/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:

newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226834
youtube.com/watch?v=AFWJP5yCujw#t=46s
blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/retro-thinkpad-time-to-think
blog.lenovo.com/uploads/general/DHill_5survey2.png
twitter.com/AnonBabble

First for x230 with x220 keyboard

how's the default wifi card on T420?

trying to decide if I need to buy a different one

how much did you pay cause im thinking about getting a T460 also tell me how it is when you get it

I have
Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Advanced-N 6205 [Taylor Peak] and I haven't ever been able to make it go full speed in linux even copying over SSD onto an SSD

Looks comfy

Thinking about doing that myself, do all the extra keys not work or only some of them?

Also how different is this older keyboard still to the x230 one in terms of feel?

but do you have a working caps lock light?

can someone recommend me a quiet thinkpad?
i have an x60 and a t61 right now and they're both so loud that i'm afraid to bring them to class

the older keyboard is less ridgid

Is it necessary to have the same capacity RAM? I know on desktop it doesn't really matter, but I have an open RAM slot, and I have a 2GB stick lying around

>T61
>loud
My T601F is very quiet, even with the fan on top settings. Is yours an Nvidia model or something?

it is an nvidya model
please don't make fun of me it was free

well it was free, thats a pretty gud price, not that user but i'll cut you some slack

The new keyboard is unusable.

I have caps lock mapped to a modifier key. because i don't use capslock anyway.

Nah, Thinkpads aren't picky. If it fits, it sits.

Is an X220 worth the extra dosh over a T420 for increased portability, or does the smaller size/reduced weight not really make much of a difference?

I only need a laptop for making a couple of long trips a year.

The price difference between the two shouldn't be substantial. If it is, you just haven't seen enough listings.

I'm in Britbongistan. a T420 is £120 and a X220 is £140.

T61 might need some lube on the fan, or a fan, which are cheap new off Ebay. I have five T61s and none are loud under load.

hey guys

What ssd should I buy for my t420?Is it worth upgrading?

I've seen some of you fall for the convertible ones, what are your temps under load? I'm playing around with Yoga S1 and HW monitor shows up to 80C. 45 when idle, so the tool itself cannot be that far from truth.

~200kbps for me, people say meh but actually my german internet is about 0,5-1mbps on good days so i live with it

is $200 for a libreboot x200 too much?

Got one really cheap with all the other refurbs, few days ago actually. Put it up on local ebay equivalent, will see what bites. I'm under the impression normies love that shit. Meme it up with "milspec" buzzwords and there we go, 20% of pure profit.
At least in theory.

Yeah cause you can add libreboot yourself

Small is nice since most people use a laptop as a desktop at home. BTW Thinkpad docks are cheap and an underrated accessory. I'd get the X220 then connect it to a nice external monitor at home. Notebook screens, all of them, are shite compared to a nice large monitor.

SSDs are always wonderful and make a great difference because old spinner notebook drives eat ass and not in a good way. Ultrabases are cheap and worth a look for when you use a notebook as desktop.

is there any way to specifically tell when my T420 was made? i know that the sticker on the bottom gives the month and year, but is there a way to get a day?

Just get something on sale with enough space you need. Really any of them will be better than a mechanical drive and you wont be able to tell the difference between SSD's except in benchmarks. I went from a SATA II SSD that completely saturated the SATA II speeds to a SATA III drive that was twice as fast and the only thing I noticed was battlefield 3 maps loaded slightly faster but even on the old drive they completely loaded the map before the countdown timer finished.

Of course there are some you should avoid I think the Kingston V300 had some issues just look it up before buying

you can get this 500GB one for 115 on newegg with this code ESCFFEH36
I don't know if its good though.

newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226834

Guys I just got a T420 and I can boot to BIOS no problem.

However the Security section of the BIOS says the "Hardware password manager" and "Password at unattended boot" are enabled

Is this normal or something to worry about?

also anything else I should troubleshoot to make sure I wont have problems in the future?

>Guys I just got a paperweight and I can boot to BIOS no problem.

However the Security section of the BIOS says the "Hardware password manager" and "Password at unattended boot" are enabled

Is this normal or something to worry about?

also anything else I should troubleshoot to make sure I wont have problems in the future?

niceme.me

Got an X131e in the mail yesterday. It's my first thinkpad and has an i3-3227u, 8GB DDR3, and 300GB HDD. I picked it up for $137

Cancerpad general
These threads should be outright banned

Now you only need to throw in a SSD.

forgot pic

I found it too bulky. I prefer the x120e

I plan to. I can put in a 2.5" SSD and an mSata SSD so I'll probably get the mSata first as a boot drive

I like it cause I can actually play gaymes on it. With an 11.6in screen I don't mind turning down AA and resolution a bit. Runs CSGO at 70FPS

nice
I want to try CSGO on linux, it'll probably be playable

What specs will you be working with? On an i5-3210m and 8GB DDR3 on Ubuntu I got around a 5-10 fps drop from Windows

Is the x220t good for actual artwork? I.e. making sketches>lines>colors?

>botnet

I think it uses a wacom digitizer

the pen accuracy turns to shit once go within 1 inch to the edge

>I've never used a thinkpad

Any word on 2017 models yet?

Nope

should be getting the retro thinkpad in 2017 though, david hill said so at that lenovo conference earlier this year

could be typical executive desk-jockey verbatim bullshit though

>retro thinkpad
No touchpad buttons, so it's cancer

>Using the touchpad instead of the track point

Found the real cancer here

>RETRO thinkpad
>touchpad at all

really?
where did you get this information?

I'm so tired of this bullshit, why did they have to fuck up the only good laptop that is user-serviceable

I've used one for years on my ancient toshiba laptop, but the placement on the thinkpads i have is just not as comfortable for me.

...

that is actually not too bad

I still wish they wouldn't have changed from the design of the T420 though. Fucking perfect laptop.
although admittedly I like the ports of the T430 more

...

>no back/forward keys
fix that and I'd say it's perfect.
oh and not an hero tier speakers would be nice.
The ones in the w520 are good enough for most things, but my t420/t430s are god awful

Got a T520 and turned out to have the 1366x768 screen.

Will replace the screen for the FHD one. My question is do i need to get a new cable like when upgrading the T420 screen?

>i5-3230m, 16gb DDR3, Intel HD Graphics 4000

What's a good price for an X60 or T60?

no. I swapped out only the panel without problems

What will you use it for?

X60 or 14-inch T60 shouldn't be more than $75. SXGA+ X60T or SXGA+/UXGA 15-inch T60 could be up to $150 depending on specs and condition. Anything beyond that and you're getting completely ripped off.

depends on specs, but maybe

On a related note I'm picking up an X60 soon. Mostly planning to use it for school (writing reports, internet, programming).

I'm getting it for $120, which seems like a pretty good deal. Still have to check it out to make sure it's good, but the guy doesn't mention anything particularly bad.

(Same person) The guy also says it has 4GB ram and 160GB HDD, which is above specs from what I can see. So I can justify the slightly higher price.

C programming on OpenBSD. Battery doesn't matter since it will be staying at home on AC. I'll probably be adding a small SSD to it.

>4GB RAM
Only 3 will be usable because of the shitty chipset.
>160GB HDD
Better than stock maybe, but still shit-tier. Nothing worth paying extra for.

pretty sure x60 can address only up to 3gb due to chipset

I bought an x220 with 8gb of ram for $125 and free shipping on ebay

don't waste your money

Nice, thanks.

So no extended battery that makes a perfect handle for carrying in one hand while using in the other?

youtube.com/watch?v=AFWJP5yCujw#t=46s

My company ordered ~120 e550s from for a contract in Korea. They were purchased from over there. Anyway the contract got cancelled and they're getting shipped back here (U.S.) I think I'd be able to get one at a discount since we're primarily a Dell shop, and we have no idea what to do with them. You think they'll have little Korean letters on the keys?

You should be able to just swap out the keyboard no problem
You can also probably sell the keyboard for a decent price in the US since I doubt very many people sell them over here.

e series

I think the Korean and US english keyboard layout is pretty much identical.

It's Coreboot/Libreboot compatible, that's about all you'd have going for it. Dual core is yucky.

Yeah I know. They were bought to run a training program and that's about it, so I'm sure the company was looking for something cheap. All I know about the specs so far is that they have 8gb of ram. Plus they won't work with my dock, since they lack the port. Oh plus they have the WiFi cards, microphones and cameras stripped.

Looks like people agree that fucking logo is ugly as fuck all.

blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/retro-thinkpad-time-to-think
blog.lenovo.com/uploads/general/DHill_5survey2.png

it's pretty A E S T H E T I C

>3000 people no preference/I don't use the trackpoint
>I don't use the trackpoint

what the fuck

I really hate those keys because I accidentally press them when I'm just trying to use the arrow keys.

I wish my X201 Tablet didn't have them. I'll just have to disable them...

but user that's a "x230" with x220 keyboard and display

You'll be fine. Should run at a playable frame rate with AA off

I can understand microphone and webcam, but the Wi-Fi card being removed just seems like a nuisance, especially if you're going to possibly get one

Posting on leddit as well...

What's the current thinking on new buys?
Is it smarter to buy a current model with decent linux support while it has the EPP discount, or is the chance of the Thinkpad Retro coming out high enough to wait?

I'd get a ThinkPad if not for the design...

It looks 'tacky'.

I know I'm criticizing on the ThinkPad General, but am I the only one.

Might as well buy a model which exists. You can always sell it if the Retro is worth buying.

I like them because they are good value for money, are built well, and reasonably priced. Plus, lots of replacement parts

>tfw I'll never have the Retro no matter what because I'm that much of a poorfag

I disagree actually, I think the XX20 series Thinkpads are very classy. The keyboard is downright gorgeous and reminds me of the design style of Ducky PBT boards. There are certainly Adobe tacky elements about them like the function key though.

The >XX40 series would be perfect in terms of design if only they had the old non-island keyboard.

I have a broken t420 with the 1600x900 screen, and a t430 with the lower resolution screen. How easy would it be to replace the t430 display with the higher resolution t420 one?

Are T440s starting to come off lease? I've noticed that a few months ago they were about 1,000 AUD, but now they can be had for around 700 AUD. Should I expect further price drops?

won't the thinkpad retro, provided lelnovo doesn't back out, just be like modern t420 for like 4x the price of an actual t420? why would i spend my buckaroos on that?

10% better cpu performance

>had audio stuttering on a T520 when I used the network card
>updated BIOS to last version
>problem gone

and 100% better battery performance
and maybe even a decent screen