Previous thread: → ---- 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 P, T, X, and W SERIES if you want the Real Business Experience™
Recommended IBM models: X60, X61, T60, T61, 860, Transnote, PC110
Recommended old models: X200, W500
Recommended modern models: X220 - 12", 768x1366, cheap and light T420 - normal size, 14", 900x1600 T520 - 15", 1080p, Quadcore-CPUs W520 - desktop replacement, 15", USB 3.0
Last good models: X230 - 12", USB 3.0, IPS option avaiable, classic keyboard installable T440p - 14", last ThinkPad to have replacable CPUs, 1080p IPS displays avaiable ---- Why ThinkPad? >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
CPU - i3 dual, i5 dual, i7 dual, i7 quad. Middle is pointless, latter is marked with MQ. I've never seen an i3. Easy to swap. Most commmon ones - i5 4200m, i5 4300m, i7 4700mq. Best upgrade is either a 4712mq for equivalent wattage to the dual cores or 4710/4810/4910 for higher clocks, depending on which one you can find for cheap. Only big difference between those is clocks, 4700/4800/4900 work fine as well. Note - haven't actually seen proof of a 4712 working, it's not on the official compatibility list but it should work.
RAM - PC3-12800 1600MHZ DDR3, two slots, both swappable. 16GB max, pretty sure that's a Haswell limit.
Storage - one internal SATA 2.5 bay, one internal M.2 2242 SSD slot, optional one 2.5 drive in the DVD """"UltraBay"""" drive bay. It might not be clear where the drives in the one you're buying are, ask if you want to know.
Screen - 766p/900p TN, 1080p IPS. 1080 swap is cheap, not a big deal. B140HAN01.1, .2 or .3 are recommended. IIRC it's matte/glossy/semi-matte in that order.
Battery - 6cell or 9cell, later has a rear bulge. Worth it.
Trackpad - if you want the classic style, swap it for the T450 one. Just remove the backplate (2 screws), the palmrest (7 or 8 screws) and replace the touchpad (4 screws) which is a component of the palmrest. Reassemble and done.
Keyboard - modern Lenovo chiclet, can't be swapped unlike xx30 series. By chiclet standards it's pretty damn good though.
GPU - GT730M. Pretty much pointless, I'd avoid it. Can't be swapped without swapping the motherboard.
Extra - GPU model has a different heatsink, it keeps it a tiiiiiny bit cooler. Few degrees, but if you're right on the edge of throttling after a quad core swap it might be worth a shot.
Any suggestions?
Cameron Perez
>tfw no place to buy alienware mod
Brayden Cruz
48** and higher processors have higher igpu clocks,making it marginally better >1600MHZ Supports up to 2133MHz >one internal M.2 2242 SSD slot can use an msata drive too with a little $3 adapter and cutting the adapter in half (i'm doing this shit with an spare msata ssd i had) >DDR3 DDR3L (1.35v) >palmrest (7 or 8 screws) 11 screws (some are hidden under the battery), you also need to remove the keyboard to disconnect the touchpad cable
Adrian James
Why is the screen so bad for the T430? My old laptop was 720P and had better color and brightness. I thought the bump up to 900p would help.
Carter Richardson
What should (can) I use with my t60?
Camden Edwards
You should upgrade the motherboard to T70.
Jackson Jackson
Ar you asking what OS you can use with it, or what you can use the laptop for?
Xubuntu Just about anything except hardware hungry gaming or HD video editing
Michael Sanchez
I got a FHD W520 with 16 GB of ram for 220, did I do good /tpg/?
Hudson Price
>Why is the screen so bad for the T430? because it's a thinkpad
Parker Anderson
mega.nz/fm/EzIxwQ6A Logo file for older (pre-420) BIOSes. (Worked on my W510)
>Blazepad w/ fingerprint sensor, 6GB RAM, dock included >$95 >purchased with 128gb mSATA SSD and 9 cell >$165 total Feels good, bros. Will probably upgrade to one of the quad core processors in the future and get an EXP GDC w/ 1050 Ti, any other mods I should make?
Jaxon Watson
Yes, you did very well
Leo Anderson
I've just bought a refurbished T420 and it looks almost brand new. Clean, no cracks, no rust, only a few scrapes.
But I'm kinda confused by the temperatures. It idles at around 35 - 40 °C, doing basic stuff gets it to about 45, browsing gets it to 50 - 60 depending on what I'm doing, and under heavy loads which push the CPU to the limit, it reports 80 °C. Stress testing (Prime95) got it to 90 °C.
The really weird thing is, it can jump from 40 to 80 in 2 seconds, almost immediately after starting a demanding process. It also jumps down to almost idle temps immediately after stopping the work. To top it off, even when it's showing 80 °C, the exhaust blows only warm air.
Is this normal?
David Lee
>Will probably upgrade to one of the quad core processors in the future and get an EXP GDC w/ 1050 Ti Reminds me of the T420 i had before, it was a great machine.
Landon Clark
had this problem until I put linux on it use arch/deb and it'll stay coooooooool
Jonathan Turner
I'm actually using Debian on it. It came with Win 10 preinstalled, and that's when I did the Prime95 test (measured the 90 °C using Speccy). The other readings are under Debian (Xfce) using xfce4-sensors.
Cameron Sullivan
what do you use your t420 for? Mines basically a fresh install of debian and all I do is use it as a Sup Forums machine so it never gets hotter than 40'c
Back when it had win10 though it used to melt when I did anything at all
John Phillips
How did the eGPU setup run with the laptop quads?
Matthew Barnes
open it and put new thermal paste on it.
Also clean the fan from the inside to make sure it is clean
Benjamin Hall
Well I use it as an everything machine. If I'm only on Sup Forums, it does stay at about 40 - 45, but 1080p 60fps videos take it to the 60 range, and upgrading all of the CPAN modules has it periodically peak at 70-ish.
Julian White
Pretty good at the time, rbt.asia/g/thread/57654256/#57687138 was with a 950 which i had before the 1050ti.
The build itself was pretty solid, i just sold it because i got bored of videogames.
Brandon Robinson
I managed to scratch my T420 which I use for uni and it annoys the living shit out of me.
Christopher Moore
How bad is it?
bump
Gabriel Mitchell
Quite bad on the top portion on the laptop lid.
Kevin Cook
Can't take a picture right now.
Also, my pen scratched it. God, I wish I wasn't as autistic as I am.
Charles Bennett
If it's really, really bugging you, you can just buy a new one.
Brayden Long
Rate my new Memepad. Got it for free. Too bad it's super slow due to low power CPU meme even though it has an SSD.
Is there any way to get the middle mouse button alone? I do not feel like buying an entire keyboard just because one button is missing.
Tyler Lopez
I do have a warranty though. Even if it's a ThinkPad, I'd rather not fuck it up by opening it since I've only ever tinkered with the inside of desktops.
Ian Rodriguez
Still waiting on my two msata drives in the mail. I have an X220T and a W520, what OS should I put on the the msata drives? Should it be Windows 7 or should I go Hackintosh? The main SSD will probably be for linux.
I heard that it's the access times that makes SSD's fast. SATA 2 only limits you in transfer speeds if I'm not mistaken.
Gabriel Myers
ty Though is there any meaningful diff between using xubuntu from debian with xfce? Ive been meaning to try debian out for an while.
Caleb Ross
ThickBads have terrible screens, all of them I'm on the verge of buying this too, but I'm not convinced on the screen quality (contrast/color space), plus this one needs modding to make good potential of it, and anything more than adding store bought ram/SSD is out of my league
Hunter Ortiz
where/what do i look for a replacement t420 battery, i think mine just shit itself. was working fine one day, then i shut it, unplug it, and won't turn on in class. AC works fine.
Amazon has a shitload but I'm not sure what to look for
Levi Bailey
Can you even put hackintosh on the tablet models? or the w520 with the fhd screen and nvidia gpu?
Also yeah is right so sata2 doesn't matter.
>ThickBads have terrible screens, all of them The FHD IPS T440p doesn't have this problem.
Well it sort of does with the LG display but not with the AUO one.
Connor Phillips
I'm stuck on x230 storage options >500gb 850 Evo SSD $145 >256gb 850 Evo mSATA + 1TB HGST 5400rpm $161 total
I'm mostly going to have some games and movies plus ebooks/PDF's but not data horde tier. I'd like to be energy efficient so I'm doubting the HDD. On the other hand, I kinda like having OS on one drive and storage on another so wiping my OS is a breeze. Are Toshiba mSATA's any good? I could do a used mSATA + 500gb 850 evo affordably.
Charles Lee
You can get one stock with 1080 IPS, it's worth keeping an eye out. The colors aren't the best if you actually need color accuracy though.
Also, swapping the CPU on this is faster and easier than swapping the screen, or even the trackpad. Weird design.
Blake Watson
ok valid point. You might want to check if there is any seal. Also don't worry about tinkering so many videos online. I am also a desktop fag got a HP Elitebook and decided to do some more tinkering with the T430 now. At somepoint I get a T420 and do full blown autist mod
David Brooks
Do you know how to mod the cooling system? Also are the 45W Quads fine or am I safer with a 35W one?
Cameron Jones
>Do you know how to mod the cooling system? Replace the stock single pipe iGPU heatsink for the dGPU one but i didn't do it, just rolled with the single heatpipe stock one. >Also are the 45W Quads fine or am I safer with a 35W one? That's a 2720qm 45w one, you won't reach 45w unless it's at full load on all cores and you can throttle the TDP anyway.
Josiah Mitchell
Why aren't you anons using an X40?
>no hardware backdoor >super efficient processor >best keyboard >near-retina screen >10+ hour battery life with wireless, 14 hours with it turned off (with new chink battery) >no homosex trackpad >no need to install transexual boot shit >gigabit ethernet >tiny and sexy >proper aspect ratio >internal roll cage to protect drive (no screen / lid cage but IDGAF) >actual IBM logo >no built in camera or mic, stymies CIA niggers >only $30 or so >cute docking station and extended battery available >*yellow* thinklight to preserve night vision Why don't you own the finest laptop ever made?
Photogenic weekend pic included.
Adrian Bailey
>Photogenic weekend pic included. user, that's just not true.
Noah Thomas
I has picked up a really nice x60s in excellent condition considering its age. I'm thinking of adding a ssd, maxing the ram and librebooting it. Recommendations for software? Xfce? Its such a nice machine I would like to use it somehow. Or should I just keep XP on it for historical preservation.
Landon Thompson
>tfw you miss the ups truck by minutes and have to wait til tomorrow
John Nguyen
>FedEx has said "out for delivery" for 3 days
Christian Powell
Oops, sorry.
I don't think the X60 has the ME, why fool with that software at all?
Logan Butler
Just as a project and faster boot meme. Seems like a nice project to make some old kit a useful tool What are you running on that x40 to make it useful? or is just a photo prop?
Michael Hughes
redpill me on thinkpad fan speeds.
If you lower them, will you die?
Evan Jones
PAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTCCCCCHHH
WHEN IS THE NEXT STICKER DROP?
I WANT MY AUTISM STICKER NOW
Nathaniel Johnson
I use it for browsing, use it as a remote terminal for SSH, doing a bit of coding, watching videos with youtube-dl and mplayer, running games in emulators, ham radio applications, etc.
With the SSD it's quite fast enough for all of the above. Heck I even throttle it to 900MHz on battery with TLP to save juice, and it runs so cool that it almost never turns the fans on.
As the ME attacks make it into the wild it will be very handy to have.
Caleb Lewis
Hi, guys.
Is there anyone here with Debian on the X220? I'm trying to set CPU throttling to make my cpu run a little cooler (running Firefox makes it go to 50°C in a cold room)
Gavin Lopez
Cool thanks.
I'm thinking Debian and Xfce.
Matthew Hughes
I removed systemd from Debian manually, it was a bit of a pain in the ass.
I put Devuan on my new (to me) T60 the other day and like it a lot though.
You want tlp.
Henry Cooper
My T530 just made a dull click and DIED. It doesn't respond at all, and doesn't make any light when I plug the charger in. I'm thinking it's probably something with the power internals. Any ideas how I can fix it? If it matters, I was using the dedicated GPU at the time and was plugged into the wall. PLEASE HELP!
Luis Diaz
why does this expire?
Jackson Thomas
OK, did TLP, now running at 47°C with the same load. Could it be the the dock doing this?
Robert Murphy
I want of devuan it sort of feels like the project will fall on its arse at any minute. I think I will stick with Debian with systemsd purged
Lucas Young
It's just Debian with some stuff compiled to remove systemd dependencies.
Sebastian Morris
No. You should have gotten the **20 series.
Dylan Cox
Thanks for all the help. I have an X220 Tablet as well, but I need my T530 to work too!
Adam Smith
If only you've bought a MacBook with Apple Care instead .
Isaac Smith
Hello X220T brother
Juan Cook
Just bought my first, got a x131e Intel version, how'd I do?
Landon Ramirez
other than libreboot is there any reason i should get an x220 over a panasonic toughbook or similar?
Levi Phillips
>2010 chinkpad x201 >recently installed SSD >4GB ram >old i5 processor >usually 10-15 tabs open >plays 1080 streams fine >can browse /biz/and Sup Forums on a second monitor
works like a dream -
cost £150 three years ago SSD cost me £60 last week
ill get another 2 years plus out of this
>buying a laptop for more than £/$ 300
works like a dream
Charles Rogers
Any x100e owners? They look qt. The only reviews I can find say they run hot.
I see them for $30-50 shipped, but should I just save my shekels and get an x220-230 instead?
Austin Morales
on this point will i realistically notice a difference upping it to 8GB RAM?
Brody Rogers
those colors are really shit
Jason Diaz
Are L530's decent? Pic related costs 225 euro's; 1920x1080, 128 ssd, 8GB. It'll mostly be used for facebook and browsing
Logan Gray
no, toughbooks are better than thinkpads in every way except cost
Camden White
That doesn't look like and L530.
Jason Flores
Does the T420 have a better screen than the T430? I know they both have 900p options and read that the T420 is brighter.
Landon Davis
This is your fault for buying a T530.
Leo Richardson
you're right, bottom right says l540 - looks like a fishy deal, ill pass
Oliver Rodriguez
That's an L540. Not bad, but better can be had at that pricepoint (W520 for example)
Josiah Powell
I m looking for a ThinkPad with a i5 8gb of ram and 1920x1080 ips 14'display. Which one would you recommend ?
Eli Diaz
Why does Sup Forums hate the modern Thinkpad?
Jaxson Davis
Cause they aren't cheap.
Carson Kelly
What about the new retro thinkpads?
Isaiah Lewis
Might as well buy a macbook at that price point
Josiah Peterson
Just ordered a T430 i5-3320m 4gb ram 320gb HDD Condition looks damn near new, I don't know the screen resolution since the seller didn't specify.
Did I do good?
Benjamin Evans
$145 btw
Landon Jones
No one knows what it's really going to be, so it's too early to say. Rumors indicate it's just going to be a T470 with the old keyboard, which would be a severe letdown.
Anyone serious has probably bought the T70/X62 already or is waiting for the X210/X310.
Colton Robinson
Hey, so why does my X220T run so hot when just watching a 720p video with a single chat application open in 'balanced' mode? I don't see any significant throttling or anything, and a new application of thermal paste did nothing to help from the temps I was getting with the factory paste.
Zachary Thomas
literally second post in this thread
both use the same screens, thus both can do the alienware screen mod
Elijah Evans
I don't hate it but here is the reasons why the older keyboard is better, hence the older ThinkPads are better. >red The best functional arrow key setup on any keyboard in existence. Having the Forward and Backwards buttons makes using your file browser so much easier, and using your web browser as well. sometimes Backspace won't work and won't be recognised. Also if you press the Fn key, the arrows become media player controls. This is extremely nice when you Alt-Tab into your music player the Fn-Arrow key to do whatever you need to do. The new keyboard has none of this. >blue Personally I think the x200/201 setup is the best because it has NO trackpad. Honestly what sets ThinkPads apart from other computers is the TrackPoint, so might as well get rid of that trackpad. Also the left/right buttons are raised so that you can really feel the difference between them. >yellow Along with media controls with the Fn+Arrow keys, you have actual physical volume controls. If you're in the dark or can't look at your screen, you can still mute or change the volume almost instantly just by feel. That's almost impossible to do with the new keyboard without at least glancing. >green ANSI enter key just works better. It's closer to your pinky finger. New ThinkPads at least have this.
Landon Ross
Hi /tpg/. I bought my first thinkpad last weekend. (T420) love how highly serviceable these things are. Buy a new palm rest + keyboard, they feel new out of the box pretty much. AHHH
Nicholas Rodriguez
GIANT FUCKING BEZEL
Jackson Reed
nobody cares it's the same shit with smartphones >hurr let's make this shit 100% screen so it'll break by itself >ebin xdx
Blake Anderson
remove the bios message, there's an option in the boot or startup tab don't remember where
Tyler Lee
>CringePad
Aiden Taylor
>CutePad ftfy
John Gray
I just did. It looks cleaner now thanks user! s-sorry
