ThinkPad X220 Info/Ordering/Shipping Thread

you can always buy a lenovo whitelisted wifi card on ebay. i just purchased an intel ultimate 6300 on ebay and it works perfectly. no need to hack the bios or anything, and it's way better than the stock card. even though i have a built in webcam, i installed the third antenna underneath the palmrest and it works great.

 

Louisville, KY, United States 06/28/2011 12:29 P.M. Import Scan
Louisville, KY, United States 06/25/2011 9:59 A.M. Arrival Scan
Anchorage, AK, United States 06/24/2011 11:34 P.M. Departure Scan
06/24/2011 9:11 P.M. Arrival Scan
Shanghai, China 06/25/2011 4:55 A.M. Departure Scan
Shanghai, China 06/24/2011 4:06 P.M. Export Scan
06/24/2011 4:00 P.M. Origin Scan
China 06/24/2011 12:06 A.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS

No scheduled delivery.

Is my x220 going to be held in customs? No "departure scan" yet.

 

I got mine less then a week ago. It spent 1.5 days in Kentucky and was at my door in NJ the day following that. Import scan was the last entry for KY and the next was arrival at the local UPS depot. I wouldnt be surprised if yours is on the move by tomorow if not out for delivery.

 

Yep. Thank you for the info!

 

That's a really interesting observation. The idea that the series itself has a lifespan apart from the lifespan of your particular machine doesn't strike many people!

But I'm still not sure if I understand this idea properly. Or rather, it's a very subjective idea. We're basically saying that the longer you wait to buy an X220, the more outdated / obsolete it will have become by then. Sure, it may become obsolete by one month or so but that doesn't mean much for most people I think.

 

Well that's an interesting theory, but these things don't really have a finite lifespan. My T40 from many years ago still serves a purpose today.

My T60p has been upgraded with SSD, CPU, WLAN and RAM, and it benchmarks pretty close to my W500 which is several years newer and still cost less than the W500 even with all of the upgrading.

So while I agree that the month or two that goes by where you are sitting waiting to save 10%, may just have cost 15% of product lifespan, most of these laptops will still be going strong after the product line has long been discontinued.

 

does Lenovo include with notebook any bills or invoice inside package?

 

Lenovo does not include bills/invoice inside the package. It only attaches the packing list (for custom) on the package. You should get the bills/invoice from your email order confirmation. You can also get it from the order status from lenovo.com. Hope this helps

 

Just wanted to mention here that I had my X220 for week and just couldn't grow to like it compared to my Sony Z13 or the Envy14/Radiance before it. I really wanted to "get" what all the "Thinkpad love" was all about, but I couldn't even get to love the keyboard. Once you've become accustomed to a well made backlit chiclet style keyboard, you can actually type faster on it than on the "legendary 'Thinkpad keyboard, which is nice, but requires too deep a press and makes too much noise. Also, for a screen fanatic such as I am, it really isn't a fair fight between the Z, the Envy Raidance and the 12.5" low res screen with otherwise fair specs, but nothing to write home about.I know it's far more durable than the Sony Z or HP Envy, but i am very easy on my machines and have yet to have a problem that wasn't a DOA, and those are easily remedied.

I'm keeping the X220 for another week, just to see if time and familiarity really do make a difference, but having owned so many notebooks, I can usually get a handle of usability pretty quickly.

So, while this is not an official ad, my X220 will probably go up for sale at cost ($734 + tax + $130 for the Lenovo 3 yr, on site ADH wtty, worth $250, but I can probably get a refund for it.), so PM me if you're interested.

I know these are fine and durable computers, and one day they may be exactly what I need. But for now i seem to favor both the familiar, the high-end feel of the truly less durable models, such as the Sony Z and HP Envy and, frankly, I don't do nearly as much typing as I used to, so the eventual familiarity with the TP keyboard many never become an issue with me.

Thanks all for your inputs and support. By all means, talk me out of my inclination, especially if you don't think I've given it enough time. My mind remains open (though I will consummate any serious offers that come my way.

 

Love is a wonderful thing... Get the X1 for the love of the chiclet keyboard. If I am not mistaken, it is backlit too

 

I ordered my x220 today 7/7 and my estimated ship date says 8/2. What would be a guess on when it will actually ship?

 

From my experience, it usually takes between 7-9 days from order to ship; so, I would guess yours will probably ship on 7/14 if Lenovo has all the parts and components in stock. If you are in the US, then it usually takes 1-3 days to clear custom when it arrives at the UPS Hub at Louisville KY. Hope this helps

 

I ordered mine on June 29th and it shipped today (July 7th). Estimated was 7/15. Hope that helps.

 

Yep, that was absolutely my next thought, but the screen, just can't get past it...sigh...

 

I had originally ordered my x220 with the Slice battery on April 17th. I had to cancel that order and change it to 2 orders, one for the battery, and one for the laptop, as the battery was back ordered. I just received the battery this week, so about 3 months of waiting for the slice. is anyone having similar issues?

 

If you find you don't need the slice battery let me know

 

i7, fully loaded, except sans BT (now I don't know why I didn't order BT, is it necessary?) $972+tax=1040

order date: July 14, shipped today, so 3 days! is it real??

 

btw, estimate was Aug 11

also I am bit worry about the ghosting and throttle issues, have they been resolved?

 

Hey, first post. Thanks for the great thread. Here is my build and price before taxes - Care to critique? This computer is for business school, so I don't need it to be super powerful, but I'd like it to be able to last for a few
years.

Total price including 2 year onsite and thinkpad protection warranty is $941 before taxes. Taxes will be another ~$60. Free shipping.

System components
Intel Core i5-2410M Processor (2.3GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) Is this worth upgrading at all? $46 for 2.5Ghz, $89 for 2.6Ghz
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64
12.5" Premium HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, 2x2 Antenna
2 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM) Plan on purchasing 8GB separately
No Fingerprint Reader
720p HD Camera
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm (switching to a 128GB SSD would add on $238)
ThinkPad Battery 29+ (6 cell)
Country Pack North America with Line cord & 65W AC adapter
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN)
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable
Services and software
2YR Onsite + 2YR ThinkPad Protection

Is it worth upgrading any of the things in bold? Did I get a good deal?

 

The prices right now are a bit higer than they were 1-2 weeks ago.

I have a quote for $725:

i5-2410
Home prem
IPS
2GB
320GB 7200
6205
standard warranty

You have the upgraded warranty and Win Pro- which comes to about $170 in upgrades after discounts. So all told you are paying about $50 more than last week, which is not a huge difference.

As for the CPU, the speed bump is less of an issue than the encryption and virtualization options that are available with the i5-2520. I don't need those features, but if you plan on running an encrypted drive or be in an enterprise setting they may be worthwhile upgrades.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I have to have Win Pro for school, and adding the upgraded warranty for 2 years for $126 seems worth it to me.

I have no plans to run an encrypted drive, nor to be in an enterprise setting, so I guess I'm good on that front as well.

I also added the camera which is $25, and upgraded the wireless modem for $17 per the rec of the sales rep I talked to. Not sure if the modem was necessary, but it's not very much.

 

The upgraded wireless is a good idea. It handles faster wifi and has better range.

I missed that you added the webcam. That probably brings you to within $30 of the best price, which is pretty good given the price fluctuates and you need to order for school ASAP. there are some ways to safe a few percent through services like ecoupons or fatwallet or going through mastercard marketplace or barnes&noble.

You can save money buy getting their service plan that is not on-site. Also (as you probably know) many credit cards will extend your warranty a year.

 

I'd get the i5-2520m, because it has more options in terms of virtualization and instruction sets, not to mention the graphics is clocked abit higher (on par with the i7)

 

The GPU clockspeed difference between the 2410 and the 2520 is pretty small. I'm not sure there would be any functional difference in what you can and can't do. Even the CPU clockspeed difference is minor in terms of overall computing power.

IMO it's really the benefits for VM and encryption that are the big difference. if you are not going to do those then you will be hard pressed to find a difference in real world performance. Even if you look at benchmarks they will be within 10% of each other.

That is compared to a quad core Sandy bridge, that will be about 75% faster than either dual core i5 (ir dual core i7.)

 

For sure, I agree with you completely. The only reason I got the i5 was because I didn't want to run something in the future and have it stutter, but if I had the extra 100mhz I could get by playing it smoothly. It's for my own personal satisfaction, knowing that I did all I can (within reasonable bounds)

 

Yeah, it probably comes down to personal preference and comfort level. Even the i3 is really fast when compared to prior generation CULV CPU's that went into many ultra-portables.

Passmark benchmarks (not to read too much into one benchmark)

i3-2310 is 2553
i5-2410 is 3326
i5-2520 is 3612

The fastest x200 with i7-620m scored 2784. The the high end i7-640lm in the prior generation x201s, scored only is a 2164. And a true CULV like the SU9400 in many prior high end ultra-portables is only 968! And a quad core i7-720QM only scored 3200.

So by any recent measure of ultra-portables the x200 will be really powerful whichever CPU you chose. It just depends where you want to fall on the price/value curve. Some feel the sweet spot is the 2520, while others think the i3 or the 2410 is and ideal value. Regardless, they are all as fast or faster than the top of the line x201- and the only way to make a major leap up is to get a larger laptop with a quad core CPU.

 

If you're just going on the internet or typing documents, it probably won't matter much. My X220 feels no different than my X220i.

 

Just wonder how comfortable is X220 because in this video guy mention that typing for a long period it may cause some arm pain issues?

From 4:30 forward...
‪Lenovo ThinKPad X220 Video Review‬‏ - YouTube

 

In terms of typing, I've typed at length on it ok... Its less comfy than a desktop, but much more than a netbook... If that helps

 

Out of interest, is there any difference in normal operating temps between those two machines? I find the i3 to run slightly warmer than the i5-2410 did.

Not that I care one way or the other

 

Since the i5 is of a higher quality silicon, it performs more efficiently than the i3 and thus would run cooler. However, at higher clock speeds there is more activity and naturally more heat is produced. Overall the i5 is a better chip to undervolt.

The i5 can do everything that the i3 can do at same or lower voltages, and has the option to perform even higher than the i3.

 

Curious about whether I got a good deal.

I got the i5 2.5 ghz tablet with:
320gb 7200 rpm hd
camera, bluetooth, fingerprint
windows 7 professional
4 gb ram

for 1247 (no taxes or shipping)

Also got the slice for 200 total.

 

Good explanation for what I suspected.

 

got a x220(no tablet) from canada for 820$ no tax free ship

i5 2.5
2gb ram ( got 2x 4gb for 65$ on newegg)
250gb 5400 rpm hdd (will upgrade to ssd intel 320)
premium display 3x3 antenna, no bluetooth, no fingerprint
intel centrino 6300 xpresscard
win7 home premium
9 cell battery

btw ordered on July 16th and just received tracking number today 21st, expected delivery on July 29!

 

You figured this out how?

There are any number of factors that could account for variations in temperature, none of which have to do with the CPU.

 

My x220 has been stuck in Canadian custom for more than a week now.

THIS ISN'T FUNNY LENOVO!!

 

I just ordered the following for $683. It was more than I was originally looking to spend, I was drawn to the X120e but was worried about the weak CPU and TN display among other things. I had already purchased 8GB of Corsair DDR3 for $34, I'm looking at purchasing the Crucial M4 64GB for $101. Seeing as how there is no DVD drive and you can mod the bay to fit a 9.5mm drive I don't really understand the use of 7mm drives for space savings, but oh well, not difficult to remove the spacer from the M4. I am a little worried by complaints regarding the fan and display, i'll have to investigate those further. After spending many hours reviewing notebooks this seems to be the best bang for the buck and I like the styling as well. Unless there's any other recommendations.

 

If you don't mind my asking, what's your expected ship date? I ordered mine on 7/27, and its estimated ship date is 8/16.

 

Mine is 8/16 as well.

 

I ordered 7/31 and my est. ship date is 8/17

 

Same as you guys, ordered 07.31, anticipated ship date is 08.17

 

My order shipped today!! That was fast

 

I'm wondering if ordering the I5-2520M is causing mine to ship later. Which cpu did you order?

 

i7
10 char

 

I also ordered my X220 on 7/31 and I'm feeling a little left out since my order status still shows up as "in process". I had the i5-2540M processor.

 

Don't feel left out. The IPS screen upgrade has gone from $50 to $150 in Canada. Maybe that means that they have changed their IPS screen suppliers to address the ghosting problem that some people are experiencing with their current IPS screens.

 

Ordered : Aug, 2.
Estimated ship date: Aug, 17


EDIT: , they changed the IPS ??? It's $135 for the upgrade now. I ordered yesterday and it was $47.

Better IPS now ?

 

Don't know where you see that. Still $50 through the main site, or $42.50 through the Mastercard promo link.

 

Canadian EPP and Visa site.

 

Quick update for any of those waiting:

Ordered 4286 CTO on 07.31
Shipped on 08.05
UPS delivery on 08.11