X100e Dual Core Models

[GrandMasterKhan]

nacy, the port on the right-hand side (yellow one) is the only one that's "powered". Grandmaster, one way of estimating would be to do what you do (manipulate your massive spreadsheet or whatever) and see if the Task Manager processor gauge goes over 50% for prolonged periods (not momentary spikes). If so, you may notice some slowness on a machine with roughly half the processing speed.

That would be some spreadsheet if so-- but it's something to check. (This is a mite simplistic because the RAM on the X100e will also be slower, but it's close enough.) It might still leave concerns over possible heat if you were using the machine to full / nearly full capacity for extended periods.

As for build, it seems to be as solid as my friend's X200 despite the lack of a roll cage-- it's probably not needed on such a light machine, although I won't know for years I guess. The hinges are metal and solid, and case is quite stiff. The keyboard is a little better than on the X200. I think you may be able to find a local retailer to let you check one out in person.

Many old power adaptors work, including the ones from the T6x series. I now have 6+ adaptors, since I didn't realize that and ordered an extra one. I now wish I could trade a couple in on one of the slimline $119 ones.

I get spikes on my T61 with those spreadsheets going to 100%. Still not ruling out the X100e, just want to understand it more as maybe deployed for more light usage. Are you getting any of the HDD clicking, assuming that is what the clicking some describe emanates from? BTW, the HDD is from Seagate not the usual Hitachi Lenovo uses and sort of a concern. I would not switch to SSD so important to know if it will be an issue.

[jvarszegi]

I would say that the processor wouldn't be enough then for anything but light use (word processing etc.). You're talking about exceeding the capacity on a regular basis on a machine that's twice as fast as the highest-spec X100e. Also, though my machine is not hot at all, I have minimal processing requirements and I think this is why my results may differ from some people's. Heat might be an issue for you because of the AMD parts. In addition your battery life would probably be really terrible running an X100e at full throttle under load.

As for the hard drive, I used mine for about two weeks before swapping it to an enclosure. No clicking, and especially in passive cooling mode the X100e turned out to be quiet under my normal use. IIRC the hard drive type is a WD Scorpio and performance is decent for a 5400 RPM drive. I have seen improvements since the swap mostly in the areas of resistance to damage (presumed even considering the head-park motion sensing feature), battery life (probably about half an hour average), application launching and switching, boot and sleep/resume, and disk-bound tasks such as file transfers. I don't know if I'd do the swap again, but I was planning on buying an external portable drive anyway so the cost wasn't relatively huge.

[nacy333]

@GrandMasterKhan
The version of Power Manager (3.11 I believe) that shipped with my unit did not have battery charging thresholds, however the latest version of the Power Manager Software (3.20) does allow for charging thresholds. The feature was not removed specifically from the x100e, but all Thinkpad models that had that version of Power Manager installed.

@jvarszegi
In attempting to get the machine booted up from the USB CD/DVD Drive, I attempted to connect it to the multiple USB ports, including the powered USB. If the unit was able to burn the Rescue and Recovery DVDs using just one USB port (I didn't used the powered one for that) it should have been able to recognize the USB drive in the BIOS environment for bootup. Kind of a moot point right now since I have a power adapter for the USB drive (which I haven't had to use for reinstalls on other laptops/computers including a Samsung Atom Netbook), but I hope its something that can be fixed with future BIOS revisions.

I was also hoping that I could use my prior power adapters for my old T42p, but they use an entirely different plug (18V vs. 20V). I was considering purchasing the 'UltraSlim' AC/DC unit, but I'm leaning more towards the discontinued 'Slim' units at ~$65 (new) on EBay.

[morkli]

@morkli

I just got my x100e dual core L625. After making the rescue and recovery DVDS with my USB CD/DVD Burner, I swapped out the hard drive and attempted to do a clean install of Win 7 x64 using a Win 7 install disc but it's telling me it gives me a media failure and does not recognize an OS.

The disc and USB CD/DVD drive I am using works fine on 2 other laptops that I have. I've checked multiple times that I have the bootup sequence in order, both with the temporary boot and the permanent boot options. I'm thinking it might be the version of the bios that was installed. It currently has version 1.21 (6XET37WW) with a BIOS date of 2010-03-26. Looking over on the Lenovo drivers site, it lists 1.20a-1.16 with a date of 2010-03-18. Could you check to see what version you are currently running?

I'm guessing that if it's not the BIOS, there would be an issue with the USB chipset on my machine.

In addition, the Rescue and Recovery DVDs I made will also not boot up with the my USB CD/DVD Drive.

Congrats on getting your X100e dual core. Yes, have the same BIOS version 1.21 as you. I had no problem with my external CD/DVD burner, burning recovery discs or booting up the Win 7 Pro 64-bit installation disc.

Cheers,

[morkli]

Update: I got home, plugged in the power supply for my USB CD/DVD Drive and it finally recognized. It's odd that it will recognize it in the Windows environment from USB only power but not in BIOS (even when connected using a dual USB cable that takes power from 2 USB Ports). In the windows environment I was able to power the drive without issue from a single usb cable and thats how I burned my the Rescue And Recovery DVDs.

Glad to hear you got it to work. Sounds like your USB CD/DVD drive is a bit more power hungry than mine. I had mine connected on just a single USB cable to one of the non-yellow USB ports and it was available as a boot drive in the F12 bootlist menu.

Cheers,

[morkli]

Questions: 1) Does the X100e support battery charging thresholds. Seems to use the same Power Manger software as the "real" Thinkpads but does it utilize PM to say set the charge below 40% and stop at 50%? This prevents constant recycling of the battery and allows one to be on AC all the time. 2) Are my old Thinkpad power bricks or AC adaptors useable on the X100e?

I checked the Passmark scores and the L625 has 1/2 the score of a T75002.2GHz which is what I'm using now. A little bit concerned if the X100e has the raw power to get the job done.

Addendum question, are the hinges plastic over metal or just plastic. Has anyone tried holding the unit from the lid? In other words if you hold the X100e from the top of the lid, can the hinges handle the weight (which would be a sign of some strength to the hinges)?

Battery charging thresholds are available with PM v3.20. Yes, same AC power brick as the X6, T6, etc. range. I'm using a 90W one at home and it works fine. It comes with a 65W one that is the same as the one for my X60/X61. On the road I take my Lenovo 90W slim travel brick with the 20V tip. Works great.

Hinges are metal (but they're painted black) and yes, they can handle the weight of the X100e when holding the lid, although I would not recommend doing this too often anyway.

Cheers,

[GrandMasterKhan]

how is the power and the heat with the L625. Think you folks are the first to get this so would be great to hear what you have to say, esp relative to your old machines.

[nacy333]

how is the power and the heat with the L625. Think you folks are the first to get this so would be great to hear what you have to say, esp relative to your old machines.

For various reasons, the X100e is an interim solution. I eventually plan on buying an X201s or X210s whenever they include digital video out. This is my second interim solution by the way. The first was a Samsung NC-10 netbook when my T42p's lan adapter started to not work. The only issues I had with the netbook was the tiny resolution screen and lack of trackpoint. Power really wasn't too much of an issue unless I wanted to view 720p or better flash videos. For the most part the samsung is very quiet and stays cool.

This L625 X100e has more than enough power for my needs. It could easily replace my work issued laptop without any problems (a Dell Latitude D620). In fact the X100e scores pretty much the same as or much better in each area of the Windows Experience Scores compared to the Dell Latitude (Core 2 Duo T7200 2GHz with 2.00 GB RAM) with Processor being the only exception with the Dell showing 4.9 and the X100e a 4.2. Though it could be that I'm comparing apples to oranges as the X100e is running Windows 7 Pro x64 with 4GB ram and the Dell is Vista Ultimate 32 with 2GB ram.

That being said, I'm used the Samsung being cool and quiet, which is nice when I'm sitting on the couch doing whatever while the TV's going on. The T42p and and especially the Dell Latitude are relatively hot in comparison to the netbook. The X100e's heat is somewhere between the netbook and the Dell, but closer to the Dell. Depending on what I'm doing the X100e fans are on way more often than the Samsung netbook and a bit less than the Dell.

Battery life is a different story. I'm not the kind of user who goes half a day without plugging in. In my past experience with the Samsung netbook, I never left it unplugged for more than 3 hours even though it could go much longer. Thats not an issue for me with the X100e but it definitely will be for others. If I unplug it right now with my current settings at 90% left, it shows 3:52 remaining for the Thinkpad Power Manager. It's a new battery and I haven't cycled it much yet, so it could get better, but it wouldn't make much of a different for me if it didn't.

I don't consider myself much of a 'power user'. Most of anything I do that needs serious power gets done on remote servers that I either Remote Desktop/VNC into or use a specific desktop client for. From time to time, I might do a small bit of video encoding, but even then I'd start it on my Netbook at night and just come back to it in the morning depending on how hard the task was.

I don't think this laptop would be useful for alot of people's needs, but it definitely works for me and I'm happy I got it (plus I finally get to use a TrackPoint again!).

[morkli]

how is the power and the heat with the L625. Think you folks are the first to get this so would be great to hear what you have to say, esp relative to your old machines.

On battery, no issue. It's warm, but can comfortably keep it on my lap for hours doing email, browsing web, etc.

On AC, it gets very warm underneath. I wouldn't want to keep it on my lap then. Stays cool on the palmrest though, which is different to my X60 (and to a lesser extent X61). However, generally when I've got on AC, I've got a desk to leave it on, so it's not an issue.

Cheers,