x230 ordering advise

Price: $1228... Should i add/remove anything? Ill be adding an SSD my self, and adding more ram to it as well

+/- Configuration details

• Intel Core i7-3520M Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)

• Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)

• 12.5" Premium HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, 2x2 Antenna

• Intel HD 4000 Graphics in Intel Core i7-3520M Processor

• 4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)

• UltraNav™ with TrackPoint® and buttonless multi-touchpad

• 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm

• No Optical Drive

• 4 Cell ThinkPad Battery X44

• Bluetooth 4.0 with Antenna

• Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 AGN

• Mobile Broadband upgradable

• 1 Year Depot/Express Warranty

3YR Onsite Next Business Day + Accidental Damage Protection

 

add 6 cell battery (4 cell is nothing)

i would also put in i5 3320 because the i7 is not much better.

 

The i7 offers little performance increase and a significant price increase. I would consider one of the i5 models to save some money.

 

how heavy is the 6cell compared with the 4?

 

Agreed. Put the money towards an SSD, or at least an mSATA if you actually need that 500GB spinner.

I don't know the actual weights, but the difference should be about 0.25lbs.

 

So this system supports an SSD and an mSata drive right?

so no need to have a spinner in it right?

 

well you could leave the hdd in for extra storage and just put in an mSATA to run the OS on. that's what im doing, just in the process of making a recovery disk before i continue with the install.

 

Get the 9-cell... Lenovo X230 vs. Asus Zenbook Prime - YouTube

Significant battery life for the price! Get the mSATA separate and install on your own for booting! I got the base Core i5 and I love it. I didn't see much use in paying more for 100Mhz but if you need vPro, then it makes sense.

 

isnt the 9cell really heavy?

 

Watch the video. I use it and I love it. It feels just right. When I go out, I never worry about the battery dying on me. I used to carry a 17" laptop on my back so that's why this feels like nothing. I also had the Vaio T, which was like 3.5 lbs and had worse battery life. This is like 3.77 lbs with the 9-cell. Although, I care more for run time than weight when its under 4lbs.

 

The X230 is 3 pounds with the four-cell, 3.3 pounds with the six-cell and 3.7 pounds with the nine-cell. I'd also recommend getting the 500GB 5400RPM hard drive, then installing the mSATA SSD unless you want WWAN.

 

I'd go for either the 6-cell or 9-cell. The additional price of that can be offset by skipping out on the Core i7, which you probably won't need. Stick to the base Core i5.

Also, unless you're extremely prone to accidents, I'd skip the accidental damage warranty--generally, it's just not worth it.

 

in place of the 500gb i put an ssd snd an msata drive

is this true?
4 cell (29 Wh) − up to 8.9 hrs
6 cell (63 Wh) − up to 9.9 hrs
9 cell (94 Wh) − up to 14.8 hrs
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/x-series/x230/x230-datasheet.pdf
?

Still wondering if its worth it to get a bigger battery like the 9cell because of the added weight... If i get 12h out of it.. i dont have to carry my ac adapter which is prob around 1lb anyways... so not sure there


Also still not sure on the 2x2 vs 3x3... i never use my webcam, soo not a big deal there... I just know that 2x2 vs 3x3 u get better speed (theorerical) with the 3x3 antena (6300 vs 6200) sooo, those are the 2 things im not sure about

 

I see little point in using an mSATA SSD in addition to a 2.5" SSD unless you have money to blow for fun. If you're using the 2.5" SSD for data storage, the speed won't matter, and definitely won't be worth the money.

Theoretically, with wireless off and at minimal screen brightness at idle, probably. In real usage with wireless on, expect to get 3-4 hours on the 4-cell, 5-6 hours on the 6-cell, and about 9-11 hours on the 9-cell.

I would say the 2x2 is probably sufficient for most usage patterns. The 3x3 probably won't net you noticeably better speed, but you may pick up a usage signal in a more WiFi-congested area with it.

 

On my laptop, Lenovo Power Manager estimates 7.5 hours at 96% charge, while Microsoft estimates 8 hours at 96%. I've never kept track of how long I use my machine off a power supply but I used it on and off one day without needing the power supply. At the end of the day, I was at 45% and had like 4 hours left. Personally, I don't think the extension off the back is that much and the weight is all that much either because of the added battery life. Also, you will be recharging less because the battery lasts longer, theoretically. BTW, you will never see those estimates on any of the specified batteries because those estimates are determined in non-real world situations with Wireless off and other conditions that make it being a laptop pointless.

 

I would say a realistic battery life estimate for the X230 just doing normal stuff with the screen at half brightness is about four hours of battery life on the four-cell, six on the six-cell and 9-10 on the nine-cell, though a lot will depend on how dim you can stomach the screen. Some of the other settings like the CPU power state or whether WiFi is on/off will have an impact as well. The screen is by far the biggest battery life drainer on any laptop. The lower you can tolerate the screen brightness, the better battery life you'll get. Battery life estimates from manufacturers tends to be overly optimistic as they test them with the screen off just sitting there, which is not how most people I know use their notebooks.

 

Since everyone is reporting 9-11 hours, I'm starting to think I have a faulty battery. I never see estimates in that range.

 

any one actually have a picture of the laptop with the 6cell and with the 9 cell to compare the physical size???

 

A little Googling gets you some nice images of the X220 with 6- and 9-cell batteries. The X220 is physically identical to the X230:

6-cell: Sticks out a little bit from the bottom of the laptop, but does not cause any issues because there are two "feet" on the battery, anyway. See here.

9-cell: Sticks out a little bit from the bottom of the laptop in the exact same way as the 6-cell, and also sticks out 1" from the rear. See here and here and here.

4-cell: Entirely flat along the bottom where the 6- and 9-cell batteries have "ridges." The left and right feet on the laptop touch the table surface, and the 4-cell has no feet on the battery itself.

 

If it helps you out at all, I got about 9 hours on the 9 cell on my X220, and I'm getting about 5 hours on the 6 cell on the X230. That's with moderate use, screen on 14. You can save a lot of battery if you're willing to squint, but I'm not..

I went for the 6 cell on the X230 because of the form factor. The weight wasn't an issue either way, but the way it stuck out in the back it would hit my leg at certain angles when sitting on my lap. Not a deal breaker, but since 98% of the time I don't need the extra battery, I decided to go for the 6 cell. I also got a slice battery, for that 2% (say going camping for a weekend). With the slice and the 6 cell, there's a stupid amount of battery. I can't remember of the top of my head, but it easily lasted a weekend, and served as a charging port for other stuff via the powered USB. So, I have the form factor I like, plus the uber-long battery when I need it. Works for me.

 

Processor
Intel Core i7-3520M Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)

Operating system
Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)

Operating system language
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 - English

Display type
12.5" Premium HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, 3x3 Antenna

System graphics
Intel HD 4000 Graphics in Intel Core i7-3520M Processor

Total memory
4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)

Keyboard
Keyboard Backlit - US English

Fingerprint reader
UltrNav with FingerPrint Reader

Hard drive
500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm

Battery
6 Cell ThinkPad Battery X44+

Power cord
65W AC Adapter - US (2pin)

Bluetooth
Bluetooth 4.0 with Antenna

Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN

Integrated mobile broadband
Mobile Broadband upgradable

Language pack
Publication - US English

 

Why do you guys say its not worth it to have an msata and a SSD drive? havening a spinner in the system doesnt it make it slow, and decreases battery live?

 

I think the battery life hit is minimal. That said, I think it's worth it just from a noise perspective. I really like not having a spinner. The only downside is cost and/or reduced storage capacity. Personally, 256GB in the main drive is plenty for me. I've never had a laptop with more than 120GB, so already I don't know what to do with this space... There are a few vocal advocates of the spinner/Mstata combo, but I prefer a quieter machine.

 

If you're running your operating system off the mSATA SSD, then no, whether or not you have an SSD as your secondary data storage drive will not make a difference in speed. You can (and should) also set the HDD to stop spinning after 5 minutes or so of idling, and therefore, it will make no difference in power consumption as well.

Having a 5400RPM drive does help, but there is some variance between manufacturers as well. As mentioned above, you can set the HDD to stop spinning after 5 minutes of idle.