/tpg/ - ThinkPad General

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).

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
>T440s - best price/performance ultra portable
>T440p/540p; W540/1 - Last Thinkpads with socketed processors, easily replaceable trackpad (W541 doesn't need trackpad replacement)

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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I installed Windows 10 on my X230T, and the experience is just so much better than loonex, simply better touch support among others; I've discovered that all CLI tools I've used actually performs much the same too, and that I can easily update all my personal software without touching the system's. Why do I even fell for the freetard meme?

iirc, the xx40 series is the one with the clickpad
and widescreen isnt my cup of tea

Im not tech savvy and I just recently found out about the whole thing of getting a cheap used thinkpad and upgrading it to save money and get the same performance. I mainly need a laptop for office and mostly, but very important , to have 20 or 40 chrome tabs open, also I would not mind being light, don't care about the display resolution. My work laptop I think was an i5, no ssd, 8gb ram and lagged quite a lot, but mostly because it had a fuckton of stuff on it Id assume.

My original plan was getting the cheapest one I could find, that being a refurbished dell latitude e7450, 5th gen i5, 16gb ram, ssd for $550. Im not american btw so prices are high in my 3rd world shithole. I just assumed more ram meant faster therefore it would suit my needs of heavy browser usage.

Other options I found were Refurbished Ultrabook Folio 9470m i7, 8gb 1tb ssd for $400 and Hp Elitebook 8gb 240gb SSD for $500

Then I browsed here and looked up used thinkpads on my country and also looked up how you are supposed to upgrade them and stuff, the t430s with 3rd gen i5 is $220, and the SSD and RAM I wanted for it are $160, so both are like $400. So I barely save any money compared to buying "new" laptops.

It's an odd concept to me that in this case it's better to get old technology rather than new, but I understand tha the build quality of these laptops is pretty good so it's better to get them and then upgrade them. So my question is. Do I get the T430s and upgrade it with a new SSD and RAM or do I get one of the refurbished options I've seen before? Like I said I mostly care about it lasting, and being fast enough for heavy browser usage. Don't care much about else.

for me it's the jap chiclet keyboard

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>20 to 40 (((chrome))) tabs open
>lagged quite a lot
you're not going to find a laptop, used or new, old model or the latest version, that can have enough ram to handle that

>20 or 40 chrome tabs open
But why?
That’s going to devour ram.

X220 is CUTE

Daily reminder that the infection is spreading

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I installed Windows 10 on my X220, and the experience is just so much better than loonex, simply better wifi support among others; I've discovered that all CLI tools I've used actually performs much the same too, and that I can easily update all my personal software without touching the system's. Why do I even fell for the freetard meme?

I use quite the amount of online tools for marketing so they add up. I can just use onetab to not go more than 10 tabs but it slows the workflow so if it's not a possibility then it won't be a priority.

I actually did the same. Went from Mint to Windows 10. Mostly just for Scrivener access since I'm a writefag

true

any ausfags know what i should be paying for an x220?

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I'm from over the ditch but definitely under 200, a lot of second hand computer shit is very over priced for us.
If your on an auction site, just ask a bunch of questions and bully them into selling it for cheaper. Say something like
> this laptop is x years old, and has a bunch of unpatched security vulnerabilites. I got fiddy bucks on it
works for me errytiem

comfy posting from my x220

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If that fails, and the laptop has win 10 installed hit them with
> I don't want the hdd, the price of a windows license is 250, I got fiddy bucks on it mate

best budget 1080p thinkpad for win7? what price would that be
I want it so I don't have to use a shitty EET-issued chromebook

I have no problem opening tabs

Chromium on Linux, no addons relating to suspending or anything

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so better off buying from individuals rather than people who refurbish a bunch of computers?

yep
refurb it yourself, dont forget to haggle

Can I put a trackpad-less handrest on an x201? I won't be using one of those things and I can't stand things on my computer that I'll never use.

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Is a t430 worth it? Might get a docking station with it too.

Gonna get a t430 soon.

should i get a t420 or a t430?

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x230 or pinebook pro? x230 may be more powerful but pinebook pro has FHD IPS screen

>pinebook pro
it looks really basic to me.

I think most Thinkpad users attempt Hackintosh builds with them. Most give it up because i3 or other window managers are seemingly designed for laptop use. MacOS is excruciating to use as it's so mouse centric.

It kinda is. 4GB ram nowadays is meh. ARM CPU means only a few flavors of linux are available, no wine and no closed-source programs are available. It should however have a battery life of ~7 hours. Service parts are only available from one source while thinkpad has a shitload of spare parts. But I am looking for a linux laptop as an alternative OS hobby

i guess its good laptop for fucking around but i dont see myself using it

Does anyone know where to get 16gb sodimms that work with x250 haven't found any or is 8gb max on these?

I grabbed a x220 I7, 8gb ram no hdd at action for $160AUD recently. Refurb sellers are selling I5 models for >200. Defintely keep an eye on the auctions and you should get lucky.

My P52 arrived yesterday. My first Thinkpad and I like it a lot. Feels pretty comfy.

Honestly even Gnome is more useable than macOS on a ThinkPad

Source: I use GNOME btw

Have you disabled it in bios? Otherwise I think you can swap out the palmrest, IIRC.

You should check the x201 service manual and then get the fru (part number), then search for the fru online to see what other models it applies to.

What tasks would a i7 3520m (x230) have problems with?

>Source: I use GNOME btw
Oh cool! I use Arch btw.

cute, i just cant get used to the small space bar.

I use Windows 10 Pro btw.

depends what keyboard you want

You will really want a laptop that can do more. Trust me. Get the x230, or even a x220/x201

>the t430s with 3rd gen i5 is $220
>and the SSD and RAM I wanted for it are $160
You just didn't look hard enough.

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kek

i'm pretty sure i've been up to like 300 open tabs on a T430. this was a few years ago and I don't have that laptop anymore so I can't confirm. but it was very likely.

Is it true that x1 carbons are laggy with higher resolutions?

Got a T480 for free from my school. i5, 16GB RAM and 512GB nvme ssd. It's pretty nice laptop, using Arch Linux on it.

>60 dollars for a t430
damn wish i lived in the us ;-;

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My only gripe is that it's being shipped to me in a Flate rate box through the mail.
Those boxes aren't very thick, so the screen/shell might get cracked due to being chunked into a truck/trailer.

should be fine if they wrap it in bubble wrap

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does having a larger power supply affect performance? i have a t430, i5 3320m and i cant get runescape to get over 15 fps (runs completely on CPU). currently using a 65w adapter instead of the 90w.

Is there a way to brick your machine while corebooting it?

Does your OS have performance settings for power usage?

yes but to my knowledge its on high

w10

Do temps get better if I use an Ivy Bridge in my T420? I don't like having an 85°C house fire in my laptop.

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yes, your BIOS will throttle your CPU clock with insufficient power. You are probably running at half speed.

I just read that it should be fine if i have onboard gfx? i cant figure any other reason god damn runescape would run so low though

restart the PC and go to your BIOS. Check the CPU clock and see if it running at the maximum or minimum speed.

gosh the T420 is such a handsome laptop..

xx20 era was the peak of ThinkPad aesthetics.

in the power tab, everything is set to run on max performance on AC. there is a power management setting that can be enabled or disabled, should i touch that?

nvm, it didnt change anything

Are older generations of the X1 Carbon a good buy if I can find them used?
I want something light because I'll be walking around with it a lot

This has mothing to do with power settings. The fact is that you are not supplying enough power to fuel the CPU. It is not possible for it to run full speed at 70% required power.

I've been dealing with this exact problem lately too, that's how I know.

>I want something light because I'll be walking around with it a lot

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Is the x260 a good model? I managed to snag one for ~$80

The t430 without discrete gfx shipped with 65w adapters though

Is yhere ever a point where it's more economical to upgrade an older machine to best-in-slot rather than buy a new machine? Is it worth sinking $100 into a T61 to max it out at 3GHz, 4GB DDR2, and SSD instead of just buying a newer model with comparable specs?

Does the BIOS know that? I've been messing with Latitude D830's lately and they require 90W regardless of dGPU or not. With 90W I get 2.0GHz but with 65W I get 1.2GHz max. Same with my Inspiron 1721. 1.8GHz or 800MHz.

1600x900 TN vs 1080p IPS?

Let's hope one day Lenovo makes a decent Thinkpad, not this pile of shit that breaks in 6 months.

1366x768 master race

Wow thanks Socrates very cool I'll get a W series for my school laptop

good

This 17" behemoth was my school laptop. Toughen up, kiddo. *sips*

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Which ThinkPad has the best keyboard for typing?

X230 with x220 keyboard mod.

any xx20 keyboard.

Source: I owned every generation of T from T60 till T590

X230 still seems pretty old but I love that xx20 keyboard.

What's the latest gen ThinkPad I can stick an xx20 keyboard in? I'm a keyboard autist without demanding hardware needs but I also want a new laptop that is portable with a long lasting battery and nice screen.

Ok i bought a 90w

Are there any acceptable good quality new thinkpads?

Anything after the T61 is basically cheap chinese garbage.

The delete key on my t420 s a bit squeaky and when i took the cap off the little white part stays flat after being pressed, unlike with the escape key that still sticks up,
anyone know how i can fix this without getting a new keyboard?
also it's not much of an issue it's just a bit annoying sometimes.

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Well okay. But if used is not an option because the company is buying a laptop for me and they can only buy one from a store, then what are my options? I definitely don't want to get those macs with shit keyboards or dell with their quality control.

space bar doesn't work, what do. Laptop keyboards are daunting to work on.

Where do ebay sellers get their joblot 2nd hand thinkyboys? Do they buy them directly from the companies getting rid of them or are there any good websites that facilitate wholesale?

T580 is the last based thinkpad.

The xx30 serise is the last

it's a bit on the heavy side.

I picked up a lot from a local computer repair shop.

Anyone? Can't find a single 1x16gb ddr3 sodimm from anywhere (within EU). Also do they work in x250 if i import them?

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I really doubt it mate. It'd be preposterously expensive if you find one.

Yea i figured, kinda sad that the max ram of x250 is 16gb but it only has one slot. Well 8gb is fine i just wanted to max my x250 out as it already has 1080p ips, 500gb ssd and 8 gigs of ram.

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I was thinking of making a breakout board for raspberry pi compute module (there are other companies making them too) to replace the motherboard in an old thinkpad.

I think the t61 would be a good candidate as they are like the t60s, but with the jet engine CPUs and Intel malware.

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I was wondering if something like that existed. Thanks for posting.

Awesome X41 pic, OP.

Doesn't sound too shabby, as if you want to upgrade it, you just have to replace that module.

Hopefully they make the updated one too after rpi 4 has been released. But something is telling me the pin out is going to be different if they make successor for this one

I just want to ask here is the is anything is hould be aware of before I go out buying an x250 getting the i7 model with 8gb of ram and the 768 tn screen

You've gotta upgrade to the fhd screen to make it usable.

I need a new laptop but can't decide on which ThinkPad I want and it's stressing me the fuck out