lenovo thinkpad x230t questions

thinking about buying x230t but have some questions.

why specifically buy this mobile pc tablet?

also can you plug it into a 1080p screen?

and what is the difference between "hd" and "outdoor hd"?

finally is there any coupons or discounts to save money?

please help, anyone.

 

1) x series tablets are some of the best on the market without spending too much. 2760p is a nice convertible tablet, but it starts at 2200 USD, which is insane, cause X220t/x230t starts at like 1000+. XT3 is not a good tablet at all, fat, huge bezel, as well as a crap digitzer.
2) yes you can hook it up to a 1080p display.
3) Outdoor screen is rated at like a crazy nit, I think 400, 2x the normal screen.

 

Both the indoor and outdoor displays on the 230t are rated for the same 300nit, according to official specs:

From: http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/xtablet-series/x230t/x230t-datasheet.pdf

 

Talk to a rep, they will get you the best deal possible at any given time. The best discounts I've seen in Canada was 20% off the price shown online, these deals come and go but don't ever pay the list price. You'll get a better deal through other retailers or ebay.

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The outdoor screen is not multitouch, can only be used with the pen. The "normal" screen has multitouch.

 

everyone thank you very much for your quick responses.

whats nit?
ThinkPad X230 Tablet (X230t) First Thoughts Review - YouTube
this video says the outdoor is more glossy and reflective.
dont want that so is that true?

thanks but gonna customize it so nevermind.

also was planning on getting the x230t.
but glad i waited cause intel hd 4000 is better etc..
didn't see a definite release date just "now its out".
guess they never sell an older model at the same time.

question that was gonna be edited in the original post;

how do you put 2 drives in the x230t?

hear alot of recommendations for hdd vs. ssd.
"use hdd because its more stable".
"use ssd because its faster".
"use ssd as your main and hdd as a backup to store data".
that is the conclusion both sides usually come to.
so using ssd to run programs and hdd to save data.
thats a good idea right??
is it possible to have this in 1 x230t?
there doesn't seem to be an obvious way in "customize".

edit; also how do you hook up x230t to 1080p monitor?

 

you hook up the unit to a 1080p monitor using the Display port or the VGA port. If you don't want to use VGA because its old and rubbish and you don't have a display port on your monitor you can get a DisplayPort->HDMI cable

(for example - High Grade - 2m DisplayPort to HDMI adapter: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics)

You can have two hard disks in the x230T:
1x mSATA SSD
1x 2.5" 7mm high (can be either SSD or Spindle HDD)

So yes, you can get up to 256GB in mSATA but if you use it then you cannot have the WWAN (internal mobile broadband) card as they share the same slot. If you don't care about the WWAN card then great, if you do then you are limited to a single 1x 2.5 (7mm high) disk.

The "most bang for buck" scenario is to put the OS on the SSD and dump your videos/games/apps/etc on the slow spindle HDD. The best scenario is to factor £300 onto the top of the laptop and "do it right" http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128133&pf_rd_i=468294


Personally.... the WWAN is very important to me, but so is storage. So I'm ordering the 512GB 7mm SSD for the internal slot, using the WWAN card instead of mSATA. Then using the USB3 port to run another external 512GB SSD. I've done some benchmarking on another computer's USB3 port and I seem to be able to get around 70% of the SSD speed via USB3 so its not too bad, and its certainly better than an external spindle disk.

 

thank you. sounds good.

for me its not so much storage as speed vs. reliability.

is ssd reliable? is hdd more reliable than ssd?

if this post is late then will start a new thread.

edit;

should i get it with the fingerprint reader or not?

 

If you get a good SSD (ie. not OCZ), it should, in general, be more reliable than a good HDD.

Personal preference. I never use/used them, but I know people who love this sort of thing.

 

I don't think any OCZ officially "fits" in the X230 tablet, it only officially takes 7mm. I think you might damage something if you try to stuff a 9.5mm SSD. I would buy Intel/Samsung controller based SSDs, they tend to be the most reliable and I find most power efficient.

 

alright.. i'll get it with the fingerprint reader then.

expected that from "intel and samsung ssd mod".

should i order the 180gb ssd from the site or buy and install a separate 1?

 

Hi there,

I just got my X230t, I like it allot. Personally I would suggest using a single large SSD, as you really do feel the benifit with things like photos and loading cached emails in outlook and the like. Seems a little bit of a waste to reserve all that speed for only the system drive. I ordered a samsung 830 256Gb ssd, fits nicely and is very fast, and is quite reliable I have heard. I found installing it a right bugger as I am a bit of a noob. Though the method of using lenovo recovery to make an image on an external drive then reload to factory settings on the new ssd worked well. (just remember to make the drive you recover to active in disk manager, forgetting that ruined my day). Again with ram get the minimum and up it yourself.

If you have any questions regarding the machine, feel free to pm me.

 

thanks for the response.
never really upgraded ram or ssd or anything before.
is it hard? video tutorials??
what do you recommend? link to buy it??

 

The physical upgrade of the RAM or drive isn't difficult at all; the most difficult thing is probably cloning/installing an OS, which is also, for the most part, fairly easy.

I'm sure there are video tutorials; you can also consult the x230 HMM:

Hardware Maintenance Manual - ThinkPad X230, X230i

 

Yeah it is not hard at all, for fam just open the panel on the bottom (2 screws I think) and pop in the new ones, no software to deal with, just plug and play. The way I did the ssd needed a third HDD that I could plug in that I did not mind wiping. Using the drive manager that is within windows, format the spare drive, right click on the partition and make it active. then open the lenovo solution centre thing, and have it write the recovery media to the spare drive. then swap the internal drive to the ssd, and factory reset from the spare drive. Then you have your x230t as it came from the factory (with a shiny new ssd). Ask if you end up needing more help.

 

i got the thinkpad x230t

may get windows 7 ultimate 64bit and clean install
the manual has alot of info but dont know where to look
thank you

honestly i'm having trouble finding screwdrivers to fit
1/4"x4" screwdriver is too big
3/16"x4" screwdriver only works with 1 screw
what screwdriver fits?

edit;
i guess my original posts questions have been addressed
gonna start a new "questions after getting it" thread
thanks everyone

 

What model either a samsung or an Intel with a capacity 500GB-1TB is available/compatible for the x230t? also please recommend "the best" model for the job. (16GB DDR3, dual channel)... thnx