ITT: Reasons why you like/dislike ThinkPads

ITT: Reasons why you like/dislike ThinkPads.

Personally, like the majority of us here, I love them. A ThinkPad is the result of a 30 year-old design tradition, and it really shows. Even when Lenovo bought the brand, they brought the entire team with them, so nothing really changed.

They have made stupid things, like when they put a printer behind the keyboard, or when they removed the trackpad buttons, but there's a continuity to them that makes every new model an attempt to improve the design of the last one while respecting that tradition.

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libreboot

I just can't forgive them for the T440's shitty trackpad. Just a really fucking stupid design decision, unlike the T430's keyboard, which at least had some tradeoffs.

I had a thinkpad for six years, old x220 model I bought because they're talked about here. Recently moved up to a 1080p dell fifth gen i5 latitude I bought used for 170 bucks. I do miss the track point though, dell one's are noticeably bad in comparison.

I love Thinkpads but I'm disappointed they're removing the Ethernet port from the 12" models. I'm a network engineer so I use it a lot for work and the port was a major reason I got my x250.

Happy T440p user here, trackpad is easily replaced

What model? E5440?

One up from that, E5450

I have a T450s and it is the best notebook I've owned. Everything else fucking died a year or two after buying it, but this is still running as good as it did day one (minus the batter, of course).
That said, I wouldn't buy anything newer. The current T series doesn't even have a replaceable battery without disassembly. That's completely unacceptable.
Looking to find a cheap x220 now for my second Thinkpad.

You shouldn't have to replace shit just because the chinks decided it would be a good idea to copy Apple.

This is why you should be happy Thinkpad is no longer IBM

I like the desgin. It's blocky and sleek. Negative points would be the screen.

I have a thinkpad now and it's fucked. Looking for another. Ironically only laptop that's lasted years was whatever Macbook Pro I had. Can't believe I sold it to make a $3000 desktop which is also a broken buggy piece of shit. Anyway some ebay ad for a thinkpad T430 or 420 I think is $1000 it's 3.6ghz and I asked if I was anything special they said no it's for nostalgia purposes (the kind of high price) rthe fact it had a 90w ineffecient CPU was irrelevant unfortunately.

Should I get a T430 or 420 I want the best screen and upgrades and CPU possible?

Talking about the x220 here

Pros:
>easy access to most parts
>hot swappable battery
>indicator LEDs
>good keyboard
>easy to install your distro of choice on

Cons:
>outdated hardware
>shitty touchpad
>thinknipple(tm) is almost always too sensitive to use
>proprietary wifi chip
>motherboard has binary blobs

Otherwise it's great. I'd love one of those Thinkpad 25s, a modern version of the x220 is all I need.

Likes:
>durable
>easy to upgrade
>new parts are fairly inexpensive
>hot swappable batteries
>excellent software support (Windows, Linux, BSD, Hackintosh)
>stock EFI gets regular updates for years
>Libreboot and Coreboot support on a lot of them

Dislikes:
>trackpads range from shit to mediocre
>not all the keyboards are backlit (most newer ones can be upgraded to a backlit keyboard though)

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I just used one for the first time in a long time (helping my dad's friend)
>dat laptop nipple
>dat keyboard

Now I want one.

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x230 here
Pros:
>easy access to ram/hdd
>pretty easy access to other components
>LEDs
>keyboard
>light

Cons:
>trash aspect ratio
>no backlit keyboard
>trackpad is complete ass

There's absolutely no good reason to not have a dedicated GPU in a laptop in 2018. Maybe if they release one with a Quadro or GTX1080 then I'd probably consider one but as of now I can't use it for work.

I am using a t430 would you recommend updating?

I just tore my x220 down to replace the thermal paste and it was by far the easiest laptop disassembly I've ever done.

the virgin backlight vs the chad thinklight

>Lenovo bought the brand
That's why. Retards limit the output to 60hz refresh rate on all their display tech. It's hardwired. Even without their fucking interface, it was limited to 60hz. There are other concerns like coming with bloatware and chinese spying but that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Would you guys recommend getting an i5 t480s? Will be dual booting it with ubuntu.

No. The new T series notebooks are only T series in name only.

At least they're great for Linux, I have never experienced issues using Linux on a Thinkpad even in the newer models.

Finger print security is pointless. Also didn't chinks build a backdoor into the bios?

T480s
Pros:
>great screen, top notch viewing angles, deals with glare well, high resolution
>best keyboard on market
>convienient nipple
>convenient mouse buttons above trackpad
>plenty of ports
>pretty good thermals, way better than macbook tier fans and heat dispersion
>good webcam- doubt most people here care about that though
>good battery life

Cons:
>speakers are aids, they sound like shit
>page up and down are next to arrow keys so i always fatfinger them. Gets annoying
>pretty mediocre-bad trackpad- although im coming from a macbook which have the best trackpads on the market, so maybe im spoiled
>ran me $1,500

I hate the speakers and that you have to watch out to not get a shitty TN panel. My only gripes with them. You can't just go out there and buy the next best because jew chinks will try to sell you a shitty TN panel in a premium priced product.

>le 440 trackpad
takes 10 minutes to replace with a proper one ffs.

>There's absolutely no good reason to not have a dedicated GPU in a laptop in 2018.
what for? for gaymen it wont have the performance anyway. you just add another power drain.

>muh hz
rope yourself /v/ermin

i7–3940XM can go in W or T530 and apparently run at 4.6ghz.

why the fuck is such an old cpu so expensive still? $200 more for a brand new desktop 8700k

The light is so pointless, it doesn't really light up the keyboard any more than the screen. I still like that it exists though

>using laptops in 2k18

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There hasn't been a Thinkpad I would classify as god since the T60. Maybe the T400 comes close.

>dell one's are noticeably bad in comparison.
The one on my 5590 is pretty nice to use. Not really worse than a W520 one, just a bit different.

>There's absolutely no good reason to not have a dedicated GPU in a laptop in 2018

>cost
>price
>battery life
>heat
>size

No need to speak in riddles, you say "I never ever even pretend to get shit done. Mobile computing is only for facebook and clash royale."

Enjoying my Hackintoshed x220. Best laptop for college right now

anyone have any experience with the X1 carbon? how is it?

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No mobile broadband for the p52. a downgrade from p51

What is your opinion on T540p? Is it a good Thinkpad?

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>not all keyboards are backlit


Wha are you, a faggot?

I love my X200 and X220. Using the X200 atm, but the SSD screw got stripped. I'll fix it, but until then, I'm not too worried.

The fact that I can charge batteries in the dock without my laptop even there is a great bonus I wish the newer laptops had. Is there any such charging option for newer lappy toppies?

Some laptops before the end of removal able batteries had small internal batteries for five minutes of down time with the battery removed to hot swap them out.

Comparing the X1 Extreme with a Macbook Pro 15" (goes for the P1 too)

Love:
- runs Linux
- more RAM
- better GPU
- way less thermal throttling
- function keys instead of a shitty touch bar
- less gay

Hate:
- 16:9 screen
- trackpad
- noticeably slower SSD
- proprietary power connector
- comes with Windows and getting Linux to work is a hassle

I have a x131e, t560 and a p52
All of them have excellent trackpoints which i love and adore as i ak finally free from using wireless mouses with laptops, as i hated touchpads with passion (admittedly macbook ones are to me the only acceptable options)
All of them are piss easy to disassemble and reassemble and you won't notice anyone touched them, which is great.
All if them have easily accesible ram and drive slots (with an exception to p52 where accessing additional added slots for ram require further disassembly).
IPS screens on the t560 and p52 are pretty ok.
The t560 isn't worth it imo because it lacks advantages of newer models and lacks the price of older models which makes it kind of a transitional model i guess, but it still performs perfectly fine.
All of the laptops have excellent thermals, although i do have the p1000 p52, and i heard that the stronger i7 with p3200 do in fact throttle themselves to hell.
The new machines are pricey but i still think they are worth it of you have the money.

Also the speakers are shit on all of them but i don't really care

Good mechanical design, but the hardware whitelist means I will never personally own one

Not the guy you responded to. But I had a T430 and upgraded to a T450s. Best decision ever. It's a lot lighter and more powerful. Can pack 20GB of RAM in it if needed.

>before the end of removal able batteries

Modern Thinkpads still have removable batteries, unless you fall for the Ultrabook meme.

And now they generally have big internal batteries as well, enough to last hours so you can even opt to leave the rear battery at home to save weight.
Unfortunately mt T460p doesn't even have a tiny internal battery - a serious flaw IMO.

>No mobile broadband for the p52.

It's still an option.

What exactly is more powerful in T450s? I have T430 (i5-3320M, 8GB RAM, NVS5400M 1GB) and I'm currently thinking about upgrade, but T450s ULV CPU's do not look like more powerful than i5 in T430. They are almost the same except TDP. Or am I wrong?

>Or am I wrong?

No, not wrong.

They make laptops thinner now, but they become less powerful not more.
And even if modern CPU's are more powerful on paper, cooling is the bottleneck until they figure out how to make 7nm chips.

Not a gamer you seething imbecile. When you hook a 60hz VGA up to a CRT and you know what happens? Flickering.

Yeah, that's hotswap, but what about the charging? x200 dock charges batteries without the laptop present.

get a t440p and replace the cpu with an i7-4800mq.

Like: value and performance
Dislike: poor performance/watt and very weak iGPU

If you can't afford anything else this is better than chromebooks but a raven ridge laptop is better if you can afford it imho.

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I used an x250 at work and had to switch to another thinkpad after 3 years just because you couldn't upgrade the RAM and 8GB were simply not enough anymore. Also the ibm lenovo software on those things is awful as fuck.

What makes you choose a macOS over other OS?

Mine has a bad RAM slot. I'm stuck at 2GB.

I'm gay.

I have a Thinkpad E470, (E series is bad, I know, I've heard it all before) and the trackpoint is so fucking stiff. I had to order a new set off some chinese website as the one that came with the laptop got really dirty, but the pictures were wrong on the listing and they ended up being too tall. I cut them down and they fit on fine but they're still stiff as shit. I recently used some non-thinkpad brand work laptop with a trackpoint on it which was much more pleasant to use. Is there any third party trackpoint caps or anything I can do to loosen it up?

I like the design and they run GNU/Linux well.

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>Even when Lenovo bought the brand, they brought the entire team with them, so nothing really changed.
are you retarded

fuck your tradition you fucking Jew, I like thinkpads but tradition has nothing to do with this

I had the same problem, I ordered a "T460" trackpoint but it turned out to be a super low trackpoint for X series, and then I ordered a trackpoint compatible with my model, supposedly, but it's taller than the original, I tried to cut it but it cut too much, so I gave up. I don't think older thinkpads have this problem, I have an x220 and I have never changed the trackpoint and it feels good.

It's so annoying because I find the trackpoint so useful and really want to use it but fucking lenovo designed it with such a short stick length that it's just plain uncomfortable to use.

I think about it, but maybe I'll find a decent T460p or T470p. I'm not in a big hurry, my T430 still works well.

Carbon is fucking good though. It's like Macbook, but not shit.

I feel ashamed to say but started to use the trackpad more than I did before because the trackpoint I bought I felt so bad it fucking hurts (literally), the new ones I bought some x10 caps on ebay, are a bit taller, but doesn't feel as bad as the super low cap felt, it doesn't feel as good as the original, but I would say it feels 80% (as good) as the original.

I had high hopes for ThinkPads, and they have exceeded them by a lot.
>serviceable (HMMs make this easy and pleasant, unless you run into stripped screws left behind by a retard)
>same parts used on the entire lineup and even multiple generations
>possibly the best keyboard layout out there (up untill xx20, Lenovo HAD to screw this basic thing up, they could've exceeded IBM by just putting a perfect 1:1 tenkeyless layout on laptops big enough)
>beautiful
>have trackpoints (which are THE best pointing device, I wish there were good mechanical keyboards with them, or any keyboards for that matter)
>thinklight (a sane way to have a readable keyboard when it's dark for people who can't touch type, and it is more practical than backlight because it doubles as an emergency light to read some piece of paper or whatever) (Lenovo axed it for no reason)
>amazing software compatibility (Linux modules to handle pretty much everything (like thinkpad-specific TLP support, thinkfan…) and compatibility with other OSes (BSDs seem to target this hardware as well))

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I have a W520.

Things I like:
>Screen has great colour and excellent viewing angles
>Durable and withstands abuse
>Easy to repair or upgrade
>Tons of indicator LEDs
>Fantastic keyboard with plenty of key travel
>Good thermals, keeps cool under load
>Large port selection
>UltraBay is great, I took out the DVD drive and put in a second hard drive
>2011-era fingerprint sensor is still better than most modern smartphones

Don't care:
>Battery life, I'm almost always near an outlet

Don't like:
>16:9
>Heavy as fuck
>Speakers are complete trash, I have to turn them up to 4/5 just to be audible, impossible to hear 5/5 over a normal conversation

This will probably be my last Thinkpad, especially if Dell and HP are smart and begin to use the expired TrackPoint patents. I feel the computers have gotten far too expensive for what they are, and Lenovo has removed a lot of the features and design elements I used to like. I might be interested in the AMD models though.

Don't care for laptops in general, but the Thinkpads can serve as a counterpoint to Apple's form over function mentality. Combine computing power with a robust IO suite and you can have machine that both gets work done and can handle any odd jobs you throw at it.

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I just want a X200-like thinkpad with modern hardware.

I guess this is /tpg/ right now?

Last thread: Anyway I recently bought a X9100 CPU ( ark.intel.com/products/35431 ) for my T400, it's pretty much the most you can do without slot modding.

I notice now before installation that it has a TDP of 44 W, which is higher than the rating for anything lenovo used stock for these things (all 25 W / 35 W)

Is the stock heatsink up to this or have I been a bit of a retard and need to underclock? Anyone done this one?

stock heatsink should be fine, just use quality paste and dont expect amazing temps.

When did they do that printer behind the keyboard? I want one.

They did it in Japan with the Thinkpad T555 BJ (1993)

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with a form factor like that I can tell why they called it the BJ

So if it's /tpg/ I was wondering about buying a thinkpad. My choices are either x201 or T420 for pretty much the same price. What I'm worried about is that they say that battery lasts only half an hour. Is that normal with thinkpads? Can I buy a half decent battery, I want something to last at least 5 hours?

there's raven ridge thinkpads

The laptops you're looking at probably still have their original batteries, you're pretty much expected to swap that out with an aftermarket battery after you buy them. People don't usually buy a new battery when they list a laptop for sale because then they have to hope that the battery doesn't give up the ghost for some reason early. A lot of listings won't even include the old battery.

Geniune lenovo batteries aren't something they keep making once a laptop gets this old. Old (unused) genuine batteries will have somewhat lower charge lengths than you might expect because batteries still slowly run down even if they aren't being actively used, and you're probably buying a battery that was manufactured half a decade ago. Chinkshit batteries might get you to five hours if you're doing light work, but you're always rolling the dice there. If they're made to spec you can at least be assured that they won't damage the machine.

When in extreme doubt, carry a backup battery just in case (it also makes a decent bludgeoning weapon in a pinch)

That's extremely disappointing, but I guess it makes sense when those thinkpads are 1/4th price of a equivalent laptops.

They're good machines with cheap easy to replace parts, but yeah you're kinda expected to replace said parts.

Atleast around here, you can find still find genuine lenovo batteries for most thinkpads. 95 yuros for a brand new 9cell T420 one is pretty expensive considering that the laptop itself is cheap af. It seems that someone is still manufacturing these as they're always in stock. I can't believe these would 5 years old.

unless they outright state a recent manufacture date I would still be skeptical. Big warehouses full of slow to move product are everywhere.

I wasn't planning on doing the FHD mod, but the image retention is so pad on the x220 ips panel that I probably will.

I just checked, it's not an option.

The Chinese spy.

The chad 4910mq older thinkpad vs the new virgin i7 8650u thinkpad. Literally 4 years older and just as fast at half the price lmao.

I don't really like the newer ones post-chink.

I'm fine with any business laptop but IBM Thinkpads were design objects. Having one was like having original Dieter Rams Braun stuff in your office.

The new ones are just misguided attempts to copy the legacy.

x230

pro:
>keyboard
>size
>replaceable components
>last spill through keyboard
>cost me $100 and had a 256GB SSD and 1 8GB stick

>gay backlit keyboard without 5 row
>terrible non IPS screen, bad angles, rainbowing
>the worse speakers I have ever used, even on full its lower than my iPhone at low
>onboard wifi sucks
>need rPi for libre/coreboot, need to flash to use other wifi cards
>no HDMI, aux isn't on same side as VGA
>cracks easily, gets damaged easily (still works)

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