is X series the coolest running thinkpad?

[irus]

Hi there, im looking at buying a cool running machine from the thinkpad stable and my guess is a ULV processor on an X series would be the coolest running thinkpad? Is that correct or is there some other line which runs cooler?

could i get an estimate of what kind of temperature a ULV machine has? thanks

[billp117]

They run cool on battery...plug them into AC and they warm up a little. I don't have the temps but I cannot hear the fan running when on battery for the X200 or X200s series.

[irus]

temps temps temps please. if they run at 60C then i might as well buy a more powerful machine. i need something around 40-45C tops in worst case scenario . does it meet that?

[GrandMasterKhan]

In the store, an x201 with the i5 is only slightly warm on the bottom after playing YouTube. There are plenty of reviews online and you are also able to go into stores to take a look for your own satisfaction. No one can adequately make your decision for you.

[irus]

thank you Master Khan

[GrandMasterKhan]

thank you Master Khan

BTW I didnt mean to blunt so dont misinterpret. My guess is Hawaii and India have similar hot humid climates so temps are important. BTW in an air conditioned store I felt the x201 did fine with temp management. In normal usage I would think YouTube is the most likely to heat up. In contrast, an adjacent x100e single core AMD Neo notebook was quite warm. Some may say hot depending on their personal tolerance on the bottom of the case. This was fron sitting idle in a cooled store. At idle, the x201 was just room temp, casing felt not warm nor cold. That basically makes my decision to get an x201 firm if I can establish there are no whinning sounds like I read about for the T410s and Sony Vaios and also some others.

[VipFreak]

I've had an x31 tablet and an x61 tablet they always idled around 50 or so C. Under any kind of load it could reach 70C easy and especially depending on the surface. I now have a x200 tablet and it will idle on my bed at 45C, 40C on a table. Under a load like gaming or watching tv or something it will maybe... maybe reach 60C. I'm very happy.

[irus]

Hi Master Khan thanks for comparing x201 with the thinkpad x100e. I will investigate this model more. Would you recall the specifications of the x201 model?

Hi VipFreak thanks for chipping in, can you please tell me the speicfications of the machine such as hard disk drive 7200 rpm? or SSD? and processor type - low heat ulv? thank you

[VipFreak]

This is pretty much the specs. http://www.superwarehouse.com/Lenovo_Th ... ps/1546540

[billp117]

My X200 runs at 37C while watching Avatar Blu-Ray and connected to the UltraBase.

[irus]

x201 looks good. does it have the rollcage? the tabook.pdf file on lenovo website mentions it has it in the display cover. what about the bottom part where the motherboard is. Otherwise could it be suspect to motherboard flexing like in the T4x series?

[GrandMasterKhan]

Trust me, I am a very discriminating and picky about tech products. To answer your questions as I looked into them myself:
1) The x201 I saw in the store had the i5 520M. Originally, I was dead set on an i7 until I looked at the CPU tests and deccided the difference between an 540M and the i7 were marginal. The moist important to me was the 540M had 2x the "juice" of my C2DT7500 which still serves me well except in some instances when working on robust and large live data feeds into Excel.
2) The lid is kid of flexy. Not like a T61 and not like the T410 I also saw in the store. I think the bottom has a roll cage but the top does not. The x201s probably has a stronger lid but I dont think it has a cage either. Check the Lenovo site. The current x201 lid doesnt bother me but it is not as strong at the T410's for sure, but strong enough IMO. To test, I usually place my knuckle and push on the lid as hard as I can and look for disperion on the LCD side. I do this repeatedly until the salespeople ask me to stop.

Im a bit cautious on purchasing right away because of the CPU whine stories. Have only read 1 or 2 related to the x201 but there are too many for comfort on the T410s (also with i5 540M) and some Sony Vaio Z series machines as well as the T510.


I dont think the HDD speed and size make a difference to the LCD issue. I dont plan on getting an SSD as think its a waste of money. 500GB 7200 RPM is good enough until SSDs are more reasonable in price.

You keep mentioning CULV, the x201 and x201s are all based on the i3, i5 and i7 CPUs. The lowest voltage being the i7 620LM that goes in the x201s. That also has WXGA+ which is not available in the x201. But the x201 has a regular voltage i7. I think the 540M is the sweet spot as far as price and power. If the screen resolution doesnt bug you then get the x201 not x201s. I use WXGA+ now on my T61 and spent about 5 hours collectively lookign at an x201 in Excel, IE, Word, etc. seeing if I could live with WXGA and decided its OK as dont want to trade off the CPU for something weaker in the x201s.

[stylinexpat]

My X201s has been running pretty cool. I will do a few youtube tests to see how it runs after playing some videos. I will also try running a skype conversation with video to see if it heats up. I know that on my Macbook Pro these two will really heat up my Macbook.

I was going to try them when I was in Guangzhou but unfortunately their communist censorship would not allow me to open Youtube,Facebook,Google or much of Yahoo while I was in China the other day Now that I am back in Taiwan I can try everything out. Internet speeds here are great too

[irus]

Hi Grandmaster khan

yes the screen real estate is important as im used to the sxga+ experience so a wxga might seem inadequate. I was looking at the thinkpad website and they only have the x201 right now with the wxga screen!

this review gives the temperatures of the notebook in idle http://www.notebookreview.com/default.a ... D=5546&p=2

and the rollcage details are here for various series x/t/w etc. http://www.pc.ibm.com/europe/thinkpad/w ... &cc=europe

@stylinexpat yes some real life testing will be welcome.

[GrandMasterKhan]

Yes only the X201s comes with the WXGA+ screen. I have yet to be able for find one to see it in person. But given its a 12" screen, WXGA might be better. The tradeoff is the slower CPU and the camera if that matters to you. 1/2 pound in weight is not big difference.

[GrandMasterKhan]

My X201s has been running pretty cool. I will do a few youtube tests to see how it runs after playing some videos. I will also try running a skype conversation with video to see if it heats up. I know that on my Macbook Pro these two will really heat up my Macbook.

I was going to try them when I was in Guangzhou but unfortunately their communist censorship would not allow me to open Youtube,Facebook,Google or much of Yahoo while I was in China the other day Now that I am back in Taiwan I can try everything out. Internet speeds here are great too

Are you getting any of the whinning sounds reported with new i processors? Lots of discussion related to the T410s on this. Very little (only 2) I've seen with the x201/x201s.

[Pelikan3]

@GrandMasterKhan

What is your personal opinion about the overall keyboard quality of the ThinkPad X201 machine?

Thanks in advance.

[GrandMasterKhan]

this is based on the x201 (not x201s). I understand there are two keyboards one could end up with depending on which one ships. I would say it is not as stiff as my T61 keyboard. That I am certain of as I understand the T61 has a flat steel plate underneath but some Thinkpads come with a perforated one. This started with the T400's and some people have actually swapped them out for the older.

having said that the keyboard does not seem to flex. I think the one that I tried the keys seemed to have slightly more travel. This could have been due to the angle which I had to type since it was on display but bolted down etc.

bottom line is it is not cheap, flexy like some consumer notebooks. I think you will be OK. I dont have a problem with it.

[juiceeburger]

My X200 runs at 37C while watching Avatar Blu-Ray and connected to the UltraBase.

How good is the Blu-ray rendition, bill?