---
author: einar
comments: true
date: 2014-05-25 19:15:10+00:00
layout: page
slug: new-acquisition-thinkpad-x220
title: 'New acquisition: ThinkPad X220'
wordpress_id: 1325
categories:
- Linux
tags:
- hardware
- KDE
- laptop
- openSUSE
---

Recently I was looking for a **laptop**: the previous one I had (an Asus EeePC 900) was almost dead (the fan broke, and the idea of dismantling everything to get to it wasn't appealing).

When looking around, I had the following requirements:


  * It needed to run on Linux **well**. No exceptions.
  * _Portable: _ at home and at my workplace I have rather powerful machines, so a desktop replacement was not needed.
  * A decent amount of performance, so that when I was on the road, I could do some development

  * 64 bit processor: mainly a pet peeve, so I could run [openSUSE Factory](http://software.opensuse.org/developer) and [the latest KDE master](http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:KDE_repositories#Unstable:SC_aka._KUSC_.28KDE_trunk.29)

  * VGA output port:  as part of my teaching duties I need to connect to VGA projectors in the university classrooms.
  * Resonably long battery life.


I had been looking since last year, and to be honest, I was initially interested in the so-called _Ultrabooks_, but the price (€1000 upwards) and some limitations (non-replaceable battery, WTF?) made me reconsider.

In August 2013 I had the pleasure of trying out a ThinkPad X220. Light, portable, decently powered and with an **excellent** keyboard. The problem is that, aside being out of production, it had a cost of € 1500 or _more_. It was then it I recalled that the market for used / refurbished ThinkPads is going strong..

Fast forward to two weeks ago, and I found an offer on eBay that hit the right price: it wasn't the lowest, but it was in the EU, and even if US based sellers had lower prices I had no intention of selling my organs to pay import duties.

Everything went out smoothly and I got the unit in about 5 days.

<ul class="clearing-thumbs small-block-grid-3" data-clearing>
  <li>
    <a href="{{ site.url }}/images/2014/05/IMG_20140525_202729.jpg">
        <img data-caption="The unit, closed" src="{{ site.url }}/images/2014/05/IMG_20140525_202729-300x225.jpg">
    </a>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="{{ site.url }}/images/2014/05/IMG_20140525_202838.jpg">
        <img data-caption="The unit with lid opened" src="{{ site.url }}/images/2014/05/IMG_20140525_202838-225x300.jpg">
        </a>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="{{ site.url }}/images/2014/05/IMG_20140525_203404.jpg">
        <img data-caption="The laptop running on the 'Leisure' activity" src="{{ site.url }}/images/2014/05/IMG_20140525_203404-225x300.jpg">
    </a>
  </li>
</ul>

To be fair, the condition I got it was quite nice, with only very minor scratches around (after all, it was used). The specs:

  * i5 2540M processor (SandyBridge)
  * 4G RAM
  * 320G disk
  * Intel HD3000 graphics

As you can see, this model lacks some of the fancier extras, such as the fingerprint reader. It also misses Bluetooth, but my plan is to buy a daughterboard online and install it myself.

As soon as I got it, I wiped the Win7 install (no need for it there) and proceeded with the openSUSE install. I went straight for Factory, adding [KDE:Unstable:SC](http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:KDE_repositories#Unstable:SC_aka._KUSC_.28KDE_trunk.29) and KDE:Unstable:Extra for the latest and greatest software from KDE. Everything was rather painless.

After install, I spend the following day tweaking the setup to obtain the best power saving: I installed DKMS, followed by [acpi-call](https://github.com/mkottman/acpi_call/) and [tpacpi-bat](https://github.com/teleshoes/tpacpi-bat) to regulate battery thresholds.

More fiddling with DKMS was needed to get [tp_smapi and a patched hdaps module](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/tp_smapi) to install, so that the kernel could see the laptop's accelerometers to activate the HD shock protection in case (enabled through [the hdapsd daemon](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Hard_Drive_Active_Protection_System)). Lastly, [tlp was installed ](http://software.opensuse.org/package/tlp)and configured to provide additional power saving options.

On the KDE side, I configured Plasma with two activities, one for leisure and personal development, and the other for work-work activity.

The net result? I'm **very** satisfied with it. Light, portable, durable and with pretty good battery life (I went past 4h and it had still 10-14% in). This will certainly won't make me miss my 900, which was my travel companion for years.