X330 Review

[TPFanatic]

Greetings, I'll repurpose this thread on basically the same subject, my new X330 buyed secondhand on this forum, with my thoughts on it, a mini-review as such.

Pros:

• 16:10 LCD and narrow bezels is pleasing to view. The DPI is 226 @ 13.3" vs 209 @ 14.0" (1440p) on my T420, seems little different at this scale. Extra 160 rows are useful.
• i7 3615QE is equipped which is xytech's fastest, compared to T420's 2520m it does not bog down Unity plugin or YouTube browsing.
• Very lightweight and low profile is easily mobile.
• I like full width keyboard as opposed to narrow UI on older X.
• Lenovo BIOS and software support as opposed to other custom ThinkPads.
• Really good battery runtime.

Cons:

• Wireless reception is for some reason awful.
• MHF4 antenna upgrade obsolesces use of standard MPCIE WLAN cards, sans AW-CB160H.
• MHF1 antennas are included but reception with them is more awful.
• If using NGFF WLAN adapter, physically opposing mSATA slot is impeded.
• Wifi indicator is dead.
• No webcam.
• Awful speakers, headphones are necessary to hear anything.

Other quirks:

• Machine came with Coreboot but I wanted Windows 7, so within Linux I tricked skulls into flashing 1vyrain, now am happy. :)
• Can't set date/time within BIOS with 1vyrain, if unset must spam Esc to get to OS.
• Can't remove keyboard without a prying tool.
• Even with external antenna attached to AW-CB160H 3rd jack, wifi reception is still awful.
• Machine came with USB C jack & ThinkPlus USB C 65W, but the LCD flickered using it. Replaced with stock barrel. Machine will only charge with 90W or higher.

Ultimately very pleased with this machine, by far the sexist ThinkPad in my possession. If poor wifi can be solved, I will retire my T420 favoring X330, and planning to acquire an Ultrabase. Bravo xytech. I will cherish this machine for the duration of our life together.

Subject: X330 wifi indicator

I have an X330 16:10 and the wifi indicator doesn't do anything. I don't know enough about the lid mods to want to open up the lid so was wondering if anyone knew why it is like this. I wonder if an x220 indicator board is behind an x230 nameplate so it's a simple mismatch of led-window location but I'd think I'd see some green coming through were that the case.

Behavior doesn't change with an Intel 6205 installed either.

[Bionicman]

Hope I'm not hijacking the thread.
I'm doing currently a similar comparison and considering pros and cons between a X330 and T420 with FHD mod.
I'm thinking if it is a good idea to change from T420 to X330.
I most probably would need to install WWAN antenna if possible or think of other way to use WWAN connetivity.

X330: with 13.3 16:9 FHD IPS and msata + usb3 board installed in the expresscard slot.
T420: FHD IPS modded, excellent screen with no PWM or any flickering.

Pros X330:
- screen area is almost the same as the T420
- Its extremely portable which is useful as I use the T420 a lot when travelling
- it does have an additional mSata mod, which runs OS perfectly fine
- this allows me to use the SATA slot to move a second storage device with another machines.
- the keyboard is phenomenal
- more black

Cons X330:
- On some linux distros the laptop screen doesn't switch on after entering OS
- its more noisy than the T420
- A little bit hotter as well
- it doesn't have WWAN antennae, which I will need.
- speaker sound weak, which is not a big problem
- sometimes font can be a little hard to see if viewed from some distance.
- miniDP instead of full DP

Pros T420:
- extremely stable and durable, survived anything
- excellent WWAN reception and net speed, important when moving around. It has better reception than a smartphone.
- silent and cool
- free express card slot, which won't be used much

Cons T420:
- It is a lot bigger, but with a lot of bezzels meaning not much screen area.
- much heavier
- ultrabay drive tends to try to disconnect if laptop is not carried so that right side faces up in a backpack.
- lack of usb 3. Quality startech Usb 3 expresscard adapter for some reason makes cpu go crazy, while it works perfectly fine in any other Thinkpad


Can't comment on battery runtime, but since T420 doesn't have the garbage stock screen, it has lost ~30min runtime which is a fair tradeoff for the magnificent screen.
I have spare batteries for both.
I'm also quite pleased with the X330 for now.

[TPFanatic]

You could consider the 12.5" FHD X230 mod if that version retains WWAN and you just want a smaller machine.

[dr_st]

Thank you, TPFanatic and Bionicman, for the thoughtful reviews of the X330 and comparison to other modded systems.

The X330 is indeed a very interesting beast and a marvel of hobbyist engineering.

[unixed]

• Lenovo BIOS and software support as opposed to other custom ThinkPads.

What does this mean? Is the X330 an X230 planar with some of the components changed or a newly designed and manufactured planar sharing many components with the X230?

[TPFanatic]

@unixed yes the machine uses an X230 board, but modified with the eDP adapter borrowing a lane from the dock, BGA i7 3615QE, and Coreboot. Although I have replaced Coreboot with 1vyrain.

So yes all Lenovo software works on except for backlight control, that needs custom software from here https://github.com/ithinkso117/X330Backlight

[unixed]

Okay, thank you. The screen resolution and aspect ratio are great and I don't see any reflections (do you know what the screen model is?) so that goes down as an unqualified success.
I see the keyboard has been swapped so that takes care of your interfaces.
For the CPU and battery performance it makes sense that you compare it to your T420 but comparison to the X230 options would put that mod into proper perspective.
Well done on acquiring it and thanks for the review.

[TPFanatic]

The LCD is a AUO B133QAN02.0 according to https://www.xyte.ch/mods/x230/ and confirmed by Monitor Asset Manager.

I owned only one X230 before, that I swapped X220 B, C, and D shells onto it, it was an i5 3320m XGA IPS model that I wound up giving away since I didn't like the low resolution. So sadly I didn't use it much to really get to know it. I had a failing 6 cell in it at the time so I never got a good sense of its runtime potential.

This X330 with a healthy 9 cell seems to go for many hours, probably twice as long runtime as my T420 or P71.

I generally preferred whatever machine has the highest resolution, so that was X200/X201 with the WXGA+, or X6* Tablet with SXGA+. Although I'd likely find myself unsatisfied with their dated I/O. Now none of those beat X330's WQXGA. So I'm fully team X330 now.

edit: I replaced the FPR-less X220 palmrest with an X230 FPR palmrest, I enlarged the slots and sliced a center slot using Dremel diamond-disc and exacto knife to not have to cut the keyboard. Working great.

[Bionicman]

The claim that X330 could outperform T420 in battery life using quad core CPU raises quite interesting questions... if you could really test it.
Meanwhile I'm thinking - how impossible would it be to attach a WWAN antennae behind my X330 new screen ? Is it much bigger than the original ?
It probably could be done, even if it needs different model of antennae.

[unixed]

The resolution is great but it's the increase in diagonal length and aspect ratio that makes the most of that resolution. For instance if you had 1600p and the screen was like a ruler it would count for nothing. As it is you've almost got the vertical height of a X61 which is no mean feat. That however may be the cause of your wifi woes since there can't be much room surrounding the screen.
You could try using a normal X230 lid with the screen connected but not in the lid and see if that makes a big difference to your wifi. Once you've identified the problem you can work on a solution. IBM/Lenovo used an "ear" for some T43, T60 and X61 for example.

[TPFanatic]

Took the X330 on some domestic flights today, although it spent most its time in carry-on, only coming out in the terminals for video games and the checkpoints of course. The smartphone actually came in handier for my commercial and communication purposes.
A wwan X330 otoh....
-posted from the smartphone.

[TPFanatic]

Wanted to update: I fixed the goddawful Wifi reception by replacing the supplied antennae with units harvested from a T500, but destroyed the LCD in the process.

The machine came to me with 4 antennas, two in the standard old MHF1 size and two in the new MHF4 size, none of which could reach my router from my primary working location, and only worked well in the same room as the router. Truly awful in practice. As posted earlier, I took the X330 traveling with me and it didn't want to use any of the airport public wifis, so as such I relied on the smartphone for all my tasks, tedious as it was for fat-fingered me.

Running inSSIDer showed much worse wifi performance compared to my other machines so I was really suspecting a hardware problem. Even attaching an external antenna did nothing to improve performance, altho that case may be cause my external antenna sucks in itself. I was able to further verify this by trying OEM wifi antennae removed from other laptops (T500 and some Elitebook) attached to the X330 in a partially assembled state, and got great performance.

Onto the fix: I dreaded opening up the lid knowing that the LCD was probably glued in, and it was glued to the bezel, but I got to the antennas and they looked awful. The MHF1 antennas were bent up with ugly soldering while the MHF4 antennas were taped wrong and then sandwiched between magnesium and foam, explaining the awful performance of both.

I stuck 3 T500 antennas (harvested from T500 lid and removed from plastic) under the foam tape with the majority of the antenna sitting in the plastic space of the X330 lid, as the Lenovo gods intended, and now my wifi works as good as my other machines. Even though I can only connect 2 of the antenna to my Intel 6300N as the 3rd antenna is too short. Luckily the industry sells cable extensions.

Sadly the LCD bezel was glued to the LCD, mainly the "inverter(?)" board, and removing the bezel shattered the LCD, so I'll have to acquire a new B133QAN02.0.

Before doing the fix I experimented putting other antennas in other spots of the laptop body such as the 2.5" bay and under the keyboard, again since I didn't want to risk the LCD, but they really still sucked there, so I sucked it up (and killed the LCD).

As well I discovered the cause of my missing WIFI indicator, the status LED board is from an X220 while the status LED sticker is from an X230, putting the wifi window over the X220 Bluetooth LED which is nonfunctional on an X230 planar, and the wifi LED under opaque sticker.

So, to do:
- Buy new B133QAN02.0.
- Buy MHF1 extension cable.
- Buy X220 status sticker.

Once all is done I may finally be able to use this thing.

[exander]

If anybody is interested I have parts for making two X330 with 13.3" 2.5k screens and i7-3612qe CPUs.

I will be moving soon and this is my last stock of these parts.

I reside in Europe: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=134421

[TPFanatic]

X330 lid with faulty antennae removed, instead T500 antennae affixed up top held under the foam tape.



T500 antenna wires running the X330 WLAN. Gray wire comes up short. White wire definitely reaches. Black wire may be too short once properly guided, or it may work, is to be seen. New LCD, indicator panel, and U.FL cable extender are on order.

[TPFanatic]

I've got my X330 back up and running again with a brand new N133GCA-GQ1, and thanks to a 12" IPEX extender, all 3 T500 antennae connected to my Intel 6300N. Enragingly, this brand new LCD has a lightning bug in it.

It is important to note that the lid bezel is the ONLY THING holding the LCD in the lid on this device.

[unixed]

That's okay with the LCD placement, but you should tape the display cable to the panel or do that if problems develop if you've already assembled it.

[TPFanatic]

After getting my money back on the defective Innolux N133GCA-GQ1 (a fine panel otherwise) I'd been getting by with the damaged AUO B133QAN02.0 and finally had enough. I ordered a couple panel replacements on aliexpress and got two CSOT MND307DA1-2. This panel claims an increased contrast ratio of 1500:1 which I can't particularly say I notice. But in any case this is an absolutely viable panel option and not too expensive either (I paid the Aliexpress vendor $50 each).

[gevor]

And how's the battery life?

[TPFanatic]

About 4-5 hours actively using the machine with Turbo.

[gevor]

Is this with 6-cell or 9-cell?

[TPFanatic]

9 cell, it's healthy too.

[gevor]

Hm... I usually use it more like a terminal + some light browsing / music etc.

I'd appreciate if you at some point measure it under the lighter load as well.

[Bionicman]

short update - my X330 with I5-3230 and 16:9 ips fhd screen has been performing worse on batteries lately. Tries to eat through a 44Wh batery in two hours, or similarly a 55Wh battery barely survives 3h. Mine has a expresscard msata mod, but I doubt that is the main reason. May be it is the custom 2.77 BIOS.

[TPFanatic]

I would sus the expresscard device. I haven't yet met an expresscard device that doesn't slaughter the battery life. I own an expresscard to USB3 + MSATA (sorry meant esata) and it gets annoyingly warm under the palmrest in any machine I install it in. Possibly the USB 2.0 pass through devices like the old T410s/20s/30s SD adapters (edit: apparently not lol) behave better.

[dr_st]

I haven't yet met an expresscard device that doesn't slaughter the battery life. I own an expresscard to USB3 + MSATA and it gets annoyingly warm under the palmrest in any machine I install it in. Possibly the USB 2.0 pass through devices like the old T410s/20s/30s SD adapters behave better.

I have somewhat similar experiences and remember the ExpressCard to USB3.0+eSATA (ASMedia chip) to be the worst offender. For PCIe-based devices a lot will depend on how they implemented ASPM. Unfortunately overzealous ASPM implementations tend to cause performance/usability problems on some systems.

In fact, the SDXC adapter for T420s/T430s (which, in fact, is a PCIe-based device), suffers from this exact problem in X220, but not in my T430s. In fact, in the T430s, it behaves very well, and "goes to sleep", not consuming power most of the time.

Actually you encountered the same problem as well at one point, it seems.
https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=124934

[Bionicman]

I would sus the expresscard device. I haven't yet met an expresscard device that doesn't slaughter the battery life. I own an expresscard to USB3 + MSATA and it gets annoyingly warm under the palmrest in any machine I install it in. Possibly the USB 2.0 pass through devices like the old T410s/20s/30s SD adapters (edit: apparently not lol) behave better.

I haven't noticed the usb3 + msata to be hot under the palmrest. At least not more than the palmrest is at the right side for example. But that gives me a good idea to test the msata in the wwan slot. I wanted to use it for wwan, but your observation changes things. One thing I can see is that idle usage on battery never goes below 14w, which is a lot even for a fhd 13.3. screen.

[TPFanatic]

Dammit I spelled that wrong, I meant usb3 + esata. Big difference. My bad.

[Bionicman]

Dammit I spelled that wrong, I meant usb3 + esata. Big difference. My bad.

But you gave me an idea. Since the adapter board is (msata + usb3 + internal usb2) to expresscard by K.K. , I moved the msata SSD to the WWAN slot.
I can't disconnect the adapter board as a whole, it seems to be soldered to another cable as well.
But I got some interesting results right away (looking at power manager only):
before: screen brightness 7/15, wifi on, idle around 14w.
after: screen brightness 7/15, wifi on, idle around 10w.
Laptop temperatures around 4-5C lower.
Battery runtime test: with ~48Wh battery got ~40mins more.
Keep in mind, the usb3 + usb2 are still connected and on standby.
It's kinda strange, why would just the msata connection draw so much cpu power...

[TPFanatic]

Clearly it's not as optimized as the OEM MSATA.
I figure the SATA lanes comes from either the dock ultrabay or dock ESATA pass through. Where power is sourced is clearly a constant draw of some sort, and not switching off with inactivity like a proper SATA device.

[sandIP]

Hey everyone,

A while back, I acquired an X330 display adapter from xytech, and recently, I decided to solder this display kit onto my x230 board. However, I've been facing some issues. It seems that I can no longer access the mod page for x330, possibly due to the xytech website being down.

My main concern right now is to determine the supported displays for the 16:9 aspect ratio category. I attempted to use the LP133WF4-SPA2 panel, which is a Full HD panel manufactured by LG. Unfortunately, this panel doesn't seem to work as expected. It either turns off by itself or remains on but displays nothing.

I'm reaching out to this community to ask for assistance. Could anyone provide me with a list of panels that the X330 adapter is known to support? I'm specifically interested in panels that fit the 16:9 aspect ratio. If you have experience with this adapter or information on compatible panels, I would greatly appreciate your input.

Thank you in advance for your help!