Curious find: new CPU options available for x220

(this is from the US version of the site... not sure how this works for others)

When you go to Lenovo's website, go to Shop > Laptops & Netbooks > select "12 Inch" on the side bar > Select the first x220 available.

Notice:
Home > Shop >Laptops & netbooks>DOS Products>ThinkPad>Customize
Is on the top now.

You now get all the CPU options in one window, plus some new ones! Celeron 847, Pentium Dual Core 957, a low voltage i5-2537M.

No Windows options, PC DOS only.

250GB 5400 RPM and 320GB 5400RPM drives are available now.

And the four cell "29" battery too.

Interesting...

EDIT: here is a direct link http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...builder.workflow:Enter?sb=:00000025:00002E43: Not sure if it will work for you though.

EDIT II: $685.00 is the cheapest config. No codes applied.

 

If they're really offering versions now without Winblows, I might have to return mine and save $100...

 

Aw...I already have my x220 and i love it so far.

This is good news for those that don't need to buy or doesn't use MS windows.

 

From what I understand, they've offered versions without Windows for a while. It just wasn't this easy to find. (And the salespeople aren't trained to point them out: I asked for exactly that, was told it didn't exist, and then pointed to where to order them on this forum.)

 

Nice find as some of us don't need Windows

 

Someone had already posted about the PC DOS options, but the celeron and dual core pentium are something new.

 

Similar options are available for T420 including DOS, range of CPUs and HD+ display.

 

The additional CPU options are interesting, but the only one that's really a smart choice is the ULV i5. The others only save a couple bucks, yet will give you a pretty substantial performance cut.

 

Yeah, the i3 is far better choice for very little money. But to get an x220 for pretty cheap is kind of scary.

Yeah, the ULV i5 is interesting. Intel rates it at a 17W TDP vs the 35W of all the other chips.

 

All the new CPU options are pretty worthless. The lowest two barely save you any money, and the i5-2537 is almost as useless but they're audacious enough to charge substantially more for it. We discussed the pointlessness of the 2537M in the owners' thread:

 

The LV/ULV processors are not worthless. There are significant advantages to these processors. It runs cooler for one.

I have a 1.86ghz C2D Penryn generation low voltage processor, and it just runs much cooler than any of the rest of my laptops at 800mhz. It idles at 35 degrees Celsius and has a 17W TDP. Consequently the fan is rarely on and the battery life is 5+ hours on a 44MWh battery (20% less capacity than a Thinkpad X220 6-cell battery). This is a 2 year old computer.

Some people would pay good money to have their thighs a little cooler and their fans quieter. And short of graphics/video work or MATLAB type work, 1.6+ghz on a modern processor is absolutely enough for most users today. I spend 90% of my computing on 800mhz. The bottleneck if anything is in the hard drive.

 

You must have not read these posts, so here they are again. Sure you can do matlab and video work on a 1.6ghz processor, everything just takes forever. I know since I owned a X200 Tablet with the ULV Penryn for a month. X220's idle at 35-40C. See the part in bold.

 

I think there is something flawed with the voltage logic on this forum.

You can have a chip that reports 1.4v and only take 60w of power, and you can have other chips report 1.2v and draw 100w+ of power.

Voltage reported ≠ power draw. Things like cpu load, time it takes to complete tasks, and other special things inside chips (lower TDP, same voltage reqs) all relate to power draw.

 

No, I did read them and I found your posts overly dismissive and arrogant.

Few X220 users work on graphics/video and MATLAB type of work on a daily basis. If they really wanted to do graphics/video, they would get a computer with a dedicated graphics card. To make a blanket statement that these low voltage processors are "worthless" or "near useless" is stupid. It may be useless to you for your purposes, but for many others, it's definitely a welcomed option.

 

ULV cpu's are completely useless. If you're not doing processing intensive work a full-power cpu doesn't produce much heat at all. But when you need it, the power is available.

Full-power and ULV processors produce the same heat up to the thermal/processing envelope of the ULV's. Beyond that the full-power ones naturally produce heat, but they offer that much more processing power. Remember that TDP is the just maximum thermal output of a processor. If you don't want a full-power cpu to produce as heat in a certain situation, you can control it. And beyond that, the chassis insulation is very good in the X220, even if it gets into the 80's the machine only feels warm to the touch.

 

Do the ULV and normal CPUs idle at the same rate (my 2520m idles at 800MHz)? For that matter, do all the Sandy Bridge mobile chips idle at 800MHz? I can't find the info anywhere on the internet (and yes, I did Google). If yes, then what you're saying is correct. If no, then they will have a lower power usage at idle, and then buying a ULV CPU would make sense, even for idle power consumption.

Another (more accurate way) of phrasing the question is: does idle power usage correlate with the processor type? This forum post claims it does for mobile chips, but I have no way of verifying the poster's claim: http://atforums.mobi/msg.php?threadid=2146290&catid=5&rnum=22

 

And what of battery life? The 4-cell battery really improves the X220's portability. I would think a 17w would extend battery life quite a bit.

 

I'd love to have the 2537 or 957 as I don't need much oomph.

 

X120e is great alternative for whom needs low powered x220..

 

Some might prefer the x220's keyboard, and different feeling plastics however. And plus, you could configure it with the IPS screen... something the x120e can't do. The fact you also get more battery/dock options (and the slice) also add to it.

 

Ivy bridge is just around the corner.

 

Too bad Lenovo doesn't sell them anymore. Not quite in the same category in any event.

 

Are the i5-2xxx ULV CPUs going to have longer battery life than their full powered cousins?

Looking at ark.intel.com and comparing the i5-2537M to the i5-2520M we see they've applied additional tweaks to slow the iGPU down on the ULV part. Not surprised, they also want to charge more for the ULV CPU:

Clock Speed 1.4 GHz -vs- 2.5 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency 2.3 GHz -vs- 3.2 GHz
Bus/Core Ratio 14 -vs- 25
Max TDP 17 W -vs- 35 W
Recommended Channel Price $250.00 -vs- $225.00
Graphics Base Frequency 350 MHz -vs- 650 MHz
Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency 900 MHz -vs- 1.3 GHz

In the C2D series, the 4500MHD could be downclocked using software. The 1st and 2nd gen i-cores don't allow the Intel HD/HD3000 to have the clock adjusted via software.

While Throttlestop could be used to disable the Turbo on a full-powered i5-2xx it does appear that even then the ULV part will have some additional power savings from the slower iGPU.

 

Anyone venture a guess as to when these new cpu's make it into the X220?
I am about to purchase a X220, but I can wait if these will be used in the near future.

•Intel Core i5-2557M: 1.7 GHz dual core chip with 3MB of cache (TurboBoost up to 2.7 GHz)
•Intel Core i7-2637M: 1.7 GHz dual core chip with 4MB of cache (TurboBoost up to 2.8 GHz)
•Intel Core i7-2677M: 1.8 GHz dual core chip with 4MB of cache (TurboBoost up to 2.9 GHz)
Intel introduces new low power chips for thin and light laptops - Liliputing

 

Never. They might make it into the next X series, but it's *extremely* rare for Lenovo (and before that IBM) to update the CPU options for a machine without changing the series number.

 

ULVs could be lower capacitance, lower voltage, and/or lower frequency.

 

I'm plenty pleased with my i7-2617M, but that sure is a pretty audacious premium they're charging for the ULV chips in the x220...

 

The three alternate ULV CPU choices for the DOS X220 are labeled as "new" so it's possible.

 

@naus Perhaps you aren't understanding the difference between Penryn and Sandy Bridge. Sandy Bridge has BUILT IN undervolting. It automatically does it for you when you don't need the power. The max TDP is lower because the ULVs are limited on the top end, but the full voltage processors are not limited on the low end, which is why vinunero has been saying what he says. Although seeing how nando pointed out the graphics clock difference you might be able to expect a tiny difference due to the lower graphics clock. However I'm not sure I'd be willing to take that hit, seeing how the Intel IGP is so weak already. Just using video chat makes my CPU temperature go up 10C.

If you need an example, the core i7 owners have been reporting lower idle voltage (same 800mhz clock obviously). Your ULV won't be saving you any significant power beyond this, I guarantee.

ULV this generation only comes in handy for the manufacturers, who can now put out even less adequately cooled notebooks and just use an expensive ULV processor with a low power cap to both make money and cut cost.

Anyways back on the topic at hand, this is really cool, it's like what Dell did with their vostro v13, except that notebook wasn't too sturdy. Good to see low price options.

 

Possible, but unlikely IMHO. I should have clarified: I don't think it's unlikely that Lenovo will (as we've seen) add additional options from the same generation of GPUs -- but it is unlikely (and quite rare in ThinkPad history) for them to add a new generation to a model line without creating a new revision of the machine.

 

Look at the link in the first post, it's the order page. You can configure an X220 with one of these new cpu's for purchase if you want to.

 

Yet one has a TDP of 17w and the other 35w so there is obviously a difference. A 60w bulb uses more power than a 40w bulb while both operate on the same voltage. I can tell you which one causes higher electric bills.

The ULV would last longer on a battery especially if you go slim and light with for the 4-cell one. Even my 2.5 GHz i5 X220 lasts longer compared to my 2.7GHz i7 on the 4-cell.

 

People need to google what TDP actually means. All it defines is the thermal envelope. The only thing that TDP determines is what cooling capacity is required for a given processor, hence why you find lower TDP processors in smaller and thinner notebooks.

 

TDP is the maximum power it dissipates, not the power it uses at any time. Same volts, same clock, same load = same power. A CPU is not a light bulb :bonk:

 

While you are indeed correct, TDP is not *completely* unrelated to power consumption.

There is a general relationship between peak thermal output and peak power consumption, since most of a CPU's wasted power is output in the form of heat.

So yeah, TDP isn't exactly a perfect measure of peak power consumption, but it's also not a bad way to compare otherwise-identical processors.

 

Choose better CPUs with lower capacitance, P = CV²f decreases, leading to reduced power consumption and TDP, and possibly increased prices. PROBLEM?

Assuming ULV and standard voltage (SV) 2nd Gen Core CPUs have the same efficiency (in terms of output as heat energy):

Heat dissipated (ULV = 17W) = Some constant x power consumed (ULV)
Heat dissipated (SV = 35W) = Same constant x power consumed (SV)

Algebra then shows power consumed by the standard voltage CPU is greater than the power consumed by a ULV CPU. I could be totally wrong.

 

I hate to ask this, but I can't find any information anywhere.

Can you install windows on these DOS machines?

 

yes... windows 3.11 and windows for workgroups.

seriously, "DOS" systems come with blank HDDs and no OS installed.   you may install any OS you want as long as you have the means.

 

I've seen ppl quoting that a Win7 license adds another $100 to a system's cost. Something that users with existing Win7 licenses or those wanting to run Linux should not need to pay.

It's great to see Lenovo doing this. Let's hope other vendors start doing the same.

 

Haha, thanks erik!

The x220 is really tempting me right now....

 

X220, IPS screen and Windows 3.11 + Lotus (was it 1,2,3 ?) ... now that would be something.

I like the option. More incentive for end users to try out free options, like Ubuntu Linux.


As far as the CPUs go, if I understand vinieuro, it's possible to manually lock down i5-2520 to have the maximum frequency of its ULV cousin?

 

I kind of want to see if Lenovo will offer the X220 with one of the LV cpus(25w w/gpu included no?), as I need a bit more power than an ULV, but not as much power as the standard voltage, and still would like a decent battery life out of the 4-cell. Then again that pretty tempting a starting price of under $700, and just the IPS screen and a few codes and I am sure you can get a base with IPS screen for close to $600, no?

 

Outside of the CPP/EPP and education stores, that might be a bit tough. It'll probably be do-able at some point, but I don't think most of the sales will get the price down quite that low.

 

Well the first post of this thread says the cheapest X220 right now is a bit under $700 without any coupons and codes, so I'd think that base with the IPS and a coupon or two the price could be closer to $600? If so I may just have to jump on it.

 

Coupons will you about 10% off (some coupons offer higher percentages off, but they are combined with higher base prices, so the net discount is still around 10%). Even if you start at the base price of $685, upgrading to IPS will take the price to $735, and taking 10% off gives $662. Pre-tax.

Also keep in mind that PC DOS configurations are non-standard builds. There is no guarantee that you will be able to apply future coupons on those builds.

 

Well I do remember seeing at one point there was a few stackable coupons that came out to about 20% and with the 4th coming up I would think there be something special going on, so that could mean a new X220 with the IPS display for $660 after tax let say. I'm sold if that is the case.

 

Does anyone know how the Pentium 957 compares to say an AMD E-350? Unfortunately it seems that coupons do not apply to the DOS versions of the X220.

 

Have a look at notebookcheck's mobile CPU benchmark table.

John