X220 or X220T?

Hi,

First off apologies if this is the wrong section, I am just posting here as I know what brand I want just wondering which would better suit my needs between 2 specific versions and a sub-forum that indicates Thinkpad users would be better than a broad forum.

I'm in need of a new net/notebook asap, and currently looking at the X220 / X220T. From what I gather, the X220 has a better IPS screen and option for a 9 cell battery? Where as the X220T has the swivel function and multi touch / stylus functionality and is limited to a 6 cell.

I will be using this for a bit of travelling, general book keeping and a few other tasks, I am pushing more towards the X220T just for the touch functionality as I can find it being used for practical purposes as well as when used for leisure using it in tablet form as opposed to using a mouse etc.

I have already been told there seems to be a problem with the wifi modules in these notebooks, are there any other problems I should know of? Also does anyone know a good website besides eBay / Lenovo shop that I could take a look at? That ships to the UK.

 

I have the 220 and no wifi issues. if you like touch, go with the x220t

 

Do you know if it is possible to buy the 9 cell battery for x220 and put it in the tablet version? Also I should look to buy the 90w adapter?

 

No, the batteries for the X220t and X220 are not compatible. A 90W adapter is not necessary for the X-series laptops, a 65W adapter will do everything perfectly fine.

My dad's X220 has no WiFi issues of any sort. What problems are you referring to?

 

The wifi issues I've heard of are just being weaker than usual / drop outs when about 20m away from the broadcasting wireless router.

 

prob router or interference. 20m/65 feet is good range in many houses and buildings for consumer routers and access points with walls and metal/electrical interference

 

Also the X220t has an IPS panel as well.

 

As someone with both the x220 and x220t, I'd strongly recommend the standard x220 unless you know you need to tablet functionality. I just feel that it's an all around better designed unit compared to the tablet.

I haven't noticed any particularly glaring wifi issues or any difference between the IPS panels, either.

 

Stop hating on the tablet! The tablet portion is great if you use it. Just the fat 6 cell battery is pretty annoying. I have the 6205 in my X220T, never had wifi issues.

I don't think there is a difference between the panels HOWEVER the X220T ONLY comes IPS whether you get the Multi-Touch or Outdoor screen, while not every single X220 is IPS, just most of them. Be wary of cheap X220's, they usually don't have IPS.

 

As an owner of an X220T, if I didn't need the inking capabilities of a tablet then I would have gotten an X220 for its smaller footprint and great battery life with a 9 cell battery (and epic battery life with the battery slice). From what I've seen and read, the IPS screens on both are the same. If you get an X220 tablet, though, then there is another layer for the multitouch or for the outdoor screen plus added bulk for the digitizer.

I love my Windows tablet pc; OneNote has revolutionized my mathematics teaching (lecture notes), research, and personal coursework. I'm almost totally paperless aside from grading student work and the odd book of which (*grammar?) I am unable to find an electronic version. I do print out my notes on paper for lectures, but someday I'll use the multitouch capabilities to refer to notes straight from the screen.

I'd wholeheartedly recommend an X220T, but the size and battery life compromise compared to an X220 makes it only worth it if you have a need for tablet functionality.

 

I have a X220t but with Thinkpad b/g/n. The only time when I experience weak signals is when I put it into tablet mode. Guess it has something to do with the WiFi antennas facing downwards.

 

In general the ThinkPad card is a Atheros or Realtek rebrand are crappy chips anyway. It's worth the 20-25 to up to the 6205.

 

Agreed, because if you decide to go through official channels later to "upgrade", like IBM, it will cost you around 4x that amount.

 

Thanks for your input guys, am I right in assuming the X220/T can use the ViDocks if I needed the extra GPU processing power? I am pulling more towards the X220 at the moment, I don't have any full need for the tablet functionality I would probably play around with the functionality for a week or so then get bored. The battery life on the X220 is pulling me more towards it. Is there information I can look out for or ask to find out if the X220 being sold / auctioned in question has an IPS screen? Assuming I didn't go through the Lenovo website. Also how are Lenovo with swapping warranty between owners? Thanks for all of your input so far. Also is there any brand you would personally recommend for a SSD drive 180GB / 250GB capacity? The OCZ vertex I use on my desktop is absolutely terrible.

 

The warranty follows the Thinkpad, which you can check on Lenovo's website.

 

X220/T are some of the easiest to do an eGPU or Villagetronic ViDock setup, as well as a good choice due to having Expresscard 2.0. The warranty is exactly as pepclub says. I'm not sure about the IPS screen; the only way I've ever correctly ID'd a screen is by Serial Number -> parts lookup -> FRU or part number of the screen.

SSD: 2.5" 256GB: Samsung 830. 180GB: Wait for the new Intel 330. There's also mSata+HDD combo.

 

Though I can't attest to the fact the normal X220 gets more battery life, I see no reason why it should. You might want to ask Commander Wolf as he has the normal X220 and the Tablet version.

You'll need to input the serial number if it's a CTO on Lenovo's support site.

Lenovo doesn't really care about reselling, the serial number just has to show in warranty to get service.

If you want those size SSD, look at the 830 series from Samsung or if you can afford it the 320 series 300 GB.

 

In pen-mode, the digitizer increases power usage by about 1-2W (at least that's what it was with the X200t, not sure if anything's changed since then). While using it as a regular laptop, the X220t should have similar power drawas the X220, but there is no 9-cell battery option (which is probably what the OP was referring to by the "battery life").

 

This is what I meant about battery life that the X220 had the 9 cell which isn't available in the tablet version.

"ThinkPad X220 (4291-9R2)
i5-2540M(2.6GHz), 4GB RAM, 160GB 7200rpm HD, 12.5in 1366x768 LCD, Intel HD Graphics, Intel 802.11agn wireless, WWAN option, Bluetooth, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure Chip, 6c Li-Ion, Win7 Pro 32"

Would this have the integrated webcam?

 

As far as I can see, no, that listed X220 does not have a webcam.

 

Got it for only £550, I'll just get an external one I guess.

 

For a piece of anecdotal evidence- running in maximum performance mode i get about 3 hours use typing/web browsing on my x220t. Seemingly the best mode for battery life is the Windows profile 'power saver' which will drop my consumption to about 10W as measured by Power Manager. I find that that equates about 4 hours battery, though my battery is now at 90% of original capacity. Given it's a 53WHr battery that seems about right. If I have a whole day of lectures i will turn off wifi and drop the screen brightness to maybe 20%, and I've managed to eke out 6 hours inking time before.

From what I've read this is substantially less than the non tablet version, presumable due to the digitiser as MidnightSun says. The tablet functionality is great if you are going to use it- making notes for a picture/diagram heavy degree like medicine I think it's great for me personally, but I'm a poor typist anyway. It's also useful if I'm sat on a train as the tablet format is very easy to read from in a confined space. However if you see the tablet features as a cool novelty I can see the battery life hit, and greater size being a post purchase regret.

 

Those are pretty poor battery lives for Sandy Bridge laptop. Not saying they aren't sufficient for an average user just saying you can get better battery life on Alienware M18x. So I don't know how much power this digitizer is using but if it is to blame it using WAY too much!

That said, I get around 4 hours in performance mode on X200t, and about 5-6 hours of regular usage in Power Source Optimized mode (through ThinkVantage). It's a bit less watching 720p video, I think around 4 hours but still more than sufficient for me. This is all with 8-cell battery.

 

This only applies if you are using the digitizer. If you use both units as "normal" laptops, they will get approximately the same runtime (assuming the specs are the same). I get about 5.5w idle on both my 220t and vanilla 220; navigating with the digitizer on the 220t adds about 1-1.5w.

 

Yep, if you're drawing 10W on battery without using the digitizer, there's definitely room for some optimization. Hell, my T500 can draw less than 10W on battery, and that's with a power-hungry 15" CCFL display! Depending on the SSD, that may also help reduce power usage over a conventional HDD as well.