After the disappointing (but very welcome) comments on the new X1, I'm thinking of either an X220 or a T420s to replace my X300 (which still freezes up occasionally, with no symptoms or diagnostics I can find).
RedFlagDeals has a 25% coupon until June 17, and an 8% kickback 45 days later (RFD is like FatWallet but I don't recall seeing a kickback in the past). Between that and the HST in Ontario (businesses get it back), Lenovo Canada may actually get an order from me for once! I've done some comparisons on the Lenovo site (both US and Canada) and am finding them somewhat lacking in hard data. My first question is whether anyone has a strong opinion on one machine over the other. I realize it depends, but sometimes it's a no-brainer (not buying an X1 seems to fit that category, to my disappointment). Some more specific questions are: -- Is the T420s weight of 3.68 lb measured with the optical drive removed? I recall that was the case with my old 600 but in those days they actually said. If it _includes_ the optical drive, the weight benefit of the 2.9 lb X220 is less. -- I suppose the X220's "Premium HD" is the IPS display? Other than the ghosting I haven't heard much about the IPS. Is it worth a hefty premium for primarily non-graphics applications? -- I figure on bumping RAM to 4GB (1 DIMM) and including BT and camera, since those are harder to do as add-ons. Does that make sense? Am thinking I can do better on a second 4GB DIMM than Lenovo's price (haven't checked) but is it wise to wait? -- Is there a good discussion anywhere of i5 vs. i7 and TurboBoost that describes it in high-level terms? -- Does the X220 really have a full-size keyboard or is it some generous definition of full-size that cheats a little? -- The NVIDIA graphics is a lot more expensive than Intel. It appears one is discrete and the other shared. Is the NVIDIA worth the extra cost for non-graphics applications? -- The X220 comes with 2x2 (or 3x3?) antenna and a 1x1 adapter. Am I right that it would require an add-on to take advantage of the 2x2? -- One of the T420s models offers a choice of 65W/90W adapter, other machines are just one or the other. Does the extra 25W make a significant difference? Thanks! -- Andrew mailto:[email protected] _______________________________________________ Thinkpad mailing list [email protected] http://stderr.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/thinkpad
