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Is the lenovo X100e a good computer for school for mainly office applications?

comptechexpert wrote:Is the lenovo X100e a good computer for school for mainly office applications?

Well... you'll have less screen real-estate than a machine with a 16:10 or 4:3 screen featuring the same horizontal resolution.

Other than that, it's too early to say, but my feeling is that it will. Why? Well... because pretty much every machine made since 2004 is perfectly sufficient for most "office" tasks. Despite what various marketing departments might want you to think, most home/office tasks really just aren't that demanding. So yes, performance-wise I suspect it will be just fine.

The durability, reliability, and real-world battery life aspects, however, remain to be seen...

Ok thanks I will also use it for a bit of programming.

For programming, I find the Insert/Home/PgUp/Delete/End/PgDn cluster invaluable, which the X100e lacks. Given this, you may want to consider an older X series ThinkPad if you don't mind going up an inch in screen size.

Well I can't get one of the older one's as I need a small screen size for school plus I cant afford an older one. But can you tell me if this would be good for programming and your reasons.Thanks.

An older one like the X60 or X61 has a 12" screen while the X100e has a 11.6" screen. Does .4" make much of a difference? I don't know about the UK, but a used X60 or X61 costs less than a new X100e in the US, plus with a dual core CPU they'll offer better performance. As for the keyboard, no one's seen the X100e so it's difficult to draw any conclusions about it.

Well I would rather have a new computer so I think I will go with the X100e but is this good for programming?

comptechexpert wrote:Well I would rather have a new computer so I think I will go with the X100e but is this good for programming?

Well... we kinda answered that.

Personally, I'd second FredGarvin's recommendation.

You can get an X60s/X61s that's still in warranty -- heck, you can get an X61s that's barely a year old without looking too hard -- and it'll almost certainly end up a cheaper option that meets or exceeds the specs of the X100e.

The X60(s)/X61(s) retailed in the $1000-$2000 range. The X100e starts at $449. I'll also add that the X60/X61 chassis was the last to be designed when the Lenovo ThinkPad team was comprised almost entirely of folks who had only recently stopped working for IBM's PC division. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about which is more likely to be durable/reliable for years to come...

to OP.

You get that Lenovo laptop and give us a review. I am just dying to see how that laptop stacks up against the earlier series Thinkpads!

Well thanks I will think about that ThinkRob but if I do go with the X100e would it be good for programming it is the one with a 250GB hard drive 2GB of ram 1.6Ghz processor etc.

Look o one of my previous posts for the specs!!!!

emeraldgirl08 wrote:to OP.

You get that Lenovo laptop and give us a review. I am just dying to see how that laptop stacks up against the earlier series Thinkpads!

OK if I decide to get I will post a review!!!!
Where do I post reviews?

Admin note: Combined three consecutive posts

comptechexpert wrote:Well thanks I will think about that ThinkRob but if I do go with the X100e would it be good for programming it is the one with a 250GB hard drive 2GB of ram 1.6Ghz processor etc.

"Programming" is a pretty broad taskset.

I code in PHP, C, and Java pretty regularly. The first requires hardly any resources, the second depends entirely on the sort of code I'm dealing with, and the latter usually involves tools and apps that consume massive amounts of memory.

Thing is though, for someone else writing in those three languages it could be completely reversed.

"Programming" doesn't give us much to work with, task-wise. What languages will you be using? On what OS? What IDE/toolchain? What size codebase? Does your work require lots of lengthy compiles, or is it in an interpreted language? Etc. Not to mention, what else do you want to do with the machine? Play games? Watch movies? Do graphics work? Will it only be for coding?

There's a lot to consider when picking a new machine, and simply saying that you want it for "programming" doesn't give me much to work with.

Personally I think the X100e is... interesting. I'll definitely look out for the first reviews to start trickling in here, but I shan't be one of the first...

Well sorry about not being clear.By programing I mean C/C#/C++ in visual studio 2005 and the visual express editions. Even though coding would be the main usage I would also use it a lot for office work and internet browsing but mainly programing.

Hope this helps!!!!

comptechexpert wrote:Well sorry about not being clear.By programing I mean C/C#/C++ in visual studio 2005 and the visual express editions. Even though coding would be the main usage I would also use it a lot for office work and internet browsing but mainly programing.

Hope this helps!!!!

It helps a bit.

What's your resource usage typically like whilst working? (i.e. what specs do you use now, and how fully do you utilize them?)

Also another reason that I would rather get an new X100e is that it will come with windows 7 professional 32 where as an old X61 would probably come with windows XP.

comptechexpert wrote:Also another reason that I would rather get an new X100e is that it will come with windows 7 professional 32 where as an old X61 would probably come with windows XP.

I guarantee you can get a Windows 7 license for less than the difference between the two.

Ultimately it's your choice. You sound pretty sold on the X100e.

Personally, I think the X61 is a better choice. It's known to be a solid machine, and specs-wise you'll end up getting a heck of a lot more for $500 than you will with the X100e. If you want the X100e, though, go with that. No sense getting a machine that you'll be unhappy with from the outset.

Well that's great advice could you possibly tell me a good UK place to get a good X61 so I can look into it?
Thanks!!!!

Also I think that the screen size on the X61 may be to big because don't forget I need it for school as well!

Also the X61 does not have a trackpad.

Admin edit: Combined three consecutive posts

comptechexpert wrote:Also I think that the screen size on the X61 may be to big because don't forget I need it for school as well!

please check the dimensions of the system. they count, not the size of the display.
with the x60/x61 there is next to no bezel around the screen, with the x100e there is lot of black plastic above and below the screen.

Also do not forget about the trackpad!!!!

comptechexpert wrote:Also do not forget about the trackpad!!!!

actually I woudl like to forget about it. Most people I now who were using a trackpoint for a view days did not want to go back to a touchpad. There is a learning curve of a view hours/ days though...
I do not know if this changed with multitouch touchpads...

r.

I know I do prefer the Trackpoint but would prefer to have the option of both. But can somebody please find me somewhere good to find a X61 for under £350.

comptechexpert wrote:I know I do prefer the Trackpoint but would prefer to have the option of both. But can somebody please find me somewhere good to find a X61 for under £350.

This is kinda cross-posting... but see my answer here.

If my setup for programming was the X100e and the T42 would you say that it would be a good programming setup?

programming x100e vs t42:

For pure programming you need little processing power, so everything is fine, as long as you can install your soft.
The t42 is also rather unspecific: which screen resolution?, which size?

Advantages t42:
- thinklight. good ideas come at wired times, it is good to be able to work in the dark
- no ventilations slots on the bottom ( thus good ventilation even on your lap/ in bed).
- bigger screen real estate, when you are using a sxga+
- one of the lightest / smallest 14 inch system around
- very robust construction (BUT: sensitive to flex)


Advantages x100e:
- smaller & lighter ( the computer you have with you is the best available at the time)
- more screen real estate when compared to xga t42
- easier to expand due to current hardware ( the t42 still has Pata disks)

The T42 has more pros against the X100e

comptechexpert wrote:The T42 has more pros against the X100e

But if I remember correctly, you are looking for a light and small machine. You don't want to carry around the T42, for two reasons. First, it's heavy and big. Second, it has a design flaw that causes the chassis to flex easily. Due to this flaw, T42's that get moved around often tend to develop the notorious GPU problem that renders the laptop useless, and it's expensive to fix this problem.

Buy the T42 only if you don't mind using it on your desk exclusively.

it is not which has more pros, but which fits you better.

Well I think that I will go with the Thinkpad on a desktop and only move it around every so often. I will get an Eee PC in place of the X100e.
And in my mind this would be good for C# programming with visual studio using the T42 as the main programming computer then the Eee PC as the portable programming machine. Any thoughts

"I know I do prefer the Trackpoint but would prefer to have the option of both. But can somebody please find me somewhere good to find a X61 for under £350"

Check out this forum post -- http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=83636
I think £350 may be equal to around $550, so this is a pretty nice setup for very close to your price --

I have X61 and it compares nicely to every thinkpad I use and packs into a very small backpack or bookbag -- I mostly use my thinkpads for surfing/email/youtube -- I just play so you may have more specific needs --
I also own several netbooks and they are very enjoyable and fun to use -- but they would never totally replace any one of my thinkpads even for my modest computing needs -- they are fun, but not stand-alone for me.

"If my setup for programming was the X100e and the T42 would you say that it would be a good programming setup?"
If you can find an X61, you won't need two machines -- if you are like me and are a bit of a collector, then you may still want two machines even if you dont't 'need' two machines --

That is a really nice computer but wouldn't I have to buy a new power supply considering I live in England?

You're right -- I didn't think about the power adapter -- you could probably use the AC Adapter supplied and only have to purchase a UK version of the AC removable extension cord portion of the adapter (would not be much of an expense) -- then you would have only one AC Adapter with both UK and US AC Extention Cords for travel. If you don't need the US extension cord for travel, you could probably sell it here on the forum -- I have needed just that portion of my ThinkPad adapter once when my puppy chewed the cord

I could be wrong about the UK version of the extension cord fitting on a standard US AC adapter, so maybe someone who knows for sure will post positive info -- because that is really a nice X61 for sale on the forum