/tpg/ - ThinkPad General

Previous thread: IRC: #/tpg/ on irc.rizon.net

Other business laptops are also welcome in /tpg/ (e.g. Dell Latitude/Precision, HP EliteBook/ZBook).
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If you're looking for purchase advice, READ THE BUYERS GUIDE FIRST. Then post, stating budget and requirements (e.g. size and performance).
Don't buy anything OTHER THAN T, X AND W/P SERIES if you want the Real ThinkPad Experience™

Recommended models:
T420 - 14", normal size
X220 - 12.5", ultraportable
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Why ThinkPad? (also applies to other business laptops)
>Used machines are plentiful and cheap.
>Excellent keyboards - tactile feel and quiet.
>Great durability: chassis uses a 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, upgrade and maintain thanks to readily available service manuals for every model. Spare parts are easy and cheap to obtain.
>The best trackpoint (that red thing in the middle of the keyboard). Great for those who type a lot or hate swiping their fingers all over a touchpad.
>Excellent GNU/Linux & *BSD support.
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Used ThinkPad buyers guide:
ktgee.net/tpg

xsauc buyers guide:
dankpads.com

EPP discount for new ThinkPads (USA & Canada only, usually 15%+ off):
pastebin.com/ULHCY5ch

Helpful links and resources (Wiki, lookup tools and wallpapers):
pastebin.com/DYjEnVq1

Other urls found in this thread:

lapstars.de/thinkpad-campus/t-serie-campus/t460p-campus/standard.html
www28.zippyshare.com/v/kEcWN1z8/file.html
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

First for X230!

Second for T601F+X201s supremacy

DAMN, thats a small thinkpad
post more pics of that s31 xsauc

Just ordered a T420 last night. The only issue I can see is that it comes with Windows 10, which I don't have a physical copy of. Is it going to be fine if I just manually remove all the bloatware, or should I find a copy of 10 and do a clean reinstall? Does MS have a thing for that if you have a key but no physical disc?

Install debian

Dub dubs confirm, you should install debian

Install 7 or 8.1

you can just download w10 from microsoft themselves and make a bootable usb drive

Why is the T460p I want like 700 euros more expensive than in the US? ($1000 in US, vs 1600 euro here in Europe).

I tried a virtual mailbox, but Lenovo won't ship to them.

Any other way I can buy a T460p for a reasonable price?

lapstars.de/thinkpad-campus/t-serie-campus/t460p-campus/standard.html
you just need a proof that you're a student

Are these scratches on the surface of my T420 anything that can be "fixed"? They're a bit more unsightly than I'd like them to be, but I don't know if there's anything I can do about them.
Also, anyone got any good guides on how to fully clean/maintain a ThinkPad?

I want to get something portable and relatively new

I don't feel like shelling out 1000€ for a new x260, so I'm probably looking for a used x240/x250

what should I consider a decent price for these in the yuroland?

>X240
ISHYGDDT

Can I hackintosh a t420? Seems like it has similar hardware to 2011-2012 MacBook Pro. Anyone done it? If so what version of OS X were you using? How was wifi compatibility?

the physical buttons aren't that big of a deal for me , I'm leaning towards the x250 though

is there anything wrong with that model?

Have you had the prerequisite number of cocks up your ass?

ThinkPads come with OEM key burned to BIOS. There's software to retrieve the key, google it.

nth for SPACE

what's the most powerful thinkpad? i make 3DCG a lot.

rMBP

makes sense
that's why I didn't have to reactivate manually after a fresh install

Epic xD

Posting this in case some Thinkpad owners can give me a hand.

>Buy a T530 Thinkpad on Ebay with no battery included
>Buy a separate "genuine lenovo 9 cell" battery ($22) on Ebay
>Turn on laptop, Win8 interface tells me the battery is "plugged in, not charging", and stuck on 7%.
>Occasionally it flashes and says "plugged in, charging" for a millisecond but then it goes back to "not charging".
>Boot into Linux, the battery is "charging" but stuck on 6%

>Search the web for solutions
>Successfully boot up computer without battery
>Uninstall all adapter drivers and battery drivers in win8 Device Manager
>Nothing works

>Go into Control Panel... Devices and Printers... [Computer Name]... Properties... Hardware
>In the list of devices, "Lenovo PM Device" (probably power management) is broken
>"Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information (in the registry) is incomplete"
Maybe that's the problem.

Wat do Sup Forums? Any other ideas?
If not, should I return the whole laptop or just the battery, or any tips to avoid this stuff in the future.

buy a battery battery that's actually genuine

Yeah, basically just stop being a cheapass. Genuine batteries will run you $50+, but it's the only way to not get shit batteries.

I'm considering to buy an x230 with i5-2310m for 380€. Is it worth it or what should I look for around 400€?

You got what you paid for.

What other specs does the x230 have? You can get a used x230 (class A) with an IPS display for around 350€ on ebay

If you bought the battery used with no screenshots of designed/charged capacity and cycle count, it may just be fucked.

If it's a battery for a '20 series it won't charge without flashing the battery auth hack for the embedded controller.

It's possible, but unlikely, that the mobo charge circuitry is fucked.

You should have lurked moar.

Middle click is not working on Windows 10 for my T60. I got tpmiddle.exe and it didn't solve my problem. What should I check that I have done wrong? (inb4 using W10)

Out of curiosity, when would you use one over the other?
Aren't they very similar specs wise?

pic not related

It has 8gb ram and 120gb ssd which is new.

I lost the HDD bracket screw, HDD cable, HDD cable connector bracket and HDD cable connector bracket screw for my X250. Is there any store that has this stuff? I could only find HDD cables on Ebay. IBM doesn't seem to stock X250 parts in my country.

I saw in the guide that the price on a T520 could vary quite a bit. I'm looking at one for 364 usd. It has 8gigs of ram, a 500GB hd, intel 3000 hd graphics and an i7-2620M 2,7 GHz.
Would it be worth a buy?

Otherwise I'm also looking at a T440s for 467 dollars, 8gigs of ram, an i5 and and an 180gb ssd. Both used.
I'm leaning towards the T440s at the moment, but what does Sup Forums think? I intend to use it for schoolwork and surfing.

r8 me m8s

X240 amd x250 have drastic corners cut in terms of quality

Also I'm in Sweden, so the prices here are a wee bit higher on account of the smaller amount of Thinkpads in circulation. If I were to buy from outside Sweden I'd have to purchase a new keyboard as well. And the trackpad on the T440s is no big deal to me.

Oh, Not that guy but does that apply to the T series as well?

T601F serves as my main machine at home in its Advanced Dock. X201s is my mobile shitposting unit, being much smaller and lighter than the T601F while offering comparable CPU performance and screen resolution. As much as I love my T601F and find it far more portable than 15" widescreen laptops, there's no denying that it's a big, heavy son of a bitch and the X201s isn't.

>T601F
Specs?

$genericlaptop

What happens when you don't remove kebab... TP 240.

Anyone?
I would also like to add that they both come with Win 7, and Win10 respectively.

Nothing extreme, just an average by-the-numbers T601F. It does what I need it to.

Check how much x230 models with TN screen, 4GB RAM and a HDD are on ebay, I guess if you upgrade the RAM and SSD yourself, you can get a thinkpad with a larger ssd for the same price.

Someday I will end assembling mine. ;_;

Picture related. First I need to fix the resolution, getting a better panel.

anyone know how to unfuck my x220 running arch linux?

I tried installing steam and in the process also installed xf86-video-intel which is the open source intel graphics driver.

Prior to doing all this I would boot into X with maybe 100-120 MiB of Ram usage.
Now after installing this driver I am booting into X with 350 MiB. free -m tells me ~120 is used and with another ~150 in buff/cache.
I was thinking it has to do with the x220 HD 3000 integrated graphics using a portion however even after uninstalling the driver I have the same higher ram usage.

Ivy Bridge based and newer dankpads will reject all chinese batteries, unless you flash the EC with override patch.
Also kys

>buy mom an A+ condition Thinkpad T420 last year
>tfw she's beating it to shit
>tfw there's a huge noticeable gash right on the display
>food and grease all over the keyboard and display
>sauces smudged into the speaker grills and cracks
>doesn't look like it's ever been wiped down or cleaned despite the fact that I do it every few months
Women can't take care of electronics/machines for shit.

Run a non-meme distro instead?

I'm grabbing a new T460 soon and plan to get it with the default 2.5" 500GB HDD. I can just rip that shit out and toss in any normal 2.5" SSD, right?

Yes you dense nigger. Stop being a jew and get an SSD.

I'm sorry I am stupid and just wanted to check with my good friends at the Sup Forums.
I already have a 250GB SSD so I don't really want to buy a new one and pay extra to have Lenovo install it.
Thank you.

Post rare /classic trackpoint/ pics

My X220 idles at around 45 degrees Celsius.
Is that an unusual temp?

Its barley high. Should be fine.

Mine's starting to idle around 67, I'm psyching myself up for repasting

I was also wondering if there's any particular variety of SSD you have to use in a T520, or if it's all standardized. The T520 also doesn't come with an optical drive, but I've got a laptop with one I can cannibalize. Will that work or must the optical drive be a certain brand?

>how to unfuck my x220 running arch linux
sorry it's fubar

They sold green and raspberry caps once, only in Japan.

Your T601F in the dock, do you have a gpu in the dock?

Is your T601F machine at home powerful enough for hi10p animu? Streaming 1080p60 content? Anything it's kinda slow at doing?

>Your T601F in the dock, do you have a gpu in the dock?
Yes, an R7 240. I've heard there are more powerful options that the dock can use, but this one was sure to work.

>Is your T601F machine at home powerful enough for hi10p animu?
No idea, not autistic enough about chinese cartoons for that. I've never noticed it having difficulties with playing 1080p video, even on the integrated. It gets hot as hell, but playback is smooth. I'm just a VLC pleb though, it might not play so well with your mpv and madvr or what have you.

>Streaming 1080p60 content? Anything it's kinda slow at doing?
It struggles noticeably with 1080p webms in the browser. Using an external player works fine, though. For day to day tasks, it performs just fine. There are some games that are simply not playable on such a weak dualcore processor, though. Don't expect to run any recent AAA games or anything of the sort. I've noticed in particular games that use Havok physics are completely unplayable, even at the lowest possible resolutions and settings.

Furry trackpoints sound like ass to manufacture.

Is it possible to connect/disconnect a slice battery without shutting down / hibernating first?

Please respond?

Is there anywhere that I can get a dead 3XXX model Helix?
There's a bunch of parts that I need to replace on multiple Helix computers. Messed up cables and/or motherboard on one or two computers, rubber foot missing on one, and a fan noisy on one.

Try the automotive plastic trim care products, they are known to shine and buff thinkpads pretty well.

Fully specc'd out W series, some of the P series are pretty high end as well.

> running $windows on such a low end thinkpad

Thoughts on thinkpad edge? Been considering getting one, i know all you guys will tell me to get an older model but i prefer the look of the edge and the specs are more up to date.

>running $windows on such a low end thinkpad
It runs well even on mine, see .

What would you guys recommend if I wanted something to do some "light" gaming? By light I mean the most intense game would be CS source

t420 with discrete nvidia NVS or egpu

how do I get this thing working on Arch?
it's connected right but lsusb shows nothing

Install a non-meme distro

is it enabled in bios?

ohh that's a thing? I'll have to check, sec

user! fucking yes man it works perfectly.
thank you so much :)

Running some stuff, hence the somewhat high temps. They usually stay at 45-50C.

>mfw I'm an elitebook peasant :^(

I once tried a 15" elitebook and it was very very nice.

I will admit, it's extremely nice, the build quality is pretty damn good.

but the trackpoint cap is just shit. So, I replaced it with a trackpoint cap from one of my non-functioning T60. Feels beautiful now.

I'm currently using an Elitebook 8440p (i7 version)

herro
plz help b0ss

It runs perfectly on my system, also
>tripfagging

Shall I? I've got a 320 ssd lying around and can grab some ram.

I want to fall for the thinkpad meme.
I'm looking at the t420 and but there's also a cheap x220t.
What do?
I'm going to use it for uni stuff, typing papers, reading, watching videos, office and I also want to connect it to my 1080p asus monitor.
Will the sandy bridge processors be powerful enough for my needs?
Also which thinkpad, t420 or x220t.

Ask if it has a BIOS password

Windows 10 on a T420 is not as powerful as a T420 on Windows 7. You have more granular control over the system using Windows 7.

And by extension, Lenovo does not officially support Windows 10 on the T420.

>Will the sandy bridge processors be powerful enough for my needs?
Of course.

>t420 or x220t
Depends of your needs really. I'd pick the t420 because of three drives and upgradeable cpu but the screen has shit viewing angles.

my only concern about the x220 is the size, I've always had a desktop, so I don't really know how comfortable it will be.
On the other hand it has an ips panel, I cannot go back to tn panels anymore.

Whichever I get it will be used mostly at home conected to a monitor and for storage I have a home server.
So I don't really know what to get.

>I cannot go back to tn panels
You answered yourself then.

Also get a docking station and it'll be the best of both worlds using it as a desktop and as a portable machine.

Am I able to put in any graphics card if I do the discrete? If so is there a card you suggest?

No, the discrete gpu is soldered to the mobo.

You can make an eGPU setup with the ExpressCard slot though.

Sharing ThinkPadHotkey.exe.

This little program starts a service in windows that restores full ThinkVantage button functionality (and you can also use it for remapping all the other Fn+whatever shortcuts) under Windows 10.

Enjoy.

www28.zippyshare.com/v/kEcWN1z8/file.html

Forgot to say, put that shit in the Lenovo/HOTKEY folder.

has anyone put an ivy bridge cpu on a t420?

Looking to upgrade from my Latitude E6510. Should I go with a T530, W530, or a Latitude E6530?

Trying to stick to Ivy Bridge models due to native USB3 and a functional iGPU.

Which models have nice screens?

67c is perfectly fine.
80c under low load is when you need to be nervous.
ask to make sure nothing is wrong with it.
if there's nothing seriously wrong with it then 100% do it.
if it's bios locked, missing everything and has water damage then obviously don't do it.

What's that key supposed to do?

I'm running W7 and it doesn't do anything.

On the W530 there were two FHD screens available, I happened to get the 'bad' one and it had a blue hue and somewhat visible vertical lines.
I did use a colormuki spyder elite or whatever i have to fix the blue hue issue but the lines stayed there.

Fucking thing had like 5 hours of battery life with a quadcore processor, it was pretty bitchin. Paid $250, sold it for $500.

I have one lying around (i5 3210m) might try putting it into my t420.
I haven't done the fancy bios mod to it though.

does the w52 use the same battery as the t420?