Is the X201 still usable in 2022/23?

[MountainBeaver]

Hello,

I'm a new user here, and new to Thinkpads. I have a T460, which I like a lot. Furthermore, I'm interested in the X201 as it has the 16:10 screen, which is an aspect ratio I like, and it seems quite durable and serviceable. I'm very much not tech savvy, I'm attempting to learn more about computers. However, I'm concerned it will be too slow. I would just be using it for word processing, email, browsing the internet, and watching some videos. If I was to get one, I would put in the max 8gb RAM and an SSD. I would also install Linux, probably Ubuntu as that's all I've used, but maybe I'd try another distro that is lighter weight.

If so, what would you consider a reasonable price for one?

Thank you for your thoughts.

[axur-delmeria]

For those simple tasks, the X201 would suffice. That said, there have been a number of reports in this forum about the X201 having unusual overheating issues, especially as they get older-- there was even one where an X201s (with a low voltage CPU) was transferred to a regular X201, making use of its bigger heatsink, just to keep its CPU temperature in check.

As for price, no higher than 70 USD I guess?

[TPFanatic]

The machine can use 2.5" SATA SSD @ 300 MBps and max 8GB RAM, with 1st gen Core it will be speedy for desktop tasks and light browsing. It will handle YouTube 720p excellently. Heavy browsing and web games will bog it down and use up all the RAM. I'm familiar with US prices and wouldn't want to pay more than $60 for a unit, they are over 10 years old now. They are very nice compact ultraportables with transient but pleasant styling.

[MountainBeaver]

Thank you for the feedback. Do you think $120 is too much if it includes an SSD and a docking station?

[piledriver]

docks

Thank you for the feedback. Do you think $120 is too much if it includes an SSD and a docking station?

Yes, perfectly usable win 10 or Linux box, been using X200T hooked up to a 32" hd monitor for a few years as my "desktop" with a 2tb of spinning rust in the ultrabay.
It recently became an X201T, the fan was unobtanium, and I picked up an i5 x201T "motherboard" for less than a fan, and from the USA.
(included lower case and a noticably faster cpu and wan card too)

Useless for most gaming, but eduke32 works great on it. Harder to get and possibly expensive parts will probably render it a paperweight someday.

Having said that I just picked up an i7 x260, ultradock, 32gb of used ecc ram from a server, and stuffed a spare ssd I had laying around in it for not much more than your $120 target.
(after I saw how well it ran I went nuts and bought the nvme adapter and cable and a 2TB hynix p41 for it, win11 loaded in about 10 minutes, just use rufus to write the usb stick, it bypasses all the "required hardware" and "ms account required" checks and sets you up with a local account...)

You could probably get an x470 or x480 for not much more. They come with the nvme drive...

[MountainBeaver]

Oh that's awesome. Thank you for the suggestion. One draw I have towards those older ones is the 16:10 screen, which I think ended with the T410.

The T480 seems like a great computer.

I read some of the older X series, like x260, x270 have an issue with the ram coming loose or something. Have you experienced that at all?

[piledriver]

the 16gb sodimm i took out wasn't loose, appears to be a typical ddr4 ram socket/retainer setup...

Mines driving a pair of 32" fhd gaming monitors via the dock at the moment.

Win11 runs fine in virtualbox too, dual core i7 is U series, reasonably speedy and goes all day on the batteries it came with, if you have new internal and a 68+ some folks got well over 20 hours use.

[TPFanatic]

They're hard to acquire now but an 8:5 modified X330 like I have is much more capable a machine than X201 and T410, only drawback is it loses docking due to the nature of the modification, unless further modification is done to make it safe with docks again.

Most current Thinkpads have returned to 8:5 in all sizes, with 16" replacing 15". So in a few years when they are no longer brand new they will be decently inexpensive to acquire.

[RealBlackStuff]

Please note that hardly anybody refers to that screen size as 8:5, the usual description is 16:10.

[elka.]

I primarily use X201/X201s laptops because of the keyboard.

I run Linux and primarily do what you might call "basic office tasks" (Internet, email, document editing). These machines are not super fast but are usable with a junk-free operating system.

- Chrome is a much faster browser than Firefox. Very noticeable on this ancient hardware.
- Windows 7 also works for similar tasks.
- I don't watch youtube etc. on these laptops, however they can play downloaded videos using desktop media players a-ok.
- Try to get the higher spec hardware if possible (i7-620m CPU for x201 or x201s with the i7-640lm)

[LectorMalibu]

After a lot of tinkering, I am able to run my x201 Tablet as a "daily device" in 2023. I had to redo the thermal paste and tone Windows 10 down quite a bit. I did this by building a very stripped down version of windows 10. I wanted to do this, this way for security juxtaposed to using something like "tiny 10" where I was not sure what was potentially packed into the build. I also followed the instructions on this forum for the legacy threshold control on the x61 thread. Where I have a actual decent 3rd party battery that I was able to calibrate the correct way, this will help it last a little bit longer by having charging threshold caps in place. I also bumped the ram up to 6GB, which takes a lot stress off the processor, as it is not struggling as much to compensate.

Windows 10 is running decent on the x201 however there is a lot of settings that should be shut off and apps to remove that hog resources. I really wanted to run Linux on this with TLP and Auto CPU Freq to help the processor and control the battery. I was not able to get the touch or Wacom pen working and it was a deal breaker for me because those features really are what make this tablet even better next to the keyboard, in my opinion. If you are looking for a great typing , coffee shop browser, basic file storage/ access device- than yes, the x201 is very capable in 2023. Once the temps are dialed in on the device, one could probably even do a little light retro gaming or game streaming. Still very much "worth it" and next to my other Thinkpads my personal favorite.

[TPFanatic]

Happy to read your successful experience using the classic X201 with modern Windows. I honestly prefer Power Manager to Commercial Vantage, but I also like having the latest Firefox supported which makes Windows 7 done for for me. I bet even 11 can be conformed to our needs.

Edit to add: I also suggest using Open Shell Start Menu to replace the official start menu, particularly the Search function. The official Search has an inferior Context Menu implementation compared to the NT 6/6.1 solution. Open Shell restores the proper Context Menu integration with search results.

[deickos]

for me X201 is the best X ever due to 16:10 screen, the old keyboard and the touchpad with the buttons.

[mikemex]

Any old machine is usable for web browsing if you use a script blocker. My X301 is way slower but still useful for basic tasks.

Just don't expect modern peformance or capabilities and you'll be happy. Try to use software from that era.

[dr_st]

Any old machine is usable for web browsing if you use a script blocker. My X301 is way slower but still useful for basic tasks.

Except, not the entire web is browsable, if you use a script blocker.

Just don't expect modern peformance or capabilities and you'll be happy. Try to use software from that era.

Except, browsers from that era are no longer going to be compatible with most of the web.

You can sort of make it work by finding reasonable combinations, with limitations. You can't rely on it to be a 100% functional web-browsing system. You can run contemporary software and contemporary games and they will all work 100%, but the web won't, because it relies on things external to your old PC.

[mikemex]

Except, browsers from that era are no longer going to be compatible with most of the web. (...) You can sort of make it work by finding reasonable combinations, with limitations. You can't rely on it to be a 100% functional web-browsing system. You can run contemporary software and contemporary games and they will all work 100%, but the web won't, because it relies on things external to your old PC.

I wasn't talking about the web browser. I use the regular Firefox on my X301. It still plays Youtube videos on low quality. It takes some training to know what to disable and what not. But it's perfectly doable. I try to keep my tab count really low, though.

I was talking about offline software, which is what you should use old hardware for. I have a constellation of old programs (like of versions of Photoshop or utilities) that run perfectly fine on my X301.

Really, we're about to hit 2024. It doesn't make sense to expect a machine of that vintage to handle modern tasks well.