Thinkpad X301 experience

I took delivery of a new X301 last week. I want to report on my first impressions.

My past three computers have been Thinkpads. I have had a T42, a T60P and now an X301. I generally like the Thinkpads because they are well built, solid and have relatively few software or driver compatibility issues.

I got the model with the 128 GB solid state drive and 4 GB of memory. I was able to find a price for barely under $3000 online. I had to wait about three weeks for delivery. That is a bit more than I usually pay for a new laptop.

So far everything works well and I am very pleased. I like the smaller form factor and lighter weight. I also like that I have a DVD drive and three USB ports. I am always plugging things in to the laptop on the road so three ports is perfect.

The keyboard is their best yet. Really solid and crisp with a nice feel.

The screen is more than adequate for general use. Anything bigger you just have trouble using it in tight quarters. Very bright and easy to see.

GPS works well, I have been able to get position indoors on the ground floor of a two story house.

The one complaint I have concerns the lack of port replicator options. The only choice is USB based. While you can plug an external monitor and ethernet cable through this port, I noticed slower video response. I also have a 1 GB ethernet in the office and I understand you can't get full speed running it through the USB cable. Plus you apparently can't charge the laptop battery through the USB cable, so you also have to plug in the power cable.

The SSD drive is very quiet and fast. Startup time is quicker but still not instantaneous with VISTA. With all the travel I do, I am rough on hard drives. My hope is that this solid state drive will be more reliable and better able to withstand road shocks.

This unit will run a 64 bit OS. I am staying with 32 bit for now because of a lack of available drivers for some periphera

 

Also an X301 owner. Coming from a T61p, I'm mostly satisfied. The performance is about the same as the T61p and can't really tell the difference in normal usage.

The biggest shock for me was the weight difference. After using the X301 for a few days and then picking up the T61p, I ask myself how could anyone carry such a heavy laptop. It's kind of the same feeling when you go from the older generation 7 or 8 pound laptops to a T61 or T400. You wonder how you managed to carry all that excess weight in the past.

The screen is great. Very crisp and bright. Seems like they have added a new supplier for I saw an older X300 and the screen seemed much different.

My only gripe is the same the previous poster mentioned, no real docking station or port replicator. I have to physically connect a DisplayPort cable to use my Dell 2408W (24") monitor.

Normally I do clean installs, but this time I started with the factory install and removed some ThinkVantage items. I used to believe that clean installs were the way to go, but then after some experimenation realized that Vista only provides "generic" functionality in some areas like Power Management. Lenovo's utilities are great for this.