x200s vs. x201s

Hi all,
I've been lurking around here for quite a while, and I've always been envious of ThinkPad owners I've been using a Dell XPS M1530 for a while now (quite a good machine with terrific warranty, despite the general impression surrounding Dell), and I'm interested in getting an ultraportable. I figured that I should use this as an excuse to get a ThinkPad. I'm essentially picking between the x200s and the x201s. I know, not too many differences, but here's a quick list of things running through my mind:

- I care about: weight and battery life
- x200s has a 10W processor vs. x201s has a 17W processor. x200, however, has a weaker 6 hour battery. Any real changes in running time?
- I'll have a brand new x200s tomorrow if I so desire. I'll have to order a new x201s if I choose to get the new model.
- My very first laptop back when I was 12 had a TrackPoint. Absolutely *cannot* wait to go back to the nipple
- If I get a x200, I'm getting 2008 technology. For ~$150 more, I can get 2010 technology. What are the real gains? Uhm, I like new toys.
- I'm a CS student, and I must have a terminal to develop. I run Windows for everything else in my life, but I can't develop in Windows. Linux, however, is usually not too compatible with newer hardware.

The configurations I'm considering, for what it's worth are the following:
x200s: 1.86GHz SU9400, 4GB 800MHz RAM, Intel WiFi 5300, 160GB HDD (will upgrade to Intel X series by
summer), Bluetooth

x201s: 2.00GHz 620LM, 4GB 1033MHz RAM, Centrino 6300, 160GB HDD (will upgrade to Intel X series by
summer), Bluetooth

What are your thoughts? Should I stick with the x200s that I can have ASAP, or should I drop the extra dough, wait a few weeks, and get the x201s?

 

welcome to the forum!

either system will work well for what you're doing.   the question you have to ask yourself is if the software you're using is CPU-bound or IO-bound.   if it's CPU-bound then get the X201s.   if it's IO-bound then get the X200s and put the $150 you would have spent on the X201s into the SSD that you want.

at the end of the day, i'd rather have an X200s with an SSD than i would an X201s with an HDD.

there's also a better chance that the X200s will work with linux.   this is something you'll want to research.   i haven't used it since the days of slackware 2.x and couldn't say which system would be better.   for all i know they may have equal linux support.

 

Thanks! I'm really happy to be posting here. I love throwing in my $0.02 whenever I can.

I'm putting my faith in the Ubuntu community to develop support for the new hardware. If not, I might jump the gun and take up Gentoo and compile my own drivers, heh.

Has anyone found significant differences in the battery life on the x201s? I know NBR's review of the x201 had a comparison chart between the x200, x201, x201s, and x201t, and the x201s got about 7.2 hrs with a 6 cell. I'm wondering if others noticed any real world differences...

 

it sounds like you're looking for an excuse to get the X201s.   for ~$150 you might as well buy it and be happy with it.   this way you'll never look back and wish you would have upgraded.

get the SSD though.   it's worth it.

 

You know what, I'm not gonna lie...I am definitely lusting for the x201s. I'm posting to make sure that I'm not making a silly mistake and overlooking some random variable. The reason for my purchase is that I'm unsatisfied with two-hour battery life on my 6.5lb machine, so I want a light and long-lasting alternative. If the newer model will sacrifice a ton of battery life, then perhaps it would be wiser to stick to the old model which offers a 10W TDP solution.

I'll take your advice and treat myself to a SSD. It makes very much sense for an ultraportable to have a SSD, in my opinion. Perhaps I can find a nice deal in the upcoming months.

 

The CPUs on the X201s run at 25w, not 17w. Someone just posted their X201s is noisier than their X200s. I don't know if this is an isolated case, but being that it runs at a higher wattage, it doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

The 25W for the X201s is CPU+GPU, because the i5/i7 now integrates the GPU on the die.

The 17W for the X200s were CPU only.

In any case, those are maximal power consumptions. Most of the time your laptop is going to be idle anyways. So, well, we don't know whats better. Especially since it was only announced last week or so

 

Id wait couple more weeks before ordering if i were you to see what feedback new x series get from those who actually receive them. So far only one review and one user thread about it, not enough to decide imo, you need battery life numbers, so better wait

 

Actually, 25w is not only consumed by the cpu! the graphic card is built-in the cpu, these 2 processing unit share the 25w TDP together.

the old SL9400 consumes 18w, but the graphic unit needs extra power, if you add up them together, it should be around 25w


people always say i7620/640lm consumes more power, thant's not true! if you count cpu+gpu together, the new platform is on par with the old one

 

According to the review that battery life would be on par, or slightly lower. My x200s consumes an average of 7 watts during my use on battery, and according to review, the x201s lasted 433 minutes on a 57whr battery, so it consumed 7.9 watts during testing. I would say the testing is more rigorous than my regular use (plus I use lower screen brightness; 35%), so the difference is not that big a deal.

 

I am currently awaiting shipment for the x201s. Shipment is supposed to take place on the 17th, so hopefully by the 22nd or so I'll have the device. I should be able to provide idle/active watt consumption the date the device is received.

 

If the difference is really only $150 I'd suggest you opt for the x201s. The i7-620LM benchmarks almost twice as fast as the SL9400 (same goes for the newer Intel HD graphics vs. the x4500MHD). Battery life should be quite comparable as well. That being said the SL9400 should be more than enough for your needs (it works great for me in my x200 Tablet).

Linux support on the x200s should be rock solid (I have a spare HDD with Ubuntu 9.10 and everything works out of the box on my x200T). From what I recall almost everything (except the stylus) worked with older distros as well (e.g. 8.04 and 8.10). As a general rule any laptop that uses all Intel parts (e.g. Intel CPU, GPU, and WLAN) tends to be well supported on Linux. I would expect the x201s to be fully supported with the next GNU release (e.g. Ubuntu 10.04) in mid-late April.

One final thing to consider is the display. If you're a CS student and develop a lot you may benefit from the WXGA+ display. This will give you substantially more real estate and be a great benefit for working in bulky IDE's (e.g. Visual Studio, Netbeans, etc.). The resolution is probably even more important for your work than the extra performance of the i7 CPU.

 

One thing to remember is that the i7-620LM (x201s) is quite a bit slower than the i5-520M (x201). There is always a price for the better battery life. It all depends on whats most important to you...

 

Yes it is slower, but the i5-520M is a normal voltage CPU and not available on the "s" anyway.

One thing to note is that the new Core i5/i7 CPUs are significantly faster than Core 2 Duo CPUs. The Core i7 620LM (2.0 Ghz) is at least as fast as (and should be faster than most of the case) Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4 Ghz). It should be powerful enough for what you would ever want to do on an ultraportable. Of course you can get even more powerful CPUs with less money on the X201, but if battery life is extremely important to you, and you can't think of any reason to have an even faster CPU (the X-series will never fast enough for serious gaming, due to the Intel integrated graphic chip), the X201s is the way to go.

 

I forgot to mention that the x200s has a WXGA+ screen, and I believe the x201s comes default with x201s in the US. I'm happy to see that people feel opting for more real estate is a no-brainer -- The general sense on this forum is great

My mistake for citing the wrong wattage for the i7 620LM. I should've at least Googled. The shared wattage should reduce the overall consumption, but that's only in theory since the i7 is bundled with a more powerful GPU than the old integrated graphics combo. I trust Intel to not let us down though. superkyle, I'm very much looking forward to your post.

CPU is definitely not the bottleneck on my day to day use, but the extra computing power will come in handy for batch jobs...I don't quite think I need the x201 though. That's overkill.

I think I will opt for the x201s, but only after I gain a better understanding of what the x201s entails. It's surprising how little content there is on the web regarding the 's' version of the 200 series refresh. I appreciate you all sharing your thoughts, and I hope the discussion continues as more shipments of the x201s are delivered.

 

Have you looked at the Tabook? That covers most of the differences between the x201 and x201s.

 

Yes, I did read the Tabook. I'm familiar with the differences between the x201 and the x201s. My last post was meant more as, I'll wait a little while until people post what the user-experience is like on the x201s.

 

hey dude, when did u order?
i ordered on 3/3, the status said "scheduled to ship on 3/17", but i just got an email notice that my x201s is on the way! i'm so happy now! i paid extra fee to get 2-day shipping, so i'll get it by this weekend!

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mobile-core-i5-arrandale,2522-11.html

this post is very good, the author did lots of test/analysis
conclusion:
1, core i7-lm620/640 is extremely terrific! performance much better than the old sl9400/9600, also better than old P8600 equipped on x200. yeah it's true, it's not able to beat normal voltage i5, but for an ultra-portable laptop it's more than enough.
2, power consumption is just slightly higher than the old sl9400, but consider this point: with the speed much faster you can finish the job in a shorter time, then enter into low-consumption state. so the overall power consumption is at the same level as x200s.
3, modest price!

it's worth buying, period.

 

Unlucky fella, i ordered monday and it was delivered today (but i wasnt in ) !!

 

Hey wallmage: I ordered on the 1st, shipped on 10th. It's in Alaska now. I also paid for the 2-day, but Lenovo only used expedited, so after speaking with UPS, I realize it will not arrive until 16th/17th. I called Lenovo and explained this. They will refund the extra shipping fee if you don't receive it in two business days. It would have been a lot more expensive to actually get 2-day out of Shanghai China, exported through customs. A little misleading, I think!

 

Does x201s weigh less than x200s, or the same?

 

Should be the same (± a few grams for the touchpad and any minor differences on the mainboard).

 

You did not answer his question, which was x200s vs x201s, not x201 vs x201s

 

Okay, sorry! Let's try again...

The X201s is slightly lighter than the X200s in the 4 and 6-cell versions. However, it is slightly heavier with the 9-cell battery.

 

thanks for the info! i'll get my extra shipping fee back!

 

Thanks for answering my weight question. I like x200s a lot, but didn't expect it to be so short-lived, replaced by x201s so soon.

 

iqcar, why do you say that your x200s is short-lived?

 

I think he means that he didn't expect a the new generation to come out so soon, making his X200s technologically "outdated."

 

Yes, MidnightSun was right I just bought one last year when it was just in fashion and still "overpriced". I didn't check Lenovo website for months and today suddenly saw the x201 discussion (I am also outdated ).

 

X200 was released in sept. 08' so it wasn't really just in fashion . 1.5 year refresh isn't that nuts.

 

Maybe I felt that way because mine is still new
I'll likely bypass the x201 through x203 generations...

 

i would be surprised if the next x was an x2zero.

 

Old thread, I know but...

One thing to consider is that on top of the longer use times on battery of the X200s over the X201s, the core 2 duo cpu can be easily undervolted while it currently looks like the core i cpus won't. Undervolting won't save all that much wattage by itself but it makes less heat. Combined with adjusting the fan settings (fan uses less watts since it spins slower/less frequently), you have a cooler, quieter, longer lasting ultraportable.

That is what is making me still consider the X200s; the awesomeness of (potentially) 11+ hours on battery (wi-fi on according to Laptopmag.com) compared to 8.5 (from Laptopmag.com's review of the X201s).

 

X201s - Faster
X200s - a bit cooler and quieter

 

FWIW, my x201s has not been audible even during heavy use. The fan does push out a good amount of heat, but the heat has not seeped through the keyboard or onto the palm rest so I was not aware of it during work unless I explicitly checked the exhaust on the left.

 

Do x200s and x201s use the same batteries?

 

Yeah, they do.

 

X201s and X200s have comparable energy consumption. But X201 integrate the CPU and a crappy GPU into one chip, which makes the heat dissipation a bit more strong, resulting in higher temperature and louder fan noise.

 

Where did you read this false statement? The X200 also uses integrated graphics (which is worse than the X201's). Besides if the energy consumption is similar, it doesn't make sense for it to have a higher temperature and fan noise (assuming cooling is similar).