Thinkpads Forum

Hi everyone!

I would just like to share my experience to becoming a Thinkpad owner yet again, specifically a Thinkpad X230.

About two years ago, I was looking to replace my trusty but near-failing T61, which was way past its third birthday. That machine was built like a tank; despite its heavy weight and less-than-stellar screen hinges (they just turned into jelly months after their first use; I had them replaced more than a year after the purchase date but the problem persisted), I really appreciated how it allowed me to work with utmost confidence that the machine wouldn't just leave me hanging. That T61 made me learn to touch type, thanks to its keyboard. Yes, the machine looked drab when placed side-by-side with laptops with glossy lids and screens. But it always made me smile, for deep inside I know it had been a trusty sidekick that always delivered the goods when it counted the most.

Unfortunately, when I was in the market for a new Thinkpad, the T420 was just released, with prices still quite high (I went to Singapore to buy a new laptop as retail Thinkpad prices in Manila were even higher!). After two hours of loitering around Sim Lim, I stumbled upon a tiny stall selling a 13" MacBook Pro at a very competitive price. As much as I would have wanted to go home to Manila clutching a brand new T420, I had to "settle" with a MacBook Pro.

Contrary to my initial expectations, the MacBook Pro was a beast. While aesthetically different from my T61, the MBP remind me of it: build quality was top notch and the keyboard was surprisingly great. It also opened my eyes to the wonders of OSX; apart from the first two weeks of trying to wean myself off of my ingrained Windows habits, working with OSX made me appreciate the joys of having an easy-to-work-with computing environment.

Or so I thought.

While OSX tided me over during the first year of graduate coursework, it didn't give me enough flexibility when I started to work in a research outfit afterwards. My 9-to-5 job involves having to crunch numbers in Stata and MS Excel; while these programs were also available as OSX apps, they just wouldn't function the same was as their Windows counterparts. My primary complaint in using these apps in OSX was their slow processing times: running the same line of codes in Stata for Mac took far too longer than in Windows. The same is true for Excel for Mac; opening large Excel files in OSX was a time-consuming affair. Hence, my boss, a computer-whiz himself, kept joking me that I throw the MBP into a pyre, as such would do me a great favor.

Not wanting to give up on the MBP, I tried installing Windows 7 and, later, Windows 8 via Boot Camp. While it provided me access to the Windows (and thus, fully functional) versions of Stata and MS Excel, that option had a major pitfall: Windows drivers for the MBP were a pain to work with. The glass trackpad in Windows was a shell of itself; the experience left a lot to be desired. The notebook ran quite hot to the touch, even after having installed MacFan so I can manually ramp up fan speed to the maximum speed allowed (6200 rpm). Battery life went kaput; while I got 6 hours from a fully-charged MBP in OSX, I can't go beyond 4 hours in Windows. To top it all, it weighed a lot.

Tired with the compromise, I decided to go back to a full-fledged Windows laptop. And what better way to do so through a Thinkpad, particularly a Thinkpad X220? Unfortunately, as stated above, retail prices of Thinkpads in Manila are sky-high; SRPs are more than twice than comparable units sold in the US. Given my limited budget, I scoured FS boards of local forums, hoping that someone would be selling a used X220 for cheap. Tough luck; aside from the fact that used X220s are a rarity, those who sell them price them quite high.

A few days ago, I received an SMS text from an anonymous person asking me if I was still interested to get an X220. I said yes. That person then said he has a BNIB, never-been-used X230 for around US$685 with the following specs:

*Intel Core i5-3320 2.6Ghz processor
*4GB memory
*320GB HDD
*Intel 6205 2x2 Wifi antenna
*non-IPS screen
*with fingerprint scanner
*Windows 7 Pro 64-bit

I asked him if I could get the machine's serial number and machine type, which he provided. Upon checking with lenovo.com, the unit has a three-year warranty until end-August 2015.

The seller, however, said that he was also found of Macs. The reason why he wasn't using the Thinkpad, which his aunt gave him, was that he has no use for it in his line of work. When he found out that I the Thinkpad was a replacement for an MBP, he expressed interest in a straight swap, to which I agreed.

Talk about the art of barter in this day and age of eBay and Facebook.

Now, I'm a happy Thinkpad owner once more.

(Sorry for the rather lengthy post. I'm just too happy right now to be back on a Thinkpad. )

You definitely made a great trade. Would take a Thinkpad anyday over any MacBook.

Yep, a great trade indeed, Sir. I never thought "double coincidence of wants" would remain applicable to this day.

What I really like about the X230 is that I can lie down in bed and type comfortably on the machine, like what I'm doing right now. Doing the same thing on the MBP would have already singed my skin. Also, a ThinkPad's trackpoint and its accompanying buttons remain unmatched as far as ergonomics are concerned. One can point at any portion of the screen without having to remove his or her hands from the keyboard; a productivity booster indeed.

Thanks for the compliments!

Nice story with a happy ending! I'm also a X230 owner and I love it.

And I'm loving it even more after having installed an additional 4GB stick. While the hibernation takes a wee bit more time, I am not experiencing any system lag despite having many Chrome tabs and programs opened.

Thanks sir for reading my story.

My T61p continues to run well after 5 years of very heavy daily use (multiple clients). This is the only machine I know that can run (properly and well): XP Pro, Vista Business 64-bit, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit and Windows 8 Pro 64-bit.

Still it is time for a new machine. T41 2003 - 2008, T61p 2008-2013, and now X230 2013 - ?

I have ordered (compared to the first post here):

*Intel Core i5-3320 2.6Ghz processor <-- i5 3.3GHz
*4GB memory <-- 8Gb on 1 DIMM (so 16Gb is possible)
*320GB HDD <-- 500Gb 7200-rpm
*Intel 6205 2x2 Wifi antenna <-- Same
*non-IPS screen <-- IPS Premium Screen
*with fingerprint scanner <-- No fingerprint
*Windows 7 Pro 64-bit <-- Windows 8 Pro 64-bit
Then
Bluetooth
Camera
USB DVD Writer

... JDH

That's a big drop in resolution, though a better screen.

As Sir ZaZ has noted, screen resolution in the X230 may give you a feeling of wanting for more. Then again, given the huge pluses of owning an X230 (drastically lighter weight, much better portability, that IPS screen) I think you're better served by going the X230 route.

Congratulations in advance for the brand new X230!

I would suggest no such thing. I like the HD screen on my X220i. It looks good, is easy to read and scrolling is quite easy on the stick. I personally don't think bumping up to HD+ is that big of a deal and FHD on a 12" notebook is too small for me

One of the issues of a heavy machine (especially with the 9 cell battery) is that my T61p is worse for the wear. The front corner on one side (where the HD goes in) has been knocked off. The screen bezel on the lower right is starting to separate from the lid. The lid suspend does not work reliably - I killed it a year ago and manually suspend every time I move the machine from one client to another.

It is heavy in my briefcase and gets knocked around, dropped on subway seats, and so on. A lighter machine should not suffer such slings and arrows.

I am concerned about the 12 inch screen and even more concerned about the bad 16:9 screen ratio. My T61p is 4:3 and better for document processing and QuickBooks.

I have a client with an X220 and I looked at that machine carefully before going the X230 route.

It all remains to be seen how it will work out. I tamed Vista and used it on my T61p for 18 months in production. I am learning how to tame Windows 8. I am now certain that without purchasing a single piece of software, I can get to the desktop and never once use Metro during daily use.

.... JDH

jdhurst wrote:I am concerned about the 12 inch screen and even more concerned about the bad 16:9 screen ratio. My T61p is 4:3 and better for document processing and QuickBooks.

I really think 13.* inch is the sweet spot for ultraportables, and most manufacturers seem to agree because there have been more and more laptops in the 13 inch range but fewer and fewer in the 12 inch and smaller range. However, for your (and my) usage, the main problem with the X230 is its 1366x768 resolution. I have owned two laptops with 1366x768 (my current Sony X Series and an HP netbook I once had) and while that's fine for browsing most web sites, watching videos, playing Solitaire and typing emails, the extremely limited vertical resolution is a pain for working on Office documents and reading PDF files. My 1280x800 Dell Latitude is only 32 pixels taller, but the difference is actually noticeable. When I bought this Sony, I expected to use it as my main mobile laptop because at 1.41 lbs it's the lightest laptop in the world, but I ended up using the Latitude much more partly because I gain 32 pixel rows, which is a shame because the Sony's screen is actually much nicer in terms of contrast, color and viewing angles.

jdhurst wrote:I tamed Vista and used it on my T61p for 18 months in production. I am learning how to tame Windows 8. I am now certain that without purchasing a single piece of software, I can get to the desktop and never once use Metro during daily use.

I have found Vista and 8 to be far more reliable than both XP and 7. The more I use Vista and 8, the more I like them, but the more I use XP and 7, the more I despise them. Once you have gotten used to 8's new interface, I bet you will like it very much.

I am very happy with Windows 7 and I find the reliability of Windows 7 and of Vista (using the built-in reliability monitor) to be about the same. Neither is perfect (or even close enough) to satisfy me but both operating systems work fine.

One hinge on my T61p seized on Wednesday (after my most recent post above). It has to remain open right now but otherwise is fine. The LCD Bezel (damaged when I was forced to close the lid to get the machine home), the Hinge set (both sides) and the labour to install is just over $250, so I am going to fix the machine.

I want it in service for 3 months or so while I get my X230 set up to my liking. I will probably set up the core and critical tools, try different things, make notes. Then I will re-image and set up properly according to my notes. This will all take time, but it leads to a more stable computer over the long haul.

So keeping my T61p in service is worth the money.

... JDH

I still have not got my T61p fixed (hinges backordered) and the X230 arrived this past Tuesday. So I spent all day Friday setting it up.

The screen is clear and bright. Wide screen displays however are still for the birds in my opinion. Not enough vertical real estate.

I got Office 2013 running nicely. The limited vertical resolution hampers Outlook 2013 but I am getting used to it.

Lenovo has a Quick Launch app that allow a person to start things without leaving the desktop. I use that. I also installed Access Connections 6.01. It complained about being incompatible, but once installed, it works smoothly and reliably.

So, overall, it seems to be a good choice.

EDIT: It turns out Quick Launch causes "Stopped Working" errors in Windows 8 Reliability Monitor. So it had to go. It was decent but I can manage just fine without it.

Another EDT: Access Connections had to go as well. It worked well but conflicted with Windows 8 apps like VPN.

.... JDH