/tpg/ - ThinkPad General

Old 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™
>Other business laptops are also welcome in /tpg/ (Dell Latitude/Precision, HP EliteBook/ZBook).

Recommended IBM models:
X60, X61, T60, T61, 860, Transnote, PC110

Recommended freedom models:
xx00 series, IBM xx0 series
Check libreboot.org for details.

Recommended modern models:
X220 - 12", 768p, cheap and light
T420 - 14", 900p, widely available, socketed CPU, Ivy Bridge installable w/ Coreboot
W520 - 15", 1080p, Desktop Replacement, 32GB RAM on quadcore models, USB 3.0
T440p, T540p, W540 - last ThinkPads to have replaceable CPUs, IPS displays available, chiclet
P series - reminiscent to old build quality, top-of-the-line specs, better than most current mobile workstations, but very expensive

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 (most models), upgrade & maintain thanks to readily available service manuals for every model, spare parts easy & 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 laptop guides by xsauc:
dankpads.com

ThinkWiki - Info on ThinkPads & running GNU/Linux on them:
thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki

ThinkPad service guides w/ tutorial videos:
lenovoservicetraining.com/

EPP discount for new ThinkPads:
pastebin.com/JVwVGVTW (embed)

BIOS logo booru:
biosimage.booru.org/

Other urls found in this thread:

ebay.fr/itm/Lenovo-Thinkpad-W530-Laptop-Quad-Core-i7-2-70-GHZ-8GB-320GB-Windows-7-Pro-64-Bit/253296809787?hash=item3af9aa973b:g:1qQAAOSwldRaJyMG
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

will expresscard egpu work when i plug x230 into docking station? i don't have it yet so can't check

Just bought a W520 for $250

Did I do gud Sup Forums?

i wish i hadn't found out about the P series because now i want one more than i've ever wanted anything ever

that's a big laptop

What model is that in the OP?
Old style keyboard and a massive hunk of plastic, I dig it.

For you

4(you)

yes
both dock and ultrabase

...

x230 tablet arrived, thanks for the input on whether I should buy it. It looks brand new! Excuse the messy table.

I've been thinking about picking up an x200 because from what I've heard, they're durable and lightweight as fuck. I just want something to browse the internet on, maybe watch some shit, use some chat clients, and play the occasional older game on like Doom or some emulators. I'm more or less set on going for the x200 because I'm tired of my laptops always hitting the shitter after 5 years or so. Is the tablet model any good or should I just go for the normal one? Because the tablet model seems to be far more common and I've heard it has a nicer screen on it. I'll probably end up going for either or depending on what I can get for cheaper, but I'm just curious as to what I should really be going for.

Man that looks like a nice laptop. I swear that tablet shit looks like it'd be a great convenience.

If everything's running great when you get it, then yes.

Has anyone tried out the y-series? I need a gaming laptop because I have limited space and travel a lot

not a thinkpad
sorry man

Can someone please help me find a laptop for under $50

>Don't buy anything OTHER THAN IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad T, X, and W/P Series if you want the Real Business Experience™

but i have a thinkpad E series and it's even better than those you listec

could not drive that in public
also go on ebay filter by price and buy the cheapest T/X series thinkpad

no its not
bait harder

x61

How to replace the x201 fan?

My x230t is the most fun piece of tech i own.
Make sure to get an mSATA and a fat HDD.

If you install Windows, make sure to get the proper Wacom drivers to make the touch interface better

Have this bad boy for a month now. Comfiest thing I've ever had. So happy to have it.

fingerprint reader wont work on my x220, the software says the program can't communicate with the sensor. I tried resetting the BIOS but it did nothing. Is this an easy repair to do at home? Anyone have a good tutorial for it?

>tfw you run your finger around the soft rim trackpoint

Should I buy a T430 or a T430s? I plan on replacing the keyboard with the T420 one, and doing a screen mod.

nice, I moved to a T450s is even better (the keyboard layout is my only complain but is not that bad)

it's also comfy

how good is the digitizer? I wanted one so bad, ended up getting a wacom.

It has a smart card reader in the express card slot, anybody know what this is used for? Stealing credit card info?

Probably useful for note taking, quickly tapping buttons on screen etc. I'm not going to be doing anything productive though lol.
It feels great. I'll probably get windows because of the better software support.

>Recommended modern models:
>T420

I was thinking about getting a T410. Is the T420 that better?

someone buy me a X220 for chrimbo

If thinkpads are used in the ISS it must be for a reason, right? Why would I buy a thinkpad instead of a normal laptop? Does thinkpad quality vary as much as normal laptop quality between models and brands?

Not great honestly. Too small.
Much prefer using the digitizer on my X61 tablet.

>1366x768
enjoy eye cancer

I think NASA bought them when they were the best at the time and never upgraded because that would be a waste. Though, when you try a thinkpad the quality is immediately noticable. The cold hard metal, the soft rubber coating, the tactile keys and flashy lights. No other brand can compare to the bliss of using a thinkpad.

Thinkpads are built very solid and the keyboard feels perfect for a laptop. Other laptops just feel cheap and flimsy in comparison. Its not easy to see at first in my opinion. but when you own one for months - years you will understand what makes them great. Never having to worry about whether will work or not.

if you can't afford one, get a W instead.

W700 or 701 it seems, and that
>massive hunk of plastic
is a Wacom digitiser.

Whats so good about P series?

Can anyone give me a rundown of this setup? I have Dell XPS 15 and would love to have an external GPU, but the only thing I know about it is some razer shit...

>1080p up to 4k ips displays (15.6 and 17 inches)
>up to 32gb of ram
>quad i7, Xeon processors
>Nvidia Quadro GPUs
>thunderbolt 3 capable usb-c port(s)
>HDD, SSD's in RAID configuration.
basically huge mobile workstations bruh.

iirc s models have a more available 1080p mod board. Also, they can take an ultrabay battery so they have the equivalent of a 9 cell anyway (non s version have an external battery but they're super bulky.)

I've owned ThinkPads since before Sup Forums even existed and the build quality is overrated as shit. They're not terrible but everything after the *60 series is pretty disappointing and doesn't really feel that much better than any other laptop marketed to the same price bracket.

user who bought the x131e here. This thing is comfy as fuck.

Thoughts about the t450s?

I wanna change my x230 for one.

>everything after the *60 series
Yeah I meant to say pre *40 series. Everything after is pretty shitty. I think the build quality is more of a subtle feel that I started to appreciate over time. First time I used a thinkpad I was kind of disapointed after hearing such great things.

>tfw bought a t61 for Linux because of Sup Forums memes
>turns out it wasn’t just a meme and I enjoy using it more than my windows laptop (an ideapad)
Comfy af.

Hey /tpg/ I was wondering if you guys knew about some of the weirder less standard thinkpad models out there sort of like in the OP image. I already know about the fuckhuge one with the big drawing pad on it but are there any other exotic pads out there I might consider buying? Asking from a collectors pov

Yeah, the 40s were lackluster too. I give the 60s a bit of a pass because I feel like they corrected some of those mistakes, but they still just don't really feel as great to use as some of the apexes of the line like the 600E, which is probably one of my favorite PC laptops of all time.
The only meme worth falling for is the AIX meme.

This is it /tpg/, I've fell for the meme one more time. I've received this beauty today and it looks fantastic. Characters are wonderfully printed. I can't wait to set it up.

And since I'm studying japanese, being finally able to write kanas from keyboard comes in handy.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>PowerPC
i am fully erect and you have all of my attention

Is that a part or an external keyboard?

Nevermind my post. I would love if there were an external keyboard with that layout and trackpoint though...

they exist. Look up a japanese external trackpoint keyboard. I just found one on rakuten, you could probably find a few on yahoo auctions too.

The same happened to me but with an X61 tablet on W10, i enjoy using it more than my gaymen desktop both running the same OS.

ebay.fr/itm/Lenovo-Thinkpad-W530-Laptop-Quad-Core-i7-2-70-GHZ-8GB-320GB-Windows-7-Pro-64-Bit/253296809787?hash=item3af9aa973b:g:1qQAAOSwldRaJyMG

What do you think?
I wanted a W530 for a while now, but it seems a bit cheap compared to others. Is it because the trackpad is DISGASTANG? (pic related)

it doesn't matter, the touchpad surface is a sticker and can be replaced easily

my workplace gives me any brand new laptop i want

>thinkpad x220 with full docking

just waiting for libreboot to tempkill Intel mgmt and ill be homefree

current one i use everyday work and private

additional info:
IPS, Webcam
Upgraded RAM to 8GB (16 next for the heck of it)
Next upgrade = Expresscard 3.0 USB (anyone link for a good one on ebay? X220 compatible)

My X230 is suddenly having wifi issues. Windows will randomly say connected no internet. Every other device in the house works perfectly connected to the same router. Any ideas?

Why would you ever use the trackpad?

What's the strongest machine I can get with 350 with a good lifespan

Almost bought that shit but it's not infinite potential mode with that graphics card

t440p

What makes it above the w530?

The error seems to be "The default gateway is not available". Running the troubleshooting tool repairs it but is annoying to have to do every time. Is this because of the new Win10 update?

Can I use a x230 tablet motherboard in a x230

Anyone here has a suggestion for an IPS screen for a x230? I would really appreciate if you can provide the model number/ID.

I use t420 docked on 2 external monitors, I don't care about its display but I often use x230 while on the go and the current screen is TN which is quite horrible.

looking at motherboard pictures they look the same down to the ports

fuck, I want one

get IPS screen that has serial number SLB3 or SLT1, that screen doesn't get burn in easily

yes
first gen core i cpus arent too good with performance, thermals, and battery life

Thanks user, time to check eBay.

>Wandblews
>ThinkPad running Wengblows
>Wongbliws

You're going to die alone.

So I can just pop in the regular x230 and blamo laptop saved?

Why not just install a Japanese IME like a normal person?

Which Thinkpad will be okey to run some VMs to work with? mainly I use Ubuntu but for work I need to do stuff with Win7/10

w10 ltsb just werks

>muh muh muh enterprise Wombldongs is not botnet

Go for it. I got lucky with mine (got the E2-1800 model instead of the E1-1800). Just don't plan on using a tiling WM, because the screen is really small.

I never said it wasn't, all versions of Windows are botnet.

Anyone know how to check if this is a genuine battery?
I think I got chinked.

Google "Dell XPS 15 with" and then the name of all the various eGPU enclosures you can buy. I guess i'd say google that as well. There are tons of companies doing it right now, too many to bother to try and name.

I've not been able to find one. Where did you get yours?

Cute

No battery code in that white box, or did you white it out yourself? If none, it's chink shit.

A friend of mine has a Y700; they're just hunks of poorly built plastic gaymer junk.

REEEEEE

which is the CUTEST thinkpad available in the west?

Can't find a 1080p t440p
Should I abort and buy another model or look for a lower spec?

>E1-1800
Whoops, just noticed that. I meant to say E1-1200

buy a 768 or 900p model, a 1080p screen and swap it

How much should I look to shell out and what features should I aim for?
Forgive me for sounding retarded

There's none, guess it is time to initiate a return.

What games are you playing that aren't going to run on HD Graphics 4000?

What games are you playing that aren't going to run on, say, the GeForce GT650M in a Thinkpad W530?

Any recommendation for the egpu?
Is any chinkshit fine?

Chinkshit IS the only option and they work fine
EXP GDC v8.0 or higher with the Expresscard adapter

Pros
>weights nothing
>slim
>lots of ports
>backlit works fine
>great battery
cons
>the keyboard layout is not as good as in the t420 and t410
>trackpad is meh
>no type c

If you don't think you will need a type c in the future I would get a t450s, if not get a t470 if you are lucky you can get one with an i7 and 8gb new for 900$

Tabs aside what's the specs on that w530?