X200: Upgrade or go to X201?

This thread has gotten me thinking a little bit:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/508585-new-410-upgrade-my-400-a.html


Here's the basic sitch: I have both an X200 and a T400. the X200's become my primary system due to its light weight and working ThinkLight. The specs are as follows:

C2D P8600, 2GB RAM(2x1GB), 320GB 7200RPM HDD, running Win7 Ultimate.

I'm heading back to school for a new major next spring, most likely business of some sort. I'm going to need a system to last for five or so years of school, and am unfortunately not confident that the X200's going to be too current by the end of it. However, I have an upgrade plan I'm making for it.

The plans are to:

Bump RAM up to 4GB(2x2GB), possibly 8GB if needed
Replace display inverter
AFFS display mod
Add Bluetooth module and webcam
Replace top lid and LCD bezel which are scratched/scuffed
Ultrabase for docking to two-three external monitors, keyboard, and mouse
one USB video adapter for an extra monitor
9-cell battery

And possibly:
256GB SSD
1TB external 2.5" HDD for extra data(I have a lot of junk I cart with me)

Added together, that's about $1240. I can just about pick up a nicely configured X201 for that with the i5 540M, which is currently $1329... a difference of $89. Selling the X200 closes that gap considerably as well.

I'll be using this system for a myriad of tasks. Office/Internet apps and writing, but also mild/moderate non-enthusiast gaming(I know that either system has integrated graphics, so I'm not going to get notable performance), mild/moderate programming, some minor Web development, movies, and some mild/moderate 3D art projects(currently learning Poser at the moment and may jump into some more advanced programs/apps as time goes on). At home the system will be docked to a multi-monitor 'home desktop' setup, but I tend to carry my system with me everywhere.

As such I will be running into some CPU-intensive apps where the i5 might be more appreciated. Bluetooth and webcam are a must for me at the moment, as I'm doing some conferencing at times and hate taking along a separate webcam.

However, the amount spent on the X200 will keep me pretty well set for now... perhaps it's a better idea to upgrade it and move the rest(peripherals, SSD, etc) to a later X2xx revision later on in the future?

Any ideas would be extremely appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

Is the CPU holding you back?

Also, you would want to get those upgrades on the X201 also. So I think its better to keep the X200 and upgrade the laptop instead of buying a X201 and upgrading that. It would be a waste of money! I think the difference between the two laptops will be the CPUs only.

 

I think you make the case for moving to the X201 well - assuming that you sell your existing X200. The sale proceeds of the X200 would offset not only the marginal difference of cost between your "upgrade of the X200" and buying the X201 but it is likely that the rest of the money from the sale proceeds of the X200 can be used to upgrade parts of the X201 at a later point in time.

 

This is why I like to upgrade parts of my laptop every three to six months. Then after a couple of years most everything is up to date.

If I were you I'd sell the x200 and buy the x201. Either way you're still dropping serious coin. Better to have the newer one with the warranty.

 

I would also go with the advice and sell the X200, and get the X201.

Sounds like you've already thought about it, and know what to do.
For about the same, possible a little more would would get a newer computer, newer processor, and a longer warranty.

Get the X201 !

 

If you are not going back to school until the spring do this, nothing. Save the money and buy the Sandy Bridge X202 which will be debuting in January 2011.

 

From a performance perspective, it's kind of like going from a T41 to a T42. It seems like a lot of work for not much of an upgrade, but that's me. I might just be lazy.

 

unless you can recover most of the cost back from the sales, there is little point of upgrading the X200 to X201. You might as well sell the X200, and wait for the next incarnation of the X20x laptop.

 

Interesting thoughts. I'm not really much into my X200 cost-wise, perhaps $200 at the most. I haven't experienced any performance limits with this system yet, but I am a little concerned about getting a system that will continue to take what I dish out at it.

I could sell the X200 and even make a bit of a profit... I'd say I could get $500 out of it. However, I'm thinking a more prudent solution would be to get a few of the upgrades for it and keep it for a couple of years. When I really start pushing its performance envelope, newer models will be released and I can then make the jump to those?

 

nothing you buy today will be current by the end of your school. I think X200 should be able to last to the end of school if you treat it well.

 

People always overestimate their performance needs and few really push their CPU. Typcial usage is Internet, Office and Media for which a Pentium M will suffice. Even if you upgrade, it won't really offer much a performance boost.

Didn't you say it's mostly the lid that was marked up? A laptop skin would cover it., which I'm guessing is much less than a new LCD cover.

 

This is very true. most of my worries involve the 3D apps that I'm starting to poke around in. While they(oddly enough) don't require that much GPU power, rendering does require a lot of CPU time and RAM utilization. If I start getting into more test rendering I'll have a better idea of what the P8600 can do. It's still a hair better than the P8400 on my T400 at least.

As far as the lid goes most of the scuffing is on the front edge, and the plastic itself is chewed up in spots. It looks like it got dropped onto asphalt or something like that on its front edge. The lid, front bezel, palmrest, and bottom casing took some damage. I've gotten the palmrest replaced, however.

 

I think the best philosophy for buying technology in general is: if you need it now, buy it now. Your X200 seems to meet your needs just fine right now - why blow $1200 to upgrade it when you don't even need to? When you feel the X200 no longer meets your needs, buy a new Thinkpad (possibly the X210/X202, or even later, by then).

 

^This is also true. However, I do have a bit of a need for the Bluetooth and camera cards. I may just end up going in and putting them in myself.. they're not that large of a portion of the total.

The Ultrabase is another consideration as I would like to get an external docking setup to use in my office at home. I don't particularly need an SSD, however attractive the speed is... that's prolly a huge chunk of the upgrade cost right there.

I'm on the fence with the AFFS, though... it's a great display, but the X200's panel is already a lot better than the T400's.

 

An SSD is going to be a much more apparent upgrade then a slight generational upgrade for the CPU unless you REALLY need it. Get an SSD if you want a system upgrade...

And, yes, if you need a docking station, get one.

 

the dock will be compatible between the X200 and the X201 should you decide to upgrade down the line.

Also, if you need more graphic processing power you should consider the DIY vidock with a ATI 5770 graphics card or the Nvidia Graphics card that Nando4 suggested.

 

You can pick up a mini USB Bluetooth Adapter for $1.80 with free shipping here: DealExtreme: $1.80 Super Mini Bluetooth 2.0 Adapter Dongle (Vista Compatible). Saves some cash.

 

Those things don't work that well, but sure try it for the price.

 

Yeah, I've tried them. Not as effective as I would have hoped, plus I use some USB peripherals and sometimes need all three ports available. It may be a little more expensive, but I think the internal adapter might be the better route.

 

Suggest invest in a US$300 GTX460 DIY ViDock. You have 4500MHD so would get Optimus enhancements (performance + internal LCD usage). A GTX4640 also allows you to connect another two external monitors. The DIY ViDock can be connected to a X201 if decide you want a trackpad and the faster CPU (or could go a 13" Toshiba R700 with 1366x768 LCD and optical drive, 3.2lbs).

Your P8600 should be up to the task. Consider trying Throttlestop's dual-IDA mode described here to get it up to 2.66Ghz if bios doesn't lock EIST.

 

I have both the x200 and the x201. I don't notice any difference in everyday tasks such as having 15 browser tabs open, music, msn, photoshop, word processing, pdf / excel.

the cheapest way to upgrade your x200 is to use windows 64 bit and enough ram to utilize it.

Do you do light gaming? If so, the x201 with its i5 cpu and intel HD graphics pulverizes the x200 on every level. But I found that getting an SSD made the most noticeable difference of all. The difference is phenomenal - I can't believe how quickly things load. Maybe that's how you can future proof your computer!

 

A Vidock might not work for me, honestly. I use the ExpressCard slot for a couple of accessories, including an internal flash drive that stores a lot of critical information... although I can move things to a large-capacity SD card if needed. Also as I hate to be deskbound, I'm assuming there's really no nice, neat, and easy external case I can get the GPU in so it's a little more portable or at least protected? The thought of having a bare, uncased power supply and GPU hanging out on my desk makes me cringe... one wrong move and the whole rig is toast. I guess having a small case for the GPU(with adequate cooling, obviously) and an external power adapter(much like a second 'brick' for a notebook) would be a much better solution for me to use... is this available, perhaps?

I'd definitely like to stick with ThinkPads, however. I really dislike using a trackpad, and they're one of a few types of notebooks that use a trackpoint style 'mouse.' I might be one of a minority but I like the fact the X200 doesn't have a trackpad.

 

ViDock4/Vidock4+ provide an enclosure for an external GPU. Or could make your own using say a 1U Server PSU + DIY ViDock components.

As to SSD, consider http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/456846-x200-pinout-do-internal-mpcie-ssd-hdd-setup.html . You'd be the first owner of a SSD+HDD X200 if did it successfully.

Finally, you might want to see if middleton can come up with a bios to disable EIST to allow dual-IDA mode to work. That way you'd get a x10 multiplier bringing your P8600-2.4 to 2.66Ghz using Unclewebb's Throttlestop software.

 

Alright... the suggestion for getting the actual Vidock 4 seems to pan out, although I haven't been able to find much info on the 4+, other than it seems to have a better power supply(225W). I'm assuming the 4+ is what I'd need to do this with the GTX460.

I'm also assuming I'll still be able to use the internal display on my X200 just fine with this setup. How hard is all of this to set up on a software level? Out of curiosity, will this setup possibly work on my switchable T400, given I've got the X4500 running at the time?

 

software level it should be pretty much plug and play, most of the works go into the hardware assembly.

 

I was once in the same boat: I wanted a 14" laptop, so I bought the T400. Later I "discovered" the 12" X200, and thought it would be much more portable, so I bought it too. I held onto both of them for a semester and really didn't want to get rid of my T400 since I really like it, but it was being used as a desktop and configurations are nearly identical between the two. I wanted to do some gaming and the T400 was no good for that, so I finally made up my mind and sold it to build a desktop. Now both of my computers have a purpose.