Lenovo ThinkPad X220 in 2024! Brief Review (pt 1)

[@TechDave]

for anyone wondering about all the bits i referenced that i would feature: i had a long and tough day, so a "Part 2" is in the works, as per the description!

[@CptEdward]

I absolutely love the ThinkPads army you've got there. I'm looking forward to expand mine too.

[@TechDave]

@@CptEdward I always aim to expand my troops! #needmorethinkpads

[@toquelau5715]

oy mate! just ordered a X220, pristine condition (apparently first and only owner, comes with original box, receipt and the base dock with dvd!), can't wait to get my hands on that puppy! meanwhile gathering more info on the model (my only other ThinkPad was a X201), and stumbled upon your channel. loved your user-oriented comparison! much success to your channel. kudos from brazil

[@TechDave]

@toquelau5715 oh lovely u must be well excited!! Thanks for the lovely feedback, makes it worth the effort 👌 I aim to make a couple more videos on x220 in the future, been playing emulators on it via a CRT monitor but shh.... no more spoilers! Hehehw

[@FarmerSlideJoeBob]

Wohoooooooooooooooo New Review and now in 4K :O Love the collection of Basses :D

[@TechDave]

thanks! thanks for the bass love too!

[@FarmerSlideJoeBob]

@@TechDave I love bass, cos it was the 1st instrument I've learned in some bands I played here in germany. Mine is an 80s japanese Jazzbass, the headstock is called McCormick which sounds more irish than japanese, but it isn't a fender jazzbass. Even the output volume of the pickups are bit lower than on an original fender jazz bass pickups. I do love the stingray basses for it's tone, but never played once. I just played a precision, a fretless one which was unique and a jaguar bass, which wasn't my cup of tea in store years ago.

[@cageliner]

I've had an X220 for 4-5 years. I bought it off lease with 4GB, a 320GB SATA HDD and Windows 8.1. It's been updated through Windows 10 and now 11 (unsupported.) I upgraded to 16GB RAM, a 480GB SSD and a genuine Lenovo battery (ouch.) I had to buy an aftermarket charger as the original was lost. If I avoid video, it will last 5 hrs for browsing and other light use. I use it more than my desktops and my Dell XPS 13. It's generally plugged in, without the battery. I've spent more on it than what I bought it for, but I love this laptop.

[@TechDave]

sounds like a magnificent machine!

[@adamcunningham6847]

thanks for the video , im still new with this right now im torn between a 7490 with 32 gb ram and a X230T

[@TechDave]

depends on ur budget and needs! is the 7490 meaning X490? the x230 is a solid device, but if u need power (assuming im correct) processing or otherwise, the X490 is gonna last you a lot longer futureproofing wise. that said: if u want a low price, budget linux/ win10 machine, the X230T (the higher end i5 for price to performance, the i7's still fetch WAY too high a price!) is a solid device and i use one myself for reading music (pdfs/adobe reader touch & iReal pro via android subsystem for windows), drawing {krita &/or gimp} (im crap at art lol), looping via Ableton (9 suite- better performance than 10/11/12 on old hardware), and a few other things, including the odd gaming session w/ an eGPU/gtx 750 ti! check the following video for more info about my X230T: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Znaxi3-hoMSKprc my fiancée uses her i7 X230T for drawing & digital art (she's incredible!), using 16gb ddr3 1600, 1tb sata ssd & 1tb mSata ssd (all of which i gave her as gifts ;) bonus partner points), and its still a great device for art

[@kingmonkey88]

What's a 7490?

[@pamus6242]

As a Thinkpad user, the 7490 is Amazing! Those Dell series are pretty awesome too.

[@adamcunningham6847]

@@kingmonkey88 Del latitude 7490 i5 32gb ram

[@adamcunningham6847]

@@TechDave HI yeah im not so god either just do the tech art for relaxation , not a big gamer either , though i do enjoy a few just to relax , my e reader was stolen still read mostly tech trying to advance career from help desk , my edge 15 kept giving me error messages that it didn't have the necessary equipment for some installations such as wazuh

[@clarkivods]

Instantly Subscribed!

[@TechDave]

@@clarkivods u sub is much appreciated. I was instantly pleased by ur comment!

[@arcynic5404]

Just bought an x270 recently. Should be in the mail soon!

[@TechDave]

@@arcynic5404 excellent, u must be chuffed!

[@Kubaak01]

X220 is awesome, mine is an i7/16GB (meaning native USB 3!) that triple boots Windows XP, 11 and Linux. Truly a swiss knife of a computer :-)

[@TechDave]

@@Kubaak01 ah damn that sounds great! Which Linux distro?

[@Kubaak01]

@@TechDave Debian with KDE Plasma

[@TechDave]

@@Kubaak01 noice! have to respect the XP install too *fistbump*

[@Kubaak01]

@@TechDave 🤜🤛

[@roninbutterfield6623]

Sir, why do?

[@peacefulsounds1275]

I have an x220 and a T480. My wife loves her x200 and still use it for work. I also have one x200 too, but its battery died and the keyboard is difficult to find in my country.

[@DucNguyen-ei9pu]

what kind of works do you use x220 for?

[@NomadicJurassic]

looks great!

[@TechDave]

@@NomadicJurassic cheers!

[@mcd3379]

If you like oldschool Thinkpad keyboards you should also check out the T420.

[@Luis-ph7tu]

Bought a cheap one with no drive, ram or battery. Excited to have a new project. Might even upgrade the screen.

[@TechDave]

niiice, what screen upgrades are possible? ive been curious about such things myself recently!!

[@prottentogo]

fully agree with the typing experience. also I had the x200 in the mid 2000s and it felt like being in a sci-fi movie. so much so, that last year I got a x61s (couldn't get a x200 and it felt kinda similar) to learn about linux a bit. got the wrong power supply and fried it tho.

[@TechDave]

RIP ur x61s! F to pay respects! im mulling over an X200 video, but i get occasional boot issues when cold booting, the CMOS seems to be working, but sometimes it just hangs on the splash screen/ThinkPad Logo. i've done a few videos on it related to Windows XP, but ha was a wild ride in terms of making it work. both the X200 + X220 (and my x201T) have lovely raised keys, and as air-gapped/glorified typewriters; Accept no subsitute!

[@MarrisaL-bs2ch]

Hey, nice laptops mate. What are your experiences with suspend on lid close in Linux? The X200 when you open the lid, it wakes up pretty much instantly, which is insane for a 10+ yr old laptop !! I have a modern Thinkpad and in Linux, sometimes, it doesnt wake up that fast. The speed is pretty closed to Mac.

[@TechDave]

im running i3 windows manager on the X200 and its so low resource that its super snappy!

[@MarrisaL-bs2ch]

​@@TechDavei know, i also run i3. But on modern Thinkpads and the stupid modern S0 standby, they do not wake up as fast as yours. Is it consistent though, i.e. are there time when you close the lid, and the laptop does not suspend?

[@TechDave]

@MarrisaL-bs2ch no its pretty reliable, although I think it's coz it's i3wm on top of Linux mint, it barely uses any system resources so hence the rapid response Edit:I reread ur comment. Either way the x200 seems consistent

[@clavius5734]

I have a x220 as a daily driver since about 2014 when I bought it surplus. Although I love it dearly, I’m considering buying something new. I bought a LG dualup display a while back and the X220 does not like it; it can only output at 30Hz at that resolution and everything that normally runs ok (browsing, KZbin, kicad) chugs horribly. CPU is still ok, but that dinky GPU is doing it in.

[@TechDave]

@@clavius5734 I wonder how the x230 wud fair with it? What sort of specs does the dual up need?

[@clavius5734]

@@TechDave Good point, have to look into that. My thinkpad from work handles it like a dream (60Hz), but that one's from last year (X1 Gen3 i think). The LG has a resolution of something like 2550x2880, which puts it in the realm of 4k.

[@clavius5734]

edit: checked thinkwiki; essentially the same GPU as the x220 so no dice unfortunately :/

[@TechDave]

@clavius5734 I have an x280 that I'm fairly certain can push 4k, but I'm not sure how far back that compatibility goes with the x series, intel uhd 620 igpu. If u really wanted to persevere with ur x220, there's always an exp beast dock/expresscard eGPU with a desktop gpu, but it's a bit finicky til u work out the kinks

[@clavius5734]

@@TechDave Oh wow thanks for the tip! Ordered one. Sounds like a cool project!

[@YT_User-]

I was watching a review on the X13 Yoga Gen 4 and your video showed up? 😂 I've liked and subscribed and will watch this later. I have X390 Yoga, X13 Yoga Gen 1 and X13 Gen 4, so not as old as that laptop, but still a Lenovo ThinkPad nonetheless 😂

[@TechDave]

excellent! #needmorethinkpads

[@godfatheryt7626]

I need to know the performance difference in X220 and X230, here's your content 😅 thank you

[@TechDave]

@godfatheryt7626 ah it's my pleasure friend, happy to help!

[@godfatheryt7626]

@TechDave can you please also add a part of heating difference between them.

[@TechDave]

@godfatheryt7626 I'll add it the the list aye! Making an "x220 for one week" video this week

[@godfatheryt7626]

@@TechDave Aye aye Captain!

[@Armand79th]

Not accounting for price and availability, but the X230 is definitely a better option and it can be modded with the X220 keeb.. As I've done with mine. ^_^

[@TechDave]

plus better cpu and USB 3, i just love my x220, ive tried the kb mod 3 times and fried 2x x220 kb's trying the mod *sigh* i'd love to get it working on my 230 tho!

[@shadowx5985]

Someone in Comments said " it a Swiss blade of Computer" is that really true

[@TechDave]

@shadowx5985 it really depends what u intend to use it for i suppose, mileage may very depending on ur needs!

[@shadowx5985]

@TechDave just like swiss blade good for survival, not for killing a dragon 😅

[@TechDave]

@shadowx5985 precisely x

[@RetosSpace]

Nice, Ah the older generation Thinkpads are Gems, i currently daily drive x201, T540p, T520, T430, T500 and X1 Carbon

[@TechDave]

nice! im on t480, p51, X230T & T430 that get regular use in day to day! t480 music production! P51 video editing and gaming! X230T Reading music & iReal Pro (via android subsystem for windows)! T430 recording drums! hows that X201? i have the X201T and its a lovely device!

[@RetosSpace]

@@TechDave Nice assortment of ThinkPads there mate,my X201 runs like a dream ,I've got 8gb ram and running Void on it ,Keyboard is by far the best

[@TechDave]

@@RetosSpace ive got a few other but they are the ones in "active service". i've been temtped to get an X201 as i saw one for parts for £25! how's void linux? ive seen a few folks use it, but im still a noob (aka only really knowing my way are Ubuntu flavoured distros) random thing that u might be intrigued by: the X201T i have (and my x200) has a bootable Sd card slot, so ive run a few test systems OS's via that recently; kali/popos/mint & a couple others, thought it may interest you! perhaps i can test void with my 128gb sd card!

[@RetosSpace]

@@TechDave Void is great ,I'm by no means a Linux spokesperson,but been using Void for 2yrs and it's Superigjt ,uses Runit and not systemd and has it's own package manger which is super fast and their documentation is amazing ,it's actually simple ,I run Arcolinux,Arch and Peppermint on my other ThinkPads ,Try out Void,there is a very good review of it ok KZbin by OTB channel ,he's since passed away but his knowledge on Linux is superb,Go well Mate ,Greetings from Cape Town

[@RetosSpace]

@@TechDave Thanks for the tip on the SD card ,never knew that

[@grumps5940]

I bought one of these at a carboot for £30 a couple of months back, unfortunately the keyboard didn't work, currently using my keyboard off my X230t on the x220. Any recommendations on battery replacements ? I see quite a few on eBay for around £15-£20. Can you link to the one you bought?

[@TechDave]

@grumps5940 the seller not available,but they're plentiful for around £20-40 on UK ebay! I did not know u cud use the newer keyboard on them?? Intriguing to say the least

[@NickHopkinsMedia]

hey dave hope all is well. I just got a t480 to replace my tired t460

[@TechDave]

magnificent! happy to hear it! what's the specs on that bad boy?

[@NickHopkinsMedia]

@@TechDave its an i7 with a single stick of 16 gig ram, 512 gb nvme SSD. came with the internal battery unlike my t460. almost appears likes its completely unused or barely used. Crystal disk shows less than 50 hours on the SSD. The only issue is that the USB-C port to charge only works when its in one orientation. Tried many cables. It only works when the cable is flipped one way. I may return it because im worried about it getting worse but this is such a nice example id love to keep it

[@NickHopkinsMedia]

@@TechDave 1080p display as well

[@herimulyocahyo]

my wife still use this thinkpad x220 for daily teaching in 2024

[@TechDave]

magnificent!

[@faridsadeghi9213]

How can i find x220 in a great condition?

[@TechDave]

@faridsadeghi9213 I just went to ebay and got lucky! Mine was £35 without hdd and 2gb ram. Patience is all i can recommend

[@Logic807]

What happen to his face? At the thumbnail?

[@TechDave]

@@Logic807 I'm just so shocked by how much I love this laptop....

[@MarrisaL-bs2ch]

Is the lack of USB 3.0 a problem for you? I am buying one but only i7 has USB 3.0.

[@TechDave]

@@MarrisaL-bs2ch in this day and age, I'd recommend it, but I get by okay

[@MarrisaL-bs2ch]

@@TechDave thanks mate for replying. Looking to buy an X220 so I'm doing all the research lol. At my place, all i5 models are local and can be inspected in person. i7 though, only exists through Ebay and it is hard to verify stuff like Computrace and BIOS password.

[@TechDave]

@MarrisaL-bs2ch just go with an i5, they are good enough machine IMHO, if u need usb 3, ebay or buy an x230 then mod in x230 keyboard is an alternative option

[@TechDave]

@MarrisaL-bs2ch ps: if ur desperate for USB 3 buy the thinkpad min rock series 3 with USB 3.0 (fru/pin: 04w3940)

[@MarrisaL-bs2ch]

@@TechDave thanks, you meant the Dock itself has USB 3.0 capabilities, regardless if the X220 does not?

[@michaelbuddy]

cant get one because you bought them all

[@TechDave]

@@michaelbuddy guilty as charged hahahhaha

[@TheOutbackid]

I'll sell you one, will be posting it soon