fair price for an X301

[achat_2]

I am looking for many different options to buy a new or used light thinkpad.
I went into an offer for an X301 at 700 euros, (with 128 SSD hd), which looks really interesting. (with large pics)

I remember those were really expensive machines at the time they came out, but quickly discontinued.
I actually like the idea of a 13.3 LCD at 1440x900 resolution at 1.5 kg.

Is this a fair price up to now?
Are those machine affected by any known issue to avoid them.
I just read about the non-excellent LCD in terms of contrast ratio in this forum, is this a big issue?

I came from a T41p with 1400x1050 resolution that I used as desktop.

thanks a lot in advance for any suggestion.

[Atreides]

Taking a quick look at past ebay listings I see them going for anywhere from 550-1100 USD, with 700-750 being about the average. So 700 euros for one, provided its in good condition (especially the SSD and screen) is probably a fair price. Also be aware that although the X301's came standard with SSD's, these are somewhat proprietary and the speeds do not compare with many SSD's being released today. Still, faster than a HDD and you'll get the other benefits of using an SSD.

I can't comment on any particular issues with the X301's, but I have heard that the screen can leave some to be desired. This is subjective, as many find the screen perfectly fine and it largely depends on what you're used to. I love the screen in my X200s compared with the X60s I used to use, but someone used to high quality IPS screens would probably find both disappointing.

[achat_2]

Taking a quick look at past ebay listings I see them going for anywhere from 550-1100 USD, with 700-750 being about the average. So 700 euros for one, provided its in good condition (especially the SSD and screen) is probably a fair price. Also be aware that although the X301's came standard with SSD's, these are somewhat proprietary and the speeds do not compare with many SSD's being released today. Still, faster than a HDD and you'll get the other benefits of using an SSD.

I can't comment on any particular issues with the X301's, but I have heard that the screen can leave some to be desired. This is subjective, as many find the screen perfectly fine and it largely depends on what you're used to. I love the screen in my X200s compared with the X60s I used to use, but someone used to high quality IPS screens would probably find both disappointing.

Thanks Atreides,
Here is the link to the message of the seller, there is even something about the condition of the SSD (I am completely ignorant about this kind of SSD, I just know they are faster )

http://www.hwupgrade.it/forum/showthread.php?p=35813531

Is there anybody able to guess the condition of the LCD by those picture?
To me it looks not bad.

It comes with Vista Professional, is there any possibility to downgrade to XP Pro by Lenovo for free for those machine?

thanks a lot in advance,

[Atreides]

I think I've picked up a little Italian looking through that

I've seen that program used to test SSDs before, so the drive looks to be in good shape. Also from what I hear those Samsung drives are generally pretty dependable.

From what I can see the screen is in good shape, with no obvious issues. I can't tell if they say anything about the screen condition there in Italian, but if you're worried about the screen go ahead and PM the seller. Judging by the apparent condition of the machine otherwise though, I probably wouldn't worry too much about it. There doesn't seem to be any shine on the keyboard/palmrest, and the speaker grilles which are usually susceptible to dirt are nearly spotless.

Unless the seller purchased the XP downgrade when they bought it and still has the disks, I doubt Lenovo will let you do it after the fact. If you really want to run XP though, licenses are getting to be real cheap now as 7 takes over.

[achat_2]

Thanks Atreides,

for now I declined.
The seller is about 600km from Rome, so I should buy paying in advance and without the possibility to check the machine live, and I didn't want to risk... Anyway if the price will drop a bit I will rewrite to hime

Now I am waiting to know about some X61s (about 270 euros) another seller will have next week.

thanks again!

I think I've picked up a little Italian looking through that

I've seen that program used to test SSDs before, so the drive looks to be in good shape. Also from what I hear those Samsung drives are generally pretty dependable.

From what I can see the screen is in good shape, with no obvious issues. I can't tell if they say anything about the screen condition there in Italian, but if you're worried about the screen go ahead and PM the seller. Judging by the apparent condition of the machine otherwise though, I probably wouldn't worry too much about it. There doesn't seem to be any shine on the keyboard/palmrest, and the speaker grilles which are usually susceptible to dirt are nearly spotless.

Unless the seller purchased the XP downgrade when they bought it and still has the disks, I doubt Lenovo will let you do it after the fact. If you really want to run XP though, licenses are getting to be real cheap now as 7 takes over.

[siya-u]

Hi,

The SSD on this X301 (MMCQE28G8MUP-0VA) belongs to the 1st generation of Samsung 1.8" SSDs. It's sequental read/write speeds are 100/70 MB/sec and there is no TRIM support (although we have unconfirmed info. about a TRIM-like garbage collection mechanism on drive's firmware).

WWAN capability is a real advantage also.

Cheers

[achat_2]

Hi Atreides,

just in case you want to learn some additional italian
here is another offer of the same seller for an X200s, (you own one of this, I see!).

http://www.hwupgrade.it/forum/showthrea ... ight=x200s

The specs are almost all in english, after the LCD specs there is just a notice about a very small spot in the LCD (picture link "qui").

Looks interesting isn't it?

thanks in advance for any advice,

A.

[Atreides]

Hi Atreides,

just in case you want to learn some additional italian
here is another offer of the same seller for an X200s, (you own one of this, I see!).

http://www.hwupgrade.it/forum/showthrea ... ight=x200s

The specs are almost all in english, after the LCD specs there is just a notice about a very small spot in the LCD (picture link "qui").

Looks interesting isn't it?

thanks in advance for any advice,

A.

Hmmm an interesting offering... I am a little biased toward the X200s (signature doesn't lie ), and for me it won out over a lot of other machines. Battery life is excellent, and above all else I love the WXGA+ 1440x900 screen. That high a resolution isn't for everyone, but if you like it the X200s (and X201s) is one of a very small group of machines that offer it. With the 4 cell battery the X200s is also ridiculously light, 2.5lbs or a little over 1kg (I think).

I can't quite figure out the pricing here (get lost in the Italian), but the machine looks to be in good shape. The SSD is also very interesting, I've never heard of that brand before but 256gb SSDs are still SUPER expensive so if you can somehow work that into a package deal it might be worthwhile.

Also I just found the little "qui", looks like a miniscule mark that I really wouldn't worry about (I'm not too picky about screens though).

[lead_org]

The condition of that X301 from the picture provided looks like in A1 condition.

[achat_2]

the X201s has been sold immediately after I discovered it
as for hte X301 (thanks for the opinions) it is still available but I am still doubtful about the LCD quality... (given that I can't have a look at it before to pay)

A.

[Atreides]

the X201s has been sold immediately after I discovered it
as for hte X301 (thanks for the opinions) it is still available but I am still doubtful about the LCD quality... (given that I can't have a look at it before to pay)

A.

That's too bad, but keep looking around and I'm sure you'll find something you can jump on.