Thinkpads Forum

Hi all,

I'll be starting my new job soon and I'd like to bring a laptop with me everyday. I currently own both a W530, which is way too heavy for that, and a X201, which is in use by my girlfriend. So I've begun looking for a new lightweight Thinkpad.

Preferably the X301, because I like the way it looks! I like my laptops, both to use and to take apart and fool around with. The questions I have are concerning this; is the X301 still usable with today's standards, with Linux or windows? Is there much difference between the SU9400 and the SU9600 versions? And will I be able to do much upgrading past the RAM, mSATA SSD (in a 1.8 SATA to mSATA adapter), and the wireless cards?

The big question however is this; Where do I buy one in Europe? I've been looking for one for a month now, and I've found a single one on the Dutch version of Craigslist, and that actually wasn't for sale...

Hi,

Between SU9400 and SU9600 is 200MHz different. If you want you can get more 200MHz by using DualIDA BIOS. There are few guys who has OverClocked SU9600 to 2,13GHz there is a "little bit" different.

Upgrade RAM to 8GB is not problem. there are few tested stick: http://x301.mcdonnelltech.com/ (i will contact author, cause i tested 2 more sticks)
mSata: I don´t try yet, but in one or two weeks i going to upgrade my beauty. But there is a lot information on this forum.
Wireles: what about that?
WIN: I use DualBoot - eOS. nice, smooth, easy. But Win give me 1hour ob battery life more. D4m#n you linux kernel.

I have guy who have some, if you interested i can contact him. I have one with weird KB. It´s nessesary to have Dutch version?

My KB:

I have an X301 and it is zippy with arch linux. Heavier javascript sites can slow things down, but after everything loads, it is smooth. 1080p youtube videos are no problem, and neither are 720p 60fps videos (thanks to the GMA 4500MHD).

Battery life is slightly better under Windows than Linux. Nevertheless, battery life was never a strong point for X30* models. You may need to keep a 65W charger handy if you are going over 2 hours.

The X301 is still pretty competent for much of today's software, excluding 3D and CPU intensive programs, of course. Is there a speed difference with my W530 when doing web browsing? Yes, but not significant enough to worry about. You will also be very impressed with the build quality and surprising sturdiness of the X301.

@BendBoy:
Check the Private messages at the top of this page.

One available on Polish allegro: http://allegro.pl/thinkpad-leniovo-x301 ... 74891.html , 1PLN=0.25 EUR normally.

Thanks for all the replies!

I've decided I'll just take the plunge and buy one, I doubt I'll be disappointed! Worst case scenario I'll have a pretty paperweight!

So did you buy one? How do you like it?

I love mine, although I don't use it much anymore. I picked up a Surface Pro 2 and that has become my main machine.

I did! Just last week I bought one for only €125,-! Including shipping!

It's a SU9400 model, with 4Gb of RAM and a 64GB SSD, so not exactly what I had in mind, but the deal was too good to pass up. The machine is nearly in mint condition, some discoloration on the lid is the only thing wrong with it. The battery is at 49% wear, but holds a charge for almost 1,5 hours of light work, which is enough for me. The screen is terrible, but I suppose that's a given with the X301!

It came with a copy of Windows 7 professional and Office 2007, and I've decided I'll try Windows 10 on it. For [censored] 'n giggles. Before upgrading it to a larger SSD and Ubuntu! I've already updated the BIOS with the whitelist and DUAL-IDA, but I can't really tell the difference...

I do have a question regarding the battery life, would a genuine bay battery be worth it? Together with a not so genuine replacement battery?

If battery life is an issue you might find that one of the Ubuntu spins without Unity
(Xubuntu, Ubuntu-Mate, etc.) will give you more run time.

I got about 1.3 solid hours of battery life on an identical X301 with a 60% 6 cell battery using arch linux (no power saving enabled). If you get a new 6 cell OEM battery and have laptop-mode-tools running, I can see you getting over 4 hours easy.

Just keep in mind that running power saving utilities would likely make the X301 slow at times, since it isn't very fast in the first place. With laptop-mode-tools enabled, even my 2520m processor feels sluggish on web browsing until pages load completely.