X201 as a desktop replacement

I am considering a X201 and thinking whether this laptop can be a desktop replacement at home.
I would like to get a X201 with i5-560M, 4GB DDR3, 128GB SSD and an ultrabase.
The Ultrabase will connect my 22-inch lcd monitor, a set of stereo speakers, keyboard, mouse and an external HDD.

I gave it a thought and I don't see much problem.
Since I usually use my console for gaming, dedicated GPU is not a concern.
I don't do much CPU intensive things like video encoding (even though I need it occasionally, it just takes more time. Not that I can not do it, right?).
My sound card on the desktop is just passing signal to my speaker DAC through optical cable.
I started thinking why I need this bulky desktop.
Most of time, I just browse web, listen to music, watch HD movies and TV shows.

Do you guys see any potential issue with this setup?

 

In your other thread, you were talking about how you liked working with 100mb images in Photoshop and Illustrator. I don't think an integrated GPU would be ideal for that.

 

Thanks, discreteuniverse.
It is a good point.
I didn't realize this issue at work.
Hmm.
I might consider vidock as lead_org suggested since I have an ATI 4850 card.

Anyway I am thinking issues at home right now.

P. S. I didn't know whether I have to ask this question to that thread or make a new one.
I know some people hate seeing a new thread from the same person with a relatively similar question, but other people hate seeing a thread going to a different direction.
So I just made a new thread.

 

It should work to some extent. I work with 30-40mbs RAW file on my X200T with SL9400, 4GB RAM and 80 GB Intel G2 SSD.

Its a great little machine. Other machine I would look at is Sony Z series as PS can use discrete graphic cards for processing.

 

Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to have an ultraportable as your sole computer unless you just don't do much computing.

I would either A) put together a nice desktop for your higher end graphics work and then purchase an ultraportable like the x201, or B) compromise on portability and performance by getting something like a W510.

The vidock, while a neat device, I think is just going to be more $ and trouble than it's worth. It's really ideal for someone that already has an underpowered laptop, and that for some reason doesn't want to/can't upgrade. But I don't think it's wise to buy a laptop with the intent on pairing it with a vidock.

My 2 cents.

 

thinkpad X20x ultraportable machines can be as powerful as their T4xx and T5xx counterpart in the CPU department. The only thing that is keeping the X20x down is the lack of good gpu selection (you can have any graphics card as long as it is Intel integrated GPU).

DIY Vidock is a cheap solution, and given how easily you can connect and disconnect from laptop i don't think it is really the hassle.

 

i use x201 as desktop replacement and i'm happy with it although i don't do anything with graphic. I think it depends on how intensive your graphic work is - if you just use it at home for not heavy graphic task, it's a great machine and I love how light it is

 

I also use the X201 as my main computer and have not encountered any issues with anything I throw at it including applying filters in Photoshop and using Dragon Naturally Speaking, two things which usually killed my former notebooks. PS also opens in 2 seconds.

I use it in the Ultrabase connected to a 27in monitor and it works very well. The integrated graphics system does an excellent job in my opinion.

 

If you're only using one monitor, the intel graphics might do OK for video editing and such. But most folks I know that do video work have multiple monitor setups for that. I think you'll really be straining the integrated graphics trying to run two monitors off the ultrabase, not to mention you can't feed digital signals to both of them. And two monitors will be your limit. So keep those things in mind.

 

forgot to add that I would not get the Lenovo supplied SSD. Most likely it will be a 1.8 Samsung which in my opinion is overpriced for its performance. I sold mine and got an Intel 160gb.

 

My experiences say that integrated video such as Intel X3100, X4500 and better is fine for 2D-work. I doubt your Photoshop work will put any strain on an integrated GPU. If you apply filters and similar, it's your CPU that does the job.

 

Thanks, Kamitorial.
I thought that performance issues between 1.8" and 2.5" was only for HDD not SSD.
Hmm, interesting thing to think about.

I have to clarify that the photoshop work issue has been blown out of proportion.
I do some photoshop/illustrator work with big images, but it happens just 2-3 weeks per year.
My old laptop even could handle the work, but it was just a little sluggish.
So I expect that X201 will handle them better.

Thanks everyone for many inputs.
I guess I can conclude that X201 is good for desktop replacement at home, but might have a small performance issue at work which is not a big deal as I explained above.

 

I'm seriously considering using my X200 as a DTR as the desktop I have is pretty ancient(2.6GhZ P4 and its old Radeon card is actually less powerful than the X4500 integrated GPU in the X200), so I'm assuming with an Ultrabase and a few peripherals it should do pretty well for what I will be using it for.

Keep in mind that I don't do any sort of photo editing, and any sort of gaming I do is handled by my T500. For typical, non-gaming and general office/school/home use, the X200 would be a fine DTR: Take it with you when you need to have a portable computer, and put it in the dock and enjoy full-sized peripherals and multiple displays at home.

 

My entire team of SR. IT Consultants use X61T, X200T and X201T as desktop replacements. We have 23" Viewsonic LCDs attached to the Lenovo Docking Station with either Bluetooth or Wireless keyboard and mouse. I have been using Ultra-potables (4 lbs or less) as my primary machine for at least 7 years. My new machine will be the HP Slate 500 with the same dock scheme as I have with my Lenovo...

 

Thanks, LegendaryKA8 and jnjroach for the inputs.

I started realizing that I really don't need a bulky desktop at home.
Moreover I was tired of synchronizing stuffs between my laptop and desktop.

There was a time when I was constantly upgrading my desktop.
It was a very expensive hobby indeed.
I justified such habit by saying that I needed it to play games and convert DVDs to mkv files.
As I got old, I lost much interest in games and movie archiving.
But I kept upgrading stuffs since I occasionally played games and made movie archives.
As time goes by, I was not sure whether I upgrade PC to do some gaming and encoding or whether I do games and encoding to justify my expensive hobby.
I started thinking that it might be the latter.