upgrade from x31 to x200.. worth the price?

[aquarius]

hello.

i am new to the forums, but not to thinkpads.

currently, i use an x31 which is "heavily" modified; if you can call it that. (see sig)

my question is, for those who've been in a similar situation, was the transition from x31/x32 series to the x200(s) worth it?

i am very comfortable with a 4:3 display, but wouldn't mind WXGA either.

moreover, is the build quality on par with the IBM products of the past?

lastly, i have read here and there that the hinges on the x200 are a little weak and the display wobbles more than past IBM offerings.

much obliged to those who comment back.

[atlacatl]

I went from T40p to X60s to X200. Worth the price, but I'm disappointed with Vista Business 64-bit. I'm strongly considering "downgrading" to XP Pro and forgo 1 GB of RAM. Vista is a slow pig.

As per the hinges, it is true that they are not a tight as the older ThinkPad models, but there is no wobbling going on. The only difference is that when you open/close the laptop, the hinges have less resistance (10 being the X60s, 8 is the X200). This machine is a solid ThinkPad product, make no mistake about it. The keyboard is better than my T40p or my X60s.

[aquarius]

thanks for your reply.

i was also debating, when and if i make the switch, what OS would work best.

do you have the P8600 processor and 4GB of RAM?
64-bit vista was slow with this configuration?
did you tweak vista at all? were you running aero?

i would not hesitate to load XP over vista, but i figure if the hardware is new, why not try the software too?

[atlacatl]

I have the 2.4 GHz CPU. I also have 4GB or RAM, which is why I got Vista Business 64-bit. With XP, I'd waste a whole gig of RAM.

I've turned everything off (including the Aero crap), but it still feels sluggish. It may be that I'm used to my X60s with XP Pro, as the UI feels more responsive than Vista. I'm considering Windows Server 2008, as I've read that it's much faster than Vista.

At any rate, you won't go wrong with investing in an X200. It's a great machine.

[aquarius]

hmmmm..

that being said, i may have to reconsidering trying the new software and stick to trust XP Pro.

i'm curious to see what other may have to say about it.

if i try vista, i will definitely go 64-bit.
otherwise good 'ol 32-bit XP Pro.

have you had any driver problems with the 64-bit vista you're running?

i feel as if i read around somewhere that there were driver conflicts with some of the factory hardware.

[atlacatl]

It maybe just a perception thing. I mean, Vista is not that bad in some areas, as it has a couple of improvements. However, it feels so sticky (it's hard to explain). I think the issue is the video card: it's an integrated laptop video card, enough said. Don't get me wrong, the OS works, but it's not as fast as XP Pro.

As per drivers, you may have read about issues when it first came out. I have had no issues with anything hardware related or any drivers. I tend to keep up-to-date with all drivers available, so no issues. Note that I haven't installed any crazy stuff (you really don't need anything) aside from USB keys and a USB DVD burner. The DVD burner was a surprising experience: I plugged it in and it just worked, e.g., I right clicked on the folder I wanted to backup and selected "Burn to DVD" (this is actually a nice Vista feature, I guess).

Check the Lenovo support site for the latest stuff: all Vista 64-bit drivers are up to date, and everything just works. It's a ThinkPad, after all.