What's a good price for a maxed out x200 tablet

I recently priced a maxed out x200 tablet for about $2200 after tax, 1.86GHZ processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 3 year depot warranty, does not include ultrabase.

My question is, is this a good price for an x200 tablet? Should I get the ultrabase?

 

You might save a few bucks buying in the outlet, then doing the upgrades yourself.

 

That price to me seems very high, way off from what I would spend on ANY laptop, but it is your decision in the end. The X200 Tablet is a premium machine, but that price is too much in my opinion. But I am not sure what a good price would be. The moderator of this board, jonlumpkin, told me around $1,400 would be a good price, but you have an ultrabase(~$200) and a big SSD(not sure how much it cost, must be expensive) which I don't think he factored into the cost he mentioned.

The Ultrabase is useful if you want to install software from Cds and DVDs. You have to ask yourself if you will need to do that. If you don't and get most of your software online, then you don't need it.

 

Thanks guys.

That's exactly what I was thinking. $2200 is a bit too much for an ultraportable, considering you can get a netbook for just over $400 these days.

 

Pre-configured "Topseller" models still seem to be the way to go for x200 Tablets (the price on Lenovo.com has not fallen to the same degree as the other models). Check the Tabook for models.

The big question though is what do you consider "Maxed Out"? Do you want the SuperBright LED (my display) or the dual digitizer (touch/pen)? Do you need WiMax or is the Intel 5100/5300 adequate? Do you need WWAN? Are you confident in your ability to add an SSD yourself aftermarket (same goes for RAM)?

Assuming you want a machine specced close to mine, you would be best served by the 7449-8JU or 7449-88U. These both have 285 nit LED (digitizer only), SL9400 (1.86GHz), Webcam, modem/5-1 reader, Intel 5100, 8 cell, 2GB (single DIMM), 160GB 7200RPM HDD, Bluetooth, Fingerprint reader, a 3 year depot warranty, AND the UltraBase DVD+RW. The only difference is XP Tablet for the 8JU and Vista Business (32-bit) + Turbo memory for the 88U.

The 8JU is $1680 from Provantage and the 88U is $1720 from ProVantage.

You can then add the SSD of your choice and an extra 2GB of RAM. You should still come in below the $2200 mark and may be able to reduce that further if you try and sell the UltraBase/DVD+RW on eBay.

 

i would suggest you get the ultrabase and drop the SSD. get the SSD afterwards from newegg or something. for ram get 1 DIMM 2GB and buy the other 2GB from newegg or something.

expensive and usefulness is relative to your budget and needs anyway. a netbook is not a proper laptop technically but the x200 is.

 

Thanks guys for all the good suggestions. Really appreciate them.

Now a couple of more questions. What kind hard drive does the x200 tablet use? 2.5 or 1.8? And what kind of memory does the x200 tablet take, DDR2 or DDR3?

Now that I am taking a closer look at the x200 series, I am tempted by the lower priced x200 and the x200s. Which one is sturdier/more reliable, the x200 or the x200s?

And what kind of hard drive does the x200 and the x200s use?

Thanks

 

One question about ProVantage. Do they charge sales tax to NY? And are they a reliable seller?

 

The x200 Tablet and x200(s) have a 2.5" HDD bay. However, if you order it with an SSD from Lenovo it will include a 1.8" to 2.5" adapter (ALL SSDs stocked by Lenovo are of the 1.8" variety). Manufacturer of the HDD is luck of the draw; however, both my x200 Tablet and a friends shipped with a 160GB 5400 RPM Hitachi 5k320. The x200 Tablet (like the x200(s), x301, T400(s), T500, w500, w700) uses 204 pin DDR3 RAM.


I think the x200 and x200s should be roughly equal in terms of reliability/durability (i.e. both are very good). The x200 has a top cover made out of sturdy magnesium alloy. The x200s top cover is made out of a much lighter glass and carbon fiber but it includes an internal roll cage to improve rigidity. Both the x200 and x200s have a roll cage to support the body of the notebook. The hinges, batteries, and general form factor are equivalent between both the x200 and x200s.

Their address is:

PROVANTAGE Corporation
7249 Whipple Avenue NW
North Canton, Ohio 44720-7143

So I would say they would NOT collect sales tax from New York purchasers and YES they ARE a reliable seller.

 

I just got the X200 about 1.5 weeks ago. I really love the machine. It seems very durable, very low heat, small and very light weight and long battery life. I agree with jonlumpkin in what he said. From my research I think that the X200s and the X200 should be about the same durability. The X200 uses more conventional materials where as the X200s uses more experimental new materials. Here is a list of interesting facts that I will provide that might help you.

- The X200 has its top lid, bottom plate and sides made of magnesium alloy
- The X200s has the top lid and sides made of glass fiber. Its bottom plate is made of magnesium alloy.
- The X200s should be about .5lbs lighter than the X200
- The X200s should get between 1 to 1.5 hrs more battery life than the X200, but ofcourse it depends on your configuration.
- The X200 only comes with the 1280x800 res screen w/ CCFL backlight
- The X200s only comes with the 1440x900 res screen w/LED backlight(that's a lot of pixels for a 12.1" screen and texts and icons will appear pretty small. Of course some will say that you can increase the DPI in Windows to compensate)
- The X200s is usually at least a few hundred dollars more than the X200 even with the best deals.


Overall I love my X200 but would probably have gone with the X200s as I wouldn't have minded the even lighter weight and even better battery life , but the cost difference was significant and was not worth it at this time.

 

I was able to play around with an X61 at work today. NICE! Feels solid. Honestly I don't know how anyone can make the X61 thinner. But obviously there is something even thinner in the S version.

Man, I am drooling all over these ultraportables.

 

The LED display on the x200s is about half as thick as the X200 CCFL. This combined with a slightly slimmer base (due to the smaller heatsink) is why the X200s is thinner.