I'm debating if the X220T is a good upgrade/replacement for the T60. Is the X220T a capable machine for everyday use as a primary computer? I would wait for the X230T, but anything other than the classic tp keyboard is a deal breaker. Primarily use the laptop function for heavy word processing, spreadsheets, usual web browsing and procastinating watching youtube. I never used a tablet/touchscreen, unless the HP Jornada 548 counts. I like the idea of using the tablet to make notes and use it as whiteboard, but I digress.

Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated!

hi there
I see you wrote another thread for X230T etc ,,, results of your T60 die...
still best suggestion for you would be to get a USED T61 ( same screen size as your died one) and swap parts over and u set to go... lots of pple selling t61 for around 250. THE MAJOR reason for getting T61 and not t60 is that you can get FULL USE OF 4GB of RAM (most T60 can only use 3GB due to intel's physical design on those machines) So if u bit 'handy' I would get one of these T61's and swap them over! - I bet you be suprised how fast the T61 is compared to your older t60!!
Even if you buy the new new T230T - you would never get full benefit from it ( apart from new shiney and new laptop smell ! lol) ... Seems you not a pwoer user.

I have had lots ( over 200 thinkpads) for personal use over last 25+ yrs and I still have my T60p and T61P and most of time kids and fmaily always end up using those instead of the newer T520 qne W520 machines . I have had the good furtune to play with T230 machine for couple of weeks ( beta tester) and it WONT BE RUSHING to buy these anytime after june 3rd!

Hope this helps
Mike

I find just the opposite to be true. My R60e feels faster than my X220i most of the time. Both are SSD eqipped, but the R60e runs Linux, which has lower overhead than the Windows 7 on my X220i, and boots in like seven seconds. I think given the usage, the better CPU and more memory offered in the T61 probably doesn't make as much difference as upgrading either to a SSD. The OP is unlikely to use more than 3GB of memory.

I know I'll probably be vilified here for this, but I don't find the new keyboard on the X230 to be that bad. I'm typing this on the X230 and from a purely typing point of view, the X230 is very good. The keyboard is very firm and the pitch is excellent. It probably comes down to whether you're going to miffed about the dropping of keys and moving around of function keys. If you use a lot of those, the new keyboard will probably will be a disappointment, but the actual typing is quite good in my opinion.

I did? I don't remember. Basically I'm wondering if I should ge the X220T now or wait for the X230T. If I wait for the X230T, I might as wait until Lenovo clears it of all the bugs discovered by end users who buy the first production run of X230T's.

I understand the logic of that, but wouldn't a USED T61 or anything still have internal parts that are also used? It's like buying a car. Do I buy a used car that I might have to nickel and dime, or buy brand new with manufacturer's warranty? I'm concerned that if I go the used route, that the motherboard or something vital will die on it and then I'm back at square one. I'm planning brand new, but I'm garaging the T60 and I'll do what I can to get her up and running like old times. Yeah, I'll fix her upon on the weekends.

That's right, I'm not a power user, but I'm a heavy user and who knows? I might be a power user in the near future.


I learning typing on an electric typewriter. I'm accustomed to the feel of the classic TP keyboard, been using the T60 since 2006? I don't know how a backlit keyboard is going to help me, since I can type by feel. Keyboard aside, sure the X230 has improved processor, ram, hard drive upgrades, but as Mike pointed out, I'm not a power user (yet) so if I get a X220T and I'm not tapping into it's full potential, then the X230T, has more potential than the X220T, which would mean more wasted potential.

Does anyone recommend getting a X220 or X230 with the SSD or an HHD? I'm concerned how much memory Windows 7 (or uses. I could get crazy and ask about sMATA, but that might be a bit out of my league for the moment. Almost forgot, if you upgrade the ram on a new machine, does that void the Lenovo warranty?

That's for all the input!

I did? I don't remember. Basically I'm wondering if I should ge the X220T now or wait for the X230T. If I wait for the X230T, I might as wait until Lenovo clears it of all the bugs discovered by end users who buy the first production run of X230T's.

I understand the logic of that, but wouldn't a USED T61 or anything still have internal parts that are also used? It's like buying a car. Do I buy a used car that I might have to nickel and dime, or buy brand new with manufacturer's warranty? I'm concerned that if I go the used route, that the motherboard or something vital will die on it and then I'm back at square one. I'm planning brand new, but I'm garaging the T60 and I'll do what I can to get her up and running like old times. Yeah, I'll fix her upon on the weekends.

That's right, I'm not a power user, but I'm a heavy user and who knows? I might be a power user in the near future.


I learning typing on an electric typewriter. I'm accustomed to the feel of the classic TP keyboard, been using the T60 since 2006? I don't know how a backlit keyboard is going to help me, since I can type by feel. Keyboard aside, sure the X230 has improved processor, ram, hard drive upgrades, but as Mike pointed out, I'm not a power user (yet) so if I get a X220T and I'm not tapping into it's full potential, then the X230T, has more potential than the X220T, which would mean more wasted potential.

Does anyone recommend getting a X220 or X230 with the SSD or an HHD? I'm concerned how much memory Windows 7 (or 8 ) uses. I could get crazy and ask about sMATA, but that might be a bit out of my league for the moment. Almost forgot, if you upgrade the ram on a new machine, does that void the Lenovo warranty?

That's for all the input!

The alphanumeric keys probably won't be a problem. It's the function keys like PgUp, PgDn, Home, End that got shuffled around on the new keyboard. If you use these keys without looking now on the classic keyboard, you'll have to relearn their positions on the new keyboard.

I would highly suggest getting the 320GB HDD, then adding the mSATA SSD unless you need WWAN. The benefit of this is you get speed and space. The X220t doesn't have an optical bay for an extra hard drive and this is the way to get two drives in there. You can download a Windows disc over at NBR if you want to do a clean install or the recovery discs are an option too.

I considered adding the mSATA SSD, but would that violate the Lenovo warranty? I don't need WWAN and even if I do, I'd get the external adapter.

I'm undecided if I should get the 320GB HDD or the 168GB SDD. (My T60 has a 100GB, but it's more like a 80GB and it's just about maxed out so anything would be an improvement.) What about getting the 320GB HDD and then replacing it with a third party SDD, say a 240GB or 256GB? It would be a pain (for me) to reinstall everything.

However, it seems this discussion is digressing away from the original topic. I'm going to make a new thread, asking about configuration advice for the X220T.

Adding the mSATA does not void the warranty. You can add a SSD later, but you should note that the X220t uses a 7mm bay, which limits the upgrade options. The Samsung 830 is a 7mm drive and will fit.

Thanks ZaZ! I just checked out the Samsung 830 256GB SSD on newegg. I have some serious number crunching to do.

I would just point out, you get get this Kingston mSATA SSD and Hitachi 500GB Z5K500 hard drive for almost $100 less, and be left with 560GB of storage as opposed to 256GB on the Samsung. While the Hitachi isn't as fast as the Samsung, speed isn't as critical for storage. I have a similar setup in my X220i with 80GB Intel mSATA SSD. It's quite slick.

I was daydreaming of getting a 80GB mSATA SSD and a 256GB SSD. This might be a noob question, but what do you store on the mSATA SSD? I guess you'd store Windows 7 or whatever OS you got? If so, I suppose you just install the OS from the SATA drive? I ask because the Samsung 830 SSD is part of a notebook kit with Norton Ghost 15.

Right now, 80GB mSATA SSD and 320GB HHD with i7 processor should be a good configuration for me, but I'm absolutely have no idea about the wifi adapter; ThinkPad 1 x 1 b/g/n vs. Intel Wifi Link 1000. They're the same price, but which one is recommended?

Just the OS, my music, wallpaper/photos and a few videos. It's nice to have the seconds drive the you can mess with the OS partition without having to touch the storage drive. I myself went for the ThinkPad WiFi card . It's a RealTek card and have had no issues with it.

I realized I missed Lenovo's weekend sale on X220T's, but the X230T is now available. While now I have an idea of what configuration I want, I'm torn between getting an X220T & X230T.

Sure, X230T has blacklit keyboard, Thinklight, up to 16GB ram, Ivy Bridge, but I don't think I need them. The X230T has slightly improved graphics and Dolby, but that's minor. I thought, as with any new tech, it'll take a couple of production runs to smooth out the X230T's kinks, but the X230 has been out for a while and any tablet kinks were already taken care with the X220T's. The island keyboard could drive me towards the X220T only if the chiclet keys are harder to repace than the classic keyboard keys. Does anyone have ideas about this?

I would get an X220T from Lenovo's outlet just to save $, but I really want a 2 year extended base warranty (peace of mind). If I get an X220T direct from Lenovo, then I might as well get the X230T since Lenovo is pretty much offering them at the same price. But it boils down to market trend; I just don't know about tech market trend. I assume the X220T's price would have dropped since they rolled out the X230T. After all, don't they have to clear stock? Or do you bite the bullet and buy the latest tech now because it'll be yesterday's news when they drop the price?

At least I know what configuration I want, now it's back to deciding which model.

I read that the Kingston SSD mS100 SMS100S2/64G mSATA has given some X220 users an error 2101. I read it here http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-Th ... d-p/679033 It seems it's BIOS issue, but it works fine with the Intel mSATA SSD'S. I'm wondering if anyone had this problem with the X230's or with other X220's. I ordered a X230T and I'm not experienced enough to mess around with the BIOS.

IMHO.... the 'newer' keyboard/ pattern/laypout on Thinkpads ...
hasnt bothered me too much - had them in use on my Edge eSeries since it first came out in 2009... and I did lots of 'typing' on those for a while.....
But each is to their own.... newer X230's we got early Apr this year - had the 'updated' chicklet keyboards from ELAN. They are yet different to now the x230 Production machines from what i saw. SO Hope they work bit better ....
But yeah after 20+ yrs of older TP keybaords - feels very weird with new new changes