/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).

>New to /tpg/ or looking for purchasing advice? (hint: use the advice request template, it makes life easier)
pastebin.com/nBqTEbHn

>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 HP Elitebook (2570p, 8770W, 2170p), Dell Latitude/Precision (E6430, E6440, E7440) and P, T, X, and W SERIES if you want the Real Business Experience™

>Recommended models and mod guide:
pastebin.com/jVSuE175

>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:

blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/retro-thinkpad-its-alive
youtube.com/watch?v=VGHPWJXOris
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

americans are asleep

I have my old busted up and worn down T420. It has
>core i7-2620m
>1600x900 screen

I bought a new Mint condition Thinkpad T420 that has
>core i5-2520m
>1366x768 screen

Since both CPUs are 2c/4t, is it worth the time and effort to swap out the chips? I mean I know the swap process isn't terribly complicated. Same can be said with the screen. Will a 768p screen offer better battery life than the 900p one? Is it even possible to swap the screens without having to buy more parts?

Just got my T430 i5-3320m 8gb ram 500gb with Nvidia GFX, my first thinkpad, and I am in love with it. Honestly has been far more capable than I expected and the screen hasn't bugged me as much as I thought it would, though of course I will be keeping an eye out for the Alienware replacement screen. Just wanted to thank you guys for the advice (even though I know a lot of you despise this device) and your overall help.

While i'm here, does anyone know anything I can do to take advantage of an unused ExpressCard slot?

wouldnt it be easier to just replace the lid and lower case and keyboard?
>ExpressCard slot
eGPU?

How hard is it to make an eGPU setup? I think I've got a slot in my x230i and I've got a 7870 I'm not using any more

you'd still need a psu for your gpu and the gdc beast.
you'd have to read up on it a bit

Just swap the cases?

Because the case on my old T420 is beat to hell. It's missing its Thinkpad/Lenovo labels. And the 2 "hooks" that keep the lid shut are broken.

i7 has faster iGPU, also additional 1MB L2 cache

what and I were saying was that you should replace the case/lid on your old thinkpad with parts from the new one

>

kek wrong thread

Best cheap RAM for an x220t? I only have 4GB installed and it is NOT enough for my inefficient workflow

Does the 72w battery on the t470 make it a burden to commute with?

So I am on my 2nd charger and I just got the new one yesterday for my t420. The second one is starting to not work randomly. Is it chink chargers? like should I order a specific one?
Also the chargers pop very loudly when I plug them in and when they aren't working they no longer pop.

Depends on your bag(-sleeve).

I have both and normally use the flat one with the 72Wh for backup.

>chargers pop very loudly when I plug them in

That doesn't seem right.

Maybe your port shorts or something, causing damage to the chargers?

Is there any way I can get rid of this botnet?
I have a X200 tablet.

dont :clap: chickshit :clap: your :clap: charger :clap: or :clap: battery

Its happens no matter where I plug it in. At my house, at work, in public, etc.
I just started to accept it as normal. Theres a chance the adapters themselves are fine, but the cable that runs from the port to the adapter seem to be shorting out or something.
I got the one with the best reviews and prime shipping on amazon and to replace the cheap as possible ebay one I'm replacing and it does it too.

So this isn't normal for thinkpad chargers and I have managed to find the same problem twice unluckily with two different products?

Call the phone number.

I generally wouldn't risk non genuine parts for the charger because many thinkpad chargers are interchangeable between models and finding a used but genuine cord off ebay isn't that hard or expensive.

Good point, I'll replace the new one next pay day and send the new one back.

pls respond

Can anyone recommend any good eBay sellers / Euro stores for batteries?
X220

How long does each last for you?

does anyone know of any other cool mods for the x230t

please

>this kills the thinkpad

So I have been searching for a cheap modern Thinkpad, and I've found a L540 locally for $125. On the bright side, it looks like it's in good condition. Unfortunately -
> Cheaper build quality (L-series)
> Celeron Processor
> 4 Gb's of Ram
> 768 Tn screen
> EC is missing the protective insert
Since Im planning on upgrading all of the parts anyhow, what should I offer him? 90$?

can you define "cool" for us first?

Why even bother? I doubt that processor is even socketed.

ULV processors for the L450 are BGA
In the end you get chromebook tier specs with some extra ports.

Not worth the money used when you can get a T420 or T430 for a bit more and properlt upgrade it fully.

It is
Due to the shitty cooling, the best processor I can put in is a i7 4700mq, which I plan on doing
I really enjoy working on laptops, so this is a wet dream to me

I figured my goal would make my initial post too long, but I'll post it here anyhow
I want to add in an i7 4700mq, a Gtx 970(egpu), a 3k ips screen and some more Ram. I want it to be a gayming station while docked, and I was planning on underclocking and disabling two cores while unplugged so it's a long-lasting laptop.

I just got my T400 in and I am surprised to say that it's more comfy than my X220T. I am a little disappointed in my X220T now. Is it because of the tablet design?

Has anyone with dedicated nvidia graphics tried overclocking their display?

90hz should be easily doable

Does anyone run Windows 7 on a T420? How does it compare in terms of performance to a fairly minimal Linux install?

I have:
>i7-2620
>16GB RAM
>SSD

Wondering if that's enough to cut it on an older machine. Curious in trying out Win7 again after years and I just came into possession of an SSD with it installed.

Didn't it come with Windows 7?
It'll perform fine. Those specs are good enough for even winbloat 8.1 to run smoothly

Cool, that's good to know.
And no, I bought it used without an HD. I prefer just using my own and cycling them through different machines.

probably? I find mine to be incredibly comfy, but a lot of that comes from the fact that it's a neat little laptop for bed and travel

X1C gen 5 vs t470?

for school

are you retarded or something?
Windows 7 just uses more ram than most linux distros, but cpu usage is about the same.

No, I mean when the T420 was new it shipped with 7

Is there anyway to revert from win10 back to 7? I keep seeing all these good deals for t430s on ebay but they all have win10.

Yeah, I am kind of retarded and didn't really think that through. To be fair, it's been years since I even thought about Windows beyond casually skimming Win10 hate threads.

There are at least five I just saw after searching 'T430 Windows 7' on ebay, I would propose you try that.

It's fine user - I set up a t420 for my wife and she is using windows 10, and that is the i5 version.

So I decided to eat lunch at a nice restaurant near my office today, I'm bogged down writing this report so I decide to take my company laptop with me (T420 in mint condition).

I'm working away and enjoy my lunch when out of the corner of my eye, I see a figure walking towards my table. It's a guy wearing a fedora and a FSF t-shirt. He tries to strike up conversation about my T420, complimenting its excellent condition and 7 row keyboard.

I was so taken aback by this, I had an utterly shocked look on my face. So this is Sup Forums in real life. I wanted to remain incognito, so I said "It's my work computer. It's OLD".

He scrunched up his face with a look of utter disgust. I saw him walk away muttering something about "normies ruined ThinkPad, they don't know the joys of having a 7 row keyboard and a magnesium alloy rollcage..."

Decided to make a quick exit, on the way out I noticed him using a X60 with a libreboot sticker on it, running some sort of riced tiling WM with an anime wallpaper. He was arguing across the table with a Mac user. Overheard something along the lines of "Macs are locked down pieces of trash...Louis Rossman hates them"

With your talent for speculative fantasy you're wasting your time here.
Unfortunately, you're also wasting mine.

Should I get a P51 with an i7 rather than a Xeon?

>Other business laptops are also welcome in /tpg/ (e.g. Dell Latitude
hey guys

depends on what you want to do

What the fuck kind of keyboard layout is this?

the best one.

looks like some stupid euro shit
more specifically, its UK International, with the backslash on the left like that

My X220 is making horrible whining noises. I believe it's coming from the fan. What do I do? I cant have my Thinkpad over the minimum performance level otherwise the fan revs and makes a whining noise.

Clean it, replace thermal paste, and check the CPU temperatute with RealTemp or a similar application, assuming you haven't done so already. Whiny fans are almost always a sign of heat. If everything turns up normal when your laptop is dust-free, perhaps your fan is failing; would replace it if you can get one cheaply. But that just sounds like overheating to me.

Is the ThinkPad 13 any good?

How is the thinkpad E570 with
>1080p ips display
>i5-7200U
>256gb nvme ssd
>8 gigs of ddr4 ram
>~€680 (grandpa can order it as a company purchase so I don't have to pay tax)

>e series
no

Nice argument. I really don't give a shit about modability if that's what you're going to say.

modability has absolutely nothing to do with it
it's about build quality.
E series are glorified consumer laptops wit the thinkpad logo on it

Shit build quality as in it will fall apart when using it normally or shit build quality as in I can't have an autism rage fit on it?

How does the L series compare? It's not that much more.

give me a reason not to buy the t470 when I travel over to the US, /tpg/

macbook pro with touchbar

Looking to buy a thinkpad for on the go programming.

Budget: around 150
Location: eastern cali USA
Size: doesn't really matter
Performance: just run my distro and visual studio and heavy browsing

Thanks guys.

I've got an old company T42 which I installed Ubuntu 11.something (isn't fast enough for anything later) on it...what do? any suggestions for actually making this laptop useful? tempted to just use it to learn the basics of Kali (yes i'm a meme)

Sup

How's KDE -with- composition enabled on an X220?

still shit
like the guide says t x w/p series only
as long as you treat it nicely it should last 5 years
but a normal thinkpad will last 5 years even if you're pretty rough.
t420/x220
put it on top of a powermac g4 thats on top of a powermac g5

>If you treat it nicely
Well of course. Thing is, I'm not specifically looking for a thinkpad. I'm just looking for a good consumer/school laptop. The thinkpad came out the best and the cheapest.
>Better build than your average consumer laptop (not saying better than something like t series)
>nvme ssd
>Great keyboard
>Fingerprint scan

just got the t420 i bought through the post and it's in real good condition (especially compared to my well used t61)
im a little overcautious to manhandle it and stuff
how dyou take care of a thinkpad?

>take care of a thinkpad
just get a macbook already

Well that x220 isnt 30 years old, is it?
That WAS an argument against KDE ages ago but youre not browsing the net with an apollo rocket anymore, are you.

whats the best thinkpad that has hdmi capability?

Well, I have a computer I use with the witcher 3 and I have issues with it, so I'm asking. Keep in mind this isn't KDE 3 either.

Excuse my newfaggotry. Some time ago they said they would maybe release "retro" Thinkpads. Any news? When is it gonna happen?

500 instances of Facebook and some light googling.

every screw has been removed, but the left side of the motherboard won't budge. I do not know if it is that I am lacking to remove some piece, or that I simply am not pulling hard enough, but I don't want to yank on it like a gorilla

what gives?

btw the little flap that goes over the power socket is removed as well if you can't tell in the picture.

Do I just need to pull harder? every single screw has been taken out

blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/retro-thinkpad-its-alive

hold up nigga, the vga port. Don't pull just yet.

how do I take it out?

Take the standoffs out.

Are key stickers on backlit thinkpad keyboards transparent or not? I want to buy a backlit keyboard and convert it into my country display with stickers

i genuinely don't know how to do that, please explain

I wish i were trolling, but the guy in the video just completely bypasses that

youtube.com/watch?v=VGHPWJXOris

Yeah because he's gay. The first time I disassembled my X220 I had to do it too and it wasn't mentioned anywhere either.

You have to take some small pliers and turn them as if they were normal screws. This is a thing you also have to do on certain PC cases in order to put the standoffs in a different position for different motherboards. Or if you want to somehow replace those on GPU coolers as well.

always read the comments

thanks black guys

time to get rid of that annoying burning smell and constant high fan

To be fair, reading youtube comments is a painful thing

x220t? vga port, needs 5.0 m bit

what are the idle temps to expect with an x220 tablet? I heard, from /tpg/, they get really fucking hot

I don't know, I just know that anything besides web browsing - WHIRRRRRR

but maybe it will be different now with some as5 on it. the stuff already on was really dried up, looked like it had never been changed before. that is something I think much of Sup Forums doesn't take into account. these corporate drones don't give a shit how hot the machines get or if they make noise, they just know how to turn the machine on and off. I highly doubt in-house techs at the corporate entities that buy these machines in bulk ever changed the paste - so when you and me get these the paste is already 5 years old

didn't mean to go on tangent though, i honestly never checked the temps. i just know it got to the point where it was discomforting against skin at times.

Just buy used OEM that aren't broken.
Not that hard.

Thanks m8

You got your charger from amazon? Funny thing my first charger was from Amazon and it ended up kicking the bucket after a year.
Stick with genuine OEM.
Those who give it a high rating probably source a new charger from the manufacturer's site, so they give 5 stars because 'its a great bargain'.

T470, it will be fine getting banged by your books and the ULV heatsink in the X1C will disappoint you with critical tasks.

Wonderful user.

E570
Its shit tho
FYI display port and mini display port support audio and can work with an adapter (works well if you don't buy the cheapest adapter either)


Alright guys I'm off hopefully to finish up the dankpads posts...
>mfw no video on monday

So is this the next /tpg/ pasta? Seen this at least once before in a recent previous thread

Guy who bought a x230 tablet here need some help.

After upgrading everything with the Lenovo Bridge app, the keyboard stopped working, I clean installed Win 10 but it still isnt working.

I found out the issue is that it registers Fn key as "pressed" from boot, and it wont let me type since Fn is pressed (f8/f9 change the brightness)

The key itself isnt stuck so thats not the issue, right now to fix it I swapped it with Ctrl key in Bios menu and plug an external keyboard, press left Ctrl on it and it frees the key and lets me work.

I wanna try installing a older version of the Bios, someone here has an x230 tablet win 10 and can tell me what version he has?

Or should I just install win 7 and win 7 bios?

allright boys i got a question to you. I bought a used x220. Everything is fine with it, but the temperatures of cpu on heavy load reach 97 degrees. Will cleaning and putting new thermal paste on it be enough to lower them ?

...

no it's fucked, let it burn

If any of you are wondering whether it is worth the 2+ hours to repaste or not, it is. Runs completely silent now