X201 or X120e or wait around?

I'm currently on the look out for a new laptop. My current one is a HP Pavilion dv6500, purchased end of 07, and it has served me just perfectly ever since. I plan on giving this one to my parents (since their desktop computer gave up). These past few months, I've been seeing quite a few Thinkpads at my uni, and I've come to really like the way they look. Primarily the X-series.

I'll be using the laptop for university purposes (running programs like Matlab), browsing the internet, perhaps watching the occassional movie and that's about it. Now I'm set on either getting the X201 (12inch, no greater), which seems rather reliable and portable, the only thing that sets me off it is the price tag. I love the design, since it has that classic laptop look and I keep on looking at images of it.

I found out today that the X120e will be coming out in the next month, and this one also looks very promising, plus for the same reasons as above, I'm particularly interested in it.

Finally, I was reading another topic here, where a user was wondering whether they should cancel an order..and the general consensus was that they should because of these new Sandybridge CPU's that are supposed to hit the market in the coming months?

So I'm just after advice on which system any of you would recommend, or whether I should wait around for this Sandygate?

 

New X210/X220 probably wont be cheap at first when they are released.
X120e should be evaluated for its CPU power.
At worst you could get X201 for cheaper when new X series are released.

 

non-techie here.

my new x201i (i3/4mb RAM/old style hard drive) runs my daily setup like lightning and the battery life is great 6 hours on the 6 cell. I got it for around $850 pre-tax and it arrived in 4 days.

Daily routine is:
3x 10+mb of excel models up and working through
2-3 10+mb ppt files open and editing
5-10 internet tabs open
Outlook
A couple pdfs
(no gaming)

I cant imagine what a new processor would do for someone like me; Im moving as fast as I could expect right now. If money and time matter to you, I'd say get the x201 on the cheap while you can.

 

-b

If you have the money (around $2000 USD or so? I'm not sure how much the new X-series would cost but probably a lot) and could not wait that long (since you are in school), then you probably should get the Sandy Bridge? ones that possibly comes with new updated features.

If you don't really have the dinero and could not wait long, an X201 or even an X200 will suit your needs I believe.

If you can wait, then just adopt the wait-and-see tactic before you make your purchase.

 

I am going to wait for the performance assessment (specifically thermal and graphic) as well as the battery usage time of the x120e before making a decision.

 

A wise decision.

 

I wish they updated X120e design a bit and made it look slimmer like they did with T410 and made it not to look like its all the same thickness both in front and back of the laptop the way it is now. Added Expresscard slot to it would be great too, that would make it quite perfect machine for me.

 

If you're pressed to get something similar to the X120e you could try the HP Pavilion dm1. You have to keep in mind the processor these two notebooks use was designed for netbooks which means LOW power consumption is the main priority. Here are the benchmarks for the E-350 The Brazos Performance Preview: AMD E-350 Benchmarked. I've been looking at these myself, I'm on a low budget so it needs to be in this price range with a battery life exceeding 6 hours (the dm1 advertises 10+ hours), and I'm only going to be using this for college purposes. Probably has a fair amount of bloatware so If I got one I'd wipe the drive and install a ubuntu netbook edition, it'd run like a dream. Anyway if you're in no hurry it'd probably be best to wait til Q2 of the year, AMD is going to be releasing the Llano to supersede Athlon II's and Intel is releasing the sandy bridge. For performance the sandy bridge will probably trump AMD's releases but as usual AMD will be trying to catch the market with a higher price : performance ratio.

 

^^That looks rather nice actually, and my current HP laptop has a good track record with me. I'll look into it, but I think I'm set on the Thinkpad X-series for now.

That's what I'm worried about it, the price and all. For the record, I live in Australia and the semester begins end of February here, so ideally I'd like to get the laptop around that time, or latest March. I think I can wait as long as April but I'm pushing it there.

Thanks for the positive feedback on your system. It sounds like it'll last for a some time, which is what I'm looking for, 5+ years.

Well I can wait, but then again I can't...it's not urgent that I get a laptop, just that everyone in my house is using my laptop at the moment. When do these new X series come out with the Sandybridge? Was it February?

 

have you consider the e220s or the e220. The e220s look very slick. I am kind of sad for getting a laptop last month and not wait til ces.

 

^^They do look very nice and slick actually. I'll look into them too. I was either going for a simple look, which is what the e220 has, but I also like the classic laptop design too, as the X-series.

But I think I'll wait around..the prices on the Lenovo website, for Australia, are rather high. For example the X201, the cheapest they have is $1,899 AUD. Keep in mind that AUD roughly equals USD now days.

 

Actually, I think the T410 is the same or even slightly thicker than the T400...

Really, I think if you find a good deal on an X201 now, go for it. Technology is a constantly progressing monster, so you'd be forever waiting for the next great thing. If you need it now, buy it now. Also, when the X210 is released, it won't be as cheap as the X201 is right now, especially not right after release.

 

I suppose it could be called X220 given that edge and X120e got 20 in model number.

As for T400 vs T410, I compared tabooks/pdf's and there is exactly the same thickness.

 

Well to answer your question about the sandybridge cpu release date I'll go ahead and give you a new link to look into. Lenovo IdeaPad B-Series. It's not an X-series but it uses up to an i5 Sandybridge CPU, set for release around April they say it's going to start off at $500. When I say up to an i5 it means the opening price of $500 would probably be for an i3 (which is still very good). Though I thought you stated no larger than 12" (it's 14" if thats alright). I'm personally going to wait on the x120e, after reading x100e reviews and hearing how much praise it's keyboard gets I'm swayed to wait out until february rather than getting a dm1 which looks like it has a flimsy cheap keyboard. My configuration will probably be E-350 processor, 320 gb 7,200 rpm hdd, and 6 cell battery. However if the lenovo site tries to charge me $30 for an HDD upgrade from 5400 rpm to 7200 rpm I'll just default to the 5400 rpm drive and buy myself a Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200 rpm drive for $50. Have a spare 5400 rpm drive lying around with Windows 7 installed and put ubuntu on the 7200 rpm drive that has incredible reviews.

 

^^Thanks for that. I'll definitely wait around til these Sandybridge CPU's come out, and whether Lenovo will update the X201 line or anything of the kind. And yep, i'd rather it being no greater than 12".

I actually really liked the X120e in the youtube video, it almost had me sold..but i'd still rather have an optical drive.