Thinkpads Forum

Question:

Can the X200 Tablet be slower than many earlier Thinkpads when rendering video?

1 We ordered a X200 Tablet 7449-C4G (Win 7 Pro x32) with a view to using it as a high quality presentation platform for training and marketing. This would replace an X60 Tablet with the benefit of a faster processor, built-in 3G and a built-in Web Cam
2 Upon completing the setup and installation of Anti Virus, Office 2007 and Microsoft updates we observed:
a. The screen is not white, but between off-white and grey.
b. There is patchiness on the screen.
c. The performance generally is not as fast as on X60.
d. Default screen background (Windows Classic) the X200 is lighter cf deeper.
e. http://www.armrevolution.com/uk/video/ loads 2-3 seconds slower on X200.
f. The video takes 30 seconds more to load
g. The picture quality is grainy.
h. There are flickers and breaks between frame transitions, i.e. the presentation does not flow smoothly.
i. Downloading a program took 6min 30sec more than X60 which did it in 49 sec.
3 We concluded that there was a serious deficiency in the overall quality of the X200’s performance and there repeated the above test with and X41 Tablet T61 and a T42.
4 All the tests were performed with the system set to maximum performance, AC power and wired ethernet to the router.

Can any expert shed light on this?

Thanks
Asanam

a, b, d, g is all about the screens, maybe you should calibrate it.
i is about wifi, what wifi cards are installed in your X200T and X60T?
And what about c, e, f - do you use preinstalled OS?

Yes, c,e,f are the serious concerns. The machine spec is: SL9400(1.86GHz), 2GB RAM, 250GB 5400rpm HD, 12.1in 1280x800 LCD, Intel 4500MHD, Intel 802.11agn wireless, Vodafone WWAN, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, Camera, 4c Li-Ion, Win7 Pro 32

I do both factory and custom install for testing; production versions are always custom from scratch. Being a veteran Thinkpad hack, 12 years, I believe this machine is defective at some component level. However, having spoken to Lenovo you're stuck with Level 1 support or returning the machine to them or the reseller for testing.

The reseller returned the machine saying it's fine without saying what they tested. Well, it isn't and my only recourse now is through legal means. Having had a couple of defective Thinkpads in the last year I want a full refund due to the illwill created trough their and the reseller Insight UK's denial that there is a problem.

My purpose in posting was to see if anyone else had a problem- or even noticed one!

Thanks

Asanam wrote: I do both factory and custom install for testing; production versions are always custom from scratch.

So you experience c, e, f on both factory and custom install?
Try to test it before antivirus install. Try to test individual parts' performance (i.e. CPU/GPU/RAM/HDD benchmarks etc) and then compare it to that of X60.

....and f,g,h,i. All done with and without, before and after; all-in-all some 28 hours! I think I have been through all the facts and need reinforcement that I am not being unreasonable in expecting the X200T to perform at least as well as older Thinkpad X and T series laptops in day-to-day usage. What I feel is I am being bullied by the reseller and Lenovo on this count and I feel raped for UKP 1500!

Just to reiterate, the flash video and content at http://www.armrevolution.com/uk/video/ and on http://www.bbc.co.uk load slowly, stop, flicker and breakup on the X200T,on a clean factory install and custom install, simultaneously compared to an X41T, T42 and X60T.

Regards

Intel 802.11agn wireless

What exact wifi card is installed?
There is a lot of possible reasons for low networking speed, all of which have nothing to do with lenovo.

Asanam wrote:need reinforcement that I am not being unreasonable in expecting the X200T to perform at least as well as older Thinkpad X and T series laptops in day-to-day usage.

Of course, the performance of X200T should be much higher than that of older X and T with integrated graphics, because X200T features much more powerful CPU (by the way, CPUs are made by Intel, not Lenovo).
If you're experiencing lower performance, it means that something else is different between your laptops (e.g. some drivers settings etc).

Hi,

The card is the Intel 802.11agn wireless. You know, I have run W95/98/ME/NT4W&S/W2HW&S/XP/W2K3/V/W7 on my Thinkpads. I was doing VM in 2K- Is it reasonable to sit around tweaking a UK£1500 laptop to function like an X41:-)

Ok, right now I'm playing Open Solaris/Hyper-V Clusters etc.,. Next I'm going to have to develop some expertise in Law to get a resolution. Thans everyone for your attention.

Regards,

P

Asanam wrote:Yes, c,e,f are the serious concerns. The machine spec is: SL9400(1.86GHz), 2GB RAM, 250GB 5400rpm HD, 12.1in 1280x800 LCD, Intel 4500MHD, Intel 802.11agn wireless, Vodafone WWAN, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, Camera, 4c Li-Ion, Win7 Pro 32

I do both factory and custom install for testing; production versions are always custom from scratch. Being a veteran Thinkpad hack, 12 years, I believe this machine is defective at some component level. However, having spoken to Lenovo you're stuck with Level 1 support or returning the machine to them or the reseller for testing.

The reseller returned the machine saying it's fine without saying what they tested. Well, it isn't and my only recourse now is through legal means. Having had a couple of defective Thinkpads in the last year I want a full refund due to the illwill created trough their and the reseller Insight UK's denial that there is a problem.

My purpose in posting was to see if anyone else had a problem- or even noticed one!

Thanks

I have the exact same Spec but with 4Gb and x64, mine played that video smoothly

Asanam wrote:Ok, right now I'm playing Open Solaris/Hyper-V Clusters etc.,

Be ready to experience horrible graphic/video performance with Hyper-V (e.g. switching between windows can easily take several seconds). Basically, Hyper-V is not suitable for use on workstations unless you're using 2k8 R2 on a Core i3/i5/i7 CPU (you should also install SP1 beta in case you have non-Nehalem CPU (laptop i3/i5/i7 or desktop i3/i5/i7 CPUs for socket 1156), or else your system won't boot at all).
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/virtual_pc_guy/ ... per-v.aspx

And what about the problems you experience right now, i still recommend you to run some benchmark tests and compare the results with that of X60. At least it will help you/us to localize the issue.