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
I just got an x220, damn thing is basically mint. No scratches, stickers all on, no marks on any keys, not even a shiny spacebar. This on a 5 year old machine.
Brayden Cruz
I want to buy some touchpad stickers from aliexpress for my w520, but i only find t420 stickers, are they the same size as the w520? pls respond
Can you not import from the US, that seems expensive
Adrian Clark
dropped a 275gb, $70 Crucial MX300 into my T420, here's the Crystal Disk Mark results.
>SSD is a meme
John Sullivan
Mighty scores there Bro. Since i was being cheap I just bought a used msata and two Evo 840 ssd for my new t420.
Angel Parker
how fast is that msata? I've thought about putting my operating system on one and just using this for storage.
Was prompted to buy this thing because I had a 120gb 850 EVO and a 320gb WD slave drive, and the slave died. I don't want any moving parts anymore
Jacob Reed
Tomorrow I'll upload some benchmarks after work. I'm still trying to decide if I should pull the trigger on a w520 or a dell m4600. I already have plenty of batteries, charger and docks but the quadro 2000M is very expensive on that w520.
Asher Wood
Does anyone have experience with the X60 tablet? I'm looking for something semi-cheap for art and schoolwork, nothing too resource heavy.
Hunter Brown
What's a good replacement battery brand? Just got a T410S and need a new one.
Angel Bennett
Buying a new laptop for school (compsci) for under 1000$ CAD
I was looking at either the Thinkpad 13 or the X260 or maybe the T460, both just under 1000$ thanks to the discount code (thx guys)
I'm leaning towards the Thinkpad 13 because it has 256gb SSD
What do you guys think? I pretty much blindly trust you guys
Liam Williams
any good BSD install guides?
Zachary Cox
13 is only good for having the touch screen.
I think you would be happiest with the T460 with an ssd in it.
A one generation old carbon could be quite nice as well.
Should I sell my X220T and get an X250 later down the line? I love it to bits, but it's kinda on the heavy side, bulky, and the battery can't take me to the end of the day on it so I have to bring my cord on longer days. Maybe if I got a 6 cell OEM from Lenovo, but I am not too sure on t.
Jason Torres
Should I pull the trigger?
Owen Lee
I pulled the trigger, selling my MSI gaming laptop as we speak
Grayson Young
I flashed the latest release of GNU Libreboot onto my x200 today. This release offers better video performance and battery life than the Lenovo BIOS. It increases the vram from 32MB to 512MB, and allows for lower CPU states. The high resolution panel on my t500 is supported now too. The boot times are also a lot better than with the stock BIOS. It is a shame that newer CPUs have Intel ME and other things baked in with required firmware, but I don't need more than a core 2 duo in a laptop. It runs very well with a SSD and 8GB of RAM.
James Brooks
Get the 6-cell OEM and the 3-cell battery slice.
I get almost 10 hours on mine.
Ryder Watson
So is T420 the last keyboard with trackpoint and 7 row or did I miss something?
I have X61 tablet. Better pen accuracy than X2** but worse than Helix and other more recent tablets, but shit response time. No idea how it affects painting but handwriting is uncomfortable when you can only see what you've written 2-3 letters ago.
Driver settings, something like this.
Brayden Fisher
Sorry 8 row if you include arrows.
Carter Harris
Any opinions on the thinkpad yoga 12 with the digitizer?
Connor Morgan
Trust me on this one get either a: -T420 -T400 or -X200
Buy the SSD separately.
You won't regret it.
Owen Gutierrez
>I flashed the latest release of GNU Libreboot onto my x200 today. This release offers better video performance and battery life than the Lenovo BIOS. It increases the vram from 32MB to 512MB, and allows for lower CPU states. The high resolution panel on my t500 is supported now too. The boot times are also a lot better than with the stock BIOS. Can you describe the process?
Hudson Smith
"""""thinkpad""""
Juan Hernandez
Fuck you Sup Forums I just googled it and bought them stickers Also got 10 red nipples for a dollar
Logan Murphy
won't have any resale value by the time it wears anyway
Samuel Gonzalez
hardware flashing the SPI there was a detailed guide around that was recently compiled
Brody Bailey
Listen to And get a T400.
Perfect keyboard, plenty of performance for work, and none of the extra gpu for playing games (the best way to fail out of cs). Get an SSD and save the rest of your money.
Camden Martin
I started compiling a list for things to keep in mind when buying a used Thinkpad Here is what I have so far: -Bring a live ISO of another OS you trust so that you can determine whether something is a hardware or software issue -Enter BIOS, make sure that it is not password locked, if there is a screen prompting for a password then it is password locked and you will not be able to change all settings
-In BIOS, make sure hardware matches the seller's description (core hardware is listed in the BIOS)
-In BIOS, make sure that computrace and anti theft is disabled
-In boot utilities run simple hardware diagnostics if available (newer models will allow you to check the health of memory and storage) -Boot the device and check that inputs like buttons, touchpad, and keyboard are working properly (make sure they are not disabled in the BIOS before claiming something doesn't work) -Check physical condition of the item and run a test on ports if possible -Check if the COA is still on the laptop if planning on using it -Plug the laptop to a power source or unplug if running off a wall socket to check functionality of battery and power input -Inspect the screen for dead/stuck pixels or any other screen damage -For the X220 and X230 series, inspect the screen for white spots (visible especially on light images being displayed) This is caused by too much padding behind the display that is being pressed against it -check remaining battery capacity (upower or tlp on GNU/Linux)
Colton Morales
>I have X61 tablet. Better pen accuracy than X2** but worse than Helix and other more recent tablets, but shit response time. No idea how it affects painting but handwriting is uncomfortable when you can only see what you've written 2-3 letters ago. That's not the hardware though. Response is instant using, eg, XInput on Linux.
Wyatt Walker
If anyone has anything general or model specific to add, please reply and I will add it to the list
Eventually, we can get this to be added to one of the guides in OP
Jonathan Ward
>1000CAD computer to be a codemonkey I love this meme
Landon Bell
why are you suggesting x200 instead of x201?
Logan Edwards
Isn't the X201 is hard to find
Landon Collins
how much did you get it for? i just ordered one for $160, which is well under the outright price listed in the guide. it looked good in the pictures - no shiny keys or any signs of heavy use other than some scratches on the top. hopefully i made a good choice
Jordan Wilson
Just got a T400 for $110 delivered. It's in mint condition.
How do I identify its components?
Andrew Miller
the bios speccy
Brayden Brooks
Ah thanks
Another thing, how do I remove stickers and sticker stains?
Josiah Hughes
x201s are very common. at this point they are far more common than x200s >thinkpad 13/x260 >CAD computer are you mentally retarded or something? the "CAD" computers would be the wXXX and the pXX, not the fucking thin and light machines I personally take them off, and rub my whole wrist rest with hand sanitizer then after about a week of use they will all be gone
Ayden Perry
Why I shouldn't buy a x240? It's only 300€.
Asher Nelson
So there's this offer of t420 for 100$. It has no disk, 1GB of ram, no power supply and Scandinavian keyboard, when I'm a human. The panels seem to be ok and it has 1600x900 screen. Is it worth it having in mind I would have to do something with the keyboard, buy a power supply, 4 gigs of ram and ssd?
Elijah Jones
yes imo
you'll get a brand new keyboard without semen stains
Logan Gomez
anyone know of an IPS screen that'll work in a t420? 900p resolution is fine.
Samuel Morris
Trackpoint buttons. Screen issues with IPS panels. Old and weak CPU.
Juan Cruz
Any tips for power saving on Linux? 2 hours got me to 34% on first battery. I have 3 cell + 3 cell.
Anthony Rogers
Alright, I just like the design. A x230 would be better? Can I upgrade the monitor to ips or to 1080p?
Kevin Howard
>IPS Yes >1080 Not without trickery. You won't like it anyway.
I'm not saying the X240 is worse, just the X240 has its flaws.
X230: >LVDS, no 1080+ screen >thicker and heavier >consumes more energy
Caleb Foster
Thank you. I need a pc for light web browsing, reading pdf, telgram and some yt videos. Obviously I never owned a thinkpad so I don't know what's best. I liked the desing of the x240, x230 seems bulky and x220 it's too old I think. Don't care much about battery life.
Aaron Foster
Is there anything wrong with me leaving my X220 plugged in while using it at my desk? Even at full charge?
Logan Hall
Anyone can help me? I'm looking for a laptop for new laptop for use in college. My budget it's under 1000€ and I remembered you, the Sup Forums , Sup Forums people with their thinkpads :D and and I researched a bit in ebay for X1 Carbon. I was looking for a 14-15 small/lightweight laptop and find this one in ebay for 980€
Thinkpad X1 Carbon 3 Generation Modell 2015 Intel i7 5500U (Broadwell) 2,4 GHz Turbo 2,9 GHz FSB 1600 MHz 14,0" (35.6cm) Full HD (1920 x 1080) Matt Intel HD 5500 (in the CPU) 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3L 256 GB SSD
What do u think about that? It's a good deal? I can find something interesting with my budget or better buy a brand new asus/msi/acer/hp? Thank you :D
Jeremiah Richardson
Jst bought a 12gram t430 for school to replace my breaking down acer aspire. What am I in for? I know its not the msot amazing thinkpad line but it looked decent enough for me, the only thing im worried about is it not having 1600x900 resolution and I heard the HDD gets really fucking hot
Brandon Sanchez
> You won't like it anyway. Are there model-specific issues or did you mean 12" 1080 in general? Because I have Helix and the dpi on it is perfect. [spoiler]The only good thing about it.
Jonathan Cox
I never got the craze behind thinkpads.
I mean, they underperform on any meter of judgement a laptop can score on. They're as retared as "Gaming laptops". Why would you make a powerful machine that weighs a billion tons when you could be using a desktop PC to do the same thing for half the price?
And in case you need portability that much, why not choose literally anything else on the market, thus getting a more powerful machine, for less money, and that wasn't made with the standards the industry had 20 years ago?
Nathan Miller
It's the way the 1080 screen is stuffed in it. It acts as an external display. The Internal display is still there.
Bentley Davis
Is this bait?
Matthew Hall
Oh wow. That must have been one interesting mod to develop.
Eli Barnes
If you're looking for a college laptop, aka something you're going to constantly lug around and will be seen in public with, choose literally anything else.
Thinkpads are more for people who want to do work stuff on them or feel more tech-savvy with unwieldy portable hardware despite never leaving their houses.
In case you care about aesthetics, portability and practicality, just get a normal laptop off the "Our offers this week" rack. You'll be spending less money and get an overall better machine much more suited to your needs.
Easton Young
What flavor?
These are my usual steps : 1) Find a youtube install guide 2) Read the official handbook (if not in a rush)
Ryder Rivera
Post thinkpad wallpapers.
Dylan White
Thank you :D
Christian Green
Bait spotted but heck, I'll bite...
If you only focus on performance per coin then yes. Build quality is what you pay for. Way above average quality input devices, ruggedness, serviceability for example. Heavy? Did you even bother to look up what they weigh compared to similar other brands/lines? Most of the machines you see discussed here are 4+ years old so look it up for comparable machines. Makes no sense to compare an X220 to a 2016 Macbook Air for example.
Julian Cruz
here's a mashup I made of 2 existing thinkpad wallpapers
Thomas Lewis
Daily reminder that this is the only Express Card that will give USB 3.0 support on an X220 with a GNU/Linux OS.
Oliver Lewis
I had to hardware flash the first time, but after that the write lock is removed, so you can update everything in the OS. Here is the guide I used:
Will it work with a BBB? I refuse to buy a Socially Just Pi
Nolan Price
I've looked and could never find one that works outside of Windows. Also the ones that are different sizes I doubt will even working on anything past Windows 7 at this point.
As far as I can tell this is the only one that's more futureproof, or at least I was able to get it to work on Fedora 24, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, etc.
Yes, that will work too. I would have used a BBB, because I think you can use it without nonfree firmware, but I already had a pi.
Joseph Watson
Is there any reason to get the newer generations of thinkpads (eg. x1) other than portability?
Evan Baker
battery life, warranty, probably faster
Isaiah Adams
Are these temps normal?
Angel Roberts
Suggestions for the cardbus type2?
Jeremiah Williams
No, but on meth they are.
Kayden Murphy
Does TPG know anything about this? Curious if I should bother cleaning it up.
James Gomez
Just picked up an X220 tablet. It idles at about 65C. Is this normal?
Nicholas Hall
It's actually a great machine.
Robert Wilson
Install tlp
Jackson Brooks
Install too and set charge threshold to 40 - 80.
Samuel Richardson
sounds like it's on the higher end, but it's not dangerous. What temps do you get during use?
Wyatt Stewart
About 75C to 80C. Might be worth taking it apart and dusting it. The guy who I got it off said it was sitting in a stock room for a while.
Logan Moore
that's still not throttling temps, but dusting it off might reduce fan noise. Worth a try.
Isaiah Carter
>lying on Sup Forums There is no interface in T420 that would allow such speeds. Just kys
Dylan Baker
T430/X230 can also take the "old" keyboard from T420.
Thomas Moore
Mine
Matthew Peterson
Not sure how to feel about this.
Blake Howard
Having some fun today /tpg/?
Mason Rodriguez
So today I got home and found my X200s completely drained for some reason. No big deal I thought, but now it won't take any charge.. The battery indicator is just blinking orange.
Am I screwed? The battery life was stellar earlier
