X200s Initial Impressions

[mnitabach]

I just received a new custom-configured X200s with the faster processor, the 128MB SSD drive, and the 1440x900 pixel screen, downgraded to Windows XP. So far, I am extremely happy with this machine!! I have had numerous Thinkpads over the years: T20, X30, X40, X60s. This may be my favorite Thinkpad yet.

The full-size keyboard seems to be the same size as the T-series, but it is much firmer underneath than the T20's, which was too "squishy". The screen is really gorgeous for text-heavy work. I have the 4-cell battery, and the battery icon doohickey is telling me that with a full charge, the screen reasonably bright, and using the WiFi connection, the battery life is 4.5 hours.

In terms of the weight, this thing feels absurdly light--*much* lighter than the X30 or X60s with batteries that will last as long (which have more cells, of course). In terms of sound, it seems like the fan in the right rear is on sometimes, but at a level that is so low as to be completely inaudible. I think that is the only moving part in the whole thing. In terms of heat, I just transferred a 2GB file over the wireless network, and the entire computer is still cool as a cucumber. This is a dramatic difference from the X60s, which (as we all know) got hot as hell on the bottom from the wireless card.

My initial impression is that the X200s with the faster CPU and solid-state drive is substantially snappier than the X60s in booting up, loading programs, and working within programs. And the screen is *much* brighter and colorful.

[Marin85]

Thanks for that review! Did you purchase the SSD directly from Lenovo (when having bought the X200s) or you bought it separately, if yes what model? Thanks,

Marin

EDIT: I also wanted to ask, what is your impression about the viewing angles of the screen?

[AvalonXIII]

Thanks for that review! Did you purchase the SSD directly from Lenovo (when having bought the X200s) or you bought it separately, if yes what model? Thanks,

Marin

EDIT: I also wanted to ask, what is your impression about the viewing angles of the screen?

About 20 to 30 degrees in every direction for me.

[mnitabach]

It's the 128GB Samsung MMCQE28G8MUP-0VA. I bought it pre-installed by Lenovo.

[mnitabach]

Well, I just got my first Blue Screen of Death! That has never happened to me before on any Thinkpads I have ever had.

[Marin85]

Well, I just got my first Blue Screen of Death! That has never happened to me before on any Thinkpads I have ever had.

Congratulations! In most cases BSODs are software-related. To avoid any, I always do a clean install of my preferred OS

[brixvold]

Do yourself a favour and get "Debugging Tools for Windows" also known as WinDbg it's a free download and very practical to resolve recurring bsods. It will let you know the specific cause of your problem instead of having you grope in the dark for it.
I used it successfully with my X61T that just wouldn't play nice under xp.

[aau007]

I have the exact same configuration and had a lot of BSOD initially. Updated to the latest power management driver and 1.51a of Power Manager and is still getting them once in a blue moon.

[Rich.Carpenter]

Any particular reason you folks aren't running Windows Vista? The impression I've gotten is that the X200 series is better supported by Vista than XP, especially the power management facilities.

Just a thought.

[EOMtp]

The impression I've gotten is that the X200 series is better supported by Vista than XP, especially the power management facilities.

Those using Vista on the X200/s series are doing so for a variety of reasons, but inadequate support of Windows XP is not among those reasons. There is perfect support of Windows XP on the X200/s series, and XP runs flawlessly on those machines.

[aau007]

Any particular reason you folks aren't running Windows Vista? The impression I've gotten is that the X200 series is better supported by Vista than XP, especially the power management facilities.

Just a thought.

I am waiting to go straight to Windows 7. Already have the beta running under Virtual PC.

[Rich.Carpenter]

Those using Vista on the X200/s series are doing so for a variety of reasons, but inadequate support of Windows XP is not among those reasons. There is perfect support of Windows XP on the X200/s series, and XP runs flawlessly on those machines.

Are we considering the absence of any yellow exclamation marks in device manager to be "perfect support"?

I'm just curious if the BSoD's would be as much of a problem for these folks if they were running Vista, as that's the OS the machines were designed for. The X200 series is sold with any of five different versions of Vista but only one version of XP is available. Plus, the "Lenovo recommends Windows Vista Business" plastered everywhere is a bit of a hint. /shrug

[schmaud]

Hi
which x60s did you had? I have an x60s with the l2400 processor, and I found it relatively cool and noise free. So it is possible to get it even quiter and colder, or did you had a more highend model?

I had a look at the x200s the other day, since I could get it with an discount via my employer:
Honestly I was put off by the quite significand bigger size compared to the x60s and the huge black margins around the screen.

How does the form factor compare in actual use?

Thanks

ralf

[ozpadder]

Hi,

Having just bought an X200s, just thought I'd share some of my experience.

The one I bought has a WXGA screen like the X200. I was not all that fussed about getting the WXGA+ so the lack of this option from Lenovo Australia was fine with me. I've noticed though that recently, the WXGA+ option has been added.

The machine was ordered with the XP downgrade from Vista Business. I thought this would give me the best of both worlds in case Vista did not work out for me. Last week, I installed Vista from the recovery DVDs to compare it to XP.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the X200s ran with Vista Pro. My laptop only has 2Gb of RAM but it did not seem to slow it down at all. In the end, what killed it for me was program incompatibility (Steganos Shredder prevented some start menu and quicklaunch icons from working, Perfectdisk 8 would not update etc). Having spent the better part of 2 days researching the net, I gave up on the exercise. Given the fact that Vista has been around for a while, I have to say that I am surprised that there are still programs that don't work as advertised on this OS.

I probably would have persevered had it not been for the fact that I had the X200s working so reliably and quickly on XP. Did the switchover this weekend and it is a pleasure to use the laptop again. The only problems I experienced was running the offline Perfectdisk 8 defrag and a bsod when dual screening. In the end, I tracked the Perfectdisk issue down to Norton Internet Security 2009. There is a Microsoft patch to resolve the dual screen bsod issue.

One thing that I noticed in some of the pictures on the web was how blocky and crude it looked. In real life, it has subtle curves along the leading edge of the wristpad that are just not obvious in 2d pictures. Whilst not as slimline as the X61s, I'm satisfied overall with the design.

Re the form factor, the extra width is obvious but it has not really been a problem for me. The full size keyboard more than makes up for it and I don't need to use the foam pads to secure the laptop in my bag like I did with the X61s. Height wise, it is marginally lower than the X61s so it should still fit on the plane tray tables without any problems. Screen is much brighter than the Ultralight screen on the X61s and the whites are really white versus a yellow hue on the X61s. As others have pointed out the sweet spot is a bit narrow but it has not been a problem for me. If anything it makes those 3M privacy screens a bit redundant for the business user. There is a bit of graininess to the screen that was surprisingly worse than my old X61s but I can live with it. The screen itself is manufactured by AU Optronics. I'm not sure if there are other better quality makes of WXGA screens that ship with the X200 or X200s.

Apart from the screen, I've been very satisfied with the X200s. Keyboard has been good thus far with no obvious flexing. It is fast, cool and quiet. Fan comes on now and then but its very quiet compared to the X61s.

Overall, I'm very happy with it.

[madcow]

Would it be nice if the x200 has the form factor of the x61?