Replacement/upgrade from X301

[filbert]

There has been a bit of discussion about a replacement for the X301. My needs are slightly different.

I use my X301 for web and office but I don't do games. I lek the size and weight - a little large screen would be nice but not too much heavier. I'm not bothered about an optical drive (I could always use a USB one, if I can't make do with network or USB sticks).

The reason I need an upgrade is that I want start using a few VMs for development and one in particular needs at least 8gb ram, so I need something with at least 16gb and preferably 32gb. Also a decent processor. That rules out the X1 Carbon - which I think would have been my first choice - as it is, as far as I know, 8gb and can't be upgraded.

USB3 would be nice.

I still like Thinkpads (even though colleagues say I'll get what I need with a Macbook!)

Has anyone any suggestions?

[600X]

Perhaps an X1, I really love my X301 as well and haven't found anything close to a worthy successor, but the X1 is pretty decent and somewhat similar to the X301 in some regards. It has a full voltage CPU and one RAM slot, making it a better option for VM's than the X1 Carbon. The max. amount of RAM is 8GB I think, 16GB DDR3 sticks will be released soon, but I don't know if the X1 will take it, the CPU supports 16GB of RAM but it has only been tested with 2x8GB.

[ZaZ]

I don't think you'll get a ThinkPad Ultrabook with 16GB of memory if that's what you're after. If you want something smaller with a quad core and 16GB of memory, the T440p might work. If you can live with the HD resolution, the X230 can do 16GB of memory and offers a full voltage i7. The only ThinkPads with the 32GB option are the workstations, but are quite a bit heavier than your X301.

[pianowizard]

I lek the size and weight - a little large screen would be nice but not too much heavier...needs at least 8gb ram

The T440s would be the only Thinkpad that meets all your requirements:

14.0" screen (a little larger than the X301)

3.5 lbs (not too much heavier than the X301)

up to 12GB RAM

The T440s comes with either 1600x900 or 1920x1080, which are both better than what your X301 has.

[Q-Ball]

I lek the size and weight - a little large screen would be nice but not too much heavier...needs at least 8gb ram

The T440s would be the only Thinkpad that meets all your requirements

Also a decent processor.

No, it doesn't. The T440s has a ULV processor just like the X301's; he'd be better off with any standard-voltage processor made after 2010. Any x10-x30 machine is just as fast or faster processor-wise as the T440s; excluding the T431s of course. Battery life (naturally) takes a hit, but that battery life is useless if it takes forever to actually do anything.

Personally, though... I'm wondering exactly how you're coping with the loss of functionality that you're going to suffer from the transfer (i.e. moving from a real TrackPoint to the fake one, and the loss of keys). I'd be considering Dell/HP's machines, and if you use the trackpad exclusively the MBP is indeed your best bet.

[pianowizard]

Any x10-x30 machine is just as fast or faster processor-wise as the T440s

"Any"? The T440s can be configured to use the i7-4600U, which has a very respectable PassMark score of 4,292. By contrast, the fastest processor that the T410 came with was the i7-620M, with a PassMark score of only 2,740. For the T420, the fastest was the i7-2620M whose PassMark is 3,880.

I've heard claims similar to this many times, e.g. "any dedicated graphics will trump any integrated graphics", "any SSD will trump any mechanical HDD", etc. One cannot generalize like this.

I'd be considering Dell/HP's machines, and if you use the trackpad exclusively the MBP is indeed your best bet.

If the OP doesn't require the trackpoint, the Dell Precision M3800 is worth checking out. At 15.6", it's quite a bit bigger than the X301, but it has a starting weight of only 4.15 lbs i.e. 1.88 kg (with the smallest battery, the 1080p panel, and just an mSATA drive), and can take up to 16GB of RAM.

[filbert]

Thanks for all the replies - that's given me something to think about.

One difficulty is finding somewhere to get hands on

Ta