I have just got an X230 in the mail w/W7 Pro. It seems 'OK' to me although I have heard there is seriously bad PWM on the screens unless it is on full brightness. Maybe software like Iris could fix that? Getting a mdp>hdmi converter so will try it out on my monitor.
Also aren't the BIOS on Thinkpad's usually notoriously locked down? I thought most flashing tools have to show some sort of disclaimer to avoid responsibility for bricking the device if the flash fails?