X1 Carbon vs. X220+monitor

Is there any down side to using an X220 with a monitor? I've never used such a setup before, always preferred it simple with the built-in screen.

Would like to go back to a larger screen with higher resolution. If the T420s/T320s had a better screen I'd go that way. Only alternative with good screen is the X1 Carbon. For the price difference between my X220 and X1C with a 180gb or 256gb hard drive I could pick up an external keyboard, dock and one or two monitors.

 

A large desktop is obviously less portable, but I'm sure you're aware of it? If you're just using at a desk, I see no downside.

 

Have been using the x220 with the dock with two UXGA displays since I got it last year. Never had a problem.

 

Well that's the nice thing about x series ThinkPads, they have plenty of horsepower to be docked and hooked up to an external monitor, and you can undock it and have a wonder ultraportable.

 

I use my x220t at work with a Dell 2209WA 1680x1050 IPS monitor. It works great and gives me plenty of screen real estate, and when I'm ready to leave, I just pop the laptop out of the dock and go. I much prefer that setup to when I had a more bulky laptop with a crappy screen.

 

What kind of issues were you thinking may happen? At home I hook up to a 24" with the x220. I've also tried it on my buddies 70" panel, no problems. 1080p stuff looks quite nice on that screen.

 

When I need to edit photos, I hook up my x220 to a Dell 23". It works very well.

 

I couldn't think of any but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I'm now using a 24" and so far it's only good news.

 

+1

But I have a 230t and an HP IPS monitor...works great. I do not have a dock, I just plug stuff in the ports on the 230t. Can't beat the ease and ability to use the laptop with an external monitor. This is my first Lenovo and I am really happy.

 

On one hand the 1366x768 resolution on the X230 is so low that you can only have one application open at a time. The 1600x900 resolution let's you have two windows side by side. If that matters to how you use your computer, you should certainly consider that handicap.
On the other hand, the X1 Carbon uses a TN panel, and after having experienced IPS panels, it's very hard for me to enjoy looking at a TN panel. The viewing angles are so narrow that you need to adjust the screen angle exactly, and it's difficult to be two people looking at the same computer.

Most of the time I'm using the X230 with an U2711 27" monitor, so the low display resolution on the X230 isn't that important for me. This is the setup I'd recommend. Next time Lenovo updates the X1 Carbon to a full HD IPS panel, I'd definitely choose that. The computer looks way slicker than the X230.