High end x201 or low end x220?

Apologies for these questions, which have no doubt been asked through the ages.

Would it be better to get an I5 X201 or an I3 X220, presumably without the IPS screen? They are both the same price. CPU power does not concern me overly - I'm only doing basic things. Battery life is also not overly important, so long as I can get 6 hours or so. What does concern me is reliability and keyboard.

 

i3 X220 will give similar CPU performance as the high i5 CPU on the X201.

Also, the X220 has better GPU, mSATA compatibility, Displayport on the machine (in addition to VGA), better battery life.

Reliability wise, i have dropped my X220 from one metre height on to carpeted floor when it was on and it survived the fall unscathed. My X200 can take similar level of punishments.

I think from reliability point of view, they are very similar.

On the keyboard front, it depends on personal taste, i like the X220 keyboard better. Personally i dislike the same type of keyboard fitted to the T410 and T400s that i have, so i was surprised at the tactility of the keyboard on the X220. So i guess the tactility of the keyboard on the X220 depends on the make of the keyboard as much as the chassis design.

SO i guess this is my 2 cents.

 

So you've compared the keyboards of the T410 and the X220 and found a marked difference in feel?

Really, the only thing that matters to me in your list is battery. The displayport would be nice, but it's not that matter. GPU is minimal interest, as I don't play games. General feel is more important.

 

I would presume anything with the i3 does not have the IPS unless it's CTO like mine. I would say one keyboard is noticeably better or worse than the other. Both machine are well built, but will tell their own story as far as reliability goes. I guess I'd vote for the X220 mainly for the mSATA drive, but that's me.

 

I bought my X201 just around the time the X220 was released and I went through some of the points mentioned by the OP.

At the end of the day, I opted for the X201 because (1) the reviews that I read plus the discussions I had here on NBR all suggested that the X201 is reliable machine. I can corroborate this as I have zero problems with my machine. (2) I would have been able to get the X201 quicker than the X220 (at least where I currently live). (3) The X201 would have been cheaper than a brand new (i.e., just released X220).

Having said that, I must also observe that the battery on my X201 (6 cell) holds less charge than what I expected. Possible that I had higher and unreasonable expectations. On an average I get around 5 hrs with screen dimmed to less than half, BT off, but with wifi on. Also, I use Chrome extensively and wonder if all those extra processes eat up the battery.

Regardless, I am very happy with the X201 at the moment and will most likely skip one generation of machines before I buy my next one. Yeah...sure the screen leaves much to be desired from, but in this class of machines (at the time when I bought it), this was the best available.

As I have mentioned elsewhere I had a bit of a problem with some flex on the KB (upper left corner) but I wedged in a few small pieces cut out of a visiting card and it performs well (though not as good as what I have on my R400, which is a bit quieter).

If I was the OP's position, I'd probably buy the X201 (if it is cheaper) and ride it out till Win8 arrives and then buy a new machine. In my case, most likely, it will remain a ThinkPad (though, I think it will be a 14" machine).

 

Yeap i think the feel of the keyboard is more a result of the X220 chassis, when i put the same keyboard in my T400s it doesn't feel as good.

 

Is the screen brightness a concern? My old X200 (non-tablet) had a very dim screen. My X220 tablet's screen is super-bright. That's worth it alone to me.

 

TBH, I don't find a significant different (if any) between the screens on my R400 and the X201. Both seem adequately bright. But I think it is obvious that the IPS screen on the X220 (where available) would be a much better screen. BTW, I have never bothered with viewing angles since I am the only one who uses the machine.

 

The only big advantage of the X220 is perhaps the IPS screen. For me the X201 seems attractive due to:

a) 16:9 screen size;
b) a usable touchpad, while the X220 touchpad is totally unusable;
c) you can't notice the performance difference of CPU unless you run benchmark.

 

The touchpad on the X201 is not much better in terms of usability.

I think the biggest thing about the X220 is the fact that it can get a slice battery that gives almost 20 hrs of battery time.

 

I'd really consider the IPS screen on the X220... If that's not a concern, the Intel HD 3000 graphics on the X220 are worth the price of admission.