/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 (embed)

>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

>61617656
you'll need an external psu no matter the card. not enough power through the adapter alone, full stop

also the 1030 won't work with any mpcie/ec egpu setup since it came out looong after the last driver versions which allowed 10 series egpu setups (372.90 non-hot swappable, 375.70 hot swappable)

You fucking idiot. Do you have any idea how fucking rare a Z61m with a titanium cover is?
>hurr ba durr T7XXX is shit and very slow and hot
LIke you gays nigga would know.

Why are Thinkpads so good? I've only had one for a little while but I already know I could never go back.

Never used a notebook before but I need to buy one right now. Why the hell is everything so fucking expensive? I thought notebooks are getting more popular than desktop PCs because they are more affordable but from what I've seen in the recommended list here, they're all equally or more expensive than a regular mid range PC. Like, there's not a single thinkpad of the P, T, X or W series under 1000$ and I take it the cheaper thinkpads of the other series are all crap?

Buy an old Thinkpad, like a T420. Should be fine for everything except modern games or other compute-heavy tasks.

fucking retard, if you don't know shit you shouldn't talk shit like this
of course, new notebooks are always expensive and new cheap ones are trash. nobody here would buy a new thinkpad cuz its just stupid, you would always want to buy an older one as they become extremely cheap over time -> x200, x220, x230, t420/t520/w520 and t430/t530/w530

>T420
>old
What the fuck? Pick one fucktard

But how is an old T or X series better than a new Thinkpad from the more affordable series? Like, I'm looking at a Lenovo V510 for example and it has really good specs and a good price and the user ratings are good as well. Why is it crap compared to a T420 or X220?

drop them once and we'll see retard
new thinkpads don't even deserve that name

>numpad on the keyboard
This is shit is annoying as fuck when you have to missalign your hands which strains them alot.
>no Expresscard or PCMCIA slot
Say kiss goodbye to eGPU
>not a single part available on aliexpress
This machines resale price is shit
>no trackpoint
This is for so you don't have to move your hands from typing position when you want to use the mouse.
>no spillproof keyboard
Once you spill something, it's a goner.
>soldered ULV CPU
Shit perfomance that you will be stuck forever. However the battery life should be decent, as if you were unable to undervolt the CPU yourself to get maximum battery life.
>no rollcage
This machine will flex itself and kill the mobo, if too much pressure is applied to the chassis
>no ultrabay
You better have a screwdriver with you when you desire to remove that dvd drive

Also, when you look the design of V510, you can clearly see that replacing chassis parts on that will require you to take the whole computer apart just to change a part or two.
>no thinklight
Better buy that backlight keyboard, goy.

Fucking nigger, do you want to be spoonfed more? LURK MOAR
I agree, like look at this abortion in pic related. Does this piece of shit have magnesium rollcage? FUCK NO.

Ooh mmy good
That fucking faggot
I fucking missed that last thread

I recently spotted a T61p at around 180USD, its on good condition but i haven't seen the specs yet, looking at lenovo's page this thing could have a resolution(TFT screen) between 1024x768 and 1920x1200.

Would it be worth the 180USD if it was the highest spec model? or should i look for a newer T430.(i live on south america so there isn't much variety to choose from)

Also performance isn't a issue, i already have a L440 full of upgrades to work with VMs and more heavy stuff, i'm looking for a second laptop as a backup and the T61p seems good enough.

...

The T420 is considered to be fairly old as it's a Sandy Bridge architecture based laptop nowadays so several generations behind. Is it adequate to do most tasks that people do when actually using a computer and not just playing fucking games? Absolutely, a T420 even with an i5 is more than capable of anything required in today's world, it'll just accomplish some tasks slower than more current processors would be capable of handling them.

But it IS an older laptop now, like it or not, 5+ years sets that status automagically.

It's still a great piece of hardware but my Dell Latitude E6420 is superior and about as old.

>fucking whitelists in the BIOS
>fucking privacy issues
>fucking other shit too
>fuck Lenovo

Buy an older one
They're better anyway

Anything in the T6x series is not worth more than $100 cash nowadays, period, end of story, I don't give a fuck what hardware components it has, they are simply not worth more than that unless they're brand new never opened in the original factory box with a validation from Lenovo that it's never been opened before you get your hands on it.

In that kind of condition it's worth $150, mind you, but not a fucking cent more.

No Core Duo or Core 2 Duo laptop is worth more than $100 anymore, if you pay more than that you're getting ripped off but people are fucking stupid so as long as you realize you're fucking stupid to pay more than $100 for a such a laptop, so be it.

>fucking stupid people will be the death of us all

Superior IBM design my man
Also jewtel shat it's pants for the past 5-6 years
Ivy bridge dual cores can outclass anything up to baby lake

>Z61 titanium

I got one at a pawn shop earlier this year for $50, it's not that big of a deal, really. Sold it for $100, doubled my money, case closed.

>sandy bridge is so behind
user broadwell isn't that old
Sandy bridge gets broadwell tier performance

Not him but don't apply the cheap as fuck US prices on everyone. He clearly said he's from South America so at least twice the price on everything, even used.

It's not 2011 anymore
Also old is a relative word

>paying for lenovo trash
>actually believing newer hardware is better
?

I know this thread is specifically about decent business laptops, but
what are some brands and product lines specially shitty among laptops in general that should be avoided?
For example Asus Ultrabooks are complete garbage in build quality and mine turns off if you move it sometimes

lenovo

Acer.
Great on paper.
But chink build quality with zero cooling
Literally a housefire

The more expensive """"gaymen"""" line up is said to be more okay but a few of my friends who actually have them say that the batteries completely flat after their second year

Not my job to convert currencies, I don't give a fuck where that person lives, if it's that bad move.

>no fucking excuses accepted

Senpai, there has been whitelist on thinkpad since IBM. However they were less than there is today. Also, you can remove them in most cases but it sure is a inconvenience
>privacy issues
Do you mean those Superfish and Lenovo service engine? Do please note that these were on newer lenovo laptops (2013-2015). But it seems (like always) never trust a chink.
Yeah, those might be common in US but not so in Yuropoor.
What did you say? Where the fuck is my floppies?????? HOW COME THEY DON'T SELL 16bit CPU ANYMORE!!?!??!
>Anything in the T6x series is not worth more than $100 cash nowadays,
What the fuck? Thinkpad T60 are worth every single penny of your money. You can libreboot them or T70'd if you so desire.

If it's not a ThinkPad (T/W/X), if it's not a Dell Latitude or Precision, if it's not an HP Elitebook, or perhaps one of the rare Asus business class models then seriously you should avoid it like the plague.

Basic rule of thumb: If you can buy it at a local consumer electronics shop, it's not something you should actually buy because the business class models require purchase online direct from the manufacturer most of the time, and from third party resellers the rest.

>What the fuck?

They're worth no more than $100, period, and as stated if you pay more for them that's your problem.

>5+ years sets that status automagically

this is where i would disagree. i'm of the opinion that laptop design has regressed dramatically in those 5+ years, to the point where a sandy/ivy thinkpad performance remains very competitive with many brand new laptops

lets look at a base mobile i5: on paper, a 7200u is generally 30% faster than a 2520m. ignoring that we shouldn't really be celebrating a 30% performance increase that took 6 years to get to, how long is that 7200u going to stay running at full turbo, in a sleek thin modern laptop with a piddly little heatsink strapped to it?

>inb4 muh power efficiency
i really do wonder what percentage of a laptop's life is spent running off the mains vs off battery. i'd like to think most grownups treat a laptop as a portable workstation and use it at desks and tables near an outlet. nevermind that i'd prefer 5hrs replaceable vs 8-10hrs (on a good day) non-replaceable that a lot of new ulv laptops have

wich lenovos? I've never used a bad lenovo, even the old cheap one i tried had great keyboard and build quality

is the new x270 any good?

No

Justify

I did say I currently own a Dell Latitude E6420 which is Sandy Bridge architecture (I have the Nvidia Quadro NVS 4200m discrete GPU and a Core i7-2640m dual core (2 cores/4 threads) so I'm well aware of what SB architecture is still capable of compared to newer stuff.

It's not a x220

I were to use it, it wouldn't free any different from NC4010 because of that shitty keyboard. This laptop is far from the X31 we use to see, with a excellent keyboard and expandability. There were nothing like IBM thinkpads back in the days, they were like god send machines.

In X270, well what does the competitors bring to the table? Is it like X31? Or a retarded cluster fuck like NC4010 which has a poor engineering behind it and it looks like X31 is lightyears ahead when it comes to execution.

Fight me. The T420 is a dinosaur laptop.

trackpoint

enjoy your slower """"new"""" hardware

my gf spilled gin on my x230 and killed it. probably going to replace it with current gen

i've got a spare hd mod board going and i know nitrocaster takes forever to make them, how likely is it i'll be able to get cost price on it?

>i7 fast enough to deal with modern workloads
>Actual ports
>Nice keyboard
I fail to see the issue.

>X220
>Have to remove system board to get to the charging port connector
>Have to remove VGA connectors to remove system board
>Have to find 5mm socket wrench

I'm not super familiar with laptop teardowns but is this normal / good design?

Thinkpad - the poor mans MacBook

The smaller the computer is, the more pain in the ass is to fix it.
Also remember the golden rule, "If ain't broken, don't fix it."

posting a pic in case any gtards wanna buy it

I think there is no point using that mod if it is no supported by Libreboot

Sadly this shit won't charge without me pushing the charger in for an hour. Going to be pissed if it's my charger that's damaged and not the port

What is the x200 of 2017?

>compact
>ips
>good keyboard

X62

it works with libre, it just hijacks a couple of lanes to run a hd panel

>bulky
>heavy
>ugly
>ancient
>inefficient
>a literal laughing stock

[citation needed]

I thought "thinkpad" means the Lenovo Thinkpad. Am I missing something here? How is this manufacturer trash, yet Sup Forums has a general dedicated to their products?

...

>Does exactly what it's meant to
>Durable
>Only marginally thicker than modern ultrabooks
I fail to see the issue.
The Thinkpad line started as IBM products. Lenovo kept the design largely similar until about 2012. The modern ones are agreed to be pretty much trash when compared to the older ones. Some even swear by their pre-handover IBM produced model though they're long in the tooth.

IBM created ThinkPads (note the proper fucking spelling) just over 20 years ago now and until they split off the ThinkPad division to Lenovo they were awesome laptops so, the focus for many ThinkPad aficionados is the last few models produced by IBM itself meaning the T6x models and then came the Lenovo Z-series then following up with Lenovo's takes on the T/W/X models.

The first few Lenovo branded models weren't totally bad, actually, but it's generally agreed upon that the last best ThinkPad with Lenovo branding is the T420/W520/X220/X220t and everything since has been shit.

You either understand it or you don't, so most of us "old timers" (I've been using ThinkPads since the first model came out in 1997 and I still own two near-mint condition ThinkPad 701c Butterfly models as well) have been at the ThinkPad game for a long long time.

Most people new to ThinkPads don't get the history nor do they fucking care, so whatever.

So what, the only good laptops you can buy are 5+ year old and everything current is trash?

What went wrong? :(

>implying most of those points aren't positives
here's your (you)

X220

Should i fit a 2.5" 850 EVO or M.2 850 EVO?

Yes. Pretty much. This is the state of laptops in 2017.

The M.2 should theoretically offer better performance for day to day use, leaving the 2.5" space free for a traditional SATA SSD for storage or a hard drive there.

Blinded by and drowning in your own autism.
>The modern ones are agreed to be pretty much trash when compared to the older ones.
You'll also have no trouble finding people agreeing that old ThinkPads look like absolute dogshite or that Macbooks are better.
>Some even swear by their pre-handover IBM produced model though they're long in the tooth.
In the real world, nobody gives a shit about this cult.

>Look like
That's pretty subjective, there's something to be said for the plain black chassis in a world of Macbook clones. And are you buying your laptop to look good or work well, anyway? Long as it's not hot pink and covered in dildos I don't see the issue.

and another (you)

forgot to add the picture

>And are you buying your laptop to look good or work well, anyway?
Why not both? It really isn't hard at all in the year 2017 to find something better looking. (read: modern ThinkPads, Latitude, Elitebook, literally any business laptop range made after the T420)

The only positive is that no one wants to steal it.

You seem oddly focused on the idea that a T420 or something looks horrifically ugly. It's just a plain black laptop. And it's not a compromise, unlike later Thinkpad models.

That's exactly the problem, user. If I wanted to bring a thick bulky black box with me, I'd bring along a briefcase.

first thats msata that limited by sata 2 so youre both wrong
second someone people actually say the random access is slightly lower than what it is on sata 3
that said you only option to do a HDD SSD combo is msata plus 2.5"

it basically boils down to do you want to use a HDD as well?
if yes msata
if no 2.5" ssd

Hi guys. I need to replace my t420's battery. Can somebody please recommend good sellers/chink batteries on ebay/aliexpress/etc. ? I am afraid that I'll end up with some soykaf-tier one if I'll pick battery on my own.

>Thick
Not particularly
>Bulky
Not particularly
>Black
Shit, you got me there.

The MacBook Pro is none of these.

Neat.

Nigga, T420 is as thick as T40.
You think that 3cm or 1.2inch makes a laptop thick? WTF

Is there any other way to get the T420s/T430s FHD 1080p upgrade kit than via the thinkpad forums guy? He says he's running low atm so he's currently not selling them.

no excuses, it's thicker than my fat chode

thats not a chode then my friend.

Does it work on a x200? You can't flash libreboot to a x230…

HP EliteBook 9470m > ThinkPad T420/T430.

Prove me wrong.

>normie retards think its old
>normie retards wont try to steal it
great, thanks normie

ULV shit

That's every laptop now except for your Alienware or Asus ROG "gaming" laptop.

Except the ULVs of the day were retardedly slow.

>9470m
>14 inch 1366x768 screen
>no other screen options
This is not acceptable either.

Considering I have several of those I would know about the heat issues. Fuck off and enjoy your space heater.

>T430
>Optical drive you don't need
>Lenovo security issues
This is not acceptable also.

There something wrong on your machine because for me it just werks :)

>using what an actual slut that understands nothing from computers said
I bet (you) also paid for her nudes

Mine just werks too faggot but when I put my t7200 under a full load vs my p8700 under a full load, the p8700 is about 15C cooler. It's common knowledge that Penryn chips are cooler than Merom

>3rd gen ULV
Anything under 5th ulvs are shit. Not enough performance, not enough battery savings
>1366x768 ON A 14" LAPTOP
This is inexcusable when both the thinkpads you're trying to knock on come with a 900p screen
>drop hinges
Ew.
>that don't even open 180 degrees
Even lenovo never did this on T X W P series

2570p 8470p T430s T430u T420s T430 T420 X220 X230 are much much much better

You literally shilled the wrong elitebook you fucking tard

We have hit a point where outdated hardware is still suitable for everyday use, since the average computer user's needs are wholly contained in a web browser.

What concerns me about the future of our outdated hardware is that the supply of batteries can't last forever, and since lenovo has implemented the DRM since the __30 series, I wonder what that means for the long run.

It doesn't matter much right now since most of us either use T4420 or X220, but what will we do years from now when the average Sup Forums faggot is on T450 and X250, and there are no more batteries left due to planned obsolescence?

thoughts?

What do you need a battery for? And why would they be rare? I just got a new 9 cell for my X200 for $40 on newegg

>not even having the option to run dual 2.5" drives is better
>implying they don't sell blank plastic placeholders if you don't want an optical drive and second hard drive
>what is ganoo plus loonix
>running Windows on bare hardware

The drm has been cracked for years now
Only idiots think the drm is an issue

you can get around the DRM, and if there is demand then there will be people swapping the cells out for new ones

genuinely didn't know, that is some good news

i7 or i5, in general, or for the t430s in particular ?

is i7 worth the cash ?

thx

I mean think of it this way too
The chinks hate lenovo so much that they made the x62 and T70
Planned obsolescence can be planned around