x120e Owner's Thread

[utvol11]

Originally Posted by cognus

not correct.
most likely it is bloatware via lenovo's original image. chrome will not exhibit that behaviour.
I would strongly urge you to remove every program that you are not personally acquainted with [as to its purpose, reputation, value], then remove everything "protective" except for one good realtime scanning program [to flag/neuter trojan-infested sites], one good malware remover [not DEFENDer, which should be neutered asap] and CCleaner.
remove any/all toolbars from IE9/10.
are all your devices in Device Manager clean? i.e. no exclamation marks?
have you checked the windows system event log for flags/warnings/issues?

what you are experiencing is a problem, not normal.

It seemed at first that the bloatware might be to blame, but I made sure to uninstall everything that I wouldn't be needing with Revo when I first got the computer. Everything checked out in the device manager and the various hardware checks I ran though, so it appeared that it was probably just a software issue.

I guess I should have elaborated more on Chrome being the culprit for the behavior. I uninstalled Chrome, then reinstalled it. However, I found that when I reinstalled it, the stutter/freeze problem magically went away. I finally realized the one key detail that I hadn't done this time around--Google Sync with all the dozen or so addons that I've been accumulating all this time on my i7 laptop.

After realizing this, I slimmed down the number of addons that are getting loaded each time I start chrome, and the problem looks to be resolved. I'm not sure if it was one particular addon or just the sheer amount of them, but hopefully things are cleared up and I certainly haven't seen the same behavior after that.

Thanks again for your help!

[cognus]

that makes sense.
In the past, several revs back, Chrome had a problem which led to it creating HUGE "blooms" that would continue to grow to many gigabytes. I had to go find them [expose hidden files] in my User settings, and delete them manually. Later revs supposedly resolved this.

I use and reco CCleaner regularly, but I also have Chrome set to use Click&Clean everytime I close down Chrome, and it does a very good job of cutting the clutter. The only time I see stuttering is on streaming feeds that can't feed the GPU a healthy frame rate. [mine has 8gb and a crucial ssd]

Originally Posted by utvol11

It seemed at first that the bloatware might be to blame, but I made sure to uninstall everything that I wouldn't be needing with Revo when I first got the computer. Everything checked out in the device manager and the various hardware checks I ran though, so it appeared that it was probably just a software issue.

I guess I should have elaborated more on Chrome being the culprit for the behavior. I uninstalled Chrome, then reinstalled it. However, I found that when I reinstalled it, the stutter/freeze problem magically went away. I finally realized the one key detail that I hadn't done this time around--Google Sync with all the dozen or so addons that I've been accumulating all this time on my i7 laptop.

After realizing this, I slimmed down the number of addons that are getting loaded each time I start chrome, and the problem looks to be resolved. I'm not sure if it was one particular addon or just the sheer amount of them, but hopefully things are cleared up and I certainly haven't seen the same behavior after that.

Thanks again for your help!

[btn125]

Hi,
I am looking at getting an x121e from lenovo UK. They currently have 10% off until tomorrow. Am I right in thinking that they always have a deal on, or do I need to get it ordered today?

Anything I need to watch out for, or is this a pretty good machine.

How does it compare size/weight wise to the S205, which is the only one I can see in a physical store.

I notice they ave pulled the AMD option from their website. Is this because there is a newer AMD option coming soon? How does the i3 option compare. I understand CPU is better on intel, but GPU is better on AMD, but some stuff I'm reading seems to say GPU is better on i3?

Finally, I notice there is an X130e coming soon. Is it worth waiting for this, or even waiting to see if the 121 price drops on the back of the 130 launch.

Thanks

[btn125]

Also, I have a choice of 3 wifi cards for negligible money difference. What are the differences and preferred option.

[cognus]

since i'm in the usa I cannot add value here, but I sure am keen to hear the answers!

per your note I looked up the usa version of the x130e, just released: a ruggedized school/education version, and oddly it does not offer e350 or e450, but e300 and a downspeed i3
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...DAD8E72CF6FD61

also I would say, in the states we have an ideapad model that has the e450 and is sometimes aggressively priced - you might look into that one. I love the x120e e350 model i have, but I would opt for the slightly better e450 if i could.

just one big gotcha: if you are going to use silverlight streaming, i.e. in the states netflix, slingbox, and a few other items, this is not what you want. you need a lot of cpu for that [I sure wish microsoft would kill that ugly project]

Originally Posted by btn125

Hi,
I am looking at getting an x121e from lenovo UK. They currently have 10% off until tomorrow. Am I right in thinking that they always have a deal on, or do I need to get it ordered today?

Anything I need to watch out for, or is this a pretty good machine.

How does it compare size/weight wise to the S205, which is the only one I can see in a physical store.

I notice they ave pulled the AMD option from their website. Is this because there is a newer AMD option coming soon? How does the i3 option compare. I understand CPU is better on intel, but GPU is better on AMD, but some stuff I'm reading seems to say GPU is better on i3?

Finally, I notice there is an X130e coming soon. Is it worth waiting for this, or even waiting to see if the 121 price drops on the back of the 130 launch.

Thanks

[tidu]

Hey, I purchased an x120e from Amazon a few weeks back and have been following the discussion since then.

I wanted to see if anyone had done any interesting upgrades. I've been reading a bit about the Intel WiFi card and was wondering if anyone had any success stories with it, or noticed any difference. I haven't had any problems with the Realtek card so I haven't really considered it. The only interesting upgrade I did was I purchased a 32GB SD card for some permanent extra space (I only have an 80GB SSD in this) and quickly realized that the built-in card slot is not spring-loaded, so the SD card sticks out halfway. I found a mini PCIe to SD card adapter from this site and will hopefully get it delivered soon.

I also wanted to get behind the "clean install" of Windows 7 when you first get the computer. I used the stock version for a day and instantly regretted my purchase because it was crawling. Once I reinstalled the OS and a select few drivers, it became much quicker (and I have the single-core E-250 and 2GB RAM!) There's a guide online but basically you can download a copy of Windows for free and use the OEM code on the back of your computer case to register it. Also note that your code works for both the 32 or 64 bit versions.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my purchase (and this is from someone who is coming from a Mac)

[v1k1ng1001]

Originally Posted by tidu

Hey, I purchased an x120e from Amazon a few weeks back and have been following the discussion since then.

I wanted to see if anyone had done any interesting upgrades. I've been reading a bit about the Intel WiFi card and was wondering if anyone had any success stories with it, or noticed any difference. I haven't had any problems with the Realtek card so I haven't really considered it. The only interesting upgrade I did was I purchased a 32GB SD card for some permanent extra space (I only have an 80GB SSD in this) and quickly realized that the built-in card slot is not spring-loaded, so the SD card sticks out halfway. I found a mini PCIe to SD card adapter from this site and will hopefully get it delivered soon.

I also wanted to get behind the "clean install" of Windows 7 when you first get the computer. I used the stock version for a day and instantly regretted my purchase because it was crawling. Once I reinstalled the OS and a select few drivers, it became much quicker (and I have the single-core E-250 and 2GB RAM!) There's a guide online but basically you can download a copy of Windows for free and use the OEM code on the back of your computer case to register it. Also note that your code works for both the 32 or 64 bit versions.

Overall I'm pretty happy with my purchase (and this is from someone who is coming from a Mac)

This is not an interesting upgrade but doubling the RAM to 4gb sure helped and it only cost me $10.

I'd be interested to hear about whether or not the intel wifi upgrade is worth it, if anyone has installed win7 via usb (and if so how?) and whether or not anyone is dual booting Linux on the x120e (I really think Ubuntu or Arch would fly on this thing).

[tidu]

Originally Posted by v1k1ng1001

I'd be interested to hear about whether or not the intel wifi upgrade is worth it, if anyone has installed win7 via usb (and if so how?) and whether or not anyone is dual booting Linux on the x120e (I really think Ubuntu or Arch would fly on this thing).

When I did a clean install I used a flash drive. I used this guide though overall it's very straightforward. Be sure to make that config file change to OEM, and to use a USB flash drive (not an external hard drive- apparently the Windows program knows the difference). Just open boot options when you start up and choose your flash drive as a boot device.

About the RAM, one of the first things I did was purchase an extra 4GB stick of RAM. The problem (other than the fact that I'm dumb) is that when I downloaded Windows from MS, I got the 32bit version because I thought the product key on my laptop was specifically for Home Premium 32bit. Turns out product keys work for both 32 and 64bit. So I have 6GB RAM installed but can only access a little under 4GB. I'll reinstall a 64bit version sometime in the future. I'm using software from my university now with a limited number of product keys so I can't reformat without "using up" a key.

Also, the mini PCIe to SD card adapter came and works perfectly. I read elsewhere that a similar product for mini SD cards didn't work. But the one I linked above works fine.

[v1k1ng1001]

Originally Posted by tidu

When I did a clean install I used a flash drive. I used this guide though overall it's very straightforward. Be sure to make that config file change to OEM, and to use a USB flash drive (not an external hard drive- apparently the Windows program knows the difference). Just open boot options when you start up and choose your flash drive as a boot device.

Ok, well maybe that's my weekend project. If I can reinstall windows then I can easily plan for a Linux partition with no problems.

I've been having some trouble connecting to the wifi at the coffee shop I hang out at. I've never had any problems with any of my intel chips so I'm wondering if I should swap that out. I guess I'll try reinstalling the drivers first and doing some research.

[cognus]

for you with some technical bravado, this thread Windows 7 Universal Installation Disc - Create - Windows 7 Forums describes a 'universal' win7 installation disc or SD that can be utilized to install any/all forms of windows 7.
Personally, I did a clean/fresh/naked install of win7 from SD using only the OEM 64-bit version that the license COA covers, but mainly due to the size of sd I had handy.

How To Setup a USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 7 - How-To Geek

Originally Posted by tidu

When I did a clean install I used a flash drive. I used this guide though overall it's very straightforward. Be sure to make that config file change to OEM, and to use a USB flash drive (not an external hard drive- apparently the Windows program knows the difference). Just open boot options when you start up and choose your flash drive as a boot device.

About the RAM, one of the first things I did was purchase an extra 4GB stick of RAM. The problem (other than the fact that I'm dumb) is that when I downloaded Windows from MS, I got the 32bit version because I thought the product key on my laptop was specifically for Home Premium 32bit. Turns out product keys work for both 32 and 64bit. So I have 6GB RAM installed but can only access a little under 4GB. I'll reinstall a 64bit version sometime in the future. I'm using software from my university now with a limited number of product keys so I can't reformat without "using up" a key.

Also, the mini PCIe to SD card adapter came and works perfectly. I read elsewhere that a similar product for mini SD cards didn't work. But the one I linked above works fine.