Score:5, Offtopic

...because of the R51e.

The R51e is the first ThinkPad since the Acer-designed and manufactured i series to use a non-Intel chipset.

The i series systems used primarily ALi (Acer Labs) chipsets. However, the R51e uses chipsets by a different company whose name begins with an A and ends with an I. That's right, ATi's Xpress 200M is used in the R51e.

So, you're asking, what's the big deal?

Well, it's simple. This creates whole new possibilities for the X33.

Let's go over the X33's possible configurations:

An update of the X32, as a laptop with discrete graphics - i915PM, ATi Mobility Radeon X300
An update of the X32, as a laptop with updated, but not discrete, graphics - i915GM
And, the new possibility, an update of the X32, as a laptop with updated, and much better, yet still integrated graphics - ATi Xpress 200M.

Before this happened, I thought the third wouldn't happen until pigs were flying their little sub-2.5lb 10.4" ThinkPad S40s into Hell, carrying winter coats. Then again, weirder things HAVE happened this year... Apple switching to Intel, Apple releasing a multi-button mouse, Slashdot updating to CSS, IBM selling out to Lenovo, and Opera removing the ads...

I had thought that Lenovo would either give the option, releasing both an integrated graphics AND a discrete graphics model, or just release the integrated graphics model (remember, there's a little dislike of the X3, as it draws sales away from both the T4 and the X4.) Also, a discrete model would consume more power, which was already a concern with the i915 northbridge.

I can't get power consumption figures on the ATi RX200M, but I'd hazard a guess that it's lower than an i915PM + ATi MRX300.

Comparing the i915G and the ATi RX200 (non-mobile), the ATi chipset is slightly slower than the Intel chipset in ordinary work. However, in 3D work, it takes the GMA900 to the cleaners. Granted, it's on a par with the GMA950 (except there's a couple games it plays that the GMA950 can't), but there aren't any GMA950s for the P-M yet.

So, I would be totally unsurprised if Lenovo releases the X33 with an ATi Radeon Xpress 200M.

Well, looks like the X3 series isn't going to be cut, after all:

Originally posted by abaxter on the NotebookReview.com Forums:

By the way, Lenovo sent an email back to me and said the IBM X30 series (X30, X31, X32 ...) will never have APS installed, don't ask me why, they say they will keep updating the series and not kill it but that it will never have APS. It must just not be compatible with their design approach for this model, or it's a way for them to differentiate the X40 series.

(my emphasis)

The X32 may well be cut, seeing as tabook (IBM's master listing of their models) is listing far fewer X32s, but it looks like there's going to be an X33 to take its place.