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Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Review

We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the chassis and 4 foot from the ground with our Extech digital sound level meter to mirror a real world situation.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet take off/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

The machine generally generates only a modicum of noise, but due to the very small chassis size and high powered processor the fan has to work hard under load to maintain reasonable temperatures.

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14 comments

  1. good looking machine, very businesslike. shame about the lack of backlight keyboard. thats a bad move.

  2. I have a X220 and it has been nothing but trouble. the battery lost a charge in a month and I had to return it. then they released a firmware update which hosed my bios and I had to return the laptop after that.

    Its all working now, but im wondering what will happen next………… very bad experience for me. (it is a nice laptop however as reviewer said, but ive concerns about quality control).

  3. I use it with Ubuntu 11.10 and it works like a charm, everything is smooth and worked out of the box. Also, seller was fast and delivered really quickly. I read a lot of complaints about they not replying emails, but my experience was the opposite, they replied me fast and were accurate. I recommend them too!

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005AJYZE8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=emjay2d-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005AJYZE8

  4. It’s all very well saying this laptop looks like the ultimate mobile business warrior’s tool. Sure it has the specs, and the dependable looks. I followed the advice of reviews like this one and shelled out $1,200 for a high-spec X220 but when the laptop’s casing developed a crack on the side by no accident or fault of mine, I was in for a ride from Lenovo Customer Service. The following thread on the Lenovo forum gives you a pretty good idea of what I’ve been through:

    http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/X-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/Crack-in-X220-casing-poor-support/m-p/693719#M36529

    My opinion after owning an X220 for five months: not only is this laptop of low quality build, but you can forget customer service. My experience of customer service at Apple on similar issues was lightyears ahead of this. Also: “milspec tested”? Give me a break! And what does “milspec tested” mean without actually getting some kind of milspec certification anyway? You can “milspec test” a fisher price toy and it would come out better than the X220, I’d wager.

  5. Hi wimute, im really sorry to hear that. It is a problem with most reviews to be honest. we only get a week or two tops with a product like this before it has to go back. Ill have a look at that thread. thanks for sharing.

  6. @ Wimute, I’ve been using a Lenovo X220 as my main everyday machine for about eight months and had no problems at all. I can’t comment on Lenovo customer service as I’ve not had any issues with the laptop but in my opinion, the build quality is fantastic.

  7. I want to buy it

  8. Nice review. I’m looking to buy thinkpad this Summer

  9. I’ve owned one for about six months, and I love it. I came from Macs, and so far, my x220 has been more reliable and just plain better.

  10. I am looking to purchase the highest end quality laptop summer/fall 2012

  11. Well I’m now experiencing another design flaw in my X220: I’m starting to see ghosting in the display. Seems I’m not alone: if you bought yours with the option of an IPS display, you’re likely to have ghosting crop up. The thread about this issue over at Lenovo has 47 pages of posts and counting. I’m so shell shocked by the Lenovo customer service experience regarding the crack though that I’m not sure I’ll even bother sending this machine in. They’ll probably tell me it’s my fault again and waste a month of my time with a maze of incompetence and denial.

  12. Have you a link? What are you planning on doing?