A few days later ... X200s

Second opinion...

Battery life: Either mine is not working properly but out of the 6 cell normal use with WIFI off I only get about 4 hours max. My netbook does 6 easy. On Energy Star setting I get 3:20 or so ... a quick query is the 6 cell flush with the back of laptop or did I get a 4 cell?

Screen: Downright awful, in fact the worst I have seen on any laptop I have owned. I thought it would be similar to T61 but it's far worse.

Heat: Great as it is non existent; coolest laptop I have owned and also whisper quiet.

Keyboard: Amazing best ever used I think, different from T400 and T61

So now I need to decide whether I will sell it or put in a new LCD and void the warranty. Then again what else would I then buy ? maybe just put an SSD in my T61 and live with that LOL.

 

The battery should be more.

What is the design and actual charge capacity of your battery? Did you get the X200s brand new or used?

 

Looks like it's going back ... I cannot deal with the screen. After a T400 with a CCFL screen now and keeping the trusted Samsung netbook for travel ...

Battery says: FRU P/N 42T4647
56.2 WH

Shame design wise it's one great laptop ... but screen really gets on my nerves.

 

actual charge capacity?

 

Could you eloborate on your problems with the screen... as a potential x201s buyer I am interested in your feedback. I know it isn't good but is it really that bad?

 

It's OK for normal office work I guess ... my problem is that I am a lot on the road and when not working I tend to watch some movies or lectures on laptop. For video playback the screen is really grainy; the blacks are greys and you get ghosting/ artefact effects which are clearly visible and my eyes lock onto them. What is good on the X200 series is that for Skype the speaker is great realy loud enough, the keyboard is second to none; the webcam is good in low light conditions (better than T400). Overall a great design. With a better screen I would not think of getting rid of it.

 

I said this in the other thread and will repeat it here. Just go ahead and apply the FlexView mod. It's the only way you're going to be satisfied.

 

If the Boe Hydis 120 matte were still available I might just do it but I cannot find it anymore. Looks like a standar T400 CCFL and a netbook.

 

That's indeed a 6 cell. It's flush in the back, but sticks out on the bottom. The 4 cell is flush all round.

I don't think I saw much better with my 6 cell. I get about 2 hours on average with my 4 cell and I've been surviving with that because i'm addicted to the sub 3 lb weight.

 

I use the WXGA+ every day for business use without any problems. I also use decent DFPs on desktops all day as well, and I'm never bothered when I have to transition to the WXGA+.

 

I was gonna say that you do have a very high standard for laptop screens.
Then, I looked at your user name.

Aha moment.

 

I'm sorry you're having such a bad experience with your x200s. I just started used the x201s and while it has its downsides, I think it's well-worth the money. I've had little problems with the screen, and I'm even getting pretty good at finding that sweet spot in terms of vertical viewing angle

 

X200s has left the premises ... returned today. Will now get a CCFL version of the T400. I can also get a T400s for a really good price but again the screen apparently not very nice. Buy and return until I find a corect one ! Then I will write the rave review on the best laptop for the world's most difficult laptop owner.

 

Why aren't you getting a tablet...?

 

X200t probably cost more than what he wanted to spend on a laptop.

 

The T400's CCFL panel isn't a stunning screen, if that's what you are expecting - don't get your hopes up too high. If you are willing to consider larger laptops, the T510 is supposed to have a very nice FHD wide-color-gamut panel.

And a screen replacement doesn't?

 

@MidnightSun.

The screen replacement costs depend on how much you spend on the base unit. He got the X200s fairly cheaply and even factoring the screen replacement, it would still come under the price of a new or refurbished X200t unit.

 

What about all the cost and time and hassle of buying and returning laptops? It sounds ridiculous. He might be a perfectionseeker but it certainly doesn't sound like he can get any work done >.<.

 

maybe opportunity cost is not very high for the OP...

 

It cost me 25 bucks to return the X200s for a full refund no re-stocking fees. That is truly service so I will buy a different machine from the same people. The MOD was possible but I spent a lot of time trying to source the screen and cannot find it. I used my last good laptop for almost 5 years but it seems more and more difficult to find something decent. The tablet simply weighs too much IMHO I need something light like an X200s or a netbook. Netbook wins because much better screen. Power is really irrelevant when you need to do a lot of mails / browsing / booking flights hotels and watching movies. Besides the netbooks are very light weight have better battery life and I don't need to turn the brightness way down and go through all sorts of settings to get that battery time. Now that is a premium product to me LOL. And should it break I can still by another 3 before I get to Lenovo pricing. Really guys that screen on the X200 series was worst EVER seen. I applaud people who can watch a movie on that machine. T400s yes LED and washed out the reports on here say. Will get a cheap used T400 CCFL.

 

Hyperbole much?

If you're tried a T400 why is the x200t too heavy? You can't have everything exactly how you want it. If you want a thinkpad with the best screen (where you stop skirting around the issue and complaining about it everywhere), just get the tablet.

 

Too expensive around here at about US 2,000 a Tablet, and too heavy for travel. Well Jaredy I will simply get a stay at home T400 CCFL, since the LED version was giving me headaches. For travel I will go back to the trusted and tried Samsung netbook. It survived the Amazon what more can I ask? It opens and closes applications as fast as the T400 and X200. Better movie watching on it than on X200s by miles ... When I win the lottery I will buy 8 or so premium laptops and do reviews for difficult folks like myself. Also honest reviews. If something is crap I will call it crap, on any model of any brand. Maybe honestlaptopreviews.com LOL. Hey I am not angry with Lenovo I just state the obvious, too many times already one might correctly argue.

 

Isn't the Samsung netbook's screen a LED too.

 

Indeed k2001 it is LED. Confused the hell out of me at first. I have found the reason since other sensitive people had similar experiences. It has to do with the quality of the LED panel and frequency. The LED Lenovo screens are low quality lower frequency LED especially when you dim the screen. Some people's retinas pick up that slower frequency in those particular LED screens. Here are some quotes from other threads:

but 90Hz is really low.
Fujitsu uses 500Hz, which is a reasonable frequency.

I know some people who can see 90Hz flicker on CRT monitors without a problem. And I also think that I might get disturbed with such a low frequency, especially at the edges of the field of view of my eyes I also see flickering of CRT monitors which run with a frequency around 90Hz.

So 90Hz is too low and other manufacturers like Sony and Fujitsu know this and use a higher frequency.

9 0Hz is way too low. This same issue happened (still happening?) on the MacBook Pro line. I don't understand which troop of morons allowed this without the proper field testing.

Anyhow the Lenovo LED is at 90 Hz and that seems too low for my retina and for some other people out there. Samsung is a higher frequency LED screen. Lenovo seems to go out of their way to find the worst screens. Or the just do not care? That is why I chuckle at the word premium laptop.

 

I will feel sorry for you if every manufacturer decide to use low quality led screen (a growing trend). You can only buy a limited model

 

Flicker that occurs on CRT when at 90 hz is not because the refresh rate is too low, but the monitor has bad electrical circuitry.

 

All this debating over x200/s/t made me reconsider my future laptop choices.
Now seriously looking at X200t
Still months away from purchase, but having good looking, powerful laptop+tablet in one device sounds tempting
Oh well, x200/x201 start to get confusing with their pricing and features as well as performance. So much to choose from now

 

A growing trend at Lenovo perhaps ? Not really sure ... but it's nice to have so many caring people around me LOL. I already have a Samsung N140 now the battery is amazing the screen works for me, it's really light ... movies look great. No HD but I could not give a hoot DVD quality is fine. So I can travel again even to Africa !

 

Those manufacturers that use the 16:10 LCD are mostly left overs from old production runs, which is why some of the 16:10 Thinkpads were using LCD that was several years old.

 

You cannot see 90Hz refresh rate...or even 60Hz. It is probably poor circuitry as lead_org mentioned.

 

your retina can pick it up ...

 

I got home after a few hours ... and had left the N140 on battery ... it was at 84% and it showed in idle another 17 hours and 45 minutes left ... beat that LOL ! Amazing ... goes forever. On the 6 cell of the Lenovo X200s it said 3 hours 20 min or so when fully loaded ??

 

what you seeing is not due to the refresh rate per se, but rather from other inteferences...

if you use a good quality Sony or Eizo CRT monitor with high quality shielded vga cable, you should not see any of the flickering at 90 hz......

 

with 84% charge left. You must have some magicial battery.

You are comparing two different type of device. A netbook and a fully-functional laptop. They are not in the same category. I have a netbook now and consider a more powerful device.

 

Hey I fully agree different devices altogether. I use the netbook for its purpose...travel and long battery. But for home and office for usual work I need something bigger and faster, probably a T400 CCFL screen at this stage.

Having said that ... I think the laptop markets deliberately keep these niche markets separated for obvious marketing / profit reasons. I am convinced they could actually make a CPU somewhat faster than CULV and still have netbook battery. Of course then who would pay high premiums for high end ultraportables anymore. Speed is relative. If you're talking about the usual office tasks then this notebook is not really slower. Yes of course if you're copying big files or need Photoshop etc. then you quickly see the difference. But again for what I need it this little thing is brilliant and though it has a LED screen does not give me eye strain, whereas the T400 LED does ... mystery.

I only posted the 17+ hours since I had never ever seen that ... I left this N140 on all night and was still going in the morning on idle and brightness down a bit but still well readable, even had a few hours left. So real use I think must be around 7-8 working hours

 

Like I said not for gaming ... but gaming is for people who really need to buy playstations for their addictions ... great video the guy was actually looking for a floppy drive ... LOL. Hey I understand your hesitation. If I win some money I will send you a Samsung Netbook, no Toshiba no HP etc... a Samsung one. Quiet, silent, runs very cool, long battery life, great MATTE screen. I will see if I can take a picture nex to the T400 and T61 so you can see the difference in screen. Of course one cannot compare the netbook to a very powerful Thinkpad. As said this is for travelling ... and away from 5 start hotels ! Just messing with you !