joanowl wrote:Fry's has a better Lenovo laptop on sale this weekend. For less.

Those are Ideapads, which are not as robust as Thinkpads. Besides, this Thinkpad is more portable than those 15.6" behemoths. You can hold this Thinkpad in one hand while sitting on the porcelain throne.

DarkZrobe wrote:I am not sure why everyone is complaining about the price. I searched around the web for this model and the prices were around $360+.

Walmart had it for $300 a couple days ago. With tax it's sorta a wash for me -- but Woot should've at least matched at $300. They're greedy.

Here's the slickdeal thread with some more info on this machine:

http://slickdeals.net/f/3865414-Lenovo-ThinkPad-X120e-Laptop-AMD-Fusion-E-350-1-6GHz-11-6-1366x768-Display-2GB-DDR3-320GB-HDD-Radeon-HD-6310-WiFi-N-6-cell-Win-7-Prem-299-Free-Ship-to-Store

I'm currently running a Lenovo X200s (1.86 GHz C2D, 2GB), but I'm having trouble finding useful benchmarks to compare to this little guy.

My general guess is my cpu still beats it, but the radeon will win out over my intel 4500mhd/gm45 graphics.

Is this right?

skou wrote:Sorry, a T23 can beat this into the ground! And, it's made on THIS continent!

Hmm, I can't claim to have used every single ThinkPad ever made, but I have had a ThinkPad since the 600 days. (Circa 1999 for you whippersnappers.) And I saw a fair number of them while I worked at IBM. All told, I've had 9 ThinkPads.

Every ThinkPad I've come across has been designed in Japan, and made in China. Not sure what kind of ThinkPad you've got that's made in North America. (Unless you're talking about the original "Think!" pad that was a spiral bound notebook given out at one of the Christmas parties.)

I still own (and occasionally use) my ThinkPad 600X, but there's no way that a T23 can "beat this into the ground." Unless you meant physically. Those T23's were built like tanks!

DarkZrobe wrote:Why do you want to put 8GBs in this anyway? Seems like you might be trying to do something that this netbook was not intended to do. If you really need that much you might want to consider a more powerful laptop. Go get a T420, I dont think you will be disappointed.

I didnt know this was considered a netbook.
I'm looking at machine longevity rather than trying to make it a powerhouse. I merely asked if the 2 people that said it will take 8G were correct. I've got/had too many laptops/desktops that turned into paperweights solely due to insufficient memory. I understand that will happen anyway at some point. Sure, 4G max is fine for today but how long will that last? That's always been the $64,000 question. IMHO, 4G is the minimum for just about any machine right now. Without a higher upgrade path, it's borderline for me, but only because the price seems so good. Just sayin'...

My company has several of these throughout its infrastructure. Working the helpdesk I have seen very little issues with these, in fact, I have only heard good things from their users. Some users have commented that they are very portable and durable. When I have had to work with them (mostly outlook/software issues not related to the laptop itself), I've noticed that they are well constructed. Given the choice between any other brand in the same price range I would chose this on the reg.

ronfronberg wrote:If you have an intel mac then install windows on it and save your money.

Agree, and if your SSD is low on space, buy a new one with more space or just boot windows from an external drive. I have windows and Mac OS X running on my MBA running fine on a 256 gB SSD split 50:50. -OWC has good prices. The price premium is worth avoiding carrying a second laptop.

oztrich wrote:I didnt know this was considered a netbook.

Think of it as a premium netbook, and you'll be pleased.

That said, yes it supports 8GB of memory, and with RAM prices so cheap right now, it'd be silly not to max it out.

oztrich wrote:I didnt know this was considered a netbook.
I'm looking at machine longevity rather than trying to make it a powerhouse. I merely asked if the 2 people that said it will take 8G were correct. I've got/had too many laptops/desktops that turned into paperweights solely due to insufficient memory. I understand that will happen anyway at some point. Sure, 4G max is fine for today but how long will that last? That's always been the $64,000 question. IMHO, 4G is the minimum for just about any machine right now. Without a higher upgrade path, it's borderline for me, but only because the price seems so good. Just sayin'...

4GB RAM is pretty standard and would pair nicely with the processor. 8GB RAM is useless if the processor can't send data its way in time to take advantage of it. If you really need anything over 4GB RAM you're better of passing on this. It's intended for business and portability so its best quality is it's durability.

Does this look work with the present fashion trends? I'm so up to date...

I bought a similar configuration of the X120e (this one) about two weeks ago, and I love it.

It gets great battery life (averaging ~5hr usage, plus time spent in standby), it's lightweight/compact, and it's a ThinkPad (so it's well-constructed).

Different reviews I've read classify it as a 'netbook' or an 'ultra-portable'. I'd think of it as the latter...it's performing much better than my previous (Acer) netbook, plus it just feels like an ultra-portable.

There are a few negatives...the LCD vertical viewing angle could be better, the speakers fire downward so it's easy to muffle audio (they sound OK, though), and a few other minor things. It's also missing a few ThinkPad "features" (rubberized texture of the body of the notebook, screen latches, and some higher-end stuff like the ThinkLight)...but it's an awesome little laptop, as far as I'm concerned =)

umkvec wrote:Lenovo Outlet has them as well, for a similar price:

http://outlet.lenovo.com/laptops/thinkpad/059lr0rfy8.html

Looks like the one you linked has 4gb of memory vs the 2gb here on woot, for a $1 more

Thinkpads are so much better built and designed than any other laptop save maybe apple.
You can really feel the quality and they are worth the premium over other notebooks. They're designed for actually being moved, which means the screen has proper protection. And they really do have the best keyboards in the industry. Really. Small things like metal hinges and such show that they actually do some engineering.
Most notebooks are just badged models made by a few ODMs. Thinkpads are actually designed by lenovo.

I've had two thinkpads (one IBM, one lenovo). The IBM lasted 5 years. I'm never going back. My lenovo thinkpad t410s is really good and seems comparable to my old T42.

epakai wrote:I'm currently running a Lenovo X200s (1.86 GHz C2D, 2GB), but I'm having trouble finding useful benchmarks to compare to this little guy.
My general guess is my cpu still beats it, but the radeon will win out over my intel 4500mhd/gm45 graphics.

http://www.yugatech.com/blog/personal-computing/how-does-the-amd-e-350-fare-vs-intels-cpu/

Looks like that's the case. For what it's worth, my x200s (with the 9400 CPU) feels much snappier after adding a SSD and bumping the ram to 6 GB but I still have the same issues you're probably experiencing if I watch compressed video (like some of the HD youtube videos). The mobile graphics can get help if they have native codec support, but I think the old 4500 graphics didn't have much beyond supporting MPG decoding.

Where I work, the developers are given W-series Thinkpads, and most everyone else gets a machine from the T-series. While a few years old, I've got a W510 which treats me well for the most part.

In the latter part of last year I actually pulled a working T60 out of the trash at the office (although it had an overheating issue; reseating the HSF with some arctic silver 5 resolved that).

I suppose the bottom line here is that these Thinkpads are very solid, built-to-last machines. They're certainly not the prettiest, but in the corporate world, stability is king and Lenovo has perfected the recipe.

P.S. I can't stand the TrackPoint, or the Trackpad for that matter, instead choosing to use a wired USB Lenovo mouse for my pointing and clicking needs. Fantastic keyboards, though, I have yet to come across a better one.

skou wrote:OK, I've been buying and selling IBM ThinkPads for quite a few yers now. AMD?? Really?

Sorry, a T23 can beat this into the ground! And, it's made on THIS continent!

The thing about a ThinkPad, is it's durability. AMD?

Sorry, been down that road before. (NF7 AN7.)

steve

A T23 gets about 1.5 hours of battery life and has no USB 2.0, no HDMI, and no way to install an SSD drive.

Try something made in the last decade like an x61. Even then, it'll cost more and still only get 2.5 hours battery life.

Samus wrote:A T23 gets about 1.5 hours of battery life and has no USB 2.0, no HDMI, and no way to install an SSD drive.

Try something made in the last decade like an x61. Even then, it'll cost more and still only get 2.5 hours battery life.

Also wanted to add TPFanControl is a great utility for ThinkPads, especially the older T60's that tend to overheat.

The problem with most of these comments is that it's all apples to oranges.

One thing that has been pretty consistent about buying Thinkpads (and IBM in general over the years) is that unless ALL the characters of the model match it is many $$$ difference between units.

I had loads of fun last time I was Thinkpad shopping. Stuff like:
(exact same numbers) + 2xup = $1999
(exact same numbers) + 2drf = $1599

And this Woot doesn't list the last numbers.

So half the people are comparing single core (like the Walmart one) to dual core.
Others don't match the RAM etc.

Anybody know (for sure) the whole Model # on this?

tammlam wrote:Those are Ideapads, which are not as robust as Thinkpads. Besides, this Thinkpad is more portable than those 15.6" behemoths. You can hold this Thinkpad in one hand while sitting on the porcelain throne.

Good thing, too! Especially since most user's manuals come digitally these days, it's about the only way to get some quality reading time in the "little technician's room".

evilmicrowizard wrote:But the X220 is a total beast compared to this There are reasons it costs 3x as much!

Typing this on an X61 tablet...

I hope so I missed the Walmart deal, But picked up a x220 at Len. Outlet for $480

seemed like a good price when I saw it.

Darn! I was about to pull the trigger on one when I realized that it only supports 802.11 b/g/n. There are so many wireless networks in my office building that it's darn near impossible to use anything other than 5GHz wireless A.

rychard wrote:Where I work, the developers are given W-series Thinkpads, and most everyone else gets a machine from the T-series. While a few years old, I've got a W510 which treats me well for the most part.

In the latter part of last year I actually pulled a working T60 out of the trash at the office (although it had an overheating issue; reseating the HSF with some arctic silver 5 resolved that).

I suppose the bottom line here is that these Thinkpads are very solid, built-to-last machines. They're certainly not the prettiest, but in the corporate world, stability is king and Lenovo has perfected the recipe.

P.S. I can't stand the TrackPoint, or the Trackpad for that matter, instead choosing to use a wired USB Lenovo mouse for my pointing and clicking needs. Fantastic keyboards, though, I have yet to come across a better one.

I disagree with the last couple of posts on thinkpad's looks. They perfected it and it can't get any better. It's black with a rubber suede finish and it's all black. Did I mention it was all black, the color preferred by most people for anything we buy? I don't want any girly curves on there, make it simple and clean and keep it rectangular, I don't want any girly curves like apple. this should be the opposite of the metrosexual apple.

I thought we were having a woot off!!!!


Cheap Fuji batteries, heated dish racks, and affordable laptops.

Somebody wake me up when the Bag of Cuuuuuute! shows up!

rdme790 wrote:The problem with most of these comments is that it's all apples to oranges.

One thing that has been pretty consistent about buying Thinkpads (and IBM in general over the years) is that unless ALL the characters of the model match it is many $$$ difference between units.

I had loads of fun last time I was Thinkpad shopping. Stuff like:
(exact same numbers) + 2xup = $1999
(exact same numbers) + 2drf = $1599

And this Woot doesn't list the last numbers.

So half the people are comparing single core (like the Walmart one) to dual core.
Others don't match the RAM etc.

Anybody know (for sure) the whole Model # on this?

Walmart is not single core, it just doesn't say dual core, but it still is. This processor is only dual core

Reviews on Amazon and New Egg highlight these - right out of the box:

Assembly Quality
Hard Drive Failure
Screen issues (contrast & dead pixels)
Touchpad and keyboard issues

zbowling wrote:Debating.... debating...

I'm a Mac user but I need a Windows box for IE testing. Harddrive is slow (would love to swap with an SSD), but everything else marginally ok.

I'm breaking out in a cold sweat........ ARRRGG.. what have you done to me woot?

yni wrote:Walmart is not single core, it just doesn't say dual core, but it still is. This processor is only dual core

From:
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x120e.aspx

"Our review configuration of the ThinkPad X120e carries an MSRP of $579. For that price, you get the 1.6-GHz dual-core E-350 processor... However, the X120e has a starting price of just $399. For that price, you get the base configuration with a single-core 1.5-GHz AMD E-240 processor..."

But looking back at the Walmart ad you are right it was E-350. It does look pretty darn close to this one. I'd still like to know if it was exactly the same.

BTW, the one one person compared (from Lenovo outlet) is the E-240 processor. So much to compare, so little time.

Yes the Wally world one (for $30 less) was the SAME specs./processor as this one.

rileyper wrote:worst mistake lenovo did was take out the thinklights (lit keyboards with led light on top of lcd)

There are still a lot of models w/the thinklight, this one is not one of them (and one of the reasons I wouldn't buy). Not sure re the new x130 but the x2** and up have them, most (all?) T series have them.

redrotors wrote:Yes the Wally world one (for $30 less) was the SAME specs./processor as this one.



There are still a lot of models w/the thinklight, this one is not one of them (and one of the reasons I wouldn't buy). Not sure re the new x130 but the 2xx and up have them.

The Thinklight on my current Z60t Thinkpad is so #$#$%! poor compared to my previous TPads that I only use it when I forget. And then I spend the next minute cursing while I dig out my cheapy USB snake light to use instead. So it might not be a biggie on buy/not for me.

I'm leaning towards going to bed, if they're still not sold out when I get up, I'll buy one. If they are, it's just the shopping gods saying to wait.

rdme790 wrote:The Thinklight on my current Z60t Thinkpad is so #$#$%! poor compared to my previous TPads that I only use it when I forget. And then I spend the next minute cursing while I dig out my cheapy USB snake light to use instead. So it might not be a biggie on buy/not for me.

I'm leaning towards going to bed, if they're still not sold out when I get up, I'll buy one. If they are, it's just the shopping gods saying to wait.

Yes I forgot, was going to suggest that a dollar store snakelight might work fine for many who miss the thinklight. Sorry to hear that you find the newer thinklight so bad vs. older one.

To the person who had the melted trackpoint - they are cheap/easy to replace, I usually carry a spare and replace them once or twice a year. I don't think most people would have to replace them that often but I use my Thinkpad in dirty, sometimes greasy enviroment so they get messed up faster.

I don't have this, but I've been using IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads since the 1990s - they may not be sexy, but they're reliable, and the components are well-integrated. I usually keep them as my primary machine for 4-5 years - last was a T-61 that I replaced in November with a T-420s.

I wouldn't recommend this (given the specs) for a primary full-up business machine, but for a back up machine, or for a student, or someone whose computer use is fairly casual, I think this is a great deal.

I'm also a longtime fan to the trackpoint - first had one on a Toshiba Portege in the early 1990s before I switched to IBM laptops.

Need a computer for an older parent or grandparent, or for a student, with good battery life, small and easily carried around? Very hard not to snag one of these!

I bought one of these almost a year ago and I love it (except mine has a few more upgrades due to some great deals they had over at the lenovo site). The price on here is about par for the course...not a great savings as far as I can tell. But if I had the opportunity to buy an x120e again, I totally would. It was definitely the envy of my nerdy car pool!

Also, Lenovo support may be crappy on the surface, but I will never complain about them because they totally replaced my x120e after it got smashed in my bag (long story) only 1 month after buying it.

Finally.....IT'S A NETBOOK!!!! HOW DARE YOU WOOT!!!!

Could someone please tell me if you could install MicroSoft Money on this computer? We have it on a CD and would want to install it but no cd drive? We wouldn't want to have to download and install it and pay for it all over again. We have the '05 version. Although sounds like it may be worth upgrading to a newer version and get this Woot deal. Suggestions? thanks

slsusie09 wrote:Could someone please tell me if you could install MicroSoft Money [from] a CD?

1) Your best bet would to be purchase an external DVD drive. Newegg seems to carry them for about 30-40 dollars.
2)If you are technically savvy, and there are no legal regulations, you could make an image of the DVD, then transfer it into your laptop and install from disk.

Choice is up to you.

I owned one of these. Solid construction. Good screen. Great keyboard, nice trackpoint. Disabled the trackpad. Mediocre battery life (with the extended battery). Terrible performance. I was using it to do Office documents and keep grades for my students. Didn't have enough juice to keep up with the Smartboard when my older Acer Aspire One did. Eventually sold it. Mine had 4 GB RAM and a 320 GB hard drive.

Back in my day, thinkpads didn't HAVE touchpads, and we liked it that way.

No, seriously. If you have a thinkpad with the trackpoint, turn off the touchpad (completely) and use the trackpoint.

It avoids the problem you mentioned, AND it makes other people not want to borrow your laptop.

If you don't like this as a premium ultra-portable, just think of it as a great tablet with a built in keyboard - and at this price, it's a steal. I'm in for 1.

Bandrik wrote:You mean the little red nipple?

...hmm... I guess that could be construed as sexy.

But the one on my ThinkPad has gotten old and the rubber its made of has melted and deformed. So no dice. Still an age 70 broker. Still unsexy. =/

Here you go. $6.60 shipped for 6 of them and that nipple is brand new again. I bought these a month or so ago and it is fantastic. Once I bought it I was pretty mad that I waited as long as I did.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001CLYL6/ref=oh_o02_s00_i00_details

administrator1956 wrote:Does this look work with the present fashion trends? I'm so up to date...

I have a similar one... I slapped a "Support your local brewery" Bells Brewery bumper sticker on the back of the screen. The TSA agents at the airport got a pretty good laugh from that one.
I own two lenovos. For the price these are pretty darn good. Considering jumping on it but I currently don't need one.

This computer does look rock-solid, but it's not that nice-looking. And, it seems sort of outdated.

Is the keyboard lit?Key