Your views on this machine (x201)

Hi...

Can you give me an idea as to how you read the specs of this x201? It is going to be a bit expensive since it is being sold in India and there is no recourse to the Lenovo outlet.

Also, if I choose to buy this, it will be from a Lenovo reseller who will inevitably have to give me a discount - say around US$ 100-150 off.

This machine is available off the Lenovo (India) website.

General
Model name 3323AA3
Description ThinkPad X201 - 3 Year Depot Warranty
Web Price Rs.78,000.00* (US$ 1695 - including all taxes)

Main Features
Processor Intel® Core™ i5-560M Processor ( 2.66GHz 1066MHz )
Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Professional 32
Total memory 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
Display type 12.1 " WXGA TFT 1280x800
Hard drive device 500GB
Network card ThinkPad 11b/g/n Wi-Fi wireless
Bluetooth Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR
Form Factor Notebook
Fingerprint Reader Fingerprint Reader
Warranty Three years parts and labour (system battery: 1 year)
WWAN Integrated Wireless Wide Area Network upgradable
Pointing device TrackPoint
Battery 6 Cell Lithium-Ion

Some points to note:

1. I would like to change the 6-cell to the 9 cell battery. Probably will cost a bit more.
2. The machine comes with Win 7 32-bit (preinstalled). I will see if I can get it without any OS because I like to do a clean install and I want the 64-bit version of Win 7 Pro.
3. Can I take out the DVD unit out of my R400 and put it in an enclosure to use externally? In the R400, I'd either opt for the battery slice OR move the 500GB HDD to the bay and put in a SSD. This machine would go to my partner, which will be replaced later this year with a T series (not yet sure if I'd like to go with the new release or with the older T series).

Thanks in advance.

 

Read it how? I think there are some external cases for the slim drives, but I've never seen one for the 12.7mm ThinkPad drives. I used to have a add on for my R60 Blu-ray drive, which allowed me to use it externally via USB, but it was PATA. I don't know if they still make them, but you'd probably find it on eBay if they do.

 

So what exactly do you want us to comment on? The spec is okay.

Lenovo themselves to don't produce these ultrabay enhanced external enclosures, but there are some generics one available that may work (i have to look into this).

 

Thansk...yeah...sorry, "read it" was probably not the appropriate phrase to use.

Spec is OK is good. I can't see these enhanced external enclosures on the site. But I'll look again carefully.

 

Ive seen external cases for Ultrabay DVD on ebay, not cheap for what they are but not expensive either.

As for X201 - well its loaded and besides 6 cell battery theres nothing wrong with it !
Unless you want to wait and see for specs and prices of X220!

 

No...I don't think I would want the x220. For starters, the extra processing power with the new SB chips would be wasted on me. Plus, if the pictures posted are anything to go by the non-matte screen would be a problem. And, they will be expensive. Lastly, for me the current reality is that I have to buy this in India and the x220 will probably show up quite late in the day here.

One other question:

In real world usage (which means: Long office docs (Word, PPT and Excel), PDF, Music, Browser, and may be a few sundry programs running), what is the essential difference between the following:

i3 - 350M
i3 - 380M
i5 - 450M
i5 - 460M
i5 - 520M
i5 - 560M

Thanks

 

There's little practical difference in my opinion.

 

the essential differences that matters to you are speed and power use. But speed differences between i3-350M and i5-560M are only 10 to 15% when you max out the CPU (encoding/decoding movies, doing CPU intensive math calculations, etc), so if you don't load your CPU at 100% all the time, i would say a i3-350m is good enough.

 

So, in real world usage the i3-350M is not that much different from that of the i5 - 560M. I don't know if this is relevant to ask here - but under geenral usage conditions, does the i3 result in cooler temps and longer battery usage times?

Thansk

OK...hmmm...this is very interesting. Because in that case I could get a similarly spec'd machine (but with 2 GB RAM and 320 GB HDD and no OS) for much cheaper. Maybe I could use the money saved to upgrade to 4GB RAM and add the OS also.

Thanks very much.

 

If you're just doing Office, Media and Internet, there's going to be little difference between the two. If you can get a X200 or even better a X200s with the LV or ULV CPU, I'd go that way unless you want to the trackpad. From a noise standpoint, my X200t is much better than my X200 and I can't tell a difference between the two performance wise. The fan on my X200t rarely comes on, while my X200 started to get noisy once you went out of low power mode. If you're in a warmer climate, it may be even worse. It's sort of a livability issue. Who wants to have the fan on all the time?

 

Id second what ZaZ said - if youre not number cruncher but just occasional user, then go for X200s/X201s with low voltage CPU's, not ultra low voltage, because if you pay for ThinkPad then there is no excuse to get yourself ultra low voltage weakie CPU in ThinkPads frame, other than X100e that is

I would love to get 1440x900 X200s myself, but given that I need bit more power than SL9400/9600 offers Ill have to stick with T410.
X201s with 1440x900 would nice alternative but way too expensive.

 

Look at this comparison between the x201 and x201s from the Lenovo India site:


ThinkPad X201 - 3 Year Depot Warranty - 3323AA3

Price: Rs.78,000.00 (US$ 1695)
Intel® Core™ i5-560M Processor ( 2.66GHz 1066MHz )
· Genuine Windows 7 Professional 32
· 12.1 " WXGA TFT 1280x800
· 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
· 500GB

ThinkPad X201s - 514342Q

Price: Rs.93,000.00 (US$ 2021)
· Intel® Core™ i7-640LM Processor ( 2.13GHz 1066MHz )
· Genuine Windows 7 Professional 32
· 12.1 " WXGA TFT 1280x800
· 2 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
· 320GB

I don't think the x201s comes with the low voltage CPU, does it?

Thanks

 

i7-640LM is a low voltage processor, it is however not a ultra low voltage. Just have to google the CPU model.

 

What does the "s" in x201s stand for? Does it mean slim?

 

s stands for slim. it is about 150 gram lighter than the regular variety.

 

It stands for SEXY !

I think you mentioned, lines_of_flight, that this is going to be as present to you?
If so, if you can squeeze X201s for yourself then go for it, not your money and youll get yourself damn good laptop with plenty of power, great battery life and rather slim and lightweight one!

As I understand you cant purchase laptops outside India? Isnt there really no way you can get someone to buy you laptop lets say in USA for cheap and deliver it to you in India?

 

The "s" machine does not not hotter than the other version does it?

@ veer...I wish it were possible but alas!

 

S is supposed to be somewhat cooler than regular X laptop due to low voltage CPU, at worst its not going to be hotter or louder than regular X.

 

if you can find a X201s with the 1440x900 LCD i would say go for it.

 

Not available in India, unfortunately.

Edit: I meant to say that while the x201s is available in India, the screen res is restricted to 1280x800 (same as what I have on the R400). The 1440x900 option is not on offer.

 

Then get X201, upgrade to 2x4Gb of RAM, fast SSD and enjoy !

 

then i would just get a X201 or wait a while for the price to drop.

 

In India, I suspect, prices drop when the line is being phased out - if I am reading my experience with the R400 correctly. So, I don't think the price will drop - at least in India. But if the x201s is indeed lighter as was mentioned earlier, I might as well think about it seriously.

 

I just realized that it is probably more cost-effective (as opposed to being "cheaper") to buy an x Series in India than a T Series machine.

Most T Series in India (going by the website) offer a 1280x800 res. The ones that do offer the 1440x900 res are very expensive. Also, generally, the T Series always come with 2GB RAM installed and no OS. So, that is an extra expense.

In contrast, the x Series (like the one I posted earlier) do come with 4GB RAM and a 32-bit (which can be easily changed) version of Win 7 (either Home or Pro - don't remember which). And, it is comparatively cheaper. The screen res is 1280x800, which is very acceptable on a 12" screen.

I would have thought the x Series (excluding the Touch version) would be more expensive.