/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.

Upgraded models:
>X210 - X200/X201, i5 8250u quadcore
>X62 - X61, i5 5250u
>T70 - T60, i7 7700 hq
IPS displays, USB 3.0, m.2 x4, mini dp, no
forum.51nb.com/forum.php?mod=forumdisplay&fid=117

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


>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:

lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-a-series/ThinkPad-A485/p/22TP2TAA485
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

Hey Jow Forumsoblins, I was thinking about repurposing another computer I have for an upcoming project but I need 32GB RAM. When I priced that out I found out that it was $350+ just for the RAM upgrade, so even if I reuse most of the parts that I have, it's fairly expensive.

On the flip side, I can just buy a Thinkpad with 32GB of RAM on eBay for $400-600... so I'd definitely rather just do that. I like the look of the W541 but since I'm out of the loop, can you guys 1) fill me in on any caveats and 2) recommend something better, if applicable?

I have an x230 that I'm using as a main machine for the time being. Considering the following models are using low voltage cpus X230's are probably the best value per money still. If I were to plan on getting a new x model which one would be slightly better in speed and not cost way more than x230?

I have an x220 which is pretty beaten up but still works fine. the ethernet port is broken but I have an ethernet expansion card which i will obviousl include with it

how much can I get for it?

I think it's an i5 / 8gb with a modest SSD
it has been sitting in the closet since I checked ebay and it seemed like i wouldn't get enough for it to be worth selling (after fees)

Hack it up? What do you mean? My 540 has the disc drive so it should be a simple swap.

What's the cutest thinkpad?

X200 is pretty cute

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good taste
x200s imo

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post splashes

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how much are they selling for these days?

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how much do these go for in a condition that still makes them look cute?

On which website I can check which SSD works with a given Thinkpad?

Where can I find old R60/61's or T60/61's or even T400-420's?
I've got a T400 that doesn't boot (board is probably fucked) and an R61 whose screen lights up but doesn't display, but video out works, but also has a bios password I don't remember and is now locked on startup
I really wanted to use one for light programming because max comfy keyboards, but the only shit for sale on craigslist around here is the gross ass island keyboards or people selling X200's for $250

Wait are you faggots really soldering in new u series CPUs into x210's, X200's and X220's that's amazing!

What are some new (non refurb) laptops that are recommended around $500?

Crucial is the best site to see what SSD/Form Factor is needed for a laptop.

Usually I'd pick their SSD and then check their specifications & go from there.

What are you doing with so many ODD ? Stop rip 50 dvd porn at a time

tfw my x230 just arrived and it's better than I expected
Give me an official /tpg/ backgrownd now.

thanks

What do you guys think of the t480 and t580?

*Wallpaper
Fuck, I haven't changed walpaper in YEARS.

>buy x230 on the 17th
>it just now shipped

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Where's the thinkcat album again?

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imgur.com/a/K4Kjye3

Libreboot

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what model do you have? If you're ok with losing your DVD drive, those caddies are a surefire way to put a 2.5" drive in any thinkpad with a DVD drive.

Thanks

ow the edge

What's the best way to put a SSD in a T440p? Do they have m.2?

Use this.

Attached: soypad.png (1280x878, 72K)

I was gonna flash coreboot earlier but couldn't find my soic clip ;-;

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Thanks my dude.

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How does one change the (bios?) splash like that?

Use the Lenovo BIOS update utility, it will let you provide your own bitmap file.

The ThinkPad A485 is finally out in the UK, as of today.
When do you guys think it'll release in the US?

lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-a-series/ThinkPad-A485/p/22TP2TAA485

I wonder why normies and geeks think metalheads are 'edgy'
I actually didn't need any hardware to flash the background image for the bootloader

Anons I have a problem with my X230. Whenever I put it flat on somewhat softer surface (carpet or bed) my touchpad starts working like shit, not recognising half of my imput, stuttering ect, but when I lift front of laptop even with my finger under it works fine. Any ideas what may cause that or how to fix that?

I just got an x270 for $670. I think i got a pretty good deal for the specs.
>i7 7600u
>1080p ips
>256gb nvme
>8gb ram
>hd graphics 620
Problem is the battery life is nowhere close to what lenovo advertised. I understand the 21 hour figure is for the extended battery. I have the 3-cell internal and the 3-cell external and I get about 7 hours on debian. With the 72 Wh battery, I would have about twice as many Wh as I would now, so that would come out to 14 hours of battery. Did lenovo really lie about an entire 7 hours of battery life?

~$100 usually

Loose connector probably

What port does the intel optane memory use on the t580?

I was wondering if it was possible to replace it with another ssd, as I'm trying to see how to fit two drives in here.

>$670
Woof, could've halved that for a 240.

You probably need to install the drivers/power management packages.

My 540 with 57Wh can get 13 hours on Windows 10 with fairly minimal use (no wi-fi, music etc, just editing a word document)

Also Jow Forums what's the patrician choice of bluetooth mice for lenovo? Their own one is cute but it's £50 and I'm not paying that.

my microcode is up to date and the igpu drivers seem to have come preinstalled (ive tested some games with it and performance is what I would expect). I have powertop and tlp installed. my cpu governor is set top powersave also.
What else can I do to improve it?

can i get a thinkpad for ~$1200 with:
>16 gigs of ram
>intel i7
>SSD

idc about anything else

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there are some dinosaur laptops with those "specs"
you need to be more specific
like
>ram speed
>generation of processor
>read/write speeds

x250

If I ever get really drunk, what are the reasons not to order a pimped out current gen?

even a drunk man is smart enough not to buy a laptop with no external battery

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Can the x220t drive two 1440p monitors at the same time? I don't care if the laptop screen displays.
I can get 1 to work just fine with displayport, but I can't get the vga output to work at all with either monitor (but it works on my old shitty monitor).
The monitors both have displayport, hdmi, and dvi inputs. The models are an Acer CB271HU and an Mbest MB279QR144.
I don't have a dock.

No.

On my monitor 1440 is limited to displayport for some reason.

trackpads on the X230 are a known unreliable failure point. replace it or disconnect it. Having it connected and intermittent will randomly slag the KB and trackpoint too.

can i shower with my thinkpad?

Im a new thinkpad user and I actually like the trackpoint. I have to move a lot less to navigate a page.

Bought one of these for my T540P. Yea, nay?

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how can I do it? my bios version is 1.49.

why would anyone buy the X200s over X200, the X200s is so underpowered and much more difficult to libreboot.

i fucked up and got a thinkpad with vpro
is what i hear about a 3g modem being built in a meme? does amt only work if you provide a compatible modem?

Reminder

Attached: new thinkpad.jpg (800x1200, 709K)

I thought X220/T420 also had network card whitelist?

You can easily flash a modded bios on those

>z229/x230
am i understanding this correctly that you're recommending 6 year old models?

Do you need external flash for X220 or can it be done internally?

>can it be done internally?
Yes for modded original BIOS, not sure for coreboot

give me a quick rundown on slice batteries.

Very nice, ignore the haters, they're just jelly.

I like my X230
That said whatever I have I was going to coreboot/libreboot anyway, so external flashing was just expected

anyone?

You're fucked. Get a libreboot X200/T400. And then you will be blessed by Stallman himself.

anybody know what ram speeds the T410 ACTUALLY supports?

the official specs "recommend" 1066 MHz, but there's another lenovo "memory compatibility" ocument that says it supports 1333 MHz, but also Crucial sells an "upgrade kit" with 2x4GB at 1600MHz which supposedly works fine

dammit I just want a thinkpad that I can do work on but I do want to be able to occasionally play games on it

what games

It's a meme. What is true though is that intel ME can use intel wifi and LAN cards, but ME is in any recent laptop and can only be bricked, not completely removed. Google Me cleaner.
Note that it might brick your BIOS.

how do i get the finger print scanner working on my x270

by throwing it away

and buying a t440s

*on linux

What is the name of that IBM keyboard and how hard is it to find? Because I want it. Desperately.

On a different note, has anyone had success in swapping out their DVD drive for an aftermarket blu-ray drive? It's rare, but I sometimes need to spin one up and if I can get one working with my T420 then I will never need external media for a desktop again for the foreseeable future.

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emulated ps2 games, overwatch, civ, potentially a battlefield game

Yeah you can get one for $300-400 even

fprint

got this for $300
originally had 16gb ram and a 512gb 2.5" ssd
you just have to look

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Should I return the T420 I just ordered and get a T430? Can't keep both because poorfag, also my first thinkpad

do you like my mac goys
it has a trackpoint and doesn't overheat :^)

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What's wrong with it?

Looks cool. Tell us how it is when you get it.

Which thinkpad did you use?

Nothing as far as I know, it's not here yet. I just found out that the T430 has inbuilt usb 3 and can support newer cpus. It should have been obvious had I researched more, but I ordered the 420 on impulse.

I see people recommending the 430 more often. Is the 430 so much better that it's worth the return/swap?

T440p

Both are pretty equal really. I have a T430 and I'm enjoying it, but you do you.

Honest question: Why? Not trying to be a smart ass just genuinely curious. It seems you would get macOS which, IMO, is the best OS however wouldn't it be poorly optimised?

Mine already has all that for around $400 when all was said and done

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WHY DO YOU FUCKS KEEP OUTBIDDING ME ON EBAY

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>2 bids

lol i posted a thinkpad here i was gonna buy and someone bought it a few minutes later.

I second the keyboard sauce

I got one of those for free, company was throwing it out, not a bad little machine. A bit on the heavy side if you're looking for portable.