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ThinkPad X250, maxed-out battery pack. I adore this laptop, it runs like a constant stream of freshly melted butter. It's so light I no longer have to worry ab

ThinkPad X250, maxed-out battery pack. I adore this laptop, it runs like a constant stream of freshly melted butter. It's so light I no longer have to worry about "lugging a laptop", and most times I pick it up and carry around with just two fingers. It has taken a few beatings — filled backpack falling laptop-side-first onto a railing from a height of a half-metre, dropped/slipped from a sitting desk to the floor, thrown across a (small) room and (upon a failed catch) rolling on its side — but there's no sign of damage, either in appearance or running. I almost forgot! When I got this laptop, my typing speed jumped by nearly 50%! I was using a Dell Inspiron (from 2010) before, and although the keyboard on it is terrible for typing, the ThinkPad has really good keys and typing is just such pleasure on it. I have plans to upgrade a few components as time progresses: bump RAM up to 16GB, replace either the smartcard reader or the WWAN modem with an M2 SSD, that's about it. One con is getting used to the extra long battery life. I used to intentionally and lazily not pack the charger, which is actually quite light, and then after a long day find myself with low battery and no charger. Another is the small SSD this particular unit came with, but I'm planning on replacing that.

pritambaral 11y ago
Errata above: I meant the Dell's keyboard is terrible for typing.
oxplot 11y ago
> the ThinkPad has really good keys and typing is just such pleasure on it Might be just the one I have but my keyboard, even after replacement, does not register some keys even when they're fully pressed (they have to be pressed further) and since I'm used to Apple's keyboard, I can't use it for more than a few minutes — It misses half the stuff I type. > It has taken a few beatings — filled backpack falling laptop-side-first onto a railing from a height of a half-metre, dropped/slipped from a sitting desk to the floor, thrown across a (small) room and (upon a failed catch) rolling on its side I have re-assembled this unit fully and having seen the hacked together inside of it, I highly suggest against physically abusing it. As for mine, I bought the 16GB version and threw in a Sandisk Extreme Pro 480GB SSD and it's faster than a Ferrari. Overall I like it but in build quality department, it's in league with likes of Asus and Acer. It'll be my last Lenovo for sure.
- pritambaral 11y ago
  > even after replacement, does not register some keys even when they're fully pressed Hmm, that would be a deal breaker to me. I've had to use laptops like that before, never lasted more than 15 minutes. Thankfully, this has not been the experience with the three units I've used of this model. Might be just your luck, if still under warranty, I suggest you keep pestering them. > the hacked together inside of it Could you elaborate on this? I have only seen videos, and it seemed quite tightly packed, but beyond that I didn't find anything hacky about it. I plan on opening up my unit, but from the Hardware Manintenance Manual, it seems very well put-together.
  - oxplot 11y ago
    > I suggest you keep pestering them I've had the motherboard replaced twice and the keyboard once and their last technician incorrectly assembled the main board which put it under a lot of physical stress. So I don't actually trust them to repair it anymore. As for the internals, there are a lot of parts and the cabling is all over the place. I think it feels steardy because it's lightweight — I would not do anything to twist or bend it the tiniest bit. Compared to a macbook, or even a dell/hp, the lenovo is on the fragile side in my opinion. EDIT: and worst part is that inlet vents for the fan are on the bottom. So "lap"top? not really, it takes 5 min for the thing to start cooking after used on your lap.
yolesaber 11y ago
How is the screen? My experience with Thinkpad X-series is that they have nearly the perfect form factor but are marred by the subpar display.
- pritambaral 11y ago
  The screen is nice. Initially, I thought the only part of it I wouldn't like is the size of it, but I've come to not mind that either. Make sure you get an IPS display and not a TN one when you buy a ThinkPad. Matte's are better than glossy (IMO) and my screen is matte. The color range is not top-of-the-line, but it is certainly good. And the brightness, OMG! Only time I've ever had to go above 25% brightness was in direct sunlight.

pritambaral 11y ago

Errata above: I meant the Dell's keyboard is terrible for typing.

oxplot 11y ago

> the ThinkPad has really good keys and typing is just such pleasure on it Might be just the one I have but my keyboard, even after replacement, does not register some keys even when they're fully pressed (they have to be pressed further) and since I'm used to Apple's keyboard, I can't use it for more than a few minutes — It misses half the stuff I type. > It has taken a few beatings — filled backpack falling laptop-side-first onto a railing from a height of a half-metre, dropped/slipped from a sitting desk to the floor, thrown across a (small) room and (upon a failed catch) rolling on its side I have re-assembled this unit fully and having seen the hacked together inside of it, I highly suggest against physically abusing it. As for mine, I bought the 16GB version and threw in a Sandisk Extreme Pro 480GB SSD and it's faster than a Ferrari. Overall I like it but in build quality department, it's in league with likes of Asus and Acer. It'll be my last Lenovo for sure.

pritambaral 11y ago
> even after replacement, does not register some keys even when they're fully pressed Hmm, that would be a deal breaker to me. I've had to use laptops like that before, never lasted more than 15 minutes. Thankfully, this has not been the experience with the three units I've used of this model. Might be just your luck, if still under warranty, I suggest you keep pestering them. > the hacked together inside of it Could you elaborate on this? I have only seen videos, and it seemed quite tightly packed, but beyond that I didn't find anything hacky about it. I plan on opening up my unit, but from the Hardware Manintenance Manual, it seems very well put-together.
- oxplot 11y ago
  > I suggest you keep pestering them I've had the motherboard replaced twice and the keyboard once and their last technician incorrectly assembled the main board which put it under a lot of physical stress. So I don't actually trust them to repair it anymore. As for the internals, there are a lot of parts and the cabling is all over the place. I think it feels steardy because it's lightweight — I would not do anything to twist or bend it the tiniest bit. Compared to a macbook, or even a dell/hp, the lenovo is on the fragile side in my opinion. EDIT: and worst part is that inlet vents for the fan are on the bottom. So "lap"top? not really, it takes 5 min for the thing to start cooking after used on your lap.

yolesaber 11y ago

How is the screen? My experience with Thinkpad X-series is that they have nearly the perfect form factor but are marred by the subpar display.

pritambaral 11y ago
The screen is nice. Initially, I thought the only part of it I wouldn't like is the size of it, but I've come to not mind that either. Make sure you get an IPS display and not a TN one when you buy a ThinkPad. Matte's are better than glossy (IMO) and my screen is matte. The color range is not top-of-the-line, but it is certainly good. And the brightness, OMG! Only time I've ever had to go above 25% brightness was in direct sunlight.