Thinkpads Forum

Is it possible to swap out the CPU on an x201 for a faster one, or is the CPU soldered to the motherboard?

soldered

You can swap the board to one with a better CPU, but it probably offers a low cost/benefit ratio. If you've not upgraded your X201 to a SSD, that'll probably offer you better bang for your buck.

Thanks, guys.
I don't have one yet. I am shopping around for one, and was trying for one of the faster CPUs.

So, a related question: how significant is the performance difference between the available processors for the x201?

Can't answer your question unless we know your usage requirements.

In my experience from extensive overclocking of desktop CPUs, there's not a noticeable difference in speed until you have a +300ish MHz increase in clock speed. Of course this only applies within the same CPU family. The bigger difference is number of CPU cores, 2 is better than 4 if and only if you need/use multithreaded applications.

Of course nothing comes for free. A faster or more core CPU will use more battery life which for some people like myself is not desirable in a laptop. I prefer longer portable battery life than raw power. All my 3D Video rendering and extensive Photoshop work is done on my vastly more powerful desktop machines with 2 - 27" IPS screen, 32 GB RAM, nice mouse, mechanical keyboard, comfortable keyboard and loud music blasting the in the background with a cigar and beer as my companion. When I'm on the road it's mainly websurfing, email, some Office stuff (much prefer Excel on my desktop machines than any dinky laptop screen), and as little Photoshopping as possible until I get home.

On the road while on holidays my i5-540M X201 is more than adequate for the job while providing me with 6+ hours of effective battery life for my usage pattern. On the road for work, my T60 with Flexview screen is my prefer laptop and for $60-$80 is my beater work tool. For web browsing, internet, email and more Office stuff than I care for, my T60 is more than adequate. My X201 would be overkill.

IMO, a X201 in any flavour is more than adequate for 90% of the people out there. If you really, truely need more power I'd look for a X220 or X230. Whatever you do, the biggest improvement in the general computing experience is a SSD so plan for that. I'd rather spend the money on a bigger SSD than paying a premium for a higher CPU.

Cigarguy wrote:Can't answer your question unless we know your usage requirements.

You then proceeded to answer my question very well

It's actually for my wife. Her usage will be fairly light (office, web browsing, youtube, etc), although she has a distressing habit of leaving more and more firefox tabs open until the whole system chokes. (That's a RAM/user issue, though).

I guess I'm just biased towards thinking the i7 might be better than the i5, although it's less common and more expensive. She says she would prefer speed to battery life, but I'm not convinced she appreciates the implications of that. So, I suppose a much better-refined question would be: is the bottom-rung i5 a significant performance drop from the i7, and/or which one would offer the most desirable speed:battery life ratio?

For what she would typically use it for, she would never know the difference between an i5 or i7. Having said that for some people, mostly so called "photographers" btw, MUST have a i7. It's a mental thing and only you know if this is true or not. When you are out of RAM due to usage pattern it matters not what CPU you have in there.

Is there a difference between a bottom rung x201 with i5 vs one with top end i7, yes absolutely there is. But it comes at a price in terms of $$, heat and battery life and is easily beaten by my mid-rung i5 X220. So I sold my i7 X201 and kept my i5 x201. If the price is right and a i7 x201 is readily available from a good source with good specs and 240+ GB SSD (mine have a 500 GB SSD), then by all means go for it. But if reaching for the i7 means a HDD instead of a SSD, IMO that's a huge mistake.

That's exactly the type of helpful advice I was looking for. Thank you

I do have a few X201's, 2 have the i5 and the tablet has the i7 CPU.
All of them have the HDD replaced with a SSD and have 6gigs of RAM. In all fairness, I am not doing heavy stuff on my computers so my observations are based on web surfing, watching video clips on you tube and even watching full movies from an external HDD etc.
Speed wise I can not see any difference between any of them in my daily use...battery life and CPU temperatures are a different thing. Both X201's with their i5 (one has the 2.4GHz and the second has the 2.67GHz CPU) have an acceptable battery life and CPU temperatures hovering around 45°C while in normal use. Holding them on your lap does not give you any discomfort. Battery life also depends upon the battery condition itself...even when buying OEM Lenove cells they may be new but have been in storage for several years and this is having an effect on their performance!
The tablet is a different thing, battery life is a lot shorter altough it has a brandnew 8cell battery. CPU temperatures are higher, hovering around 55° while using normally. This 10° may not seem a lot but it does give you some discomfort when its on your lap. At least thats how I feel it.
I now have bought another X201T and have choosen for the model with the LV i5CPU with 1.07GHz. I have not received it yet but will post my experience. I am hoping to get better battery life and a cooler tablet. Speed wise, with the SSD it will be fast enough for my needs. If the "new" tablet turn out to be as "fast" as the other but runs a lot cooler with better battery life then the one with the i7CPU will get sold...

That is very informative. Thank you, cfds