X220 HD 3x3 or Premium 3x3 Display

[JPOESQ]

All,

I have an X220 in my shopping cart - the discounts are just too good to pass up. What's the difference between the standard HD display and the premium display?

Also, any recommendations on the best wireless card to select - the thinkpad b/g/n or the Intel?

Any other configuration suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[ajkula66]

Premium is IPS, standard is a TN panel.

If you're getting the machine already, specify a premium display, you won't regret it.

Happy shopping.

[ZaZ]

An IPS display gets you wide viewing angles and a high contrast ratio. Put together the picture quality on the premium display is better than all but a few notebooks being sold today. It is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it's so good and a curse because once you use one, it's hard to go back to crappy TN displays.

I have the ThinkPad card, mainly because I'm cheap, but it works fine for my purposes.

I'd suggest getting the 320GB 5400RPM hard drive, then picking up a mSATA SSD. mSATA SSDs are small SSDs that plug into the miniPCI slot on the motherboard located underneath the palm rest. The benefit of doing this is you can install the OS on the SSD for speed and keep the larger drive in the main bay for storage, where speed is not as important. I have this setup on my X220i. It's quite slick. Do keep in mind if you want WWAN, you can't do the mSATA drive as they share the same port.

If you're looking for durable ultraportable with long battery and a gorgeous screen, the X220 is the real deal. Don't hesitate.

[JPOESQ]

Thank you; this is the type of information that I was hoping to receive. I have finally come to the realization that, after using Thinkpads on the road since 1997, I'm just not a MacBook Air person. As you can see from my signature, I own a large number of Thinkpads. The MacBook Air was an experiment to find a small, lightweight computer for using on the train everyday while commuting. I still use my X61s in the office, and I miss the full Thinkpad experience.

The X220 seems like a fine computer as a successor to my X61s. I'm an SSD type of person, so I have a 160GB SSD in the X61s and will likely buy the X220 with a 160 GB SSD as well.

If anyone has inside information that Lenovo is coming out with a replacement for the X220 in the next month, please let me know.

Thanks again.

[erik]

if you prefer your classic thinkpads, you'll want the X220 even if a replacement comes soon.

[bill bolton]

The MacBook Air was an experiment to find a small, lightweight computer for using on the train everyday while commuting.

That's one of my common uses for my X220 (with an Intel 320 160GB SSD)!

If anyone has inside information that Lenovo is coming out with a replacement for the X220 in the next month, please let me know.

ThinkPad release cycles are generally keyed to follow Intel's processor release cycles, and the next Intel processor platform release (Ivy Bridge) looks now like it wont be available for laptops until June at the earliest (it's already slipped a couple of times). So don't expect to see new X series models until AFTER the processor release.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[JPOESQ]

Thanks everyone. I just placed my order.

[panaes]

Hi There
I have had my X220 for a couple of months and unfortunately have developed a strange line on the screen at about 3 o'clock running from the side of the screen for about 3 cm. My local computer store said it may have been due to some pressure on the lid causing different layers of the screen being pushed together? I have a 12.5" Premium HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, 3x3 Antenna panel on the laptop. Has anyone else had a similar problem? Does anyone know what the model number is for this screen and possibly where I might be able to order one from. I am not sure if my warranty will cover this is it is due to some pressure on the lid (which I do not remember but never know even though carried in a padded laptop backpack. Appreciate any advice and help.
thanks panaes

[ajkula66]

Welcome to the forum, panaes!

I doubt that the store provided you with the correct diagnosis.

What you're describing sounds like a driver row issue within the panel, a defect within the LCD itself, and not user-caused.

If the machine is still under warranty, call Lenovo and ask for the screen to be replaced.

Good luck.

[panaes]

Thanks for your post, this is really helpful and will follow your advice. Hopefully will all work out.

[bmwman91]

A blessing because it's so good and a curse because once you use one, it's hard to go back to crappy TN displays.

Tell me about it! I love my T60p (personal PC), and despite wanting to get something with higher processing power, I can't do it. I have a fully-loaded W520 at work, and the thing is a beast. Despite that, the display hurts my eyes and I am frequently adjusting it. It is also big and heavy as a cinder-block...the 170W PSU alone weighs as much as my T60p lol.

Anyway, the X220 looks like a fine machine and I may pick one up in a few months when Ivy Bridge models make it out. The 1366x768 screen resolution is a little low for my liking, but it is a smaller screen, and I'd tolerate it for an IPS display!

[bill bolton]

A blessing because it's so good and a curse because once you use one, it's hard to go back to crappy TN displays.

I swap back and forth between an X220 with and IPS screen when on the road, and a T400 with a higher end LED backlit TN panel for my around-the-house laptop, and while there is a difference its not the much bigger difference that existed between the IPS panels and CCFL backit TN displays 5 years or so ago.

The point is, that just as not all IPS panels have the same qualities, neither do all TN panels.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[ZaZ]

I see a fair amount of laptops and I'd take the X220 IPS panel over most others I've seen, even though the reds do skew a bit orangy. I'm typing this on a XPS 13. It's covered in Gorilla Glass, which makes it highly reflective. Colors on it are decent, but the angles are thin causing color shift with any position shift. That reminds me of the CFFL LCDs of yore. There are some higher end TN panels like the MacBook Air, which I also have at the moment. It's good contrast like the X220 and a decent sweet spot for the angles, but it's a bit washed out compared to the X220, particularly at higher brightness levels.