hey x300/x301 owners !

I don't see a lot of threads about this (great) notebook so I thought I'd start one

- What do you think of your x3 series machine?

- What was your main reason for buying it?

- Things you like / don't like?

- Where do you use it most, plane, train, desk, lap at home, school.

Keep on Thinkpad'in

 

The ThinkPad X300 is now discontinued, just the X301 available.

Things I like:

- The light weight and thinness of course, I love slipping it in and out of a backpack with no effort
- Screen and resolution are great, exactly my sweet spot
- Very solid build
- Snappy bootup with SSD

Things I don't like:

- No docking station option (kind of a big deal)
- No media card reader or ExpressCard
- Media bay is not hot swappable as with other ThinkPads
- Price

Overall, if you're looking for value and expandability I don't think it's a good buy when compared to say a T400. If you're a huge sucker for thin and light, it's a pleasure to use. Most people are not willing to spend $2,500+ on a notebook, which is why you don't see much discussion here.

 

The X300 is discontinued, replaced by the X301, as Andrew mentioned.

However, there are quite a few X300 systems available from the Lenovo Outlet! The link will take you to the ones categorized as "NEW". There are 36 of them at the moment, starting as low as $1295.00!

There are also a number of them in the "Redistributed" category, as well as the "Refurbished" category.

Note that all X-series models are lumped together, so you'll have to sift through the X61 and X200 models to find some of the X300s.

Personally, I'm lusting after an X200....I have to keep my dreams as cheap as possible! :wink:

 

From what I've heard the x301 is a popular and much sought after notebook, not as much as the T400 I'm sure but still a loyal following.

People spend as much or more on high end Sony Z's and MacBook's, surely the x series competes with that.

I'm liking the x301 a lot, does everything well, so much so that I find I'm not needing (or wanting) to use my T500 much at all, which is great, fonts a little small on the x301 but Vista does a great job resizing via DPI settings ...

 

Thing i like
light weight
sharp!!
solid build
Good resolution
awesome keyboard
better designs of thinkvantage ,power button.

Things i don't like
X300 is super noise (not sure x301)
3 cell battery only last 2 hour with battery saving
no SD card slot



how's yours?

 

BTW, the x301 is only about 1800 right now.
not 2500

 

Lol. Not if you want to have a functional computer.

 

oh yeah?

 

Aside from the 3 cell battery, that looks like a solid configuration.

 

I was clearly kidding.

 

Was on the fence between the X200s and the X300, mainly for the screen res. The X200s I wanted was around 1450; the X300 was 1100.

So I wound up with the latter. So far no regrets! And on top of which I got lucky and got an SLC Samsung drive.

 

i know.   same here.

 

What I like:
-padded palmrest
-great resolution
-light and small
-app. five hours of battery lifetime (3cell+3cell)
-keyboard is the best I ever had, has some special coating, I think it's also better than those of the other new series

What I don't like:
-fan is *** noisy, no levels between 2k upm and 5k upm
-no Expresscard-/pcmcia-slot
-no sd-slot
-slow processor
-1.8" harddisk - you can't exchange the ssd with an hdd because you just can't buy 1.8"-sata-harddisks in Europe.
-no docking-port
-power consumption is very bad, app. 12W when using wlan, 10-11W when idle - my old X40 hat 9W and 7-8W in idle.

All in all, it's still the perfect notebook for me. When I bought it, there were only three alternatives: Lenovo SL300, Dell Vostro 1310 and Latitude E4300. the SL300 only has glossy-screens, the Vostro is too heavy and thick (as the SL300) and the Latitude just had WXGA-resolution and did cost much more (with ssd).

 

Are you an X300 (SU9200) or an x301 (SU9400) owner? Did you mention the processor being slow because it's only 1.4GHz or because you actually notice tasks taking longer than they should? If the latter, what sort of tasks are we talking about?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to gauge its suitability for my own needs. There seems to be few Windows developers out there using the X301 (at least not many talking about it), and I need to determine if that has more to do with display/connectivity preferences or the systems overall computing capabilities.

 

I own an X300.
For daily work - office, web, etc it is absolutely enough, but when you start compiling something larger, e.g. a new kernel (I'm linux-user) it's going to take a while.
So if you are only using the 'usual' programs, there should be no problems with speed.

Hm, by the way: The processor is officially labeled "SL7100" or "L7100" and is not listed on the intel-webpage neither does it seem to have an sSpec.
If you have any further infos about this processor directly from Intel, I would be glad to see that, I searched a while but didn't find anything.

 

Sorry that my knowledge is pretty limited compared to most folks here, but you can get a port replicator for the x301. Doesn't that basically do the same job as a docking station? What's the real difference?

 

Is the fan noise on the x301 better, quieter, than on the x300?

 

The x300/x301 Port Replicator is a USB 2.0 solution. This is device hosted and has a maximum bandwidth of 480mbps. As a result, you won't get full Gibabit Ethernet speeds, the DVI port is less than ideal for video and other content that refreshes frequently (inadequate bandwidth), and using port replicator devices will take extra power from the CPU. Also, the x301 port replicator cannot charge the x301.

Conversely, the docking station for the x200, T400, et. al. is a PCI-Express attached solution. It's able to charge the laptop, requires little to no system resources, and has plenty of bandwidth for Gigabit Ethernet and Dual-Link DVI or DisplayPort.

 

- What do you think of your x3 series machine?
I have an X300 it's without a doubt the best laptop I've ever had, for my needs.

- What was your main reason for buying it?
I have two main reasons: it's very light (3.3 pounds), and it has a trackpoint mouse.

- Things you like / don't like?
What I love:
I love the weight (3.3 pounds feels surprisingly lighter than my old 4.0 pound Sony), the SSD (unlike a normal hard drive I don't have to worry about losing data if I jolt or bump the laptop), the optical drive (so easy to install software / OS compared to without), trackpoint mouse, high res screen, size / thinness, keyboard (especially the extra buttons!), incredible build quality, rubberized coating, thinklight (so nice at night ), and all the ports.

What I don't like:
The rubberized coating is really nice, but unfortunately it smudges and isn't easy to clean completely. There is one area where it creaks slightly when squeezed (the bottom edge near the touchpad, near the right mouse button) - it's not a big deal of course, but this is pretty much the only thing about the build quality that isn't 100.00% perfect .

Also, even though there are 8 fan levels (0=off, 8=full speed), 0-1 sound absolutely silent, while 2-7 sound identically loud; this can result in somewhat annoying fan use because rather than regulating smoothly based on heat production, it sounds like the fan turns on and off when the required fan levels hover between 1 and 2. What I do is if I want silent operation I use TPFanControl to run the fan at level 1 all the time unless heat levels are above 55, in which case it reverts to normal BIOS fan control - and this lets it run virtually silently, with CPU temps hovering around 50C. If I don't care about noise, I let the default BIOS fan controls run, which keeps it idling at around 45C and the fan on probably 25% of the time.

- Where do you use it most, plane, train, desk, lap at home, school.
Everywhere

Really, the weight and size is so perfect, it would be hard not to take it anywhere . And unlike my Sony SZ (which had a somewhat flexy screen I was afraid of applying too much pressure to), I feel it's durable enough that I don't even need a case / protective sleeve most of the time.

Another thing that makes it nicer to carry around is actually the SSD. Because I don't have to worry about minor shock (like setting it down on a table and letting it fall .5 inch as you release your hand) damaging the hard drive any more.

 

They just had a sale for the Elite x301 for under 2K. It is back over $2,200 now. I would look out for the sale again if still interested.

 

This is extremely useful and educational. Thanks for this and also for your much appreciated remarks on the thread I started re my looking for a new latptop. I guess what I wonder about the constraints of the port replicator is whether they would affect me much in view of my relatively undemanding use of my laptop--just word processing, email, internet. The one question mark is that I will be having a basic website constructed for me just to share reports and articles I've written, provide my bio and perhaps do some blogging. (I'm a consultant.) I don't know how demanding that would be and whether the port replicator would get in the way. I definitely will be using a port replicator or docking station when a home, to hook up with an ergonomic keyboard, larger screen, etc.

I'm pretty much down to the x301 versus the Toshiba Portege R600 at this point.

Any thoughts on the choice between the two laptops and whether the port replicator would be a major hindrance to me? If not, no problem--you and others have already been very helpful.

 

Just from what I've read about the two, I've not seen the R600 and only saw a X300 briefly, the X301 will offer better quality.

 

Just as a disclaimer, I own an X300 but have never owned a Toshiba, or seen the most recent R600, but my advice would definitely be to get the X301. (Well, this is a lenovo forum -- maybe you can collect some arguments the other way in the Toshiba forum. ) I'm pretty sure, though, that the X301 is a much more solidly built laptop than the Portege.

I doubt that the port replicator is that big a deal (though that may come down to personal prorities). The main limitation, as I understand it anyway, is that the USB dock for the X301 can drive up to 1400x1050 resolution with 32-bit color through its VGA port. If that's too little, you can always plug the monitor directly into the the on-board VGA port (up to 2048x1536) or display port (up to 2560x1600).

The main difference, in my opinion, is that Portege offers is a 12" laptop with a built in optical drive, whereas the X301 offers a thin 13.3" laptop with built in optical drive. If, for some reason, you really want a 12" laptop with drive then you should choose the Portege over the X301; if you don't care (or -- like me -- prefer the 13.3" form factor in a highly portable laptop) then I'd strongly recommend the X301.

 

Thanks for the info and advice, folks. I appreciate it.

 

Samsung X360 is 13.3" with 1.4 ULV and 128GB SSD on the 34P model and under 3lbs with 10 hour battery life. Did you consider this over Toshiba and Lenovo X301?

I am in the same market right now. I am shopping for an ultraportable and I want 13.3" under 3lbs with decent battery life. The Lenovo X301 has a worse screen than a Samsung from what Ive been told but the unit could be designed to stand up better and likely has better support.

So I do not know what I will wind up getting. The marketplace for 13.3" Under 3lbs is very confusing. And I still don't even know if I need a ULV CPU or can get buy with a regular CPU since performance is much faster on those.

I will be using the notebook on airplanes, in hotels and usage around town and the like so I still want something that can be used a long time without the battery draining down.

I will be charging at planes and hotels. But public areas like parks and caffe's and the like and I won't have access to plug in at times.

So which one do you think is best for my situation? Samsung X360-34P had a sale for really cheap but sold out quickly. Plus the new 1.6 ULV CPUs are coming out as we speak and they are upping SSD drives to 256GB so right now I am waiting for the next deal once I figure out which notebook to get.

 

Maybe Lenovo might update this line with the SL9300 1.6 processor, i hope that they do because i would be really interested then.

It is a shame to read that the fan is noisy. I know that to some extent noise level can be a bit subjective.

The display port you can get display port to HDMI adapters now. If anyone has one can you get audio?

I would have liked the 6 cell battery to have been a higher capacity. It is good though that you can remove the dvd drive and add in the 3 cell.

For EU owners is the HSDPA wwan card locked to vodaphone? Also do the US ATT ones work in the EU? I know that sometimes they can lock out the EU frequency.

 

I wouldn't expect a SL9300 in the x301. The TDP of the SL9300 is too high (17 watts), the x301 is built for ULV (10 watt TDP) processors.

The fan noise is mainly due to a poorly designed (or overly conservative) BIOS. From what I've read, it goes between 1500RPM (effectively silent) and 5000+RPM (very noisy) with no intermediate. If it would spin at 2000 or 2500 RPM (TPFanControl can do this), noise is not really a problem.

At present, DisplayPort to HDMI will NOT pass audio.

To the best of my knowledge, the US AT&T card (Ericsson F3507g) will work in the EU. You should be able to just get a SIM from Vodafone, Orange, et. al. and it will work.

 

Thanks jonlumpkin. I made an error there i meant the SU9600.

I hope that lenovo sort out the BIOS with a firmware update.

 

1) What do you think of your x3 series machine?
I absolutely love the x301 that I just bought about a month ago. I feel like I am sacrificing little in the way of performance, but yet it's light enough to carry around all the time. I previously owned a Thinkpad z61t that was just a little too heavy to carry around with me.

2) What was your main reason for buying it?
It was actually a bit of an impulse buy. I was getting tempted to buy a netbook, but I did not want to make any sacrifices in performance. On top of that, I am a trackpoint fan, and absolutely despise touchpads, and there was no netbook that had a trackpoint.

3) Things you like / don't like?
I love its light weight. I think it looks really sleek. To be fair, it has a bigger footprint than I thought it would, but it is really thin. It's built extremely solid, and the SSD is incredibly fast (especially noticeable on shutdown and sleep, which both occur in less than 7 seconds).

In terms of things to improve, I wish it had a slightly smaller footprint (the frame around the monitor is decently wide, making the laptop have a footprint similar to a 14 inch widescreen). My thinkpad is really quiet, and I rarely ever hear the fan.

4) Where do you use it most, plane, train, desk, lap at home, school.
school, coffee shops

 

Does anyone else find the screen of the X301 to be a little under par?
I mean, I think my X301 is great, awesome even. It's light, thin, powerful enough to do all but the most demanding of tasks (which I never do), but the screen just seems to be such crap.

I'm thinking, hoping, that I have a dud screen, as I have the top of the wozza warranty and so as soon as stock is in, Lenovo is sending out a tech to replace the screen for me. My current one is just... bearable, but makes me sigh when I compare it to it's price tag. Netbooks I have used sincerely seem to have a better screen. There simply is no sweet spot for the one in my X301. If I'm watching a movie with borders, the top border is black, and the bottom is a shade of grey (a lighter shade), if I adjust it, the bottom is black and the top is a light shade of grey. On the primarily black boot screen it looks like the moon is rising! Colours just stink too!

I'm really really hoping that my screen is a dud, reviews don't seem to represent the quality (or lack thereof) of mine. And the worst thing is, I have low expectations! I'm comparing it to a 19" budget (when budget was over $400AUD) HYUNDAI screen that I am used to (which couldn't hope to stand up to my brother's more recent 22" budget lcd)!

How are other people's screens? I actually hope that my screen is a dud!

 

For those that don't know per the "docking" q's. Kingston makes a Wireless USB dock which is perfect for the 300/301. Its all wireless so basically I walk in the office. Set my laptop down on the desk, turn her on and boom I have my reg 22' monitor, mouse, KB, external drive and sound. I have the x300 and love it. Actually I have two but who's counting. Anyway the wireless USB dock is truly the way to go. BTW I have x61 that supposed to be here today. We shall see...... Pray's for the fedex gods to be kind and show up.

ym

 

Just spotted this thread, and figured I'd chime in as well.
I just ordered (actually, it just shipped out today ) an X301.
I wanted a laptop for portability, because I am still going to use my T61 as my desktop replacement machine, and I figured I could use another smaller/lighter portable for the road/vacations/around the house applications. I had some $$ to spend, and wanted the best of the best. I looked extensively at the T400s, and the X301 (including reading the T400s vs. X301 review). I figured that for my needs, the X301 was the way to go. I can't wait for the machine to get here. So far, the T61 is my first and only Thinkpad. I can't want to try out this new X301