46 A.M. Departure Scan
Shanghai, China 06/11/2011 6:55 P.M. Export Scan
06/11/2011 6:49 P.M. Origin Scan
China 06/10/2011 7:53 A.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS

Should I worry that there haven't been any updates since Sunday?

 

I know this has been said before, but I will emphasize it again. If you do not need USB 3.0, get the i5. The performance difference between the i7 and i5 are negligible.

Also, if RAM or HD are not free upgrades, UPGRADE THEM YOURSELF. Purchasing through lenovo is only going to be more expensive. 8 GB of ram can be bought for 50 and a 320 7200RPM Hitachi HD can be roughly 50 dollars. Please dont pay a premium price for Lenovo to install those when they're extremely easy to replace.

If you go through Lenovo, you pay more, and get less. If you upgrade yourself, you keep the original parts and also get a cheaper upgrade.

 

No, you buy it through the site still. The bit about calling them was if you needed to speak with someone about your order. They have different departments for different discounts. So you would want to call the number and extention at the top of the page where you check out at so you have the right extention.

 

Same here, no you should not be worried. UPS tracking is not very accurate since many orders are sent together. At ky is US customs, but the thing is your computer may not even be in ky yet it may be in AK. Keep me updated on yours!

 

Hmmmm.....I wonder where it really is!

Shanghai, China 06/13/2011 3:43 A.M. Departure Scan
Anchorage, AK 06/12/2011 8:05 P.M. Arrival Scan
Anchorage, AK 06/12/2011 9:32 P.M. Departure Scan
Louisville, KY, United States 06/13/2011 7:41 A.M. Arrival Scan
Shanghai, China 06/14/2011 3:37 A.M. Departure Scan

 

Same thing happened with mine and I suspect the second departure scan is related to customs information that is being requested. It seems only a random sample are pulled for customs. If I'm right they will be stuck in KY for a while.

 

Louisville, KY, United States 06/15/2011 12:13 P.M. Import Scan

Finally got that, and a scheduled delivery by the end of the day tomorrow.

 

Just received my x220 in the mail, it took them eight days from order to delivery, if anyone wants to know. I do live on the west coadt and I did select the $25 shipping option, however.

 

Ordered my X220 on june 10th, and it just shipped today, so it has been five days overall. Just hope I get a good ips screen without any noticeable backlight bleed.

 

Keep your fingers crossed!

My x220 with IPS has both backlight bleed and ghosting/burn-in. I haven't seen burn-in on an LCD in over a decade. This is my first Windows PC in a long time so this is a bit unsettling. Either Apple uses the best TN panels in the industry or Lenovo uses the worst IPS panels in the industry. Viewing angles left to right on my MacBook Pro 13" are about the same as on my x220 while the x220 has better viewing angles top to bottom. The MacBook is not IPS though so that is really saying something as it really shouldn't even come close. The iPad display on the other hand is an order of magnitude better than the x220 but it is a smaller display though. My second x220 should be arriving soon so we'll see how that one compares. I really expected more from a ThinkPad and a "Premium" display though. I can't help but to be disappointed.

 

Another EPP deal on Mastercard Marketplace. This time EPP -15% on Lenovo.

 

Sorry if this is the wrong place but how long does it take for an X220 to get to your door from China?
Thanks

 

depends on customs in Lexington.

about 3 days as everything is air and noon in Shanghai is late the day before in the States.

So 3 plus customs.

It is really very quick.

 

ordered 5/11/11
shipped 6/11/11
delivered 6/16/11

im happy

 

4286CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM
07/04/11 $932.95 $932.95
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
0A69644 SBB NO 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
0A68255 SBB IC ADVN 6205 2X2AGN
44C7950 SBB INT WRLSSWDAREANTWRK UPGR
0A69659 SBB LANGUAGE PACK US ENGLISH
40Y9214 1YR ONSITE + 1YR TPP

My upgrades are in bold.

I used the Amex deal plus the latest coupon code on the site, which cut another 10% off. Total: $932.95 + Tax

Good deal?

 

If you are happy with the price you paid and the machine itself, why do you care what someone else you're never going to meet thinks?

 

Well, because I don't have time to read the 200+ pages of the thread and see what kind of deals were being offered and if I made out on the good end or not. Plus, if there is a better deal out there, I can always cancel this order.

EDIT: After reading about the throttling/whining issues and more recently, the i7 mSATA issues...I decided to cancel the order until the issues have been resolved by Lenovo.

 

($926 before taxes)

Final update:

Ordered June 7
Shipped June 11
Delivered June 16

 

4286CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM
07/01/11 $708.05 $708.05
0A69627 SBB INTEL CORE I5-2520M PROC
27R1799 VBB PC DOS LICENSE
39T7676 SBB DOS 2000 FLYER - NO
0A69642 SBB 12.5PRMHDLDBCLTDPYMBBBRDAN
45M4569 VBB 2GBPC3-10600DDR3 1333SODMM
45M4839 SBB KEYBOARDUS ENGLISH
0A69644 SBB NO FINGERPRINT READER
0A69657 SBB CAMERA, HD 720P
0A69650 SBB 250GB HRDDSK DRV,5400RPM
0A68287 SBB NO MSSDRIVE
0A69647 SBB TP BATTERY 29++(9CELL)
41W1787 SBB CPK NORTH AMERICA
0A68255 SBB IC ADVN 6205 2X2AGN
44C7950 SBB INT WRLSSWDAREANTWRK UPGR
0A69659 SBB LANGUAGE PACK US ENGLISH

$766.46 after tax, ordered on June 16th, est ship date=July 1st.

 

One thing to take note of is, all the people canceling and waiting on better deals and whatnot, do realize that the price of this will keep dropping. Naturally. Sandy bridge has recently walked into the room, and its going to keep on walking and eventually walk out. The longer you delay your purchase, the "less" you're getting out of the machine. Sure you're getting the same specs for less money, but ultimately those specs only have a certain effective lifetime. Canceling and reordering for a cheaper price automatically puts you at the back of the queue too, like for x220 tablets. The delay right now is 4+ weeks. That's eating into a month of the lifespan of the x220 (not the machine itself, but the entire line of x220s as a whole). If that is not a concern for you, by all means wait it out, but waiting to get a cheaper price is not always the "cheaper" alternative.

 

Made my order on the june 16th!!!!! i am pumped but i want it now.... First time ordering online, can`t wait. Was wondering if any people played any games on the x220 just want to know what it can run? Also the wifi card i picked is it any good? and can i ever change?

estimated date of arrivial 07/04/11
SBB INTEL CORE I5-2520M PROC
VBB GENWIN7HOMEPREM64
SBB GEN WIN7 HOME PRM64 EN
SBB 12.5PRMHDLDBCLTDPYMBBBRDAN
VBB 4GBPC3-10600DDR3 1333SODMM
SBB KEYBOARDUS ENGLISH
SBB NO FINGERPRINT READER
SBB CAMERA, HD 720P
SBB 320GB HRDDSK DRV,7200RPM
SBB NO MSSDRIVE
SBB TP BATTERY 29++(9CELL)
SBB CPK NORTH AMERICA
SBB BLUETOOTH 3.0
SBB THINKPADB/G/N
SBB INT WRLSSWDAREANTWRK UPGR
SBB LANGUAGE PACK US ENGLISH

 

The wifi card is considered user upgradeable. You only need to remove the keyboard and palm rest to access it.

 

While the wifi card is user upgradeable, everyone tells me the BIOS will not allow the use of any non-Lenovo stock card. Meaning unless you want to/know how to hack your bios, and void your warranty, get the card you want from the start.