As a long term lenovo/ibm x series owner.

Buy the x201 instead of the x220. It's built like an brick poo hut compared to the x220 and later which are much more flimsy.

I still have my x200s and an x230. The x200s still comes out on the road with me and it totally indestructable.

this is what i wanted to hear... i am deciding between them to potentially replace my x61, which i'm typing this on and is my day-to-day machine... its more than that its my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest... and, i'm proud to say, my lover. But the screen is mince if i'm honest and i probably need to get off a 4:3 and get 16:9 like the normal people

I think Lenovo and Dell ex-corporate hardware (and to a lesser extent HP Elitebooks and Probooks) offer excellent value in the used market. Some people will turn their noses up when 'they can get a new machine for £200' but they don't get the value and build quality that went into these older machines that can easily last 10 years plus - how many people have seen cheap glitzy consumer laptops with cracks forming around the hinges on the lid after a year or two? And then the Lenovos with their massive stainless steel hinges that barely loosen after 5 years, I know what I'd rather have.

To anyone sitting on the fence - for £99 you can't really go wrong, and as others have said, the SSD is the single most important upgrade to making it 'feel fast', £25 for 120GB is decent.

I wasn't trying to offend you - but at the end of the day, the batteries don't last forever even on Macs that are meant to be perfect (ok, I'm being facetious) and 'machines crashing' is almost definitely software or something mechanical like thermal throttling due to dust build-up. Computers are so reliable these days it's very rare to have total fatal failure.

Maybe I'm biased, but I like seeing these deals, when you consider the incredible value you get on a used computer that would've cost nearly £1,000 4-5 years ago, this is the kind of thing you can toss in a rucksack or leave in the boot of your cars and not think too hard about - the cases are robust and the hardware just is better built than the cheap consumer stuff you see today and I reckon other than new processor extensions, etc. these first-gen i5s are faster than current Atoms.

120gb SSD fitted for £25 but you could fit your own for slightly cheaper. Bargain if you can't.

Is Windows 10 still a free upgrade from 7?

Not bad then. Is the battery likely to be six years old though? Wonder how much hammer these have had. Can't really complain for the money though...

Seems to be a shade below the going rate on ebay, though I am not sure of the appeal of a six year old laptop and battery. The 1st gen i5 is fine but the primitive Intel HD graphics of the 1st gen models are a bit limiting, these days, though fine for office duties and I love old Lenovo Thinkpad style keyboards.

Literally just one hour lol these have probably been on all day everyday for the last 5-6years

Seems to be the going rate for this laptop haven't voted

Worth saying these are first generation i5's. Not saying that they're not good enough for general use, just there was a bit of a step-up in the second generation.

Cold. for almost the same you can get an used x220

If you would prefer a second gen i5 (I would), £20 more for a Dell E6220: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231656823283