Previous thread: 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).
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 >T440s - best price/performance ultra portable >T440p/540p; W540/1 - Last Thinkpads with socketed processors, easily replaceable trackpad (W541 doesn't need trackpad replacement)
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
cheapest way to get a quad core thinkpad experience?
Josiah Lewis
Jow Forumsentlemen, after 8 years of clit action, I can't use any other laptop besides ThinkPads and I need to upgrade due to use of CAD and Photoshop on the road. I also carry a lot so I am hoping for something light. Money isn't an issue. Is the latest X1 Carbon worth it?
Nicholas Sanchez
t420/t430 + swap in cheapest quad core you can find
Tyler Russell
I'm looking to get a thinkpad but can't decide between e485 and e585.Any help?
John Bennett
both bad choices. what the fuck, dude?
Andrew Diaz
>They're basically identical. I'd go for the E485, for the slightly better portability.
Joseph Russell
I can get a t470 i5 for $200. Should I get it?
Parker Smith
thats actually a pretty sick deal, firs thing I'd ask is what's wrong with it though.
Jayden Flores
How much would I even gain from a SSD on a X200T? I'm using a shitty 500GB Seagate right now. Deciding before the massive dip in SSD costs next week
Ryder Flores
Toasty T400 with x9100 reporting in
Camden Cooper
worth it
Luke Myers
Rate my Thinkpads. I love my W500, it's the best laptop ever made.
Bought a cheap battery off of Ebay, how do I test it to determine if it's a piece of shit or not? I already did a battery life test and it lasted 5 hours
Ayden Watson
T400 owner here. I really enjoy it for what it's worth (which is actually pretty inexpensive).
What do you use yours for OP or anyone else who cares to chime in?
Where can I buy replacement parts for my x220 tablet that don't totally suck? My replacement palm rest cracked within a year (or within months, forgot which batch of replacement parts I bought it with) and my touch pad buttons/clit mouse are starting to get wonky too. In defense of the replacement parts, the original clit started acting up too, although it took a couple more years of use. And again in defense of said parts, I was probably using the touch pad interchangeably with the clit mouse, which could have slowed down the degeneration.
Luis Phillips
I need a new laptop for general usage and travel. I have a budget of around $400, preferably 1080p and 14inches. I've already considered the t440p, t440s, t450s, t450, and the t460. Any advice?
The most generally useful option is a USB 3.0 card. Smart card reader could be useful if you live in a country with chipped ID cards. If neither of those interest you, just get a blank and use that to fill the slot.
Jaxson Turner
take em off then
Ethan Bell
T420/T430 with the HD panel mod would fit the budget. They're on the smaller side, but the X220/X230 are really great for carrying around and you *could* mod one to have a 1080p screen. There's also the 51nb X330 that would probaby fit in that budget. Can't think of any other laptops to include that you haven't listed already other than maybe adding the E485 to the list (tho that will be closer to $500 with the HD panel option).
Jacob Lee
Is a p52 enough for the following (with 8850H or xeon) or is it over kill and should i juat get a gaymen laptop. Travel to much for a pc to be an option rn > VIRL (primary use) > tf2
Chase Roberts
>Leaving manufacturers stickers on your laptop
Do you enjoy being a walking advertisement?
Kayden Martinez
My X220 is displaying graphical artifacts, possibly GPU hardware issues. Is there a way to diagnose GPU hardware faults from Linux?
Gabriel Martin
Do you prefer a T430 or a X230?
Should I buy a used one at Ebay or a refurbished from Amazon?
I need one, because Qubes won't run on any of my AMD PCs. Such a pitty.
Landon Ortiz
They're pretty similar except for size and that the X230 has a lower resolution screen (without mods). It depends if you think you'll need the extra power of the T430 as that can have quad core CPU put in it. I would avoid amazon as most are overpriced there.
Michael Rogers
For Qubes, I'd say T430 cause you can slap a quad core on it. In general I like the X230's form factor more, though. Go for ebay if you want a good deal.
I run Solus and this machine is perfect for shitposting in bed, watching video, playing music, or some light/old vidya. It's the best laptop I have ever owned.
Only downside is 1280x800, I love 16:10 but I wish I had a 1440x900 screen.
Nice trips. I love my W500 as well, it is super amazing. But the graphics are kind of a detriment when paired with the WUXGA screen. If you use the integrated graphics, it's super choppy and almost unusable. If you use the dedicated graphics, you get smooth snappiness but the system idles at like 75c and has super dwindled battery life. The "switchable" option in the BIOS is fairly useless, most of the time it runs on the dedicated GPU. But maybe it is just me? Any other W500 owners want to share their experiences?
Chase Williams
Can you get different trackpoint caps for the 440's keyboard or is cat's tongue the only option?
Ryder Miller
For general use with good display (for the price), i7, no touch screen, no kiddie gamer lights, full HD, using laptop on my lap alot so it can't get hot or have a loud fan, is the t480 good? Am I stupid and should get something else? If so, what? My current HP has really shit display so just having decent or good colors is all I care for.
Using for College shit but no programming. Will eventually have to do engineering related programs.
Angel James
bump
Nathaniel Green
They are interchangeable. It's just a rubber nip
Nicholas Stewart
Sure, but don't some of the newer models use those low profile caps or whatever?
Kevin Nguyen
Bump. There's a sale at Cosco for it so wanna know.
Blake Gutierrez
Are thinkpad tablets worth it for sketching artwork? And are there any good programs for it on linux or would I be forced to deal with windows?
Looking at the x230t because it seems to be one of the newest tablet thinkpads but are the older ones just as nice? Are there any newer ones that are better and still around the 200 dollar range
>And are there any good programs for it on linux GIMP, Krita, Inkscape and Blender should work well, depending on what you want to do.
Isaac Martinez
why am I so aroused??
Nolan Taylor
Bumping again
Christian Gutierrez
the t480 is their newest t series which means it has really great battery life and probably runs a bit cooler than the older models. The display is better and the processor is probably faster. The thing is, you'd probably have a very similar experience with a t440 or t450 for a much cheaper price. Buying new is nice if you have the money though so go for it. You can't go wrong with a t series
Thank you very much friend. Am I dumb to get this for under $1000 for general use, College, a bit of gaming,normal browsing and display color instead of getting another laptop/brand entirely? I like that it's all black and not gay looking
Lucas Lee
No T400, but two feet away from me are two T410s, a T420, a T450, and a T460.
Ryder Harris
Is a BIOS downgrade safe or even possible? I updated to version 1.52 on a T420 but my eGPU is no longer detected at boot.
Lincoln Collins
Possible? Sure. Considering your asking the question, I doubt you have the tools or ability.
Jaxon Diaz
What do you prefer that's not a meme?
Henry Phillips
please enlighten me, whats the deal with the jap keyboard? i like the meme factor, but it just seems like a pain to program on one
Evan Butler
So just flashing a previous version won't be enough? I used the flash utility included in the Lenovo System Update for Windows.
Matthew Stewart
>not wanting more macro keys
Aiden Miller
Is the A485 good? Can you get one with dual channel RAM?
Eli Taylor
explain please
Brody Rogers
>2026 >based T400 still used for server administration
>Can you get one with dual channel RAM? You can. However, Lenovo claims that the RAM they put in is 2666MHz but runs on 2400MHz due to (((AMD limitation))).
Also, don't bother with ECC RAM, Lenovo gimped that model
Noah Wilson
>Europoor enter key
Hudson Cox
So basically just buy the cheapest dual channel config and upgrade to two 3200MHz SODIMMs later?
Cameron Cruz
What "left slot" are you talking about?
Ayden Green
Can I actually use thunderbolt storage devices with a W541? I've seen "thunderbolt" on surface pros but tried like seven different thunderbolt capable drives with different cables and none worked on it.
I want to buy myself a thinkpad for black friday/Christmas. I'm a student and will be using it for coding and web browsing.
I'm kind of torn between the x230 and T models; I'm not really keen about carrrying a laptop weighing over 3.5lbs around, but the T models seem to have higher specs at not much higher of a cost. What should I go with?
Adam Clark
Refurbished T430 for $347.81. Yay or nay?
Brody Hernandez
Assuming you're going to be on Linux, the difference in specs doesn't really matter. Go for the X series
>So basically just buy the cheapest dual channel config and upgrade to two 3200MHz SODIMMs later?
There are 2 RAM slots. You can literally buy a model without RAM(not even possible in configurations page) and put in 2 RAM sticks of your choice. However, Lenovo claimed that AMD's Ryzen RAM speed will not exceed 2400MHz no matter what type of RAM you put in. So...that's a problem. You can get a dual channel configuration, but not high speed dual channel even with your own RAM. I highly doubt the BIOS will allow you to change that. A reddit user previously also confirmed that ECC RAM doesn't work with the A485 even though it contains a Ryzen Pro CPU. They allegedly gimped the A485 to protect the sales of the T480/T480s series.
Literally in their PSRef (Platform Specifications) they mentioned "...but run at 2400MHz due to AMD limitation", which I feel is bullshit.
If you want dual channel now, just go ahead with the cheapest dual channel configuration.
What I would worry about is the primary drive instead. If you choose no primary drive, then you might not get any cable for SATA/M.2 connection to the port on the motherboard. If you choose a SATA drive, be it HDD or SSD, you will not get the M.2 cable to upgrade in the future. Hence, I would personally pick the cheapest M.2 option.
As for the secondary M.2 slot (that is also the WWAN slot, so if you need WWAN that slot is occupied), it's always there. However, it cannot accept a full length M.2 SSD.
Google/Searx/Startpage "PSRef A485" for more information.
Jayden Sullivan
What's this?
Lucas Harris
You would likely need to flash it externally.
Leo Martin
New W-ds type featuring fold-out 2U server.
Jose Richardson
i got a genuine battery for the T60 that holds 60% of the original charge, should i keep it or will getting a new chink battery blow up and kill me?
