Which screen option for a new X200s?

[ansible212]

First time poster here, so bear with me. I've searched the forum and read most of what I can on the relative merits of the standard and LED screens. The laptop will be used for writing mostly (I've probably written 150k-250k or more words on my A30 which has for obvious reasons been house bound.)

I'm going through the agony of buying an X200s (the Elite model with SL9600 Core 2 Duo). Battery life is a major priority, so I'm tending to prefer the LED screen (WXGA unfortunately, although OTOH I think 1200x800 is about right for the 12.1" screen). This is also going to be carried a lot on public transport (and used too) so I'm after the lightest solution I can get (with the obvious compromise of the 9 cell battery).

The problem comes in choosing precisely which of the screen options to go for. (I don't care about having a web cam before I start.)

So, overall the screen option I'm tending towards is the LED screen with 3x3 UltraConnect II (to get maximum benefit from the 5300 WiFi Link, which means I have to do without the WWAN. Whilst an integrated mobile internet solution is attractive the fact that it's is locked into Vodafone in the UK is less so, so maybe that's not a major downside.

To my mind, I'm getting the best screen (from a battery life perspective) and will be able to get maximum benefit from the 5300 adapter at the expense of not having an integrated WWAN solution (but leaving me the freedom to decide my provider).

Any thoughts appreciated. (For example, killer reasons to get the LED with 2x2 UltraConnect II and WWAN... excluding the fact it comes with a camera LOL.)

[EOMtp]

... WWAN ... it's is locked into Vodafone in the UK ...
... the 5300 adapter at the expense of not having an integrated WWAN solution

Two corrections:
1) The integrated Vodafone WWAN card is not SIM-locked to Vodafone, unlike the U.S. AT&T card which is SIM-locked to AT&T.
2) If you are willing to forgo the WXGA+ screen (1440x900), then there is no technical reason why the machine cannot have both the 2 WWAN antennas and the 3 "N" WLAN antennas. The casing for the 1280x800 LCD screen is designed to accept 6 antennas: 2 WWAN + 3 WLAN + 1 Wireless USB.

[ansible212]

Two corrections:
1) The integrated Vodafone WWAN card is not SIM-locked to Vodafone, unlike the U.S. AT&T card which is SIM-locked to AT&T.

Interesting. The Lenovo site specifies Voda only.

2) If you are willing to forgo the WXGA+ screen (1440x900), then there is no technical reason why the machine cannot have both the 2 WWAN antennas and the 3 "N" WLAN antennas. The casing for the 1280x800 LCD screen is designed to accept 6 antennas: 2 WWAN + 3 WLAN + 1 Wireless USB.

The WXGA+ screen is not listed as an option on the UK Lenovo site for the X200 or X200s. The LED screen isn't listed as available with 3 WLAN and WWAN (whatever the technical capability of the casing), hence my post.

The only way I can get 3x3 and WWAN is to forego the LED screen. If it isn't locked to Voda that becomes an option. Alternatively will there be a significant real world advantage in having 3x3 antenna rather than 2x2? (OTOH, my understanding is that there are significant benefits for battery life from having the LED.)

(A supplementary question arises: if I can't purchase an X200s with LED, 3x3 and WLAN, I assume that if the case has the capability that WLAN can be retrofitted assuming the parts can be purchased?)

[EOMtp]

The Lenovo site specifies Voda only.

FRU #43Y6537 is SIM-unlocked.

... there are significant benefits for battery life from having the LED ...

I don't think so! The significant benefit is in having an X200s, i.e., an LV or SU processor.

... that WLAN can be retrofitted assuming the parts can be purchased?

The 6 antennas are FRU #44C5394.

[ansible212]

FRU #43Y6537 is SIM-unlocked.

That FRU isn't listed in the Hardware Maintenance Manual.

... there are significant benefits for battery life from having the LED ...

I don't think so! The significant benefit is in having an X200s, i.e., an LV or SU processor.[/quote]

So if the LED isn't going to contribute much to battery life (and by all accounts results in a flexier case) then what benefits are there from having it compared to the regular screen? (which would give me 3x3 antenna and WWAN.)

[EOMtp]

FRU #43Y6537 ... That FRU isn't listed in the Hardware Maintenance Manual.

Not every HMM is up to date with all parts. The FRU #s change as the firmware changes, and this FRU represents the latest firmware for the Ericsson F3507g. The FRU is listed in the most recent T400/R400 HMM, and elsewhere.

So if the LED isn't going to contribute much to battery life (and by all accounts results in a flexier case) then what benefits are there from having it compared to the regular screen? (which would give me 3x3 antenna and WWAN.)

It isn't for the LED that one selected that screen when the X200s was first released. Until recently, i.e., until the release of a WXGA (1280x800) LED screen, the "LED screen" was synonymous with WXGA+ (1440x900) -- and that's the reason one would want "it", not for the LED-part but for the resolution ...(if one wants the higher resolution, of course).

For screens of the same resolution, the main reasons to opt for LED over CCFL backlighting are:
(a) LEDs do not dim with time like CCFLs,
(b) LEDs do not need the inverter board, which is yet another component which can fail, and
(c) LED screen and its casing are a little lighter than the CCFL screen and its casing.
For me, none of those "deficiencies" of CCFL backlighting is sufficiently serious to drive me to select an LED screen at the expense of other features I may want, such as antennas. Further, one can place the full complement of antennas in the LED screen's casing, so it is possible to "have it all" if one is willing to do a little disassembly/reassembly.

[ansible212]

Not every HMM is up to date with all parts. The FRU #s change as the firmware changes, and this FRU represents the latest firmware for the Ericsson F3507g. The FRU is listed in the most recent T400/R400 HMM, and elsewhere.

If it's SIM unlocked then that makes the WWAN option far more attractive.

For me, none of those "deficiencies" of CCFL backlighting is sufficiently serious to drive me to select an LED screen at the expense of other features I may want, such as antennas. Further, one can place the full complement of antennas in the LED screen's casing, so it is possible to "have it all" if one is willing to do a little disassembly/reassembly.

I will be purchasing the extended warranty with my X200s, so I won't be delving into it until that expires. I therefore need to get the specification as right as I can at purchase.

Of the screens on offer I think it comes down to either:

a) CCFL with 3x3, WWAN
b) LED with 2x2, camera and WWAN.

In real world terms, will I wi-fi reception be significantly improved with the third antenna in option a?

(I've also read comments that the LED "lid" is not as substantial as the CCFL. It might be better to go for the more robust option too.)

[EOMtp]

In real world terms, will I wi-fi reception be significantly improved with the third antenna...?
(I've also read comments that the LED "lid" is not as substantial as the CCFL. It might be better to go for the more robust option too.)

The third antenna is for 802.11 "N" WLAN only. It does nothing for 802.11b/g. However, 802.11n will function at the highest speed iff. the third antenna is connected.

As to the "robustness" of the LED screen, the question you ask is rooted in the misconception of what "LED screen" means in context today. The casing for the WXGA screens, CCFL or LED, is the same, so the robustness is the same. The casing for the WXGA+ (LED only) is different, it is carbon fiber, and is just as "solid" if not more so than anything else -- notwithstanding "reports" to the contrary that you may have seen.

There is nothing one can do with/"on" the WXGA lid that one cannot do with/"on" the WXGA+ lid, so the robustness "issue" is baseless. One cannot sit on either lid, one should not bounce a golf ball off either lid ... you get the idea. Both lids are robust and perfectly solid. I have no idea why these "reports" exist. Since you are considering only the WXGA units, the LCD casing will be the same regardless of the backlight you select.

[ansible212]

Thx for the clarifications. I feel a little embarrassed.

Well I finally decided to get the non-LED screen with 3x3 UltraConnect II, Wireless Broadband and UWB Upgradeable, partly just to put myself out of my misery.

(It's a shame that the WXGA+ display isn't listed on the UK Lenovo site. I prolly would have gone for one of those if it was, but I suppose it would have just made things more complicated!)

[ansible212]

Well just as a coda to this thread, my X200s has arrived.

Overall I'm very pleased with it. It's certainly well made and the keyboard is very nice indeed. It's uncanny just how quiet it is due to the SSD, and it certainly seems to combine excellent full power performance (2.13GHZ Core 2 Duo and 4GB RAM see to that) with 10 hours plus battery life on the 9 cell battery.

But that wasn't the subject of this thread. Having looked up the parts list on my laptop and then cross referencing it with the HMM it seems that I've got an LED backlit display after all (FRU is 42T0715, part # 42T0714). The box lists it as being a 2x2 UltraConnect II screen which I've queried with Lenovo UK and they've confirmed it's a 3x3, but that's from what I ordered. Hmmm. Strange. But there again, the box also listed 2GB of RAM, so go figure.

Next decision is a second battery to make for a lighter package, but that could be another thread (whilst the 4 cell is tempting due to weight, the 6 cell seems to be the best compromise).