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Friday, August 12, 2011

Lenovo X121e-204562U Review

The 11.6-inch ThinkPad X121e continues the tradition of the budget-conscious of his two predecessors, X120e and X100e, but with an entirely new case design is reminiscent of the Edge Lenovo E125. This particular model under study include the relatively powerful ultra-low voltage (ULV), the second generation Intel Core i3-2357M processor, although users can also choose to Intel Pentium The X120e is the 957th winner of the Best Business Affordable Ultra Portable at CES 2011 and received praise.

Specifications Lenovo X121e-204562U :
  • Processor : Intel Core i3 2357M 1.3 GHz
  • Memory : 2048 MB, DDR3-1333 SDRAM @ 667MHz
  • Graphics adapter : Intel HD Graphics 3000, Core: 350 - 950 MHz, Shared memory, DirectX 10.1, Shader 4.1, 8.15.10.2401
  • Display : 11.6 inch 16:9, 1366x768 pixel, TN, LEN40D1, glossy: no
  • Harddisk : 320 GB - 5400 rpm, 320GB 5400rpm Hitachi HTS723232A7A364
  • Connections : 3 USB 2.0, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 3.5mm combined audio, Card Reader: 4-in-1 (SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC), 1 Fingerprint Reader,
  • Networking : Atheros AR8151 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (10/100/1000MBit), 802.11a/b/g/n (abgn), 3.0 Bluetooth, Qualcomm Gobi 3000
  • Size : height x width x depth (in mm): .93 x 289.6 x 208
  • Weight : 1.55 kg Power Supply: 0.28 kg
  • Battery : 57.276 Wh Lithium-Ion, 6-cell
  • Operating System : Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit
  • Additional features : Webcam: 0.3MP Silicon Motion Inc., 65W AC Adapter, sleeve case, USB DVD burner, Lenovo Enhanced Experienced 2.0, ThinkVantage , 12 Months Warranty.
Case
What looks and shape, the frame is identical to the Edge E125 ThinkPad, hinges on a rigid, textured touchpad, a spacious keyboard, and even the lack of the LED system. Overall, the average structure provides torsional resistance and the pressure both inside and outside.

See E125 Review detailed overview of the case and its features. At 23.5mm thick and weighing 1.55 kg, the Lenovo X121e a hair thinner than the X120e and weighs about the same, but the model still retains the sense of durability and robustness.

The new design of the X121e is certainly more attractive than the other look a little more square built by X120e. Of course, build magnesium alloy cage of ThinkPads larger and more expensive are much more difficult, but the construction X121e definitely ranks high among other similar netbooks companies.

As usual ThinkPad offers a more professional and business class feel compared to its competitors, and X121e are no exception. The model under review, but come in red alternative option instead of the usual black, which really makes little difference, but noticeable in feel.

While the E125 has a soft, rough above, this special model is completely smooth red and a magnet for fingerprints. In addition, the gray coating around the edges of the cover also absent. Overall, the model red, loses a little of the elegant appearance, but thankfully, users can choose between black or red.  

Performance
Revision ThinkPad X121e is powered by an Intel ULV Core i3 Sandy Bridge-2357M 1.3 GHz CPU is running with a thermal design power (TDP) of 17 watts.

This dual-core processor is relatively new at the time of the review and will be able to handle 4 threads at once, but no Turbo Boost feature more commonly found in Sandy Bridge processors. Here is a processor built on 32 nanometer production process with 128KB of L1 cache, 512KB L2 cache and 3072KB of L3 cache.

The Core i3 also incorporates an Intel Graphics HD 3000 GPU, which has 12 unified pipelines and an overall performance level of slightly less than the entry-level discrete NVIDIA GeForce 310 million. Yet Intel's GPU is not DirectX 11.

This provides a low base rate clock to save energy but provide support turbo boost up to 950 MHz. This GPU will include borrow from the system RAM if necessary. Two GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM, 667 Samsung one of the modules. Similarly, E125 Lenovo, Lenovo is the motherboard supports up to 2 modules and can be reached more easily by loosening the three screws on the underside with a laptop.

In CPU-oriented benchmarks, performance Core i3-2357M admirable in a 12-inch notebook and skillfully turn E-350 Fusion in the X120e. For example, X121e wPrime 1024m completed in 1422 seconds, and SuperPi 32m in about 25 minutes then took X120e 2257 seconds and 41 minutes.

The test provides a PCMark Vantage score of 4170 points, which is very good, even for a laptop of this size. The score put the X121e in line with the 15.6-inch Acer Aspire 5625G (1.6 GHz Phenom X4 P920) and 15.6-inch Lenovo IdeaPad G560 (2.26 GHz Core i3-350M).

Compared to the competition of 11-inch netbooks such as the Sony Vaio PCV-YA1V9E / B (1.33 GHz Core i3 380UM) and Acer Travel Mate 8172T (1.2 GHz Core i3 330UM) winner X121e PCMark Vantage score of 24 percent and 12 percent better, respectively.

In addition X121e Cinebench R10 64-Bit Multi-score is greater than both netbook with nearly 500 points each. Sandy Bridge Core i3-2357M seems to offer significant performance boost over the first generation of Core processors i3 above, and an even bigger advantage over AMD Fusion APU.

In sub 12-inch class, X121e, and Sandy Bridge will offer one of the biggest hits for the dollar. Since the Core i3-2357M is relatively new to the market, laptops with the CPU are few and far between for review. The Samsung is NP900X1B other large 11.6-inch Notebook with Core i3-2357M. notebookcheck.net