Lenovo ThinkPad Laptops: BIG SAVINGS up to 30% OFF and X230 at $664.30 from EPP through March 13

Quote from mifronte : 01. How much weight and bulk does the 9-cell battery adds? 02. What is the difference with the X230 convertible Tablet?

1. Adds a few ounces and also sticks out the back just a little, but it's WELL worth doing because of the extra battery life -- even if you don't actually care about the extra battery life at the outset, you might care a couple of years from now when the battery inevitably degrades somewhat.
2. Personally, I think the tablet is a waste. It adds weight and mechanical complexity (i.e. reliability considerations for the paranoid among us). If you want a tablet, get a tablet.

Quote from scottegos2 : I am quite happy with my 500gb Samsung 840 in my x230. The 840 pro is also a good choice, but, really, it's overkill for for most people/applications. Also I notice that the official Lenovo part is actually quite competitively priced at newegg (I'm surprised). I can definitely see selling the drive (did the same thing myself when I put in my samsung ssd). However, why would you sell the RAM? Do you really need 16gb of RAM? wow!

It is not so much if I will put 16GB in the X230, but I want matching memory modules for dual channel memory performance. It all depends on what sales I can get for the memory modules. The Lenovo memory pricing is just too ridiculously high (even just to get a second 4GB matching module). I wanted to keep the base price low since the Lenovo website charges sales tax and upgrade afterward without taking the sales tax hit.

Also I will probably go with the Samsun 840 pro 128 GB for the main boot drive and will see if I can get an mSATA SSD on sale for the secondary data drive.

Quote from scottegos2 : 1. Adds a few ounces and also sticks out the back just a little, but it's WELL worth doing because of the extra battery life -- even if you don't actually care about the extra battery life at the outset, you might care a couple of years from now when the battery inevitably degrades somewhat. 2. Personally, I think the tablet is a waste. It adds weight and mechanical complexity (i.e. reliability considerations for the paranoid among us). If you want a tablet, get a tablet.

I went with the 6-cell battery because I am normally close to an outlet and shaving any ounces is my main concern since this will be used most of the time on laps and not a desk (i.e. sitting in a lounger or recliner).

Quote from mifronte : It is not so much if I will put 16GB in the X230, but I want matching memory modules for dual channel memory performance. It all depends on what sales I can get for the memory modules. The Lenovo memory pricing is just too ridiculously high (even just to get a second 4GB matching module). I wanted to keep the base price low since the Lenovo website charges sales tax and upgrade afterward without taking the sales tax hit. Also I will probably go with the Samsun 840 pro 128 GB for the main boot drive and will see if I can get an mSATA SSD on sale for the secondary data drive.

Well newegg has the matching lenovo [newegg.com]ram for $32 delivered, which is only a few Dollars more than generic, so that might the way to go (also helps resolve warranty discussions). As for the drive, as I said, I really doubt you will see any difference whatsoever in speed or reliability between the 840 pro and especially the 500gb TLC drive (which has better performance than the 250gb model btw). Also, leaving aside power drain, I'm pretty sure that the mSATA only runs at 3gbps.

Quote from scottegos2 : Well newegg has the matching lenovo [newegg.com]ram for $32 delivered, which is only a few Dollars more than generic, so that might the way to go (also helps resolve warranty discussions). As for the drive, as I said, I really doubt you will see any difference whatsoever in speed or reliability between the 840 pro and especially the 500gb TLC drive (which has better performance than the 250gb model btw). Also, leaving aside power drain, I'm pretty sure that the mSATA only runs at 3gbps.

Thanks for link. I will keep an eye on the Newegg Lenovo memory. However, $32 is for the 2GB module. The 4GB module [newegg.com] is $53, which is expensive if I can get the G.Skills on one of NewEgg's sales. Their G.Skills 16GB (2x8GB) once a few months ago could be had for less than $60. Anyway, memory prices appear to have been rising lately.

If the 4GB Lenovo memory goes on sale, I might just snag the 4GB module. BTW, do you happen to know the actual manufacturer of Lenovo's memory? Is it Samsung? If so, I may just keep an eye on the Samsung memory too, but Samsung tends to sell at a premium just like their SSD.

If the 540 pro goes on sale, I will take that over the regular 540 because of the 5 year warranty.