/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 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) (embed)

BIOS logo booru:
biosimage.booru.org/

Other urls found in this thread:

linrunner.de/en/tlp/docs/tlp-linux-advanced-power-management.html#recalibrate
twitter.com/AnonBabble

answer me pls, need to know if I should wait or not

x220 coming in mail to become travel laptop

Because I struggle to properly make decisions, what distro do I put on it?

windows 10 ltsb

Windows 7

Solus

>READ THE BUYERS GUIDE FIRST
Do not copy/paste like a fucking retard, there isn't a fucking buyer's guide anymore.

Windows 7 x64 Ultimate edition

Ubuntu

Get some xubuntu or debian.

I second "Ubuntu" 17.10 is magnificent! Very modern! Honestly, I'm typing this on my X220, and Ubuntu runs on it like a charm. Because it's Ubuntu it's super polished, and because it's Linux it's super fast. I honestly enjoy my X220 more than my Macbook Pro. I basically just use my Macbook for video editing now. My Thinkpad is my bb. It's running Windows 10 right now, just because I've been on Linux for over a year and wanted to switch things up a bit. keep it fresh! Which is one of my favorite things about this computer, it's always hackable to do whatever you want with it.

Cent find a buyers guide.

A good ThinkPad to install Windows 10 and the latest office?
I need to get a laptop to use at the university and research. Any advice?

Have an x220 that I'm currently using to learn on. When will it be necessary to upgrade to like a w520? I just found one with an upgraded quaddro 2000 gpu on it with 250 gb SD 320 gb HD for 220 bucks, should I just buy because of the price? Or should I wait until I'm ready? How will I know when I'm ready for a new laptop as well? As far as necessity not as in how do I know my current laptop is broken. Thanks in advance.

You sound like an absolute faggot.

the content of your post isn‘t the problem, but you sound like reddit
i feel like this is bait but whatever

Upgrade for what?

>tfw father's work has over 200 T420s and X220s in storage that they're just getting rid of
>tfw I can have all of them
>for free

one post was enough user

Need a 1080p Libreboot-compatible comp, so probs a T500 or W500. Anyone know of a deal like that for a European?

This feels like copypasta

>Windows 10
Why.
W7 is compatible with the latest Office.
(Office 2010 is the best version tho)

If you want to study with it, buy a X or T series.
I personally recommend X220.

You won't have the (you)s this time.

that's a big keyboard.

What should I look for when buying a battery for t410s? Right now I'm just searching with the model number plus battery on eBay.

Purchased a t420 and refurbished it as a Christmas present for a family member, the wait until I can hand it over is painful.

Has anyone ever tried to Libreboot a T60 with an LCD panel that's untested and potentially unsupported?

How many of you here have successfully liberated a T60?

Is an i7 T70 mobo for $700 worth it?

>give daughteru a T420 upgraded and refurbished with love from myself
>eww daddy what the fuck is this?? I hate you! worst christmas ever! Wah

So, unconventional issue:
>x230t
>intel 6205 wireless
>linux
>get frequent iwlwifi crashes, reloads
>occasionally get a uCode unable to be loaded error.. -5
>have narrowed it down to potentially being physical shock (light drop from less than 1 inch)
Anyone else had similar issues?
Any ideas if this it's possible the wireless adapter itself is sensitive to shock? I am debating going atheros as fucking too many intel problems.

It's a longshot but perhaps try physically reseating the adapter?

Bad parenting, you should give her a fagbook pro.

>Order ThinkPad listed as "pristine condition"
>Usual small scuffs and wear
>Order ThinkPad in "used with moderate wear"
>Single mark on lid from asset sticker but not a single scuff anywhere else
>Fan is completely dust free
>Looks like it was asseted and then put back in its box

Payed £95 for the "pristine" one without a screen and £40 for the "used" one without a battery

What's the screen resolution of the T420? Mine's running at 1366x768 according to xrandr but I've noticed some inconsitencies from here, and for some reason I doubt so many people change the actualy display on their laptops that post here.

On my x220's 6 cells battery, the capacity suddenly dropped to 39% from about 90%.
How do I calibrate it back?

did you try 1600x900?

Is x200 better than T60? How good? Same as x220?

Compare the specifications and find out for yourself.

If you want Libreboot don't even bother waiting

Not really

Depends
I'd say yes though

What's model is babby's first Thinkpad?

Also what are the trackpads like? Should I just get a mouse

Where did you bought them? I can't seem to find prices that low in western Europe.

>What's model is babby's first Thinkpad?
Incorrect question.

The question is, what are your needs?

Depending on that, you go to the X, T or W series.

>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

>recommending only botnet models

Yeah just changed it to that, assumed arch would've automatically set it to the max available. Might be placebo but screen looks way nicer.

I want to put a second hard drive into my T500.

What ultrabay do I want? I see some listings on ebay say "ultrabay slim"? Is that the same thing?

Prices have skyrocketed throughout western Europe unfortunately due to an increased demand. You will pay almost double for Thinkpads now in most cases.

Thinkpads with 16:10 resolutions?

Oh, on the subject. I have some cash left over and since I'll be using this new thinkpad quite a lot between work and home, is an SSD worth it? I'd get a drive bay to replace the optical drive along the way, but right now i'd just replace the HDD wit an SSD if that would make a noticeable difference, so it would be great to hear from ssd users here.

Yes it will make a big difference in application loading times and how fast your operating system boots up. It's an important upgrade if you want things to be snappy.

Well I fell for the meme guys.

>Lenovo Thinkpad T430 Intel Core i5-3320M 2.6GHz/4GB RAM/256GB SSD/No DVD/Win 7

$150 free shipping was this a good deal?

P51 is officially the best thinkpad for gaming

Has anyone tried putting 16GB ram in a T/W500?

The Lenovo specs say "max 8GB" but that's often outdated.


Also: There is a CPU upgrade for the T/W500 called "P9900". Is this also libreboot-compatible? I'm afraid of being unable to libreboot if I upgrade the CPU.

Does CPU even has to do anything about your bootloader? I thought it's only up to motherboard.

im actually looking at the same thing right now.

>tfw socketed CPU

Yes. So does the ram. So does the video card, and screen.

I could not let that deal pass. I was torn between that and
>Lenovo ThinkPad T430S Core I5-3320M 2.6GHZ 4GB 16gb SSD
I think I choose the better one. Just gotta get used to the THICC

im pretty sure S stood for slim. I have the x200s and it constantly overheats.

i think the i5 will be a good upgrade from the poor core2duo

Is there any point in upgrading the i7-620M in a T410 to an i7-640M? Is there anything better that I can stick into that socket?

You probably had a dirty fan/air vent or needed to replace the thermal paste.

Why would you need anything better?

What are the 1080p thinkpad models? And which are good?

15.6" models, t440p,t440s,x240

just to satisfy my desire to fiddle around with the internal components. but in all seriousness, would the

please help

It would be pointless unless you're performing seriously resource intensive tasks and you actually need more.

I'm gonna go get my X41 from the postal office today. I hope it's as good as in the pictures. /blog

I had similar problem with X201s and it ended up being that the WiFi adapter pins were worn down. You could see tiny dots just worn through the contacts. Reseating the adapter a bit differently remedied the problem.

Your local classifieds site.

The prices for xx00-xx30 series on ebay have become ridiculous due to increased demand and dwindling supply. No new stock is created as these machines are way past their lease period.

Isn't there some i7 QM model for that generation to get four cores?

Have you tried recalibrating it?
sudo tlp recalibrate BAT0
linrunner.de/en/tlp/docs/tlp-linux-advanced-power-management.html#recalibrate

What is calibrate ?

Works only with thinkpad batteries ?

>Isn't there some i7 QM model for that generation to get four cores?
Not for that socket, as far as I could tell.

>seriously resource intensive tasks
I don't have to compile as much as Gentoo, but Slackware third-party package repositories can be very annoying due to library version mismatches and I often have to compile my own anyway. It's the most common task I can think of that maxes out CPU usage and can take a long time for large/complex things. There's probably other stuff though.

If you're doing tasks like that regularly and maxing out your CPU then a little extra won't hurt any. You might as well go for it and kill two birds with one stone.

Debian, ubuntu, manjaro are my go to options. I recommend using xfce with them.

How is debian on a laptop? I'm getting either a x230 or a T430 soon and I'm looking for a distro to put on it

I'm looking for a light 14" with FHD.

Currently i'm using a X200, but it's getting real slow and hot, even though I changed thermal paste etc. running Wndows 7 on an ssd.

Can you recommend the T460 or T470? What else could I look into. 600-700€ would be okay.

That will be the next project then. Thanks.

Day 03 of hackintoshing my T420, still not reaching pass the Apple boot logo.

clean your cooler assembly(also your heat pipe might have vented), use a diluted rust remover, replace the fan every 5 years even if it seems fine.

if that sounds like too much effort you can ebay a new assembly.

things that case heat soaking:
>software: you fucked up your gentoo build and don't have ANY power management features/fan speed being incorrectly set by shit like thinkfan
>heat sink is covered in dust/scale
>fan failure
>warped spreader
>you live in australia

As for replacing the machine, I have an X250, "its ok"

Both of those have very similar hardware, so it’s down to what has an acceptable UI and driver support. I run Mint Cinnamon on an X230, T420 and some failed abortion of a HP netbook with an atom processor. It’s pretty good for most of the regular activities, up to and including shitposting.

macOS. If you want Linux, know that anything debian-based has wifi resume issues that can't be fixed.

Thanks for fixing the pasta, based OP

Can you upgrade the screens on thinkpads to be 1080p?

I read somewhere that it's possible on the T430 and possibly T420.

T60 14.1'; T61/p 14.1'; T400/500; X200/201(s); W500/700/701(ds).

on t420/30 (iirc) this could be done using a custom circuit board. If you have a t440 onwards this is done just changing the screen.
Again, I might be wrong.

T410

no.

Is 270$ a good deal for a t430?
4gb ram and a i53320m

>no dedicated graphics card
what shitty store sells x220 as ""gaming laptop""?

we got this exact laptop at work and its working, i was just unable to install any os on it
is it valuable?

>t430
>270 burgerbucks
>4gb ram
overpriced as fuck

I don't live in the us tho

Me neither, but if you can afford it, it should be good.

Anyone brought a Thinkpad off minifree?

Wow I never thought a 12+ years old laptop could be in such a pristine condition. There's a ding on the cover but other than that it's like almost new or with minimal wear only. No white blobs on the display either!

The keyboard and feel of the laptop are superb! They really don't make them like they used to. I wish they made this exact laptop with modern processor and higher screen resolution. I'd be super happy if I could just use this as a keyboard/trackpoint device with some other computer.

While being only 1.5GHz Pentium M it's booting surprisingly fast into Peppermint Linux which was loaded on thething.

No. But I have been considering it, despite the price. It's a shame they've stopped selling the X60 models. They only do T400s and X200s now. I'm not sure if they ever sold T60s. I'd prefer a T60.

post watches on thinkpad

4 u

Thinking of getting an Elitebook 840 G3 from 2016 (i5 6th gen because poor).

Will get it a 250GB SSD.

Should I install CentOS or Fedora to it?
I use CentOS a lot at work, but it's a little outdated (stability) compared to Fedora (which I haven't used).

Thanks, gonna try that overnight.