X301 pre purchase questions

[x300_j]

I am helping my girlfriend get a thin and light notebook. The Sony Z, Adamo or Mac's are all more expensive than an X301 from the Lenovo Outlet. Me having used a T61 and now with the X300 I suggested getting the X301.

She plans to load Oracle on it as a development box.
Could any one of you who have owned/used the X301 let me know if you think the 1.4ghz processor can handle databases. I imagine the SSD should help for database type apps, but will the low voltage processor just slow it down?
Appreciate any thoughts on this.

Other than teaching running Oracle on it its going to be used for Office Apps, Excel , Macros, Internet Surfing.

[ssd_thinkpad]

The ssd speed varies a lot between

• slc: fast reading and writing speed
• mlc: slow reading and writing speed
• intel mlc very fast reading / normal writing speed

The old 64 gb ssd from last year was slc. The 2009 build 64 gb are mlc. 128 gb ssd are always mlc. 80 gb ssd is intel mlc ssd.

[x300_j]

The ssd speed varies a lot between

• slc: fast reading and writing speed
• mlc: slow reading and writing speed
• intel mlc very fast reading / normal writing speed

The old 64 gb ssd from last year was slc. The 2009 build 64 gb are mlc. 128 gb ssd are always mlc. 80 gb ssd is intel mlc ssd.

so from my x300 it seems like a step forward with the 1.4ghz and step backwards with the MLC,

I think i read on one of the threads that there are some optimizations available to speed up the MLC performance.

[Goran]

The ssd speed varies a lot between

• slc: fast reading and writing speed
• mlc: slow reading and writing speed
• intel mlc very fast reading / normal writing speed

The old 64 gb ssd from last year was slc. The 2009 build 64 gb are mlc. 128 gb ssd are always mlc. 80 gb ssd is intel mlc ssd.

Your description s very simplified and simply too general. SLC has advantages over MLC, but they are felt mostly in longevity and writing speed.
A good MLC drive is a better performer than an average SLC drive, and Thinkpads have so far been reported with Samsung SLC and MLC and Intel MLC drives, all of which are considered to be good. Intel's drive was benchmarked superior to both Samsung drives, though.

In any case, no regular notebook drive can match any of these SSD's.

[Marin85]

@ssd_thinkpad: You forget about the OCZ SSDs, most of them are actually MLC and have pretty good reading speeds. Also, I think it´s important to point out that the reading/writing speeds of most SSDs (including MLC) are quite better than those of laptop mechanical drives, particularly considering the fact that those speeds are sustained, which is not the case with mechanical drives. Mechanical drives have maximum reading/writing speeds that actually decrease during transfers due to the physical structure of the HD plates, this has direct impact on the transfer performance. So, even the lower writing speeds of MLC drives (about 50-60 MB/s) are still better than the same numbers on mechanical drives. MLC SSDs also keep another important advantage of SSDs, namely the extremely low latencies (compared to any mechanical drives). However, MLC SSDs still seem to experience some problems depending on manufacturer, OS, software, usage etc.

@OP: The SSD should perform outstanding in db queries etc. I can´t say about Oracle, but I´m aware of a few people running M$ Visual Studio on their X300/X301 and most of them are more or less satisfied with its performance considering the portability of the laptop. However, I don´t believe I would be happy with so weak cpu for programming/computing tasks. I guess it´s rather a matter of personal preference how much of raw performance one is willing to sacrifice in favor of portability. For teaching purposes (I assume here not so heavy tasks) the cpu might do well though. M$ Office, Internet and similar "ordinary" activities shouldn´t be a consideration for you, X300/X301 can deal with those without any problems.

[ljwobker]

I have a T60p and have used the following SSDs in it (all using the same cloned OS)

OCZ core v2 :horrible. stuttered like mad.
OCZ solid series: better, but not that great. still significant periods of hang/stutter
OCZ apex 120GB: significantly better, but still not great at random writes (i.e. software installs, code builds, etc)... I don't do serious database work, but I would be very hesitant here.

OCZ Vertex 120GB and Intel 160GB X-25 drives: BOTH of these drives are exceptionally fast for everything I've ever asked them to do. I currently have the Intel in my system, but that's strictly for capacity. If it were my own money I was spending I'd get the Vertex instead -- I can't tell enough of a performance difference to justify the premium price.

[Marin85]

Regarding the OCZ SSDs, did you try out any of those tweaks posted on the OCZ forum? What OS do you have installed?

Slightly off topic, I was wondering if this sluttering behavior appears under Linux too

Thanks,

Marin

[akitaen]

I use an X300 (slc drive) for development and the performance is excellent; it soundly beats my t60 & t43 for most of my usage "benchmarks". All startup times, kernel compiles, defrag VM's (I defrag on the x300 for use on _other_ machines; the SSD doesn't care about fragmentation but it's so much quicker to rearrange blocks on an slc). The only tasks that are average on the x300 are running single core VM's, but bump them up to dual virtual cores and the x300 is back at the top of the heap.

Now mind you I don't have the most modern screamers for comparison, but all my machines are more than adequate for my usages (I compile my own kernels for heck's sake, that's almost got to qualify me as a power user 8^) and the slc drive is such a huge win. I dunno if I see the performance others claim, I use linux only, ext3 usually, and I read 100 MB/s and write 40MB/s sustained to the ext3.

The only thing I don't like about the x300 is the lousy screen (angles, contrast, saturation, leakage, resolution, evenness, etc...). But I like to carry it, and when I'm not traveling I hook it to good monitors.

[burhan]

I have some similar questions so I hope you don't mind me asking here.

I am also thinking of purchasing the X301, specifically X301 13.3 SU9400 4GB 128GB HDD which is the 2776-P6U. I have a T61p as my main machine, so I will be using the X301 as my travel/commute laptop between office/home.

If you check the link(s) you'll see that it includes the AT&T WWAN 3G card, is this card carrier locked or unlocked? In other words, can I use a non ATT SIM in it?

It comes with the 128GB SSD. My use of the machine will be office work, occasional development work with Visual Studio and Linux. I really would like the best performance out of the machine. I am wondering if I should opt for the 80GB SSD as the main HDD since I've read that its the fastest one. Also, is it possible to remove the DVD and replace that with another disk like in the T-series?

Thanks, as always, for your advice.

[ssd_thinkpad]

The 80gb slc intel ssd is multiple times faster than the 128 mlc ssd.

The x300 series use a different (smaller) dvd drive than all other thinkpad models.

[burhan]

Some more observations, just while configuring my machine at lenovo.com

At the UK site, you have this option when choosing an OS, for the recovery media:

Genuine Windows Vista Business with Windows XP Professional Downgrade and Vista Recovery media US English
Genuine Windows Vista Business with Windows XP Professional Downgrade US English [£0.00]

No such option exists at the US site, which makes me wonder what recovery media is given in the US. I got those options when I selected "Genuine Windows Vista Business with Windows XP Professional Downgrade" from the OS selection.

Also, from the UK site it seems you cannot configure it with the Intel 80GB SDD The only options available are:

64GB Solid State Drive [subtract £109.02 £124.20]
128GB Solid State Drive [Lenovo recommended]

The reason I went to the UK site is because the WWAN card that is sold with the machine is not carrier locked.

[archer6]

I've been watching the US site very closely over the last month or more, visiting twice a day. What I've noticed is an incredible inconsistency of component choices and pricing when one is configuring a machine. What is offered one day, will not always be there the next day. While I understand they may sell out of a popular option such as LED backlit screens on certain models, what I find is that there are tremendous fluctuations, errors in pricing, and frequent changes which occur without any particular logic. In addition, obvious errors like $9,208 pricing of a certain component are not corrected in a timely fashion.
.
I decided a several weeks ago to buy a new T series and then began to check the site a few times in the morning, afternoon & evening since one never knows what might change. Well it paid off, as for a short period there was a 320GB 7200rpm drive offered which happened to be just what I was looking for. Prior to that the only option in 7200rpm drives was a 160GB, or (again) for a few days a 200GB drive with encryption. Actually the 200GB drive would have sufficed but when I returned the next day to place my order it was gone so I waited and waited until finally the 320 appeared then I immediately ordered. Just an hour later that same 320 was gone & I haven't seen it since.
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As far as "Genuine Windows Vista Business with Windows XP Professional Downgrade", this is the option I chose and it ships with XP on the computer, and Vista on disk.
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Cheers...

[akitaen]

I wonder if the media situation has changed again. I ordered my x300 with "Vista Biz w/ XP downgrade" and had seen a clear description from Lenovo that said this meant that the installed OS was XP but the recovery partition contained Vista, no included media but each OS would allow you to create recovery media. In fact installed & recovery partition were XP & I don't sweat it because I made the XP media & wiped the disk for Kubuntu. (Actually I also restored to get my Vista for curiosity but it weren't there).

In the old old days you used to get real restore disks, & in the old days you had to make your own but the process was rather borked & IBM would then express you the media for free.

Anyhoo, I will never run Vista, but if I needed it I'd be a bit cheesed at Lenovo. Who knows tho, maybe they still offer IBM level support?

[burhan]

I've heard Windows 7 is better than Vista especially for portable computing. I'm waiting for it to be released hoping that prices will drop before I shell some coin for the X301.

Regarding the WWAN option, I think the SIM card slot is under the battery on the X301. If you order the laptop as 'Wireless Enabled', then you order the WWAN card separately, it is just a user replaceable item? Or does it involve serious tinkering like taking apart the casing.

[archer6]

I wonder if the media situation has changed again. I ordered my x300 with "Vista Biz w/ XP downgrade" and had seen a clear description from Lenovo that said this meant that the installed OS was XP but the recovery partition contained Vista, no included media but each OS would allow you to create recovery media. In fact installed & recovery partition were XP & I don't sweat it because I made the XP media & wiped the disk for Kubuntu. (Actually I also restored to get my Vista for curiosity but it weren't there).

Based on the random & numerous errors I've seen on the Lenovo site, nothing would surprise me. Yet that said as I mentioned above, my personal experience reveals that just like the past, whatever OS comes pre-loaded on the computer is the same as what's on the recovery partition. If one orders the XP downgrade, then Vista disks are included.
.
Cheers
posted via BlackBerry Bold

[ssd_thinkpad]

Regarding the WWAN option, I think the SIM card slot is under the battery on the X301. If you order the laptop as 'Wireless Enabled', then you order the WWAN card separately, it is just a user replaceable item? Or does it involve serious tinkering like taking apart the casing.

As far as I know, all x301 are wwan ready. Not all x300 are wwan ready. You need to open your thinkpad and remove some screws for putting in the wwan card. In the x300 series documentation pdf you see detailed step by step advice how to do that. You can also take a look into Lenovo Service Training Videosto watch how to do that.

[miketoro]

I've heard Windows 7 is better than Vista especially for portable computing. I'm waiting for it to be released hoping that prices will drop before I shell some coin for the X301.

What's the best guess on a Windows 7 release date?

[archer6]

What's the best guess on a Windows 7 release date?

It was just announced: May 5th.
I'm eager to get my hands on it, as after a brief trial of Vista I decided to pass and migrate directly from XP to Win7. I also suspect their are a lot if people in this category. Should be interesting to see how Microsoft handles it. I plan to wipe the drive and just do a clean install.
.
Cheers
sent via BlackBerry

[burhan]

May 5th is the RC -- not the final build. The final build should be later this year; I'm assuming before the fall shopping season for college if MS is smart.

[archer6]

True...

The Finished version is projected to be released May 5th 2012, which for Microsoft will be early.....ha...ha...ha.