need small laptop x220? x30? x220t?

I'm an old school thinkpad person, will the x220 fit me better, do they all come with ips screen? How is the x230, can I swap an x220 screen to an x230 and lastly how is the x220t?

 

The IPS display for both the X220 and X230 are optional, so not all will have it (basically, double-check for the "Premium" display, which is the IPS option).

If you don't need a Wacom display, there isn't much of a reason to get the X220t. Though if you're taking notes in class, for example, such displays are amazing. The X230 and X220 are basically the same, though the -30 has Ivy Bridge and the -20 has Sandy Bridge (so the -30 is a bit more energy efficient). What do you plan on doing with the laptop?

 

I'd say X220 unless you need tablet functionality, in which case you should go with (heavier and bulkier) X220T.

Based on "old school" I'm presuming you prefer the classic 7-row keyboard...

Happy hunting.

 

I find it hard on my back to sit at a desk so I do work with the laptop sort of on my chest while I'm on a recliner. Some dev work with a few vm's, rdp to a few servers, have about 20 tabs open in firefox, a few vsphere client windows. 16gb on the x220 is plenty. I need it lighter than my w520, t61p, or samsung chronos and would prefer the bottom not be hot. I think the x220 would be perfect except for 1366 x 768, and that's why my t61p LG wuxga is still my favorite laptop.

 

Well, if you're looking for a X-series with better than 768p, you could look into the X240 (FHD IPS), though of course it'll likely be more expensive than the X220/X230.

 

The ThinkPad X220t and X230t latch mechanism (or the rubber nibbles what some people refer to them) break very easily. As good as the ThinkPad X230 is in terms of having 2 USB 3.0 ports (X220 with i7 has one USB 3.0), i still prefer the X220 for the keyboard. The battery difference between the X230 and X220 with the same i5 or i7 CPU and ram gives about 30 minutes to 1 hr battery difference when you have a 9 cells, which isn't a lot considering my X220 can last around 8 hrs on battery saver mode with screen at 50% brightness.

 

ok thanks, I didn't know only the i7 version had usb 3.0

 

For clarification, only the X220 with i7 has a single USB 3.0 port, the X220t with i7 doesn't have it.