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 IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad T, X, and W/P Series if you want the Real Business Experience™
Recommended IBM models:
X60, X61, T60, T61, 860, Transnote, PC110
Recommended freefag models:
xx00 series, IBM xx0 series
Check www.libreboot.org for details.
Recommended modern models:
X220 - 12", 768p, cheap and light
T420 - 14", 900p, widely avaiable, socketed CPU, Ivy Bridge installable w/ Coreboot
T520 - 15", 1080p, Quadcore-CPUs
W520 - 15", 1080p, Desktop Replacement, 32GB RAM, USB 3.0
T440p, T540p, W540 - last ThinkPads to have replacable CPUs, IPS displays avaiable
P-series - reminiscent to old build quality, better than most mobile workstations, top-of-the-line specs but expensive
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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, 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
New guides by xsauc:
dankpads.com
ThinkWiki - Info on ThinkPads & running GNU/Linux on them:
thinkwiki.org
ThinkPad service guides w/ tutorial videos:
lenovoservicetraining.com
ThinkPad BIOS splash screen collection:
biosimage.booru.org
EPP discount for new ThinkPads:
pastebin.com