Thinkpad x20x (s/t/i) Owners Thread

I did a little experiment when I was housesitting for a family member recently. I used my T400 to watch movies and etc. on it for one night, then used my X200 the next.

My T400 has a horrible Samsung panel and watching movies on it was pretty bad. The X200(with its stock panel, I don't have an AFFS in here yet) had much better color and viewing angles and watching them on it was actually a better experience.

I don't mind the smaller display, personally... but that also comes with the fact that the X200 is a much lighter system and easier to tote around.

Edit: As far as the palmrest question goes I find it a little squished to be perfectly honest, but I have long fingers. the keyboard is identical in size to the T400's, however. I don't have a ruler with me but I'd estimate the palmrest to be about three inches wide, give or take... it's about the width of a business card where the arrow keys 'stick down.'

 

silly question but is the x201s the successor to the x200s ?
and x200 -> x201
and x300 -> x301

what about the successor to the x200t ?

 

You are correct on all accounts. The X201t is the successor to the X200t.

 

It seems that the SSD performance is seriously affected on other Intel chipset based laptops as well like yours. HP, Dell, Asus and Alienware M17x-R2 owners with the Intel PM55 chipset, experience low performance especially on their 4K random reads and writes regardless of the SSD
Check out those numbers here:
Alienware M17x - R2 Killing the SSD performance - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community

 

what about the predecessor to the
x200
x300 ?

sorry i am new and i am trying to get things figured out

 

I did. It's working fine.

 

X200-> X201 and X201i
X200s->X201s
X200t-> X201t
X300-> X301

 

I think he meant predecessors of the X-series. Here's a short list:

X60-X61-X200-X201(as well as s/t models; X201i is the first 'i' model. X60 and X61 models are non-widescreen format.)

X300-X301(Those are the only models of the X30X, and I believe Lenovo's going to pull the plug on that model, sadly enough)

 

thanks LegendaryKA8 =)
appreciate it

 

Can the X201s use WiDi?

 

The price on the x201 keeps coming down. At least $50 from yesterday to today when I priced out the same specs.

Does anyone think there might be a refresh coming, or could this just be sales for back to school?

 

A refresh will come when intel releases new chips. So that should be around Q1 2011

 

Intel is releasing new cpu's in the fall (Core i5-560M/580M, Core i7-660LM), so a refresh before Sandy Bridge in Q1 2011 could happen.

 

Interesting story today...

I'm in the midst of getting a quick replacement machine for our bookkeeper(I work at a small family business and am the unofficial 'tech guy), emailing some Craigslist sellers. Our satellite music system has been down for a couple of days, and we got someone to look at it this morning.

The repairman comes and gets things running while I'm getting some legwork done, then he asks me to sign. I was expecting an actual paper work order, but he passes me an X200t! Pretty nice system, if a little bulkier than my X200.

He had a WXGA display on his which looked really good. Am I right in assuming this is the AFFS display I've been considering? If so, I need to pinch some pennies and get one.

 

Has there been an official word or solution on the "Energy Star" profile for power manager in Windows 7? I've searched several sites and people who have done a clean install of Windows 7 are missing the Energy Star profile as well, with no solutions provided. There was a driver I found on Lenovo's site for the profile, but only for XP and Vista.

So is there even an Energy Star profile for Windows 7? Or is it just for Lenovo pre-loads and not clean installs? Can anyone with a Windows 7 factory pre-load tell me whether or not they have the profile in power manager?

 

hey guys, how the heck do I disable "intel remote pc assist technology" on the x201? Do I have to disable Intel Active Management Technology as well? The BIOS only has enable or disable AMT altogether.

 

I have started noticing CPU whine now and its incredibly annoying and it gets worse. It only occurs when opening Google chrome, iTunes, and some other programs. Sometimes Firefox with YouTube... never with IE for some reason.

Will there ever be a fix for this CPU whine problem? (one that doesn't compromise something else..)

 

Thanks for the link, interesting.

My X201i has the QM57 chipset. Not sure how different it is from the PM55, but the following ATTO benchmarks of the Corsair P128 SSD show little difference:

Desktop test assumed, since one of the drives tested was a WD1500HLFS VelociRaptor:
Corsair P128 SSD review

X201i, QM57 i3 330M, which is what I have:
Lenovo New Commercial Grade NoteBook-ThinkPad X201i Review : General Mobile Computing

On the positive side, I'm working with a sales manager from Mushkin who's been very helpful so far.

 

If I were in the market for an X20x machine, I'd be hanging around the outlet for a X200. There was some in there the other day around $600, but they went fast.

Sandy Bridge will be out next year, but I doubt it'll be a huge performance increase. The newest CPUs always get over hyped and probably won't offer much of a bump in day to day usage.

 

I placed my order last night for a new x201. Ship date is September 3rd.

I could have have gotten one from the outlet, but I feel better with the i5 with better virtualization support (vt-d). I plan on keeping this laptop for awhile and I feel pretty good about it.

(note: I know that vt-d isn't support well in software... yet)

 

Then that's all that matter. Congrats on the machine. I really like mine as I'm sure you will.

 

Thanks. I'm excited. I've never had a ThinkPad before so I'm a lil' nervous too.

 

I have the following problem with a display in my x200s:

The vertical line appears and disappears randomly. Sometimes it vanishes when I rotate the display.
Sometimes it appear 'out of the blue'... It looks like the hardware problem (it deliberately is not a side panel vertical line - this line appear normally - when I move the cursor over the panel).

Any ideas?
The lappy is still on warranty.

 

Send it in. You are paying a premium price for a Thinkpad so you shouldn't settle for something like that.

Could just be a loose display panel ribbon, or it could be a faulty graphics card, sending it in is the safest way to fix it.

 

I will. Thanks.

 

this problem is more likely a problem with the LCD.

 

I am seeing this exact issue with taskbar lag or hesitation. Is this a W7 inherent issue? Or is a problem with my x201? I really like this laptop a lot except for this one small issue...I don't want to return it unless it is a real problem. My lag is about 1.5 seconds when hovering over an expanded taskbar window. It does not always happen, and when it does happen it always clear up after that delay.

 

Hmmm...doesn't turning off Aero pretty much kill this feature altogether? I want to have the taskbar features, I just don't want the delay.

I uninstalled the Toolbox. It seems to have helped somewhat but the system still hangs slightly when scanning through multiple taskbar items. Does anyone else have this issue?

 

OK, I found the answer to my mouse lag issue on the taskbar. There is a new video driver from lenovo that I installed and it completely stopped the problem. If you have an x201 I suggest you get this updated driver. The location is below.


http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/documen​t.do?sitestyle=lenovo&lndocid=MIGR-74433

 

Thanks Skyline.. I have x201t + X200 Ultrabase + Startech DP to HDMI adaptor.
I don't see any other audio playback device other than Conexant 20585 smartAudio HD.
Did you do anything specific to see the HDMI or TV as audio playback device on x201t?
Under device manager--> sound, video and game controller, I see the following:
Intel Display Audio
Conexant 20585 smartAudio HD

Any idea how to get the audio on HDMI?

 

Can anyone with a Windows 7 pre-load from Lenovo (not a fresh install) tell me if there is an "Energy Star" plan in Power Manager? If there is, can you also post the settings? I did a fresh install in my x200 and there is no Energy Star option, though it sounds like there is one on Lenovo pre-loads of W7.

 

is the body of the x201 aluminum or plastic? what about the bottom?
is it resistant to drops or being banged around? i travel a lot so i need something rugged.

 

thanks LeRon, i was just comparing it to the e6400 metal bottom cover.

 

Just installed this, thanks for the heads up!

 

Anyone use the ExpressCard port for a USB 3.0 card? (I know you get 1/2 the data-rate, but that's still 250 mb/s)

 

OK, now that I have cleared up the taskbar lag issue with a new driver, I wanted to post a brief review of the X201. I love this laptop! I have owned many Thinkpads over the years but this is the first small-sized one. The weight and general size are a great improvement over my T61p and older models. It is so much easier to lug around. The screen is very good, not as nice as the T61p perhaps but still very good, much better than my son's Dell for example. It is crisp, bright, highly detailed and the viewing angle for me is more than sufficient. The battery life and general performance, even on CAD applications, are both very good. Yes, my battery is a little loose, but other than that I cannot think of one complaint with this product. It is a perfect Thinkpad!

 

Anyone know if the expresscard slot that come default on the x201 is ExpressCard 2.0? According to wikipedia: ExpressCard 2.0 Standard was delivered March 4, 2009 at CeBIT in Hannover. It is expected to have a raw bandwidth of 5 Gbit/s (transfer speed 500 MB/s or 0.5 GB/s)[12], which is ten times USB 2.0 (0.48 Gbit/s or 60 MB/s)[13], includes USB 3.0 (5.0 Gbit/s or 625 MB/s or 0.625 GB/s)

 

I am now officially an x201 owner.

My first blush:

• The keyboard is awesome. I love the size of the F-keys and the ESC key. I use the ESC all the time.
• The touchpad is tiny, good think I only use it for scrolling.
• LOVE the middle mouse button.
• I wish the lid clasps didn't didn't stick out on the top of the screen. They seem like they'll break of easily.
• It feels smaller than my nc4400.

The only bad thing so far is the battery (9cell) rattles around when inserted into the laptop. Is this normal?

 

you got a NC4400, what i coincidence i have one too. Worst purchase ever...

 

I love my lil' nc4400. It was what I needed when I had it. It's certainly not as nice as the x201.

Is anyone else's battery loose?

 

slight wobbles on the left hand side is existent in most of the X200, X200s, X201 and X201s that i have used.

 

Hi Lead_org

I noticed that you own one, and I got distracted from my purchase by this: Reconditioned X201T or new x200? - Tablet PC Forums, Discussion and Support

 

you are from Australia... you missed the Lenovo.com.au X200t sale that was on last week for $999 AUD.

You can still get the X200 from Lenovo.com.au for $999 dollars, which is still an exceptional value. The 8 gigs of ram from Lenovo is slightly more expensive, for what you need 4 gigs of ram is more than enough. You can get the 2 gigs from Lenovo, then purchase the other 2 gigs from MSY stores or online stores.

I wouldn't get the X201t with only 3 months warranty.

 

Thanks Lead_org ... actually its down to $899 now ... and this 8 Gb ram is compatible @ USD$199 from OWC: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer Technology/8566DDR3S8GP/

 

the price is continuously dropping, which is okay for customers like us.... finally we can get a price for X200 that is at a price comparable to what is offered to our American counterpart.

 

...no 9 cell battery option for the X200, so I'll give them a call and see if they can do me a deal...

 

Thanks lead_org. I'll probably put a piece of tape or something to keep it from moving around too much.

 

Does anyone else have this problem? It seems to be coming from the top left of the X201 / laptop..

Anyone know of a fix yet? It's starting to fade away from time to time but when it is present, it's very annoying

 

The PM55 Chipset that is used in the X201 is configured for PCI-e 2.0 (meaning each line is capable of delivering 2.5GT/s [equal to 2.5 gigabits per second or approximately 250 megabytes per second]). The ExpressCard slot has 1 PCI-e x1 line going from the chipset to the ExpressCard bus. Therefore it is not ExpressCard 2.0.

 

Exactly the same effects(Google Chrome, FF with flash...) I saw on my gf's T510, we fixed it by using ThrottleStop app, we had just to start it. Apparently by default it disables CPU C states which removes the whine. Give it a try.