X1 Carbon Longetivity; X230 Screen size

I was thinking about purchasing an X1 Carbon because of size and weight considerations. However, how long do you think the ULV processor will stay "reasonably" powerful? i.e. When will the machine become outdated?

On a separate note, is the X230 screen res not big enough for programming? Is there eye strain?

 

I wouldn't use a pocket knife to chop wood. If you do serious programming, I suggest you consider T430 with 14" HD+ 1600x900 screen and quad-core processor. You can remove the hard drive from the main bay and the optical drive from the UltraBay, and use a large mSATA SSD.

The X1 Carbon is a closed box of relatively weak/small components. Because it cannot be upgraded, it's already outdated. The X230 can be very potent, but its screen may be small for certain tasks.

 

A programmer myself, I have used an X220 to code in MSVS and don't find the 12.5" screen to be a problem for me. The screen itself is comfortable and does not cause eye strain for me.

But if you want a machine to run CPU-intensive productions then a T430 is a better choice. That is why I use a T430 to run some cpu-intensive applications and use my X220 to monitor it when I am away from home.

 

Can't you get both machines with the same CPU? Do you find the 1600x900 to be preferable (this'll be my only machine)? Is the GPU upgrade worth it?

 

cpu can be the same but T430 has better cooling because it is bigger (my applications have multi-threads and run 14 hours a day). The screen 1600x900 is worth it (it has narrow viewing angle but after color calibration it becomes better). GPU upgrade is probably not worth it unless your application is really gpu demanding.

 

I am trying out a Yoga 13 (13.3" 1600x900) and my previous machine was an x220 (1366x768). The screen on the Yoga is much more pleasant to use for dev work with Visual Studio and Blend. It's really personal preference though.

I'm not sure what you mean by "eye strain", I usually hear people say that would be a problem on on high-resolution screens...and neither the X1C nor the x230 qualify (in my opinion). The pixel density on the x220/230 is pretty low so things on the screen are larger than I prefer. The information density is also low, which is what makes it less useful for programming (again, in my opinion).

I found the x220 serviceable but not pleasant for development work. If I decide to return the Yoga, I'll go back to the x220 for a while, but I'd miss the 1600x900. On the other hand, the footprint of the x220 was small enough that I could use it in an Economy airplane seat.

 

Good point, that is why I carry around X220.

 

Thanks for your answer. I guess I'm just trying to find a reason to go for an X230 over the T430. With weight not being an issue and the better resolution, I guess I might stay with the T430 unless the returns and exchange rep gives me an awesome deal (i7 + IPS) on the X230.

 

The other thing to consider right now is touch. After using the Yoga for a week, I think it would seem odd to go back to a machine without a touchscreen.

If your development work might ever include Windows Store apps (i.e. Metro/Win8 apps) then it would be good to have a touchscreen.

 

I have a Win8 Pro license, but not a big fan yet...

Grrr... I'm still on the edge about the T430 vs X230 now. The X230 looks so much more portable and elegant . A question to those who've gone to college (I'm a high school student): How important is portability and size and do you think the extra weight of the T430 is too much. I carry my T430 now and at times it can seem like a hassle although manageable.

 

I suppose people (including myself) gave well-meant advice to you while second-guessing your real needs. You originally mentioned "programming," but it's not clear how intensive your programming projects are or will be: this has direct influence on i7 quad and 14" HD+ recommendations.

The X230 is great as far as compact portability is concerned.

 

For me (and most of my friends as far as I can tell), portability is a huge value at college. Most of my friends use at most a 14" laptop, and if they do have a larger machine, they have a smaller 10-12" laptop to go with it. I leave my T500 in my room nearly all the time because it's so unwieldy, and take my X120e with me to class and the research lab.

I would personally recommend a large monitor + external keyboard and mouse setup for your dorm, where you can simply plug in your X230 when you get back. Best of both worlds. My brother does this with his X230 (he's an Electrical Enginering/Computer Science major).

For general programming needs, either the X1C or the X230 should be sufficient for the next several years. For heavy compiling work, you'll want to use a lab workstation anyway.

 

Agreed. For most programming X230 should be sufficient unless you are into computer graphics.

 

Your advice was really useful... with programming: I do C++ and Java programming as an intern at a local University. I always have a hard time making decisions so don't feel as if you made it more difficult for me.

 

Ha, then I'll try to make it even harder to decide. If you are a student, how can you even be considering any other than a Thinkpad Helix? It has a detachable tablet with stylus so you can take notes in class. It has a keyboard dock and full HD screen for coding. It's perfect, except that it isn't available quite yet ;-)

And by the way, a touchscreen makes Windows 8 seem much less silly ;-)

 

I've read up but the price... 1499 seem a bit high

 

I bought an X230 for programming which I used for about a week before deciding to return it. I found that 1366x768 simply didn't cut it and was too frustrating to try and always maximize screen space to get any work done.

I also tried to use it for basic UML work and that was even worst. Forget doing diagrams on such resolution. At least I didn't want to use it for any of that so I decided to return it.

I decided to try out the X1C, I received it 2 weeks ago and I will be keeping it. The T430 was another option but too heavy for my needs, I am moving a lot throughout the day.

I was also worried about speed on my X1C but I can't see it being a problem for the next few years. It is very snappy.

 

In case anyone wanted to know, I went for a T430 with a 3210m that I may self upgrade to 3612qm in the future. Thanks!

 

Do you intend to run virtualization on the T430?

 

If it was me, it would be a decision between the X230 or T430s.
I would stick with the X230 for programming only if I have an external LCD to plug it to. Otherwise, it would be the T430s.

The X1c is too proprietary for my liking - No option with HD upgrade other than lenovo's $300 option, battery strength and upgradability, RAM limitation, etc. Add that with an undervolted CPU and it's an obvious deal breaker for me.

The T430s is much more capable and you don't have to worry about any of the above. The only thing that I would want to experience before buying is the display quality.

The X230 so far is a great compromise. Msata SSD + fat 500GB storage is perfect. The 1366x768 is not as bad as I thought for a 12.5" display and the IPS more than makes up for it. The IPS is such a beautiful screen (coming from a T500 CCFL 1680 x 1050).