Which tablet would suit me best?

[SparClingDyeMend]

Hey guys!

Loooooong time lurker. I've owned a few ThinkPads in my day, but nothing even remotely new. An X21, X24, X31, and a T41.

But to the point.

I'm an avid D&D player and I've been writing a campaign lately. I just noticed that I've been using A LOT of paper. I'd like to stop that. You know, trees should remain alive and all that jazz. Or maybe it's just an excuse to buy a shiny "new" computer.

I would be using this for Microsoft OneNote, D&D PDF viewing, and basic stuff (Like Diablo II).

I've been drooling over the x200t for a few weeks but I know it's more than I need. So I thought I'd come to the experts.

Between an x41 t, x60/61 t, or the fabulous x200 t, would I be better off saving money and buying an older version? I'm not impatient, so I'd probably even be fine with the slow 1.8" x41 HDD. I don't need superb CPU performance. Just "enough".

Basically I just want decent responsiveness with the pen in OneNote.
I'd prefer Win7, but could go back to XP for the few programs I'd be using.

What's your verdict, folks?
Thanks in advance,
JP

[emeraldgirl08]

Not sure about the x61tablet however I use an x200tablet when I am out and have a T500 for use at my apartment. Generally the tablet is pretty handy as a writing device and the learning curve is not too bad. There are some settings you will need to finesse in order to get handwriting lines that are not too thick, thin, pressure-sensitive on or off, etc. I use mine in classes (in tablet mode and/or writing mode) and also at the lab where I am wrapping up on internship work.

My x200tablet initially started out a little on the heavy side due to the 8-cell battery. I remedied that by getting a 4-cell battery which lessens the physical footprint and weight as well. I have One note but do not use it- at all. Maybe I am missing out on that program but I regularly use foxit reader for annotating PDF files, Windows Journal (for handwriting), and MS Word 2010 (recognizes tablet interfaces and will let me draw on the document as well). Battery life is dependent on several factors however my particular 4-cell lasts ~2 hours. I bought it used and am sure it could be doing better if it were a brand new one! Regardless it works out well in my routine and keeping the 8-cell around (usually stashed in my school bag along with the AC adapter) works out well.

Performance with the x200tablet is well…limited by the technology from the time period the x200tablet came out in. My x200tablet is a low-voltage core2duo variant that is rated at 1.86 ghz. I have 4gb of DDR3 in my tablet and an Intel SSD (bought an older x-25 80gb version; it does the job well enough for my usage). SATA speeds are rated at SATA-2 on the x200-series.

I do not game on my x200tablet. I have my T500 (switchable graphics version) for some light gaming such as Tomb Raider (latest version), Skyrim, Zuma II (puzzle-type of game), and Lumines (another puzzle type of game). I do not think Diablo III will run at an acceptable pace for you on an x200tablet or an x61tablet. IIRC the x220 and x230 are the tablets that are capable of producing a more acceptable frame rate in respect to Diablo III. Also consider that if you will be using the tablet more on battery power to remember that power management will reduce the performance in order to increase battery runtime which means you would need to plug the tablet in to get performance over power savings. Even if you manage to tweak for performance on battery then your run-time will be significantly decreased as a result. You will need to figure out a sweet spot for your power needs and usage.

My suggestion is to get a more recent x2xx tablet if you must play Diablo III and can live with the 16:9 screen ratio. The screens get more rectangular as the X-series progress toward the most recent model. The Intel graphics and CPU on the latest series are more capable and manage power better as well. If you like high-resolution also the x61tablet is the only model that has a high resolution SXGA+ screen in tablet form. There is a glaring issue with the x61tablet that may surface however and that is bubbles from the epoxy used in the screen area. You can google it or search the forum for this problem. The x200tablet has a lower resolution (1280X800) but does not use epoxy in the screen so no bubbles to worry about. Good luck in your search

EDIT: forgot to add

Welcome to forum!

I was on my first cup of coffee when I was typing my response to your post and did not see that this thread is your first post ever here

[SparClingDyeMend]

First, thanks for the welcome!
I think I had an account on here about 4 years ago, but I don't remember. I had only about 6 or 7 posts so I AM still new!

Thanks for the detailed view on what you can do with an x2xxt. The main thing I am curious about is writing on a 16:9/10 screen vs the 4:3 compared to a sheet of paper.
I KNOW the x2xxt is more than I need, performance wise. I might end up going with it, though, if the aspect ratio differences aren't too limiting.

Just to be clear here, I said Diablo II. 2. The better of the three choices in my opinion. That game will run on almost anything. But it IS limited to 800x600 resolution which is 4:3, so it would look better on a x40/x60 because of that. Although, I am not buying this laptop for playing Diablo II. That would just be nice to do when I'm away from my desktop.

The price difference is probably my main concern.
A quick skim of eBay shows a nicely maintained x200t going for 180-220.
I could get a x60t with a NEW battery and some fancy addons (spare pens?) for about the same price.
I'd, ideally, like to hit around $100, but I know that may be stretching it. I am patient though.


It's mainly a "is the price difference worth the performance difference for basic BASIC tasks" type question.

Thanks again for any reply at all. I know my writing is never ordered very well and can sometimes be hard to reply to.
-JP