Other business laptops are also welcome in /tpg/ (e.g. Dell Latitude/Precision, HP EliteBook/ZBook). ---- 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 ---- 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. ---- Used ThinkPad buyers guide: ktgee.net/tpg
Does anyone know what's up with this magnet here on my T520 ?
Angel Garcia
where to git a gud deal on x220/t420
Christopher Lee
I want to replace the keyboard on my T430s. Is there anything I can do wrong?
Dylan Bailey
Lid switch.
eBay
No.
Luke Hernandez
Probably the speaker
Andrew Young
Lid detection.
What SSDs do you guys use with your ThinkPads?
Jose Roberts
Oh, I see. Thanks anons.
I initially thought so too, but it most definitely isn't.
Carter Richardson
Anything from Crucial/Micron/Intel/SanDisk/Samsung is usually a good buy.
Camden Taylor
Some Thinkpads seem to have compatibility issues with some SSDs (error 2100), so I'm wondering.
Oliver Wright
I have a question fellas, I have a hp laptop with the following specs, i7, 16gb ram, 750gb 7200rpm hdd, nvidia 635 2gb gpu.....sorry I'm on my phone, no speccy.....my question is would it be worth it to add a 256gb ssd and use it as the OS drive and to run all my programs? Bc right now it's getting a little slow, I've had it four years, and I just now realized it has a 2nd hdd bay, I really only use it as a media pc for the tv in my bedroom
Logan Williams
Can I somewhere look up specifications for a screen by its FRU?
My x250 just arrived and I specifically asked the seller if it comes with an IPS screen, he confirmed it does, but in reality it doesn't seem like IPS.
I just want to make sure it really isn't IPS before I contact him, it might just be a really shitty one. Googling the FRU didn't help much as there are different websites stating different things.
Nolan Cox
Yes, absolutely.
Asher Martinez
>Lid switch.
i have the same thing with my T410 on both sides, are you sure it's not the speakers ?
Landon Brown
There are also some older models with a different height that doesn't fit. 9mm instead of 7mm iirc.
Speakers or lid switch, probably speakers on the side, lid switch in the palmrest or other location
Ryder Rogers
7mm fits into 9.5mm actually.
Zachary White
Thanks man, I'm just worried about loosing the drivers and stuff when I pop in the ssd bc in order for it to run the OS it has to be in the same bay that my current hdd is in, I'm gonna have to see if I can do this without loosing my programs and some of the stuff that came with the laptop i.e. HP coolsense
Blake Martinez
What is that?
Mason Richardson
Chinese made mod for the X220/230
13.3" 1080p IPS panel from the XPS 13
Ian Ross
pretty excited to be honest
Jack Phillips
Yeah, but not the other way around.
Alexander Green
sexy af.
Charles Lopez
>AUO 12.5"HD A I assume this isn't an IPS?
Evan Reed
Are the new thinkpads that shit? I don't live in the US and therefore I cannot find the good deals.
Samuel Gutierrez
Depends how autistic you want to be
Mason Martinez
I'm in England and had no problem scoring a new deal on a t420
Alexander Thomas
where did you buy it from exactly?
Evan Sanchez
How is this mod achieved?
Colton Howard
Just for comparison can anyone with a T400 with P8600 run and post the CPU-Z benchmark?
Also people with one, some reviews about it?
John Perry
Some chinks from 51nb did it, like every other cool Thinkpad mod. He cut the bezel to better fit the screen and pretty sure the display is actually connected through the dock display port output, so might not have brightness control.
Same seller is selling the x62 as well.
Caleb Morris
I absolutely fucking despite getting dust in my keyboard, Sup Forums. Any recommendations for a good silicone key cover that isn't obnoxiously thick or of shit quality? All the ones I find on Ebay are from China.
Pic unrelated, but eye-catching?
Sebastian Ramirez
Just routinely remove the keyboard and clean it with canned air, then replace.
If keys are getting dinged or frayed just buy a new one.
You're welcome.
Owen Miller
Are the thinkpads from the lenovo website any good ?
I need a new working class laotop and i was wondering if the t560 or the p50 are good pc or if i should just look somewhere else
It's mainly for photo editing and common usage connected to a 4k monitor Gaymes are not a priority (don't need quad sli to play space chem)
Ryan Lewis
I'm getting a new ssd for my x220 tablet, I can get either a 240GB PNY CS1311 or 240GB Kingston UV400. Same price but not so sure which one is the best choice, anyone use either of those on a x220t?
Lincoln Hernandez
I want to get a T420s as my next laptop. Other than the smaller battery, form factor and weight, are there any real differences to the regular T420?
I intend to upgrade the CPU to a i7-2670QM and do the FHD IPS screen mod.
Cameron Bailey
Okay Sup Forums, I was on the brink of buying a used X220 or X230 but started doing research about privacy and software freedom and I feel like I need to reclaim my privacy. Anyone got the Libreboot X200? Feels kinda dumb spending that much money on a 8 yer old laptop but I guess freedom isn't free huh? I'm not planning doing illegal activity but feel like if I buy something than that makes it mine and don't appreciate some agencies or government gathering any information about me since it's none of their business where I am and what I do.
Liam Morales
r-rip tree
Justin Rogers
No. If it was IPS it'd say so.
Adam Wood
>I intend to upgrade the CPU to a i7-2670QM
not possible
Grayson Taylor
>shit sandy bridge CPU >HD 3000 kek This is how much of a cuck you are. please kys
Robert Murphy
ThinkPad T430 master race reporting in. >GPU is overclocked to 900mhz at core and 1200mhz at memory >CPU has turbo mode enabled >even under full load of all components it still uses less than 90W of power and gets 90C degrees MAX
Tyler Bell
>W Might as well buy a desktop.
Dylan Gomez
In from Freedom Land and just bought a x230 with a UK keyboard. Can I buy a US keyboard for the same model and replace it just like I would with replacing a keyboard regularly.
Thanks.
Tyler Butler
How much of a pain in the ass is to get the pen/touchscreen working on a model like the x220t if I'm going to be using a linux distro (most likely debian)?
Camden Anderson
The bezel is custom made, not cut.
Justin Myers
>infighting Why?
Jonathan Sullivan
>investing money in old deprecated shit platform
Anthony Mitchell
What's your fucking problem, man?
Luke Murphy
Literally works out of the box with Ubuntu and Fedora. Don't know about Debian, but it can't be that hard.
Juan Carter
I now have two x220's, what to do?
Andrew Powell
that's great to hear, thanks man
Jonathan Carter
the rotations shit wont though. You have to make a script that does it for you
Cooper Jones
My problem is you're a contagious cuck.
Cameron Gomez
Gimme one
Matthew Thomas
I wanted to get a Macbook Air but researched a bit more about Thinkpads and found out that they are a much better alternative for what I want. I'm looking into buying an X240. Is the battery life good on used ones?
Henry Williams
just got my t420 in the other day and have been giving it a whirl before school starts on the 6th not a bad laptop for $180, Win10 included
Justin Turner
If you really want x240 remember to replace the touchpad module with x250's one. Touch trackpoint buttons are an absolute cancer.
Ryan Harris
Get an X260 Why do you want thinkpads?
Jonathan Allen
Both are really bad options.
Get a 850 EVO.
Jacob Hughes
The used ones are pretty damn cheap for what they are, also they are built sturdy and a lot of the parts are apparently easy to replace yourself.
Logan Taylor
No worries dude, I was mostly venting anyway. Who knows, in a few more years they may realize their mistake and restructure shit all over again. But that's probably wildly optimistic.
Josiah Robinson
CS2111 is slightly cheaper and better. Or CS2211 if you can find one.
2211 > 1311 > UV400
Austin Hughes
Apparently only the 230 and older are actually durable. If you get a X240 you got the worst possible one.
Christian Cooper
Just got a T500 for $75, I'm going to be installing Debian with LXDE. I have the most experience with Debian and was wondering what DE/WM you guys use or if you'd recommend a different distro.
Oliver Rivera
Repostin
Jason Sullivan
Friendly reminder to clean out your air intakes!
>x200 regularly does 55C while idling >air intake underneath the fan was completely caked in dust >clean it out with toothbrush >idle temps is now 42C
Michael Sullivan
Im assuming youre running Windows. Almost goes without saying, but clean the fan with canned air. Run RMClock and undervolt it. (Google "undervolting guide"). Theres some fan control software that works on those old Dells I can't remember the name of. Also, get the ATI CCC software and put the GPU into low power mode, it halves the clock frequency. You'll have it running 20°+ C cooler and the battery will last about 30% longer too.
t. prior D410 and D810 owner
Leo Taylor
Everything is cleaned, fan is repalced with new unit. I will check out those underclock guides, don't really need the x300 for some desktop programs. And yes, I run windows xp, becasue the software im using works only on it (and 98, lel).
Kayden Phillips
Are there any risks when buying "seller refurbished" thinkpads from ebay? I am from Europe and I can't get better deals, sadly.
Easton Ross
Seller refurbished generally means they cleaned it up for you and installed windows and then marked it up. They should be ready to use out of the box.
If you don't feel like browsing or waiting for a good auction, it's acceptable, they'll come with a battery and AC adapter guaranteed.
Cameron Cruz
>t420 >windows 7 >battery life display seems to be inaccurate >finds software to fix >'Sorry, only available for windows 8 and above'
What the FUCK
I ended up buying a 70++ and 25++ extension factory new cause fuck it, would be nice to re calibrate the battery life tho
Tyler Peterson
Did that user ever finish the T420 games list?
Parker Parker
Is the X201 before or after thinkpad became chinkpad?
Also is $180 a good price to pay for one?
Josiah Robinson
i think over $100 for any core2duo model is expensive.
Julian Russell
I just found out that the T430 I bought has bluetooth and wwan/gps. None of these were advertised by the seller.
Shit was cash.
Jason Lewis
That's actually good since the programs I suggested are made to work on an OS of the same era and it's way easier to do in Windows than it is in Linux with PHC.
Now that I'm back at my desktop and have my bookmarks, this is the undervolting guide I was talking about:
It'll take you a few hours to do testing and get your stable voltage values, but it's totally worth it.
Jonathan Green
I just don't want it to fall apart immediately or want any cheap feeling plastic. I just want a good laptop with good battery life that can handle photoshop every once in a while.
Josiah Robinson
any recommendations for used thinkpads with wacom for drawing? i don't care about the weight or size, just looking for one with a good quality digitizer, don't have the money for a cintiq or a surface pro
Cooper Ortiz
just buy a real drawing tablet, they're a good investment
Easton Scott
Same issue here, my 9 cell lasts for like 1 hour and then like 8 stuck at 6%.
Jeremiah Lopez
considering selling my edge (yes i know it was a terrible fucking mistake) and buying X220. my main problems with E540 is that its not portable enough and battery is not lasting long enough. how X220 compares in performance, i need to have Windows 7 and Visual Studio 2015 on it, please dont question it, ill just say i must use it.
Carter Taylor
>using speccy to monitor temps no wonder you think they're so good
Jace Wilson
thoughts on t420s? what is a reasonable price for an used one?
Lucas Rogers
best pad no more than $200
Jayden Gonzalez
What are the benefits of updating my BIOS?
I'm at 3.05, lenovo's website claims 3.22 is the latest.
Dylan Price
thanks I am trying to get one but the listings on eBay are fucking crazy, there's always this one guy rising the price to stupid levels.
Brayden Williams
those work on anything. even the shittiest celeron is enough for that.
Brayden Lopez
be patient i got mine for $150 in great condition
Ethan Peterson
You don't need to. There's a chance you'll break it if you do, and if nothing is broken it won't help
Adrian Lopez
What are the cons of X220? i mean it cant be perfect laptop, im just really worried after buying that edge that im gonna hit another landmine. also afraid it will be sluggish.
Tyler Foster
i havent had any problems with it. someone might think that its too small.
Isaiah Lewis
Literally the only thing wrong with the X220 is Intel HD 3000, which is terrible for 3D graphics but fine for everything else. Other than that flawless laptopu friendo.
If you want better graphics performance, you could always get an X230 and do the keyboard mod, but you'd have to give up the full displayport for a miniDP.
Angel Jones
what i want is portable laptop i can take for lectures, travelling, watch movies on it. i bought e540 because i thought id need a big powerful laptop when i move, but turned out i can take my PC with me and it takes care of all the harder tasks. also battery life is garbage, 2 hours tops. so is there any better laptop for: - browsing web - watching movies - playing old games maybe - programming (laboratory PCs are garbage) than X220? what about X230/X240? what should i look out for when buying one used?
Gavin Hill
the iGPU is shit, however you can use an eGPU and play even the latest shit according to the gpu you use
Elijah Robinson
What kind of E540 do you have? It scales pretty heavily, from a shitty AMD with a 1366* screen to an i7 with a FHD touchscreen.
I have both an i7 E540 and an i5 x220. If you want portability, then the x220 is a clear winner, of course. In terms of performance, it really depends on the specs of each machine.
