X-240 CPU Selection

[kevinc]

I'm considering an X-240. I'll probably get the IPS non touch panel, 4GB RAM and a 500GB HDD and upgrade to 8 GB RAM and an SSD later. Does anyone have any suggestions as to the best bang for the buck processor? I also have a WIN 7 Pro upgrade edition NIB. Can I use that with the WIN 7 downgrade rights option? How does that work?
Thanks.

[dr_st]

On these models there is only one memory slot. Upgrading 4GB to 8GB would require you to remove the 4GB stick and put a new 8GB one. Will it really be cheaper than just buying 8GB to begin with? Unless you have other considerations.

The CPU options are really almost linear. I would avoid the i3, since it lacks the turbo boost, but the rest (i5/i7 options) should be fine. To figure out the best bang for the buck one needs to know the price differences.

[ZaZ]

In my experience unless you've got a need to run the CPU near capacity frequently, there's not much practical difference between the CPUs for every day usage.

To be able to downgrade you'd need to order the X240 with Windows 8 Professional. That would include downgrade rights to Windows 7 Professional. I would presume you could use your Windows 7 disc to do the downgrade. Worst case is likely you'd have to call Microsoft to get it activated.

[kevinc]

[quote="dr_st"]On these models there is only one memory slot. Upgrading 4GB to 8GB would require you to remove the 4GB stick and put a new 8GB one. Will it really be cheaper than just buying 8GB to begin with? Unless you have other considerations.
[/quote]

The price differences can be significant. That single memory slot and 8 GB limit is an irritant with the X-240. I can get an 8GB stick from Crucial for $80. There probably isn't much of a market for the left over 4GB stick though. Lenovo wants $130 for 8GB. A Crucial 240GB SSD is about $112 compared to $320 for Lenovo's SSD upgrade.

[kevinc]

[quote="ZaZ"]
To be able to downgrade you'd need to order the X240 with Windows 8 Professional. That would include downgrade rights to Windows 7 Professional. I would presume you could use your Windows 7 disc to do the downgrade. Worst case is likely you'd have to call Microsoft to get it activated.[/quote]

With the "downgrade rights" does the X-240 come with WIN 8 installed and I do the downgrade? Do I get a WIN 8 DVD to upgrade later? Thanks

[ZaZ]

ThinkPads haven't come with a Windows or recovery discs for quite some time. You will have the opportunity to make a set of recovery discs using the ThinkVantage tools.

[kevinc]

[quote="ZaZ"]ThinkPads haven't come with a Windows or recovery discs for quite some time. You will have the opportunity to make a set of recovery discs using the ThinkVantage tools.[/quote]

So it will come with WIN 8, I'll make recovery disks and then install my own copy of Win 7? Then if I want to go to WIN 8 I'll just restore my own recovery discs. C Is that it.

Here my answer. I got an X240 with WIN 8 downgrade rights from the outlet store but had to return it.
The machine came with WIN 7 installed and a complete set of WIN 8 restore disks.

[Atreides]

While I agree that for basic usage most modern CPU's will fly through anything, I'd still recommend going one step up.

$50 for a 2.6GHz i5 vs. a 1.7GHz i3 is no contest in my book, especially for a machine you'll likely be using for some time.

I don't think it's worth the extra $100 on top of that for a mere 0.3GHz increase however.