X301/8gb RAM/128gb SSD - is is worthy?

[Zglanowany]

Hi All,

I was searching for parts to my t61 and i found Lenovo x301 for sale. It will be something around 330$ with configuration as below:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor SU9400 (1.4 GHz), 3-MB L2 cache, 800 MHz Front Side Bus
Screen is 13.3-inch WXGA (1440 x 900 resolution) TFT display
128 SSD
8GB DDr3
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
battery will run something about 1,5 hour

I think rest is like standard (rj11, rj45, VGA, 3xUSB etc)
X301 has no system installeb, but I'm Ubuntu user, so this is not a problem

330$ is price for which i can get 8 gb ram and maybe i will fond 64 SSD (disc will be hard to find, because i need 7 mm SSD for T61)

Now I'm thinking about X301 instead of uprading T61

[ajkula66]

If the machine is in good physical condition, that's not a bad deal in my opinion.

[Zglanowany]

I forgot to include photos

http://inmos.com.pl/allegro_files/img_19154_org.jpg
http://inmos.com.pl/allegro_files/img_19155_org.jpg
http://inmos.com.pl/allegro_files/img_19156_org.jpg
http://inmos.com.pl/allegro_files/img_19159_org.jpg
http://inmos.com.pl/allegro_files/img_19160_org.jpg

my t61 is in much better condition than that one.

[ajkula66]

I don't know what to tell you. Doesn't look that bad to me...

Check the going rate on German ThinkPad Forum for X301 in a similar condition...or German eBay.

[Zglanowany]

I now only English as foreign language

there is nothing silimar to it on Ebay.de. I think I will look further on similar services, but I think decision has been made

[Cunha]

I think the X300 series is a really nice laptop and was quite wonderful in its heydey. They only thing that held them back was a display that didn't match apples and a battery life that didn't match what an X series should be capable of.

It just depends on what machine you want to be using.

[rjwilmsi]

On the SSD, the more recent Crucial M4 revisions are 7mm drives, so it shouldn't be hard to get one of those. As for T61 v X301, up to you. I have an X200s and X200T with the SU9400 CPU, coupled with a Crucial/Intel SSD performance is very good with opensuse.

[ajkula66]

On the SSD, the more recent Crucial M4 revisions are 7mm drives, so it shouldn't be hard to get one of those. .

X30* machines require a 1.8" drive...and I don't believe that M4 ever came in that flavour. C300 did, and is likely the best option for these laptops even today.

[SaberX]

In my X301 , i have the 1.6Ghz cpu. Along with 128 gig SSD and 8gig ram.
I have no complaints about the system. Well the CPU could be little faster BUT with the SSD its great.
I find it much faster to use then my buddys loaded T60P with a 64gig ssd.
It's not a gaming laptop.But handles everythig else just great. 1080P videos can be tricky but 720P is nice....

I was thinking of selling my X301 to get something with more CPU power BUT i just love this little laptop to much.The X301 with SSD is just right.

[JeffCullen]

I agree with SaberX... I daily drive an X301 1.4GHz with 8GB of RAM and a 160GB Intel 320 SSD. With the 6 cell main battery and 3 cell in the optical bay, battery life is very respectable. It is no rocket ship, but for office-y tasks, I love it... the screen is OK once calibrated... GREAT keyboard...

I find the WiFi antennas weak compared to my bigger Thinkpads... upgrading to a 6300 from 5300 (requiring whitelist BIOS) improved this but there's still a very noticeable difference.

[SaberX]

I went from the 5100 wi fi to the 5300 and that made a huge difference for me.Now my wi fi router is only a Apple airport express topping out at 300mbps. But i connect at this speed most places in the big house.
My next thing is a HDD adapter in place of the dvd burner. Had mine for months now and only used the disk drive 3 times one day.Much rather have a hard drive in there.
I also tested the display port with a display port to HDMI cable to my 50" 1080P Plasma. great picture and video output.Again 720P is great but 1080P will play but best to stick with 720P.
I have mine set at "High Performance" and with the SSD its quite.The CPU fan hardly ever comes on.

[600X]

The condition looks good to me. Notice how the LCD bezel is intact...

My X301 cost me 200€. Picked it up from ebay.de last year. Overall condition is good, similar to the X301 depicted in the first post. I spent another 70€ for a C300 128GB (new) and 55€ for a new German Keyboard. (best Keyboard ever BTW).

In Germany a X301 in good condition (without any missing parts) costs around 250-300€ at the moment.

I think nothing needs to be said when it comes to the X301. It's a collector piece in itself. I'd recommend a fast SSD and the Intel 5300. Performance-wise it much better than most people might expect, 1080p is no problem at all. (40% CPU usage)