/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/JVwVGVTW

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

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=rUFxeZz7qvw
amzn.eu/bJz6zEK
anandtech.com/show/7250/mythlogic-pollux-1613-clevo-p157sm-review/7
luxnote-hannover.de
scottevest.com/v3_store/OTG_Jacket_Men.shtml
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

first for get a macbook instead

>still no thinkwiki link right in the OP post
sage@hide

why cant lenovo into design consistency?

Chiral scrolling works differently so it makes sense that is has a different icon
And that driver is made by synaptics anyway

And I believe the icon on the left shows one finger scrolling and the right one two fingers

but why show it with a differently oriented cursor each time?

Learn how to use and configure the touchpad, there are tons of settings
I only use chiral scrolling since it's the fastest and more accurate. here's a good video about it:
youtube.com/watch?v=rUFxeZz7qvw

oh shit that actually makes a lot of sense now thanks

Anybody using SSD Expresscard with their thinkpad?

I didn't even know you could get Expresscard SSD
won't it be stupidly slow? I thought Expresscard only just hit USB 2 speeds

Expresscard is PCIe

Imagine that someone programmed in this shit and only fraction for users will ever know about it

I imagine most people who complain about touchpads don't even know any gestures.

Hi guys, i have an x230 and the guy who sold me did it with pic related inside, 4GB samsung ram with these specs, and i found it is probably an original part, the answer is, i bought a new module from here

amzn.eu/bJz6zEK

will it work in dual channel? i'm really interested in the improvements for the HD4000 but i don't know if there's something i'm missing

Say peeps
How does the lineup of CPUs they generally put in the T420 thinkpads deal with x265 encoded media files?

Should work without any problems
HW decoding is no possible, software decoding should work fine even for 1080p

No because they are really expensive for how little storage they have.

'ppreciate it

Just bought a W510 (q820 real quad w/ht, quadro) for $120 to replace my T420. (integrated sandy dualcore)

Most excited about the fact how I don't have to use the dogshit 1366x768 anymore. Although I am concerned about the pwm on the w510.

Is that pwm flickering problem exclusive to the w510 or does it also appear on the t510?

Anybody have experience with either?

I thought these weren't feasible because the BIOS didn't detect it.

what can you even do with the express card slot?
Putting two usb3 ports is the only think I could come up with

k thanks, i already ordered it so i'll let you know...

if for some strange reason it starts in single channel there's something i can change? most of things i'm reading right now about RAM comes from the early 2000 so there are only 40 yo people talking about black magic.

oh and a video from LinusTT but i lasted 30 seconds of it, he was trying to make me buy a ROG motherboard

PWM is apparently a problem for all T/W 10,20,30 series

I've been using IntelPWMcontrol _x64.exe with 2000Hz for a few months now on my W520 without problems (other than the exe crashing when doing nvidia driver updates, which isn't a real issue)

Find out what panel you're using with AIDA64, then look up the specs to see what frequency it can handle. Also don't launch IntelPWMcontrol multiple times, that will lead to horrible flickering

egpu

External GPU/other PCIe devices
TV card
Sound card
Esata card

thinking about this, do you know how?
googled it a few times but never came with a true solution

>TV card
any that dont need windows only drivers? Would prefer OSX, but linux support is more realistic.

Huh I haven't noticed any flickering on my T420. Maybe because I almost 50% brightness.

The w510 I bought doesn't have integrated unfortunately so I probably can't use the pwm control.

Does it even run at a noticeably low frequency? Move a finger quickly before the screen in a dark room to see the flickering

>External GPU
Only a proof of concept, very poor performance.
>TV card
Windows only.
>Sound card
Why?
>Esata card
Doesn't most thinkpads comes with eSATA?

Where can I use my thinkpad in public so it can help me get a gf?

>Only a proof of concept, very poor performance.
60fps in overwatch with a 750 ti on my x220 ain't too bad. beats a dgpu from that time at least

(med gfx on the internal screen, high gfx on external)

1. put lots of hipster stickers on the lid
2. go to starbucks

OPTIONAL: paint the thinkpad white

>paint the thinkpad white
add edgy bitten pear sticker

Very fast and easy way to swap your OS on-the-fly IMO.
I've got two 64 GB ExpressCard/34 SSDs.
One with Windows 8.1 32-Bit, the other with Manjaro 64-Bit, Each OS is on it's own with the HDD for the media files, which formatted ext4 so windows can't "see" it.
Very convenient setup, if you need to use windows exclusive stuff without the issues of dual booting or running VM.

You don't
Only reason my gf complimented to my x230 is because is tiny and it just fucking werks even better than bigger PCs.
But it is ugly and not as user friendly as a macbook.
Girls like macbooks, and surface books I can add. Not thinkpads.

The good news is: you can't break the ice anyway with your laptop so neither a macbook will help you and a thinkpad can't ruin you.

c o m f y

I'm gonna FrankenPad soon

Thinking of upgrading my X220's 4 GB RAM to 8. What's the best way of picking out RAM? Trying to avoid buying something useless by mistake.

>peel off stickers
>glue remains
>start scrubbing it with alcohol
>10 minutes later
>still some adhesive on the plastic

How the fuck do you guys get rid of this shit?

Thinkpads can't boot from expresscard SSD

bleach and sand paper

goo gone

don't do this it makes mustard gas

I looked into that some time ago and it's really CPU and compatibility limited. If you play only mainstream games it might be ok, but it's not gaymer solution

>Thinkpads can't boot from expresscard SSD
With coreboot,they do.

Saying what i did, cause I did it yesterday on my x230, don't know if it works but here other anons said it will.

Open CPUZ, SPD tab, copy the model code of your current ram and paste it on amazon, pick up the most similar.
If you have 2 slots used pick a cheap ddr3 sodimm kit

>q820 real quad w/ht, quadro
>integrated sandy dualcore
Are you sure it's faster even in multicore tasks? Because I seriously doubt it.

Wut?

Yes they do.
You don't even need to flash the BIOS.
As long as the thinkpad see the SSD as USB mass storage you're good to go.
The issue comes when you try to install windows that's why I'm stuck with Win8.1.

What model exactly? It is only reasonable to put Expresscard SSD in C2D Thinkpads, since it has 5gbit speed opposing to 3gbit SATA II

W520, I'm using lexar ExpressCard SSD.

Dumb expresscardposter. Sata 3 is faster and more common.

>Sata 3
I'm sacrificing "speed" for the ease of swapping.

>tfw two intelligent two dualboot on one disk

So, I've been looking into the guides.

I want a computer that is going to be still and connected to power about 80% of the time. Should I still get an X2* or are there cheaper alternatives with the same specs? I don't mind bulky, as long as it's cheaper.

T4** usually are cheaper.

Get an T420 or T430, better display and cheaper.

Again it's the ease of swapping, and the seamless booting.
It's like having a RPi with better specs.

The t420 turbos up to 3ghz but it's a dual core w/ht

The q820 stock is 1.7ghz but it'll probably turbo up to 2.2 ghz with 4 quads w/ht.

It'll definitely beat the t420 in multicore, although not by much. Only reason I'm upgrading is the ability to use a 1080p screen.

I've no idea what a decent mSATA SSD is, can anyone recommend one for the x220? 120-256gb is fine with me.
>dying hdd

>spending money on a dead interface

It can't handle regular sata?

>that bag
I can smell it from here.

ordered a t430 500gig on ebay for $113

Did I do good Sup Forums?

yeah, but 1st gen cores where quite a bit slower than second gen and further. But ok, I get. Is the screen a lot different than the horseshit they put in 420? Angles and black levels in 420 are retarded.
Also who can explain me why t60 screen looks better than 400 series up to 440?

Thanks. Would I be retarded to settle for a 1st or 2nd Gen processor? Everything I see is above 350€, I can easily get something for that price in my piece of shit country.

what processor?
ssd ord hdd?
internal graphic?
refurbished?
any damage?

link the auction

2nd gen is fine

Wow, I just checked notebookcheck and 1080p in t510 is actually something that can be called a screen. It's indeed a good trade off.

Why 12 inch if you want basically a desktop, get a T or W and be happy, X are supposed to be moved around

3rd has better graphics and usb3 everywhere, I'd say it's worth the 40€ more

So, here we go. Not a T4**, but fuck it, just to get a sense of prices

>X220 Refurbished

>i5-2520
>8GB RAM
>HDD 320GB
>SSD 120GB

350€ - 370$

Apparently the B156HW01 v4 in the w510 is the best TN has to offer, at least in 2011.

Here's a review with the same panel
anandtech.com/show/7250/mythlogic-pollux-1613-clevo-p157sm-review/7

I just want to get away from that awful screen. There's no perfect viewing angle for the t420. Anywhere you look there's the TN shift. You just gotta find a good spot and ignore the shift in the corners or wherever.

The machine itself is fantastic, but the screen is so dogshit that I feel people shouldn't recommend thinkpads with shit screens anymore.

Too much, for that price you can have a 250SSD, 3rd gen and IPS, I had my x230 without HDD and with 4gb for 240

no, the manufacturers that make them are all garbage

if its in decent condition then you did okay

PEC12

I want to get either a x230 or a T420. X220 if the jews try to jew me. How much performance can I expect from their normal 6-cell used batteries? I honestly don't want to spend too much since I already got a good desktop and I will only be using the thinkpad for writing and recording lessons at college.

Way to much! You should pay around 250 for this build.

Literally impossible to find on ebay, apart from auctions

yeah, i checked it already. I should really look into those 1080p thinkpads. It's definitely worth some performance sacrifice

> apart from auctions
Literally minutes ago there was a x230 120gb ssd 8gb ram sold for 216€.

If you live in Europe you should expect to pay more for a used Thinkpad than in the US. But holy fuck 350€? I got one with the same specs (except it had no SSD) for 200€. In pretty much mint condition.

Sorry to spam this shit, but I'm really new at this

>Lenovo X230
>Core i5 3rd Gen 2.6GHZ,
>8GB Memory
>250GB HDD

>230€

I'm yuropoor, not sure if it makes a difference. Nothing apart from auctions sells for that little.

yeah, exactly. the 350€ is from shops where I live.

X230 user here bought with a used 9 cell with 90 cycles, now has 130 on its back and last night I used it for 5 hours with premiere on battery, you can try 6 or 7 for notes, I think the t420 can't do that (older CPU, bigger system)

Good for the 8GB, not good for the HDD, go for it but add another 60€ for a 120 SSD

>I'm yuropoor, not sure if it makes a difference.
no difference

Sorry even less

> is from shops where I live
go to ebay, srsly

luxnote-hannover.de

try Luxnote. I bought a T400 and an X220 there. They ship to EU countries for 15€ and almost everything they sell is in near perfect condition because they sell laptops from leasing contracts. Just be prepared to wait a few weeks if your model of choice isn't available.

Well, the T430 with HDD and 3rd gen i5 is at 245€... Should I go for it? I will have to upgrade RAM to 8gb later and put an SSD on it too, so I'll end up spending more anyway...

Way more expensive than the German ebay prices!

please dont forget to rate us with 5 stars

Fellow Europoor, my T430 (1600*900, i5, 8GB, HDD, extended battery) clocked well under 200€ incl. tax & shipping.
Going over 200 is a complete ripoff unless it's already complete with SSD & 16GB.

That's what I keep hearing, but I can't see those prices anywhere, but for auctions or damaged goods. Where did buy that one?

Thinkpads are cheap only in 'murica

How do I concealed carry a laptop?
I'll be issued X1 Carbon next month, and I'll need to move it between home and office frequently. The problem is that part of my trip goes through a ghetto. Obvious precaution to not getting mugged is to not look like a mark.
Would shit like:
>scottevest.com/v3_store/OTG_Jacket_Men.shtml
Do the job? I'd feel dirty about stuffing my fancy new machine into worn-out second hand backpack just to keep it safe.

Be patient, save a searches on ebay and program an alarm for interesting auctions.

Ebay. I had to be stalking the offers for a while before getting it as low as I did though.