X230(t) Owner's Thread

I'm having some chassis flex top left which is causing some keyboard flex. Anyone else having this problem?

 

I was a little luckier than you in that my X230(t) turned on and worked fine for a couple of hours before dying on me.

Regardless as you said VERY DISAPPOINTING Whats worse is that I was just told today that they have to order a new motherboard all the way from China and they have no ETA for it. If I don't get my system back next week I think I am just going to return the thing once and for all.

Only silver lining in the clouds for you is that it didn't wait to fail once you left the country.

 

wow, that'd be fantastic news. if they fixed it in the X220, surely they'd integrate the fix into the X230 though?

 

i have a 220 and a 230 here right now. both look like singles.

 

I thought about it, but I'm not sure if that would work. I'm not sure where exactly I'll be until I get over there or if I will be somewhere I am able to receive packages.

 

Yeah, that would have been a pain if it died after I left. I should have known better than to buy a product that's only been out a few weeks. Should have went with the x220.

 

I don't know why they bother sending out a new motherboard, for the same time period they could just built a working replacement system and give you that instead since you didn't have it for that long.

 

I got the three year warranty upgrade. Does that mean four year total?
Does anyone know where I can read about the warranty? I mean, what rights do I have regarding how many times the computer can be fixed for the same issue.

 

I have almost identical specs except for the 60GB SSD. Mine's coming on Tue. I used the Amex discount and also added a slice battery, a 3-cell battery for the times I want to travel light, a portable LCD and, oh yeah, the trackpoint nubs.

 

Hey guys,

Does anyone experience the loose of one of the 2 rubber hinges on the keyboard bazel (near the keyboard). For my system, the one on the right feel tight in place but the one on the left seem to be loose and wiggle a little, not sure if it is designed that way. If so, what is the reasons? My friend got that problem too. The one on the left has its base seem smaller and perhaps created the wiggle? but if so, why they design it like that???. I have heard that these piece of plastic fell off overtime with the x220t model, so I'm not sure if this odd design is some sort of improvement, can anyone who own x230t say something about this?

If u dont know what I mean by rubber hinges pieces, look at the attached picture please

 

Now that you mentioned it, mine has a little bit of free play, but it's probably because the left one is right above a USB port and has less anchor room than the right one. I think the main purpose those rubber hinges are just to keep the lid stable when it's closed. I bet if the lid had a latch, then there would be no need for those rubber hinges. I don't know what their life expectancy is, but if they break off, I'm sure you could rig something else to keep the lid stable, like velcro tape or something.

 

I ordered my X230T yesterday through master card offers. You can also get the same price through barnes & noble lenovo. Cheaper than shareholder or student purchase program.

$1109.58 total (no tax in OR). Estimated ship date: 2012/07/05

i5-3320m
Win7 Pro x64
backlit keyboard
webcam
500GB 5400rpm hdd
6 cell battery
bluetooth
intel 6205 wifi
3 year warranty (is on sale for $67.83)


I got the 500GB 5400rpm hdd because I will be using it as a storage drive or just take it out. I'm thinking of either getting a 128GB msata ssd or a 2.5" 7mm 256GB ssd. I would prefer adding a msata drive, but the msata port only supports sata2, and most modern msata drives support sata3, so that is a bummer. Price seems to be in close range (less than $200) either way.

3 year warranty was a no brainer since I'm worried about the rubber parts that might fall off, the hinge getting loose, or keyboard wear after 2-3 years.


I paid $1400 for X61T 5 years ago when they first released it. Last year when they first released X220T, the price for similar mid range was about $1300 with 3 year warranty from Costcentral, and thought that was a great deal. But I had to return that one because bad pen accuracy on the edges. Good to see the prices coming down, but I hope the build quality isn't getting any worse, especially when everyone else is working on better quality Ultrabooks nowadays.

 

What I dont understand is that that rubber hinge is a part of keyboard bazel and thus it should be tight in place when it was newly made. In physic theory, it doesn't make any sense to have one tight and one loose, I sent an email to the admin mark_lenovo over the lenovo community site to ask him about the reason behind making this, hope it is not some sort of manufacturing flaw of the keyboard bazel. It is just not worth to have the loose rubber hinge plastic there because it make the laptop doesn't feel sturdy at all.

 

If I extend my warranty through the B&N site , would I still get that discount price for the warranty? I only ordered it with the standard warranty.

 

@del_psi: I buy a Accidental damage warranty since this is a large investment

Since you have the X230t, can you please confirm the phenomena of the rubber hinges I mentioned in previous comment

Thanks

 

The Samsung 830 SSD works in the x230(t) without any modifications, right?

 

Confirmed...

 

Does anybody know, if the mastercard deals are available in Germany, too?
Or is it only possible in United States?

 

The left rubber hinge on mine is slightly loose. I just hope it doesn't break off.

Is the Thinkpad name starting to mean nothing?

 

Of course , I'm using it right now.

It takes a total of 15 seconds from pressing the power button to being able to use a web browser or pretty much any other application on the laptop.

 

Thanks! I saw that it was a little bit thicker than 7mm and wasn't sure. I ordered it yesterday so hopefully it'll get here soon.

 

Howdy all,

Just bought an X230T for medical school and in the processes of finishing buying some accessories for it( for use and upgrades).

The model I ordered is coming with a 500gb 7200 HDD. I want to change this hard drive to the 256GB Samsung SSD that seems to be popular around here(if there are any comparable drives, please let me know!).

I was going to go about this using this
JBA: Lenovo ThinkPad X230 Tablet - Upgrade Drive (to 256GB SSD)
as a guide. However, upon lurking some i saw there were some various methods to do this. My question is, what is the best way(or if someone can direct me) to replace the HDD with the SDD.

My last question involves a case. Which one seems to be a good one to carry it around in?

Thank you all! Cant wait to get this beast!

 

Just ordered a x230 with i5, 8gb ram, 128gb ssd and of course IPS
Also upgraded to 9 cell battery

 

I like to put a clean install of Windows 7 as cloning software isn't always perfect. (The software that came with my Kingston SSD was useless.) You make your own Windows 7 disk and carry over your product key to the new SSD.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/windows-os-software/428068-legal-windows-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html

 

So i basically
1. Download Windows 7 from the link
2. Burn the iso onto a DVD
3. With the SSD attached via a SATA to USB cable, install Windows 7 onto the SSD from the DVD(external since the x230T has no optical drive).
4. Take out the HDD with the method from the video, and put in the SSD
5. Enjoy?

Wouldn't this method cause driver issues, such as with the internet card and the WACOM digitizier?

 

For #3, you can just put the SSD where the hard drive was. Pop out the hard drive, replace it with the SSD and then install windows with an external DVD drive. You need to install the needed drivers after the fresh install. The laptop should have a drive that contains all of the needed drivers. Just copy and paste them onto a USB drive, SD card, etc. You can also download drivers here: Drivers and software - ThinkPad X230 Tablet

 

Thanks!

Sorry to bug for one more question,

When the SSD is inserted and windows is installing from an external Drive, how does the computer know to install it from the DVD drive? Does it just run the disk on boot up?

 

It should just detect that DVD drive needs to install windows since nothing will be on the SSD. You can also manually select it to boot from the DVD drive by going into the BIOS if it doesn't. (Hitting f9 or whatever key Lenovo now uses will bring up a boot menu when the BIOS screen is on.)

 

Thank you so much! Now i cant wait to get it!

 

No problem. I can't wait to get my x230 as well.

 

I just copied a windows 7 iso on a usb stick and make it bootable via this microsoft tool "Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool".

Can I use an Windows 7 Pro Image (Language X) and use a Product Key from a Windows 7 Pro Image (Language Y)?

 

Jepp....this is possible!

 

Cool... now let me get my new laptop

 

Viel Spaß damit
Oder auch: Have fun

I will order this laptop hopefully this week. Before ordering I want to get an first impression with a demo device, which should appear today (it didn't -.-)

@relachs: Where you've bought your x230t and in which setup?


Have a nice evening!

 

Sorry in advance for making this a long post... this is mainly for those considering buying it, here we go
Well, I got mine a couple of days ago, and I've been liking it so far. I have a couple of small complaints, though...
First, the touch screen doesn't seem to be too great on the edges - I usually can't get the edge pixel on the screen... maybe that's to be expected. I also have to push harder than I'm used to on a touch screen (is there something to adjust the sensitivity somewhere?) - that definitely has a bit to do with the screen protector I applied (a Photodon screen protector), but on the other hand, it seems to be that the touchscreen is "wearing itself in" - in the sense that over time and use it seems to be getting better.
The other issue I've been having with the touch screen is that for some reason every once in a while I seem to be having an issue in which it thinks I'm using two fingers instead of just one, and the "other finger" (that's not really there) is always on the same vertical pixel (looking at it from a landscape point of view), and the horizontal pixel is aligned with the actual finger. Usually it can be fixed my just playing around with it a bit, and I often get out the pen and play around with that as well, and it seems to help. But it's still annoying. Probably a driver issue.
And another touch screen issue - sometimes the touch point seems to snap to certain pixels - really annoying when trying to adjust the volume or brightness..
Moving over to the screen, the backlight bleeding worries me, I mainly see it at startup, but it hasn't bothered me until now (I've played - yes another train simulator - World of subways, and when I'm going through the dark tunnels, i haven't noticed anything). I have yet to try a movie on here.
The other issue with the screen is that when the screen is mostly white, there seems to be some wave-like flickering effect, but that seems to be going away as well - I used to see it on the default blue thinkpad background, but i don't see it on there anymore. So it could also be a matter of "wearing in" as well (see the explanation above).
On the keyboard, i also have another concern - the F-key row. Just today, I noticed that half of the F9 key was sticking up a bit. I pushed it down a bit and it snapped back, but just now it happened again... a bit disappointing considering this didn't happen on the $300 computer that preceded this one.
I've also seen a couple of complaints about the nibs on each side of the keyboard, but only after reading that did I notice my left nib was loose... although this morning I did notice that the right one was somehow broken out . It was easy to snap back in, but it still worries me a bit. Looking back at it, I do remember trying to convert from tablet mode to notebook mode without lifting up the screen first, which I am 99% sure caused the problem... DON'T DO IT!!!
Now, to the good side. Let's just say I'm not returning it because of the issues I mentioned above. If anything, I'll see if i can get it replaced under warranty once these issues have been fixed. But that might be a little tough, because it's a one year warranty, and I ordered this to arrive here in the US, and it will be over a year before I'm back in the US...
Anyway, first point - the keyboard. I definitely love the backlight, and i think it's a great addition. Typing is just fine on it as well - I am slowly understanding their design decisions - the "forgiveness zone", for example, I can understand very well. Note that I have not yet tried the previous thinkpad keyboards, but from what I have seen, most people who have actually tried the new keyboard and used the old ones before are convinced that the new one is better or just as good.
Next point - audio. The speakers are pretty good with the dolby stuff. The only gripe I have with it is that I can't set it (or haven't found a way to set it) on when using the built-in speakers and off when using audio out automatically. On the other hand, the quality of the sound coming out of the line out without dolby seems great - I'm loving the sound, and it works great with my headphones, I'm just hoping that I'm hearing this right... but just because of that beautiful sound, i can't wait to get my music library on here and start DJing (which should be great using the touch screen) again, I'm a bit out of practice.
Also, overall build quality, aside from the issues, seems great - this thing seems very solid. This morning, I had my two computers, the X230T among it, on top of a row of backpacks, and my brother pulled out a backpack from underneath, and my X230T slid out and fell on the ground. No high fall, only about the equivalent of a half foot of freefall, and it landed on the carpet, and all I heard, was a quiet, but deep THUMP... nothing else.
The screen is also great - I wasn't initially impressed, but eventually I was wowed by the colors when doing, yes some train simming... but blacks are nice and black, colors are vivid, and viewing angles are great. I love not having to adjust my display to get the right viewing angles, although not needing to adjust it just feels wrong...
The inking is also great, I still need to try it with some better software, but initial tries in sticky notes are very promising. Pressure sensitivity is great, and I love the eraser. I can't wait to get back to school... to try taking notes on this thing
The touch screen, aside from the issues mentioned, is also great to have - the trackpad and the red nib are getting almost no use...
And, contrarily to what many others have said, I love the look of this thing - it looks very manly (sorry, ladies who were interested in it), the white on top of black, and red on top, with hints of green and blue, I love it.
Above all, I love the convertible tablet form factor. I often use it in tablet mode, including in portrait, and love the flexibility of the form factor, including the many positions I can use it in... i can use it as a regular notebook in all sorts of positions, i can lie in bed, have this thing on my chest/stomach, with the screen facing down towards me, I can almost go into tablet mode, lean back, and again, use the keyboard as a kind of a stand to lift up the far end of the screen, I can use it as a full tablet, landscape or portrait, and the 6-cell battery is a great handle for carrying in any position.
Yeah, there are other convertibles out there, but most of them have a too small screen (10in is too small for me), run on low voltage processors, or have a TN screen... so the X230T is my only choice. I wanted a computer - a convertible tablet - that could last me at least five years, and this computer most likely will last me that long (I got it with an i7 and all the other stuff that's not upgradeable, but eventually I can bring this to an i7 monster with 16GB RAM, SATA3 SSD, and a whole lot more), very possibly even longer.

 

one more stupid question:

Instead of using an external DVD drive for the windows 7 clean install during the first SSD bootup, can I use a USB stick?

edit: saw the top post i see...

 

Hi,
Just one tip for using the touchscreen (edge problem): JBA: Lenovo ThinkPad X230 Tablet - Touch And Digitizer Pen Input
The edge-problem is a "know-problem" (personally I don't know, thy Lenovo haven't tried to fix it). It is also present on the x220t's.
And thank you for writing down your experiences! I've read it all and it's helpful for everybody who's interested in.

@amnu12: Yes, you can !

 

I ordered the x230 (not the tablet) from campuspoint
setup like I posted is i5/8gb ram/128gb ssd, 500gb hdd/IPS

 

Does anyone own a x220(t)/ x230(t) and a MacBook Air?
Shouldn't they be comparable in build quality due to the MSRPs?

 

Lenovo addressed the horrible edge accuracy issue for the X220T with a firmware update some time in December 2011. It was not fully corrected, but the issue is less problematic than before the update. The X230T digitizer probably has the same firmware as the X220T, so the only thing left to do for any new tablet pc owner is to calibrate it in Windows 7.

 

Is Wacom at fault or Lenovo , or both?

 

Less precision on the edges seems true in general of any Wacom-based digitizer, but something went especially wrong with the X220T that required an updated firmware. That is something that usually doesn't need to get updated, but in this case the complaints were too vast for lenovo to ignore.

Reference: link.

 

Sorry, I don't think they let you buy just the warranty.

I read that Samsung 830 SSD is even thinner than 7mm, ranging from 6-7mm, so that's even better.

I've been looking at recent SSDs, and I'm leaning towards just replacing the 2.5" 7mm HDD. I'm eyeballing between Plextor M3 Pro 128 GB (PX-128M3P) ($170), Samsung 830 256GB ($200), and Crucial M4 256GB 7mm version ($200). Power usage is minimal with Plextor even compared to Samsung, and performance seems it is the best (256MB DDR3 RAM, Marvel controller, 5 years warranty), but it is kind of expensive for a 128GB. The other two choices are Samsung 830 and Crucial M4 both 256GB for about the same price when they go on sale. Samsung 830 seems to be better in idle power usage than Crucial, but they both look like a good SSD in benchmarks.

If you want to go mSATA + 2.5" big HDD route, then you can get a MyDigital Smart 128GB (rebranded Adata with Sandforce controller) for $173 with $10 off coupon code SLICK10SMART, but then you are capped to SATA2 speed thanks to bad design decision from Lenovo.

For me, I've even lived with intel x25-m 80GB for a long time on X61T, so size is not really that big concern as long as it's 80GB and up, but to get better performance I figured I need at least 128GB model which Plextor is excellent performer according to the review at anandtech, and Samsung or Crucial 256GB models for the better performance (vs 128GB of their own models) and space per price ratio.
I do have 256 GB Samsung 470 in my Portege R835, and I keep by C: backup image on D: drive because I often do a complete recovery of C: using Paragon disk backup.

I think it's both their fault. Wacom's drivers sucks, and kind of confusing with Windows' own drivers. Lenovo could extend the magnetic field generating back panel or whatever panel that detects the pen larger than the LCD screen itself so that it has some extra space, then we might get a perfect digitizer screen. But it's probably easier said than done and has to do with cost savings too.

 

edit--half a post

 

I have a Lenovo x230t and a macbook pro, but not air--although I did have an macbook air for about a week.

Impressions--macbook air had a slightly better screen, but the keyboard was terrible. I couldn't stand it. the x230t is great (though not as good as the x220). The aluminum case of the macbook air was solid, but I have to admit it was so thin that is worried me...in particular the hinges worried me. I've had a lot of bad experiences with hinges and while there was nothing wrong with the hinges while I had it I couldn't get past the idea they wouldn't last. Oddly, I don't have that feeling with the x230t, which only has the single rotating hinge. I will say that the macbook air touchpad beats the x230t touchpad. I am still getting used to the no-button lenovo thinkpad...not sure I care for it.

 

I too hate the touchpad, but this is my second thinkpad, and I've been missing the trackpoint ever since my T60 died. I don't use the touchpad at all. It might as well not be there. If you aren't going to use an external mouse, the trackpoint is 1,000,000x better for light gaming. I also agree that the hinge is surprisingly stiff. No play at all.

Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2

 

As odd as this sounds, and I've used t61s, t400s, x200s, x210s and x220s for years, I have never gotten the hang of the trackpoint. Now that this x230 is my primary machine I am endeavoring to practice and master it.

For what it is worth, the trackpad on the x230tablet seems to be better than the x220 non-tablet. with the x220, the bottom the trackpad (nearest you) wraps around the front edge...drove me crazy hitting it some times. Plus, the trackpad always seemed looser because of it. It's amazing what that little lip does on the x230t

 

after exchanging the X220T for an X230T, i can attest to a few things:

• i like the keyboard better, though it didn't come with backlighting
• the digitizer is better, but still inaccurate. enough that certain tool bars and menus at screen edges are nearly unusable. calibration makes it worse (!) my old HP is perfect, so ?
• pen pressure does not work in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator
• the tablet is "three-legged" and the front right corner sits above a flat desk surface. it didn't ship with a drink coaster to stick under there.

 

Hey Guys,

Do you notice any flex on the left side of the palm rest (X230)? If so, does the flex gets less annoying if you populate the expresscard slot?

Thanks

 

Not until you just mentioned it, but yes...it is clearly a thinner plastic at that point. I don't have any expresscards, but I would not expect that to make a difference.