/tpg/ - ThinkPad General

Previous thread: If you're looking for purchase advice, state your budget and requirements (e.g. size and performance).
Don't buy anything OTHER THAN IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad T, X, and W/P Series if you want the Real Business Experience™

>Other business laptops are welcome in /tpg/ (Dell Latitude/Precision, HP EliteBook/ZBook).

Libreboot-compatible models:
>T60, X60(s; t); X200(s; t), T400(s)/500; W500.
Modern models:
>X220/X230 - 12", 768p, cheap and light
>T420/T430 - 14", 900p, widely available, socketed CPU, both Coreboot-compatible (Ivy Bridge CPU support on T420); Old keyboard swap on *30 series
>T520/530; W520/530 - 15", 1080p, DTR, 32GB RAM on quadcore models, USB 3.0
>T440p/540p; W540/1 - Last Thinkpads with socketed processors, easily replaceable trackpad (W541 doesn't need trackpad replacement)
>P-Series - 15'' + 17'', 4K display, up to 64GB of RAM, Xeon CPU option. Expensive.

Why ThinkPad?
>Used machines are plentiful and cheap
>Excellent keyboards - tactile feel and quiet
>Great durability: magnesium rollcage for structural integrity, with high quality plastic body panels
>Utilitarian design: e.g. indicator LEDs, 7 row keyboard layout on older models
>Docking stations that easily turns your laptop into a desktop
>Easy to repair (most models), upgrade & maintain thanks to readily available service manuals for every model, spare parts easy & cheap to obtain
>The best TrackPoint™, great for those who type a lot or hate swiping their fingers all over a touchpad
>Excellent GNU/Linux & *BSD support

>Hardware Maintenance Manuals (HMM's) and Windows drivers for legacy devices:
download.lenovo.com/eol
>Used laptop guides by xsauc:
dankpads.com
>ThinkWiki - Info on ThinkPads & running GNU/Linux on them:
thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki
>BIOS logo booru:
biosimage.booru.org

Attached: shamelesslly stolen from the booru.png (640x480, 2K)

First for weird OSes on X220s.

How is meltdown/spectre affecting libreboot devices?

Third for X60 running Win10

So if I buy an x230 I can swap the keyboard?

Stop posting this meme.

Considering buying Thinkpad T400 for 150 dollars. What can i expect from it? Any good advantages over other except the price tag?
Anyone here that uses T400 and has to tell me about something that is a disadvantage or that is surprisingly good?

But I'm genuinely curious.

I like my T400. Parts were cheap to get it up to snuff. I replaced the screen hinges, CPU, and keyboard (UK to US). Maxed out the RAM, installed a SSD and slapped in a new battery. My system is Librebooted and I use a small DE, so boot time from off to desktop is less than 20 seconds on average. It handles everything I've thrown at it so far.

>$150 for a T400
dafuq?, that's too much, unless it's trannybooted.
>Advantages
easy to get spares, upgrades
Good for casual usage, emulation.
>disadvantages
Trannyboot/coreboot requires to be flashed with a RPi3 (or equivalent) and a SOIC clip.
Prices have been hiked up due to this.

Is an x230 a good buy overall. What should i get, x220 or x230?

Attached: 1514956951088-Δ.jpg (2000x1328, 820K)

I got a T420 for school and I wanted to put Ubuntu on it to test out Linux on a computer I don't use very often. Will I have any problems with hardware compatibility? I'm mostly worried about the WiFi card.
Any other advice?
Thanks

When booting ubuntu from a usb you can choose to test it without installing, and you can connect to wifi and test it

thanks lads for the advice, appreciate it

Compatibility issues with stuff such as that are rarely due to the OS, it has to do with the BIOS.

Ubuntu is gay as fuck though

Ubuntu has closed-source drivers by default, so you're good to go.

Thanks. What else would you recommend besides Ubuntu? I just want something with decent documentation and a community I can get support from.
>Inb4 Gentoo.

x220 is better. same RAM cap, mSATA features (running SATA2 as well), i believe no upgrades to the EC slot as well, and personally i do like the old school keyboards, though chiclet is more sturdy and compact. all models have USB3.0 and they solved the VGA port noise though. thermals/battery life is also worse for not a lot of performance advantage compared to sandy bridge. monitor is exactly the same too. not worth 30-40 extra bucks imo.

>I just want something with decent documentation and a community I can get support from
Arch Linux, if you get to install it properly. If not, there's Antergos and Manjaro.
Fedora
Debian (testing)
OpenSUSE

x200 or something like that has new chinese mobo available, google for more info

Manjaro for sure. And go with i3 for a comfy 420. Don't bother going pure Arch unless you're autistic

A new X210 batch? nice.

I have a power supply on the way (still not sure if it will even turn on) but I have no battery. Seller discarded the swollen battery when he dug up the laptop from storage. There was some dust from the leakage still in there but it doesn't look like it hurt anything, the pins are still shiny at least. I sure would have liked to have gotten the casing at least to put some new cells in there.. It's in such good condition that I'd feel bad not trying to restore it

Anyone know where to get a battery that doesn't cost a fortune? Preferably in Europe

Attached: 701c.jpg (1046x1200, 934K)

Who /extendo/ here?

Attached: maxresdefault.jpg (1920x1080, 63K)

that's a sexy computer

I'll try Manjaro and see how I like it, thanks anons

Try the Architect ISO. Tons of options and customisation.

it's probably out of the reach of someone that know nothing beside ubuntu

Lads, whats the best p series thinkpad to get? I wonder if i should go fro 15.6 or larger ones. Also whats the best place to source them from?

P51/P71 as of now.
Or you could go for a P52s

what is the best thinkpad for windows xp / posready 2009?

I already have a t430, but I want an XP machine, too.

T43p, A31p

So the T530 and W530 are entirely exchangeable parts-wise? The only difference between them, assuming both have their nvidia card options (thus similar heatsinks), is another 2 RAM slots for the W?

>another 2 RAM slots
on quad-core models, iirc.

Buyer's dilema guys: I've been planning on getting an X270 for document writing, along with the benefits of having the latest integrated graphics (which will help with a few work things.

They seems to be £350-400, with the normal low res screen. On the other hand, I've just been offered an XPS 13 with a 2+2 Haswell CPU and a QHD screen, so the integrated graphics and CPU are worse than expected, but the screen is presumably a lot better, at ~£450.

Is the XPS13 sufficiently durable and capable to make it worth taking of the X270? It's certainly an older laptop.

taking over the X270*

If anyone knows, I'd also like to know how the XPS13 handles heat (and/or the X270) as I usually have matlab code running 24/7 on everything I own.

So what is better about it then?

I recently got an X131e for free. It's running Windows 7.

What's wrong with it is that if you try to type any of the following characters:
{}

It just beeps at you and doesn't type them on the screen.

How do I fix this?

>non-dogshit TrackPad™ installed in my T440p

Thank fucking God, back to comfy shitposting again.

That nu-trackpad is so fucking horrible it's not even funny, I have no idea how that managed to make it into the final product. Surely they must have used it for even five minutes, or handed it to some product testers to get their opinion. It's so fucking horrible that the experience of using it for the past week has turned me into a complete retard with the TrackPoint™, I'm having to be super intentional right clicking because I'm paranoid it'll left click, even thought it can't now.

What the FUCK were they thinking?

Attached: IMG_5615.jpg (3264x2448, 1.2M)

I just bought a t420, was getting the model with a 1366x768 screen and the 2.5ghz i5 for $135 a mistake?

>1366x768 screen
>a mistake
Pick two

What an awesome machine. I feel as if should have purchased a T440p over that 420

I can't believe there are people unironically buying the *40 series now. They're the absolutely lowest point of the Thinkpad line.

It's cheap, has almost-desktop 3770 performance with a quad core without overheating, 9-cell lasts a while and it has a FHD IPS screen. Sounds good to me.

>inb4 freetarded autismo shit

meltdown is patched on the OS side, spectre is completely vulnerable and will remain to be because the fix needs intel microcode from coreboot.
Again, enjoy your placebo trannyboot faggots.

Which modern lelnovo design thinkpad is the cheapest?

Is there a collection more complete than mine?
>Latitude E6440 with 1600x900, AMD gpu
>Elitebook 8470p 1600x900 almost mint condition
>Elitebook 8470p 1366x768
>Elitebook 8470p 1366x768 8 gigs of RAM, SSD as boot drive and ultrabay storage drive
>T60
>T61
>T500 with a cracked base near the hinge, I'll fix it eventually. And flash the bios. 1680x1050
>X200, mint condition. I love it but putting any wear on it would be sad. LED display
>dead X201 RIP was my daily driver from 2015 to 2017.
>T420 1600x900
>T530 1600x900 with nvidia
>X220T
>X200T with LED on the way

Attached: 2018-05-23-1527068219_1366x768.png (1366x768, 1.61M)

What's the best IBM ThinkPad with a 4:3 screen that I can get?

T70 or X62

Okay, what's the best IBM (not Lenovo) ThinkPad with a 4:3 screen that I can easily get for cheap?

T60p with 1600x1200
too bad they're all dead

Can I put any IDE HDD in a T42? The guy who sold it to me told me that only certain brands work.

T60p was actually the first ThinkPad that I had, but it did, in fact, die.

neither of those are lenovo you sperg

What is the Thinkpad with the least worst display that I can get for cheap?

I never said that they were. I was just adding that detail to be more clear.

What is the superior non-Thinkpad: Elitebook or Latitude?

Shame.

they are all mostly dead and the remaining few will die soon.
the ati gpu is just shit.
Macs of the same generation had the same issue too.
I wonder if the t4x machines with ati have similar fail rates.

The T510 is peanuts but you can get it with a 1080p IPS display which looks fantastic. Might not be for you though depending on your battery/size/performance requirements.

I have both. Literally the only "issue" with the elitebooks are the lack of mSATA support, but there's a chance that coreboot could add it in, since I'm almost 99% sure there's a SATA controller in there.

Latitudes/Precisions. They're extremely underrated

also latitudes have a very invasive BIOS. Like any software fan control you use will be over ridden by the BIOS settings that you can't change, resulting in a very loud machine.

OH and the traccpoint buttons are hinged, might be a non-issue for you but it annoyed the shit out of me.

>OH and the traccpoint buttons are hinged
As opposed to what?

as opposed to just being press in like thinkpads and memebooks.
Like on latitudes you have to kinda rock your thumb rather than just press down.

They're hinged in thinkpads too, at the top of the button.

Right, on t420 to present, but there's a lip to the buttons that you can just press down on. Latitudes are just smooth.
that autistic german laptop review site complains about it in their E6440 review.

Nigga all ThinkPads are hinged.

>X61T
>X60s
>X60
>X200
>X220
>X201(Some assembly requried)
>T60 ati
>T500
>T400
>R400
>t41,t42,t43 -More then one earch
>X220 FHD
>380XD
>IBM 240, I need to replace the screen desu
>HP Jornada 690
>???
Desu thanks for calling me cute last thread :D
T70 with 2160x1440 panel :D
T60p with 2160x1440 panel and copper shim on the gpu :D

The x230 has a marginally better cpu and definatly better gpu. The x230 also as usb 3.0 on all models. So if that's important go for that. The only other difference is the keyboard, the body on both is the same and alot of parts are interchangeable. I'd go for the x230 for the extra performance. -posted from an x220

The x230 has usb 3.0 and newer generation of i-series processors other than the keyboard they are exactly the same.

My ThinkPad has some kind of adaptive brightness bullshit going on based on if or not it is plugged in. Even at 100% backlight brightness, if I switch from a light scene (e.g. Jow Forums) to a dark scene (e.g. a grey themed website) I can see the backlight going through some kind of brightness adjustment in steps. This doesn't happen when it is plugged in.

How do I stop it doing this? It makes the display look really shitty when it isn't plugged in.

Attached: 1515322800833 - Copy (2).jpg (750x845, 455K)

1.)E580 (i7-8550U, 8GB, RX 550, 1TB HDD+256GB SSD) 950€
2.)T580 (i5-8250U. 8GB, MX 150, 256GB PCIe) 1400€

What should i buy ? build quality is comparable because E model is built out of aluminium. I want long term solution (8 years and more with upgrades), i have all plastic asus craptop (4y old) and not a single thing is broken ( just few clips, because there is no easy way in to maintain/upgrade it).
halp me Jow Forums

Some time ago, my T530 mobo blew up and I bought a new machine on ebay. My question for you is what I should do with the v old machine. I still have the chassis and everything, and it has the 1080 screen, an extra stick of ram. Is it worth trying to sell it?

Attached: 1363810726243.gif (298x225, 1.79M)

So I've tried to put arch on my x220 a hundred times now and I can always get everything working on it but the wifi, and it is a feature I really need. Is there something I missed? Should I have switched out my wifi card to a gnu aproved one or something, I feel like I fell for a meme. inb4 did you read the wiki

>8 years and more with upgrades
can you even upgrade nupads

i am used to numpad, have it right now, desu i only use Enter * - +

nupads as in nu-pads as in new chinkpads m8

i know mobile processors stopped being upgradeable since Haswell because jews and then everyone fell for the everything soldered meme

i only plan on maxing out ram and storage(and to replace keyboard or something smaller if it fails )

where is a good place to buy a t440p with the dedicated gpu?

Attached: 20131101122325505_1b4ca_file.jpg (800x500, 96K)

>tfw no qt to cuddle and discuss memepads with
The T60p has some amazing screen options, too bad they were insanely expensive so all you find now are 1024x768 ones with fried mobos

iwlwifi you stupid fuck

so does the cursor movement when using trackpoint make the captcha think you're a bot? ever since i started using it i have to answer so many more captchas.

In that case get the T580

rolling for upgrade, one m-pcie slot left

>0-4
Broadcom crystal hd decoder
>5-9
WWAN Card

Attached: 8132.gif (262x323, 1.34M)

I hope someone can confirm this one day

>Broadcom crystal hd decoder
Redpill me on this senpai

Will it really last that long ?? is that still possible with modern tech.

I'll do it when I get a flasher. Honestly it's not even that big a deal. mSATA is a dead format.
Meanwhile you can get full bandwidth from your 2.5" SSD which you can't do on the X220 and T420

I have tried that but the adapter just sits there not working and is red when I look at it

>Redpill me
what

post lscpi

lspci*

$150 sounds a little steep, I paid $100 for mine a couple years ago.

> P8400 @2.26GHz with 8GB of RAM, 120GB SSD, and a 256MB HD3470

Perfectly adequate for shitposting, Youtube, and emulated games/classic games/indieshit. The only downside is that my battery is deader than Elvis so I need to be tethered to a wall.

Attached: WqGfRUa.jpg (545x520, 25K)

anybody bought x220/230 screens from aliexpress?

amazon and newegg

Can't you just swap the t60p mobo into a regular t60?

I remember them being pretty cheap used on ebay.

X220 turns on without displaying anything. Fan spins but nothing else. Hooking it up to an external monitor yields not results. I can't turn on the thinklight or anything either. Any advice?

See what's the exact model/name of the screen?

How did it blow up? Just buy a new mobo?