What to buy after X201??

Hello everyone,

I am looking to replace a Thinkpad X201. I have been away from this forum for a while, but while doing some research, it seems that the X201 was the last 'good' X series!

What would you do if you needed to replace a X201 today and get the same (or as close as possible) experience??

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

 

That's so subjective. I've had the X220 since release and it was fantastic. The X240 is also great, but serves a different market with ultrabook specifications.

 

What is so special about x210? I have a X220 and its awesome. This year I dropped it four times, one fell was so hard that some keys came off and I had to put them back in, and one corner was slightly cracked. Still it runs great.

 

I was very disappointed with my X220. I travelled a lot and it did not hold up very well. the palm rests cracked from some minor bumps and short distance drops.

I would wait for the X250. It should be coming soon OR Have a look at the new Asus-Pro BU201. 12.5" with 1920 x 1080 screen, 2.6 lbs.

As for me, i need 14" screen so i'm movin' on to a bigger laptop.

good luck on your search!

 

Thanks for the advice yaonyc.

As for the X201 being the last good X series comment. It is no mystery that faithful Thinkpad owners (my first one was a 770ED) have been commenting on the loss of the great IBM Thinkpad keyboard, 6-row vs 7-row, build, etc. It certainly eems to me that many old time Thinkpad fans are disappointed with the new models.

 

There are trade-offs involved, any way you want to look at it...

With X220 you'll get a better screen - presuming an IPS one - and a cooler-running yet more powerful machine, while retaining the "classic" 7-row keyboard. It also offers the option of installing a mSATA SSD in the WWAN slot as a boot drive while leaving the HDD in the main bay for storage. The build quality is questionable in certain respects, but my take that the quality of plastic parts used on ThinkPads has been going down steadily since Lenovo's takeover.

Good luck.

 

OP I'm in the same boat as you, and haven't really come to a conclusion. I'm actually just thinking of keeping it for a while longer since it's served me pretty well.

I thought about modding my X201 screen with the X201t AFFS or SPVA screen, but I didn't want to go the CCFL route since those dim and get yellowish over time. I found this list of X20xt screens and a few of them are LED-backlit, but I wonder if they are drop-in compatible: The definitive X200 Tablet LCD Panel resource | TabletPCReview.com - Tablet PC Reviews, Discussion and News

I'd probably do it if it cost below $50.

 

@Faruk:

"Drop-in compatible" when going the route you're interested in is extremely unlikely. As for keeping the cost under $50 I'd doubt that as well...

My $0.02 only...

 

Yeah I looked up the parts and it costs about $100 for the upgrade. Probably not worth it.

 

In Lenovo's defense, so has the sticker price, which allows more people to buy them. Neither answer is bad. I found my X220 to be very robust and dropped it a few times, though I'm no road warrior. Luck or fate, as always, plays a large role in whether things work out.

I say what's wrong with you X201? Unless you're pushing it frequently, it should be a solid performer. Toss in a SSD and you'll get a nice performance bump. The WD Black 2 might be worth a look if you need more space. The Sandy Bridge CPU was large improvement over its predecessors, but more so on the battery life side of things than the performance.

 

Agreed 101%.

True, however the 16GB RAM cap/mSATA boot drive + HDD option/IPS combo are well worth the upgrade in my book.

If one must upgrade, that is...

 

I think most users would function well 4GB or 8GB of ram. Had the WD Black2 been available when I bought my X220, I may have kept my X200, preferring the touch padless aesthetic. X201 has the Hydis IPS option, which is a better screen than the LG, though it's CFFL, which is likely to dim over time and not everyone has the skillz/desire.

 

I think it went up a bit with the X240 though?

I did find one guy who managed to hook up an LED-backlit AFFS and a Samsung S-PVA screen (which is ~$30 on ebay!) to his X200, but it involved soldering and I don't quite get the instructions 100%:
X200 modification with a AFFS, LED Backlight LCD - ThinkPadרÇø - רÃÅÍøÂÛ̳--רҵµÄ±Ê¼Ç±¾µçÄÔ¼¼Êõ½»Á÷ÉçÇø

This guy also ordered an S-MVA panel that's supposedly electrically compatible but he didn't follow up:
forum.thinkpads.com • View topic - X200 MVA updrade (was: X200 CCFL -> LED upgrade questions)

 

The Hydis is a drop in replacement on the X201, but you need to replace the LED sub card and cable with the inverter and cable from the CFFL X200. The Hydis is so easy to do, even I did, and a very good screen I don't know why anyone would want to do the extra work.

 

hi kiriath,

yes...i remember the x201 and the amazing build quality.

for business class laptops, durability is so important; especially for a traveller.

Lenovo laptops now just do not hold up. the build quality of the thinkpads are not what they were. the build quality is thinkpads are very close to Ideapads which should not be the case. thinpads should be BATTLE tested and leagues better than Ideapads.

from my experience these days, HP Elitebooks have the best build quality / weight ratio out of all the business class laptops.

You might want to also consider an HP elitebook 800 series...but wait for G2 generation coming soon for the 820 12.5" version. Its currently 820 G1, but G2 should be around the corner...

im shopping for a HP Elitebook 840 G1. Probably the best overall business class 14" laptop for durability, keyboard, battery life and weight. I also like the fact that its so easy to open up and replace parts on a fly. I can practically service the laptop myself. The T440s build quality didnt even come close...

**additional comment: A fantastic laptop in the same size class as the X201 is the HP 2170p. its 11.6' 3rd gen ivy-bridge intel. right now, its sub $500 for a nice example of this on ebay. It can be expanded to 16gb ram, very quiet and EXCELLENT build quality and keyboard. I use this as my 2nd back-up laptop. I strong recommend this and it can be a GREAT replacement for the X201!

 

I realize this is the Lenovo part of the forum, but since we're mentioning HP's, how do you guys think the Elitebooks compare to Probooks? The Probook 640 G1's did have a little lid flex, and didn't seem quite as tough as my 6530b (all plastic on both though). Thinner too. Same overall direction that Lenovo's going in...

I should probably add that I have not serviced a 640 at all, though the 6530b and similar (ex. 6450b) are some of the easiest to service laptops I've ever seen. For that matter, the easiest laptop keyboard replacement I ever did was on one of those (same procedure between 6530b and 6450b).

 

I did not have an x201, but I wonder what kind of "business traveler" you (and other people complaining about build quality) have in mind. Does "business travelling" imply smashing the laptop repeatedly on the floor or something like that? I believe that I traveled a fair share with my T410 and X220 and they they lived on happily ever after after 2 and 4 years respectively. Honestly, what kind of build quality do you expect for the price that Lenovo Thinkpads go for? My laptops caught the occasional bump and no damage at all happened. When there was an issue, Lenovo service fixed it within one day on-site (display pressure spot, cpu fan noisy, new keyboard, trackpad). I've now got an X240 and the build quality feels at least as good as the X220, if not even better. Perhaps a Toughbook would be better suited for some people.

 

the X201 is clearly better build quality. The last of the amazing Thinkpad generation...

I am a monthly business traveller and NO, it doesnt include SMASHING anything.

Just simple small bumps and at times a low drops. Very seldom and that resulted in some pretty bad damage to the X220.

Look at the palm-rest area. Very cheap and hollow plastic. I was shocked to discover that.

So, the X220 was HORRIBLE build quality and if your X240 is similar, its pretty terrible too.

Lenovo is a chinese company now. The local chinese do not like to buy lenovo thinkpads. they have a horrible reputation for cheap quality..

I expect build quality as GOOD or BETTER than HP Elitebook which are 1000x better build quality than modern day Thinkpads.

I looked at T440s next to an HP 840 G1 and the HP blew it out the door. I couldn't believe how cheap and flimsy it was and when i opened up the T440s, it was messy and cheaply put together. try opening up an HP 840 G1 and look at the high quality layout the insides are...

 

I don't know if you're aware of it, but just everything is made in China these days, including those HPs you seem to admire. I dropped my X220 several times and it never did any damage. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

 

everything is made in china but not all things are equal when made in china....and yes; being lucky is great!

 

hi livebrand, i would go for the Elitebook over the Probook. only slight more money, but much better quality and specs

 

I don't recall saying they were.

 

then whats the point of saying everything is made in china? what does that imply? good luck on your thinkpad!

 

I think by saying that Lenovo is a Chinese company that implies it is somehow worse than when it was an American company. There are any number of reasons why some believe that ThinkPads are worse than they used to be, probably the biggest reason being the average selling point for a notebook(including ThinkPads) has dropped like a rock the last decade. I personally don't believe that's the case, but even it were true, it's unlikely that it's because the is headquartered in China. Lenovo just wants to sell you a notebook or other device. That's my take on it. My notebook is a Dell and I don't see that changing in the near future.

We should get back to the topic at hand, the X201.

 

X201 has a cult following, and there is a reason for that.

Unfortunately, the next generation X-series since Lenovo (China) took over has gone downhill.

And YES...saying it is a Chinese run company certainly has shown its not as solid as it once was when IBM was making Thinkpad products....

Dell...my goodness. I worked for Dell for a short period when my company was aquired by them and I would never buy a Dell Latitude.

In my opinion its slightly better than Thinkpad in terms of quality. Dell is good value in refurbished sales since Dell's depreciate the most out of any business laptop on the market.

HP just split into 2 companies, lets see if HP can maintain their high quality....

So, back to X201, my stance still stands for TS (thread-starter), an HP Elitebook 2170p would be a great replacement and sub $500 cost for a very mint example off of ebay...

 

hi kiriath,

If you got a big budget for the latest laptop......

Hot off the presses! It looks like HP beat Lenovo to the punch. The X250 is very behind schedule...

Check out the new HP Folio 1020:

12.5" QHD display 2560 x 1440
2.2 lbs weight
HP's premium tactile keyboard
Intel core Broadwell chip
10 hours battery
military's MIL-STD-810G standards for ruggedness
FAN-less!

http://blog.laptopmag.com/hp-elitebook-folio-1020-hands-on

 

You do notice that this isn´t coming out until February, and that the special edition isn´t going to come out until April?

This device isn´t on the market - HP did a classic paper-launch. X250 isn´t behind the schedule, Intel is^^ Besides, HPs competitor for the X250 will be the Elitebook 820 G2 - not the EliteBook 1020.

 

Wow that HP looks amazing, miles ahead of the X240. My only concern about it would be its upgradeability.

 

it does seem MILES ahead of any thinkpad in the pipe-line.

your concern is justified. It can probably only max out at 8gb rams and no easy battery swap.

Build quality should be amazing. HP elitebooks these days really have the most solid durable body construction...

 

yes..i did notice the timeline. Lenovo doesnt even have a sample unit for display yet of the X250.

Both the 820 G2 and the Folio 1020 will compete with the X250 since Lenovo only has the X250 in this size and class. HP has more choices in the 12.5" range.

The 12.5" 700 series G3 will also compete and they will have AMD chips..

 

Having both is the best combination in my opinion.

My X240 is overall a pretty decent laptop - with good upgradeability (if you don't mind the single RAM slot). You can easily change HDD, RAM, internal battery, WiFi, M.2 and lots more by easily unscrewing the bottom cover.

HOWEVER, if only Lenovo had made the case/chassis a LITTLE bit better. There are a few (minor) build quality issues, like the surface on top of the fan not being completely straight (leaving a small gap between the laptop surface and fan), and the lid not sitting perfectly flush with the rest of the body when closed.

I don't think it's ideal to have these issues in a £1000+ business notebook. But the factory M.2 SSD failures are unacceptable IMO.

 

I agree with you on the x240 build quality. Its slightly better than the X220 build quality.

I was surprised how messy it was when i opened it up and looked around inside.

I also agree with you that its important a laptop can easily swap/upgrade parts. We cant always send the laptop into the service center or even waste time on that. doing it ourselves is a huge selling point

With that said, its very difficult to make a sub 2.8lb laptop that has easily swappable battery and other parts.

one other point, i can't believe the X240 and T440s is only 1 upgradable DIM slot to 12GB ram! These laptops should be able to get to 16GB!

 

I considered my X220 to be as good as any ThinkPad I've used. I also came a away impressed with the T430, X1C and X230 in terms of the quality, and considering that they cost significantly less than their IBM ancestors, that's fairly impressive. You must be using rose colored glasses cause any ThinkPadder, who has a long relationship with the brand, would know IBM produced their share of duds too.

 

That I don't really care about. I mean if you need 16GB of RAM, you probably have VERY heavy workloads involving things like CAD, Photoshop, video editing, Matlab etc - all of which would really benefit from a quad core processor. You need a workstation - something the X240 was never intended to replace.

Most people who buy the X240 aren't buying it primarily to do those things, and so for most people, 8/12GB of RAM is plenty.

 

most people don't need an i7 haswell either, but its there as an option to COMPETE with other brands that offer it.

But you are right and i agree, most people wont need 16gb ram...

my old HP 2170p 11.6" can expand to 16gb ram because its a business laptop that can be DOCKED and then used as a powerful desktop.

surfing the web, some business apps open (outlook, OneNote, excel, skype, etc) and already 5 gigs are Ram is being used....

14" T440s for sure would be more competitive on the marketplace with 16gig ram. People may do photoshop, cad-cam and even visual studio type work...

 

i'm sure when IBM had thinpad, there must have been duds...u are probably right about that. i personally never seen them.

but lenovo now, there isnt really anything that stands out. Even the new HELIX with broadwell is a let down. Carbon X1 is a let down...

Dell's best Latitude was back in yr 2006 or so with its D series (D620, D630, etc)...

my old thnkpad X220...terrible quality compared to rock solid X201

 

That's OK, some of us around here still have nightmares about them...

But your rock-solid-X201 (a fine machine indeed) was a Lenovo product as well...

 

you are right! rements of the old guard....not sure why in China made the decision to revamp and change the quality level....

 

The bad memories fade with time and only the good ones remain is usually how it works.


I believe most ThinkPadders would say the last IBM ThinkPads were the T60, R60, Z61 and X60. IBM left on a high note.

 

Can you please stop using the words "China" or "Chinese" in a derogatory way? I begin to find it rather insulting. It's a company and the decisions of a company that we are talking about, not a country or the people of a country.

 

thats right! T60 was legendary! X60 was great too! memories....

HP had a few duds. I loved everything about the HP Folio 9470p except they messed up the FAN area. the db sound levels was unbearable!

 

not sure what world you live in! please stop with "P.C." rant here as well...China is known for poor quality and commodity products. On the flip side, you think about Made in germany and Made in Japan...and you automatically think HIGH QUALITY and HIGH STANDARDS. Why is that? Is it wrong to think that?

China is improving but its still 50 yrs behind. There are spots of high quality such as XiaoMi and HuaWei (but they dont make laptops)

As i said, even the local chinese I have met tell me they would never buy a lenovo. Not sure that is an accurate sample-set of the general population, but its what i come across very often.

 

Actually, after WWII made in the USA was the hallmark of quality and stuff from Japan was considered junk, but over the years they obviously got better. You might want to read about Edward Deming. It has nothing to do with being made in China, but products produced there are made to whatever specifications the company decides and those people are probably aren't in China. There's a lot of junk products that come out of China, but there's lots of good stuff too. I don't anyone would call the iPhone or a Google tablet junk because they're made to the standard Apple and Google decide. Maybe Chinese people don't buy Lenovo products because Lenovo makes them to a lower standard for the local market.

I'd have agree you need to cut out the trolling and stick to the facts.

 

My friend, Iphone and Ipad are also made in China.

Also do your stuff "made in Japan" include those notebooks from Sony? Man, they did not sell.

 

I had the same reaction to that quote. The first thing I can remember owning from a Japanese manufacturer is a 9 volt battery powered monorail radio in a bright plastic case with a single earphone jack, rotary dial and volume control.

 

I had the same reaction to that quote. The first thing I can remember owning from a Japanese manufacturer is a 9 volt battery powered monorail radio in a bright plastic case with a single earphone jack, rotary dial and volume control.

 

sure. agreed.

you also need to read what i wrote "NOT ALL THINGS MADE IN CHINA ARE EQUAL".

I'm wiling to bet as of right now HP has much stricter operational control on their chinese made products over Lenovo..hence better quality...

Also you need to know China's culture. there is actually a phenomenon called "Mr. close-enough" or "Mr. Good-enough". The chinese recognize this.

It means..."We make things almost good enough or close enough. It doesnt have to be perfect." Much different culture-philosophy than Germans and Japanese. This permeates within their culture and into their industry. This will take 2 more generations to fix. You will find spots of excellence, but overall, still very subpar quality. You will find Apple controlling Foxxcon very tightly and Foxxco is also a Taiwan company with Taiwan managers watching over the chinese workers. The result is good products. But the PURE chinese owned and run companies, still need a lot of catch up...

so, u need to understand this more. live there, like i did...do business with them as well...i ilke did. And it probably helps being of Chinese descent...like i am as well...

ok...back to X201 and options to replace: HP 2170p, AsusPro UB201, HP Folio 1020..

 

yaonyc:

Don't know where you get the idea that HP products are better than anyone else. I have seen a lot of HP notebooks/desktops/monitors at work and they are mostly junk. I have tried to help a coworker to trouble shoot a HP desktop which always produces vertical "waves" on a screen in vain.

Did you also mentioned your local friends (in China?) use no Lenovo notebooks? The last time I checked Lenovo has 30% of the market share in China.

 

To be frank, the district I was working in over the summer uses primarily HP equipment, and it works just fine. In fact, the x120e/x131e's around there have been more problematic. We did have quite a few LA1905wg monitors fail in the same way though - either power supply, or inverter. The biz HP laptops also don't have the silly touchpad designs that the newer Lenovos have. At any rate, I know I'm quite willing to buy HP or Lenovo biz eqiupment myself...

(Yes, I realize x120e/x131e's are cheaper models. So are the basic Probooks we tend to buy...)

 

hi pepper_john,

My impression and feeling is only with the HP Elitebook model-line. I know HP has some questionable quality with their consumer products.

Lenovo consumer products like ideapad could actually be better in the quality / price ratio than HP consumer products

Comparing PRESENT DAY Hp elitebook intel laptops vs. Thinkpads, I like the build quality of the HP Elitebooks.

This wasnt the case just maybe 5-6 years ago or so. Thinpads were the best....