Hey Sup Forums, I'm thinking of getting a laptop for University. I commute 1h30 to and from University, so something portable is best, and I was thinking of pic related. I have a few questions:
1 - Is the 12.5" screen comfy for watching muh cartoons?
2 - how long should I expect the battery to last?
3 - I assume this is powerful enough for programming assignements and such, correct?
Also, should I try to get the 8Gb of ram? Also, is the IPS Panel much of an improvement vs the TN one?
I would recomend an X230 (or X230T if you're into that)
Btw,
1) Yes
2) Got a refurb X230T with the 6 cell battery, can squeeze up to 6 hours with wifi and 3G off, and 4 to 5ish hours of normal use (battery was not new tho)
3) Yes, it should be fast and reliable
Also, i've upgraded it to 12GB of RAM and it's really snappy
Not OP but I'm in the same situation, I'd like to get x230 because it's cheap but I just cannot deal with how fugly it looks, It's fucking massive and plastic looking compared to an x250 and that trackpad is so small.
That's the appeal, my dude.
Old Thinkpad with a lightweight linux distro is the definition of comfy.
Not OP or but is the X230 as comfy as the X220? I remember reading it's completely better that the X220, true upgrade or whatever, but is this true?
how does the i7-3520m hold up nowadays?
No, it's all magnesium covered with that rubbery coating, and i also disabled the trackpad because i mostly use the clitmouse or the touchscreen
It's almost the same machine with a different keyboard and USB 3.0 support. I chose it for the latter (and also for touchscreen and wacom pen support)
You'll probably want a new battery since every X230 is at least 3 years old. I've replaced mine once. You should definitely get the 9 cell because it lasts 1.5x longer and provides a convenient handle for holding it on the bus/train.
My 9 cell started out lasting 6-8 hours but was down to about 3 when I replaced it with a new official one. You can use aftermarket eBay batteries in the X220 but not the X230 but I wouldn't buy one of those anyway. An official 9 cell cost me $70.
Why the fuck do you commute that far? Why not live there
It uses more power than newer cpus, but it has around the same performance
I recently got an X260 myself and can confirm the screen is comfy.
Is the keyboard good tho? Using $5 keyboards physically hurts me
>muh cartoons
How fucking old are you? Grow up.
iGPU is shite, but otherwise it's as good as anything you can find in a modern 13" laptop.
I'll try looking into X230's, thanks for the tip
Because i'm yuropoor, and it's a lot cheaper to commute that far than trying to find housing
Cartoons are for kids, just bring a book with you.
Yeah its fine
I daily drive an X230 for university and it's nice.
As a programmer though I find myself longing for something with higher resolution/screen space, however
I think a T430 is still a good enough size to lug around, it's still smaller than the average laptop
x230fag here, I was actually incredibly surprised by the nu-keyboard. I think the actual key mechanisms feel better than the x220 keyboard. Stiffer, springier, more travel distance, less bending in the middle. It looks like chiclet shit but feels great to type on, the keys even curve inward too.
However, I ended up swapping in an x220 keyboard anyway because of the extra 7th row keys, there's a mod to do that and have it work pretty much perfectly now. But, I am certainly fatfingering the wrong keys a hell of a lot more often than I did with the original nu-keyboard. But it's still a good laptop keyboard overall either way you go.
>1 - Is the 12.5" screen comfy for watching muh cartoons?
I find the 12.1" screen of my x200s pretty okay. The size isn't the problem as much as colors are. The IPS panel should be _much_ better.
>2 - how long should I expect the battery to last?
It depends on whether you buy used or new. You will probably have to carry a charger.
>3 - I assume this is powerful enough for programming assignements and such, correct?
Uni programming assignments never require much in terms of computing power. I actually enjoy programming with a slow machine, makes me write more efficient code.
>2 - how long should I expect the battery to last?
My X230 with the 9-cell extendo battery gets anywhere between 6 to 12 hours depending on brightness and wifi settings
That said, you need to have a new battery to get the most out of it. If you're getting a used laptop that's several years old you might find the battery capacity is half of what it should be.
Best place to get one is Amazon, I got mine from the seller Blue Ducks? Or Blue Deer? Something starting with Blue. You'll see it.
I always get headache when watching stuff on small screens.