what to look for x220

[EvoT61]

Hey ThinkPad`ers ,
Im looking to add X220 next to my T61 , and i have no idea what to look for.
I found few options of them and im lost, i have no idea which one to get, my needs are :
1: web browsing / serious multitasking
2: will b running on arch linux
3: wwan
4: programing a bit

now this is what ive discovered:
X220-1: 7-2620M(2.7GHz), 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200rpm HD, 12.5in 1366x768 LCD, Intel HD Graphics, Intel 802.11agn wireless, WWAN option, Bluetooth, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure Chip, Fingerprint reader, Camera, 9c Li-Ion, Win7 Pro 32 - 200£

x220-2: i5-2520M(2.5GHz), 4GB RAM, 320GB 7200rpm HD, 12.5in 1366x768 LCD, Intel HD Graphics, Intel 802.11agn wireless, WWAN, Bluetooth, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure Chip, Camera, 6c Li-Ion, Win7 Pro 64 - 180£

basically - they all 2.5 4GB ram and hdd 320GB-500GB and all of them are wwan ready, non of them IPS screen and only few got 3G cards.
3G Goobi - are they ok ? why some of them goes for 20£ - 60£ ? will Goobi work with gif gaf sim card ? ( shall we say if i take gif gaf unlimited deal )
IPS screens ... i found few for about 40-60£ , but is it stright swap from NON IPS to IPS and will it be so cheap`ish ? or it isnt cheap ?
another option ... i really want touch screen but is x220T worth of buying ? hows the screen ?
Thanks !

[mpcook]

A couple things to keep in mind; the i7 models have a USB 3.0 port and the i5 models all are limited to USB 2.0, so if speed is important, go with an i7. Also, the IPS screen on the X220 is susceptible to develop white spots; mine was just replaced under warranty with a newer version. The IPS is a nice upgrade, but I have to say, my non-IPS does the job quite well.

[dr_st]

• As mpcook mentioned - USB3.0 is available on the i7 models, which has some advantages. It is possible to add USB3.0 to the i5 models via ExpressCard, but the onboard USB3.0 is bootable and allows USB3.0 passthrough to the USB3.0 docks; the ExpressCard variant will have neither.
• The IPS is a straightforward swap. Generally swapping the panel is very easy on these machines.
• The white-spot susceptibility is indeed a problem with these IPS panels. However, I still prefer them to the TN version. The difference is noticeable enough to affect the day-to-day experience. Just IMO, of course.

[EvoT61]

thanks for your contributions ...
usb 3 bootable ... so it will work as fast as ssd if i use usb as my persistance drive with some linux os ?
and if from non ips to ips is stright swap, then its all cool ...
well, need to kep an eye for good i7 then

[dr_st]

usb 3 bootable ... so it will work as fast as ssd if i use usb as my persistance drive with some linux os ?

Probably not as fast as SSD, unless you are comparing a very high-end USB stick to a low-end SSD. But still it will be much faster than USB2.

The top speeds I've seen with the integrated USB3 of the X220 (with a 64GB Sandisk Extreme) are ~180MB/s sequential reads and ~100MB/s sequential writes, using the manufacturer's drivers. Microsoft's USB stack for Win8.x seems to offer some boost. Dunno where the various Linux distros will be in comparison.

[axur-delmeria]

usb 3 bootable ... so it will work as fast as ssd if i use usb as my persistance drive with some linux os ?

If your USB boot device is a normal USB 2.0 flash drive, then you won't gain any speed advantage.
Your boot device must be a USB 3.0 device and has fast access times and good transfer speed.
Here's a Tom's Hardware article testing quite a few USB 3.0 flash drives: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb ... ,3477.html.

[EvoT61]

understood and thanks a lot, now just need to find perfect X220
BTW ... if reads are 180 and writes are 100 its double the speed from what im getting ... my writes to usb 2.0 sandisk force are 50-60, i think over the time USB 3.0 will save some time for me
Thanks again to all !