Thinkpads Forum

I am looking at getting a new thinkpad. I currently have a t61/8gb/500g 7200. I am looking at an x230/16gb/512gb SDD new for $1500. 3 year depot warranty i will upgrade to onsite plus no fault or whatever they call it damage.

I will use this90%of the time on ac with an ext 24" mon. and ext kb/mouse.

I have never owned a x series but lots of t's. Any opinions on price/performance ?

Tia, jeff

The price/performance/portability /quality factor of the X230 can't be beat. It uses an Ivy Bridge mobile processor, rather than the undervolted version of other lines (X1 Carbon, I'm looking at you). It's built to the business (not to mention military) standard you expect to find in a Thinkpad, but it's as light as an ultrabook (but a tad thicker). And I don't know of anything else in that weight class that can even take 16GB, much less allow you to upgrade the RAM and HD yourself. And with price drops and sales, it's very affordable.

Things to think about:

• The T530 can outperform it, mainly because a it can take a faster (and hotter) i7 processor and has dedicated NVIDIA graphics - something to think about if you won't be very mobile. But it will also be more expensive and heavier.
• Consider adding on the Ultrabase, since it sounds like you will be stationary for a major portion of your work. With the base you can add an extra CD/DVD drive or hard drive and have many more ports available. The you can leave it behind when you are on-the-go.
• Windows 8 - the trackpad on the X230 is fine for Win 7, but isn't capable of using the Win 8 multi-touch gestures. Consider adding an external glass trackpad or multitouch mouse from Logitech or Microsoft if you plan to move to the new OS.

jmurch wrote:Any opinions on price/performance ?

You can buy 16GB of memory for far less at an internet retailer than Lenovo will charge you for it. If you don't need WWAN, you could opt for the 500GB platter drive, then upgrade to the mSATA SSD, which should save you a good chunk of change.

Thanks Guys. When I order the dock I noticed that there looks to be only one VGA output. I want to connect two external monitors. Do I use a y-cable of some sort?

Jeff

One more question if anyone knows the answer. 6 cell or 4 cell? I don't want it to stick out the back like the 9 cell does on the t61.

Jeff

The X230 has a Displayport in addition to the VGA. Displayport can be converted to HDMI or DVI with a cable, which would give you two. The HD 4000 on the X230 can do three monitors in total, so you could do the internal and two external monitors. If you want another VGA connector, you could get one of the docks.

The six-cell sticks out the bottom of the X230 while the four-cell is flush with the back and bottom. The six-cell obviously gets better battery life.

jmurch wrote:One more question if anyone knows the answer. 6 cell or 4 cell? I don't want it to stick out the back like the 9 cell does on the t61.

Jeff

Neither sticks out the back but the 6-cell has some ridges that stick out on the bottom and is heavier. Twice as much time though.