X301 with T9400 and 7200RPM drive

[Nubulin]

Any idea if/when lenovo will release a full speed lower price X301?

I can get a nice X200 with all the goodies for $1400. Unfortunatly I like the touchpad and want a 13.3 WXGA+. When the X301 came out I was thrilled, until I saw the price and huge premium for SSD and ULV processor....... If they only had a X301 with similar specs to the X200 I would own one now.

Any thoughts?

[Esben]

That CPU draws too much power, and thus emits too much heat, for a small laptop such as the X301. Remember, it also has an optical drive. I cannot remember if it's also a bit thinner, but that could explain why it's limited to ULV processors.

[akao]

It's probably because the battery life is already short compared to the extended battery on previous X-series.

[Nubulin]

That CPU draws too much power, and thus emits too much heat, for a small laptop such as the X301. Remember, it also has an optical drive. I cannot remember if it's also a bit thinner, but that could explain why it's limited to ULV processors.

OK. But the smaller X200 can handle the heat and power draw? I guess I don't follow your logic here.

[jketzetera]

Its the other way around.

The X300 is thinner than the X200 and also has an internal optical unit which the X200 lacks. So despite being 13", the X300 is more compact and has less space for moving air around inside.

Besides, the fastest CPU offered for the X200 is the P8600, which is only 25W TDP while the the T9400 is 35W TDP.

I do wonder though why they did not try to produce a version with the low-voltage CPUs that the X200s will feature (1.6 & 1.8 GHz). I guess heat is an issue.