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I am planning to get a Lenovo ultraportable for development work. It will be a Linux box.

I'm looking to compare between the soon-to-be-released x120e (http://shop.lenovo.com/us/products/professional-grade/thinkpad/x-series/x120e/index.html), which is AMD Fusion based (which is AMD E-350 dual core+graphics) and x201(s/i) (s/i is basically the same with a few minor differences here and there), which is Core i3 based. If i can go with the first, provided there isn't too much of a performance hit, i can also look to accomodate an SSD at a much lower cost. I wonder how the former will stack up against the latter for a development machine.

I'm mostly going to be using this for web development work (i'll run at least a web server, db, message queue)and some occasional forays into Scipy/Numpy. Things that i'd be keen to also have support for would be

  • Able to run multiple Vagrant VMs
  • KVM

Do you think the x120e would be worth waiting for compared to the x201(s/i)?

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  • i guess the big questio is how's the Xorg support for these GPU-in-the-CPU chips
    – Javier
    Mar 3, 2011 at 13:42
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The X201s uses a ultra-low voltage CPU and so longer battery life than the X201. Nearly all X201s models also have higher resolution WXGA+ screens.

It also has a lighter and slightly slimmer carbon-fibre reinforced chassis, while the X201 has a titanium rollcage. I think the X201i models are cheaper versions of the X201, using cheaper processors.

I don't know anything about the X120e, but I have used a X100e and I currently have a X200s. If you can afford it, I would get a X2xx/X2xxs, rather than a X1x0e. They are more powerful, have longer battery life and better keyboards.

The X201 is due to be replaced soon, with the X21x (I think it will called the X212), which should have Sandy Bridge chips, so I personally would wait for that. They are also likely to come with Intel 3rd generation SSD options.

Look at ThinkWiki for Linux compatibility information.

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