/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 (check lcd), X60(s/t); X200(s/t. -s requires soldering), 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); Quad Core Compatible, 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

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Other urls found in this thread:

forum.51nb.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=117
ebay.com/itm/202357797417?ViewItem=&item=202357797417
download.lenovo.com/lenovo/content/ddfm/X201.html
reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/6w4yvc/update_chinese_t430s_1080p_ips_kit/
amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-TS1000-Notebook-i7-8750H-Mechanical/dp/B07C7YL2F2/
twitter.com/AnonBabble

>who ever makes these threads really should mention the special thinkpads made by some chink in Shenzhen

Too many characters to fit in the OP so here:

forum.51nb.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=117
Upgraded models:
>X210 - X201 with i7-8550u quadcore
>X62 - X61 with i7-5600u
>T70 - T60 with i7-7700HQ quadcore
Older thinkpads with modern CPU motherboard replacements, USB 3.0, Mini dp in place of expresscard, M.2 x4 port (egpu compatible), IPS displays.

Are Acer computers considered good?

No.

someone please answer this

That's alright. Even better if it has the IPS screen.

x200 any good? Movies Youtube and mundane shit

Thanks

Do you guys think the E485 is worth the price?

Do you guys think the A485 will be worth its price?

Should I buy a G40 and an X41, despite these being really useless?

If you have the money for it, sure, why not?

No. Thinkpads prior to the X1 have awful screens.

No Exxx is worth the price
Get a used quad core workstation or buy the real thing

do touhous try to steal your thinkpads?

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>Get a used quad core workstation
I want a Ryzen laptop, though.
>buy the real thing
As in the A485?

>No Exxx is worth the price
Why do people think this?
ThinkPas E-series, especially since the updated chassis with the E480/E485, seem like the best budget laptops.

Although, to be fair, I've never used one before.

I know someone who owns one
It's just a rebranded ideapad for fuck sake

Because buying a better Thinkpad for used is better bang for the buck.

But you can't take apart and replace shit in an Ideapad like you can with an E-series ThinkPad.

Is this really how deep we are scraping the barrel?
A lot of cheap laptops can be taken apart and upgraded

New X301. Don't worry, I'll install a different OS soon. Ubuntu 16 for testing purposes only.

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we get it. You own a mac.

What other cheap laptops can have they screens and keyboards replaced?

Additionally, no Ryzen mobile APU laptop offers that, expensive or cheap, aside from the A485 and the E485.

Actually, I'm having some issues. This fucking ThinkPad keeps restarting itself after shutdown. Every time I hold down that power button and kill the power, it automatically starts back up again. I cannot turn the machine off unless I remove the battery. It continually restarts! I don't see any BIOS settings for this. Is this a known issue that I can fix?

Screen is awful, cpu isn't bearable.
If you want something old buy a 4:3 t60 and upgrade the cpu to t7200 or t7400. Or instead save up more money and buy a t430.

Put my t540p to sleep
It wakes up in my bag and runs at almost 100C
That's already the 2nd time this has happened to me
Thanks windblows

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why does Jow Forums keep falling for the thinkpad meme?

Bought a x230 i7 variant with 8gb ram and 180 GB SSD for 300 USD
Did I pay too much?

Yeah, but it's a nice model so whatever
It's only worth like Max 200 dollars

works fine on my machine(tm)

I don't think they are likely to make a x210 with 8550u. Saying stock cooler won't be able to handle it.
>Recently built x210
Wish I discovered them when they are selling the t70

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hey guys I need some good help please
I found a old computer at my cousin attic is a ThinkPad and still running, so I bring it back to home with me but when I try to turn on the computer something that looks like a console said I need a pass, I when I ask for the pass he told me he forgot about it long time ago, I don't have a computer right now so I was trying to reboot it and use until I get a new computer, but this sock.. I'm stuck in here without know what to do!

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Yea I'm really happy with it it's my first ThinkPad and I'm wondering how didn't I fall for the meme earlier

Return the thinkpad Jamal

>implying

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is this a good deal?
ebay.com/itm/202357797417?ViewItem=&item=202357797417

where to find cheap thinkpads in yurop?

Never use the .com domain if you live in Europe
I bought one for 100 euros last week same spec but no IPS panel

Facebook fuckstain. Fuck off.

What does DTR mean in the context of ThinkPad (or laptops)?

Hey what kinda Thinkpad is this?

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>X210 - X201 with i7-8550u quadcore

But what are they actually charging people in terms of cost for that upgrade kit? I spent time looking over a dozen threads at that forum using Google Translate and never did find any precise info on the pricing (in USD).

I'm interested 'cause I think an x201 with fully current hardware spec could be one fucking awesome piece of computing hardware, but if anyone can point me to where the actual pricing is (with some English translation I presume) that would be awesome.

So I'm going to college in Spain for computer engineering, I'm torn between buying a laptop or not.

I'll be living away from home, so I won't have easy access to my desktop.

I don't know if we'll use the university's computers when it's needed in class or if we have to bring our own. If it's the first case, should I buy a laptop or try to take my desktop to where I'll be living?

How stronk should the laptop be?

As a sidenote, I just went to Lenovo's site and put in x201 to look for drivers/etc, it's like they never manufactured it: they offer no info at all anymore, nothing, it doesn't come up in any product searches or by using the model number (3626-AL3 or 3626-AL4).

How truly fucking strange.

Get a Macbook Air like the rest of your class.

download.lenovo.com/lenovo/content/ddfm/X201.html

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I've read that the faculty uses some windows programs, so Mac and Linux are out of the question.

There might be a chance of getting alternatives on Linux since there's a group dedicated to that, but it's not there yet.

Interesting how they seem to hide all that stuff from the support search.

Thanks, user.

I have the opportunity to buy a used-but-mint P50, reasonably specced with i7-6820HQ, Quadro M1000M, 8GB RAM and the latest revision of the 4K panel. The price is great for EU (burgers would frown upon this offer) and about fits my budget for a uni laptop. /ourlet/ Rossmann has shilled the P50 really well and I am probably not gonna find a better bang-for-buck deal.

My only concern is, at 2,7kg, would this machine be too heavy to carry around every day? It is a whole kilogram heavier than the 14-inch Latitude I was considering and pretty much decided for up to this point. Any user out there who can share experience?

2.7kg is not that heavy
Keep in mind that those gaming netbooks with similar specs can weight even up to 5kg of plastic

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What upgrades for my T420 should I get? It's basically the lowest end model

It is indeed not that heavy, but it is comparatively heavier than other good options I have. Gaming laptops were never a consideration.

This question was bugging me too for a while so have your answer. DTR means Desktop Replacement.

>>Wants to go to computer engineering
>>Never heard of VMs
C'mon bro, are you for real?

What's the point of Thinkpads?
>dude you can upgrade it
$300 for a T420
$200 for a FHD IPS upgrade kit
$150 for an Ivy-Bridge i7 CPU
$100 for 16GB Ram
$200 for a 256gb SSD + 2TB HDD
Then you brick it installing coreboot
Why not just buy something new?

>$300 for a T420

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Those are NZD

what's libreboot? and is it better than coreboot?

Just buy a macbook
>Cheap
>Reliable
>Good costumer support
>Loads of parts for the person repairing them
>OMG sceen
>Looks cool
>it's a Mac

>When he doesn't just buy a new physical machine for each operating system he needs to install

how much would you pay for thinkpad L450 with 8gig ram and 500gb , i5-5300.

Is it possible to still install a T440 FHD IPS into a T430?

Looks like something from L-series.

It's shit.

Attached: L512.jpg (1280x960, 123K)

are the L series shit ??

No
The panels use different connectors

Upgrade path for x220i?

But aren't there converters?
reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/6w4yvc/update_chinese_t430s_1080p_ips_kit/

X230/X250

It depends heavily on the model. Some actually have T-series motherboard with low end specs and casing (I think L420 and L520 at least). Others are derived from E-series or something else and are just shitty.

I'd steer away from them.

L series is milspec but case material is just plastic, no fancy magnesium / carbon fiber whatever hybrid.

That said, even the T480 is just plastic now (PSrefs list it as magnesium hybrid or PPS for the display cover but all I've seen that are availalbe are only PPS).

What's the best Jow Forums approved Thinkpad I can get with an IPS screen?

>ISP
>SSD
>i7-2640M

x220

*IPS

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Simply fuck off.

Not the 230?

ooga booga keyboard meh
me don't wanna

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I have a 220 and 230.
The 230 is the one where Jow Forums complains about the keyboard, but you can swap it.

Nigga nugger not listen
Keyboard go sparkie spark
keyboard swap meh

Attached: x230_t430.png (800x2000, 2.2M)

How is the battery life?

I like the T420 and X220 but the T420 has a garbage screen and the X220 is fat and old

But it only weights 1.3kg
On a good 60 dollar 9 cell one like 12h while running *nix
That goes for both 230 and 220

Do you recommend the 220 or 230 more?

has anybody here used a lenovo external monitor? i'm thinking about getting a ThinkVision P24h.

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X220 vs X230

X230 pros:
>2x USB3 on all models (X220 has 1 on i7 models)
>CPU consumes less power and outputs less heat
>GPU is over 50% more performant
>OpenGL 4.0-4.2 (vs. 3.1-3.3 on X220)
>OpenCL 1.2 (vs. no support on X220)
>Mini DP -> HDMI adapter is more common than DP -> HDMI
>backlit keyboard available

X220 pros:
>classic keyboard by default
>3rd party batteries work by default
>cheaper

X230 requires custom EC BIOS to support classic keyboard and 3rd party batteries. This requires following simple instructions and booting a usb stick.

Personally I've had X40, X61s, X201, X220 and X230 as my daily laptop and I have to say that X40 and X61s had the best keyboard in both typing feel and layout. The keyboards on my X201 and X220 had too soft collapse for my taste and I would sometimes mix up two consecutive letters from different hands while touch typing. X230 has objectively worse layout but the typing feel is back to amazing so I haven't modded X220 keyboard onto my X230.

In the end it's all about what you need and what kind of a deal you can find. X230 + X220 keyboard + modding is much more expensive in time and money than just picking up X220 if it's all about the keyboard layout.

The difference in typing feel might be from different manufacturers for ISO and ANSI keyboard. Not sure though since I've only used ISO ones.

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Cant really give a direct comparison because my x220 was an i7 with 8gb ram and WWAN module that I replaced with a x230 due to fan error warning.

my x230 takes about 1.5 hours to charge and its an old 9 cell battery I probably get about 4 hours but I have a lot of development services running so I am not a good example

yeah, Lenovo LT2252p, best monitor I've ever owned

For 10 Chink chonk you can buy a 2 port USB 3.0 for x220 without a I7 off ebay

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*Expresscard

Can anyone reccomend a thinkpad docking station that I can run from a12v car battery?

I want to tour europe in a van whilst doing freelance wordpress edits so dual display port or displayport + DVI output would be nice for 2 external screens

Said expresscard consumes energy regardless of being used or not, generating excess heat and wasting battery :^)

I don't really mind the Keyboard so it seems like 230 is the clear winner

lol

What?

Reposting from previous thread:
Any thoughs on this?
amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-TS1000-Notebook-i7-8750H-Mechanical/dp/B07C7YL2F2/

I haven't found anything similar as cheap as this. Also the keyboard has Cherry ML clones

Looks like some chink ODM who used to be the direct competitor of Lenovo back in the days, SSD is an 960EVO and both the screen and battery can be upgraded

*autistic screeching*

What did they mean by this?

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>the selected item is no longer available
it is a mystery

why not a X240 then?

or X250

or X260

or x270

I want a cheap laptop that can fuck with Linux for the first time and watch youtube and movies.

Price.