Used ThinkPad Buyer's Guide (2019)(www.bobble.tech)
28 pointsby Mr_Minderbinder7 hours ago9 comments
  • bar000n8 minutes ago
    using a T470s currently with 20GB memory and a 2tb ssd, but it cannot keep up anymore because it has only 2 CPU cores Ubuntu/wayland is really sluggish sometimes. i think i'll go for a 5th gen T14. too bad that you can't upgrade the RAM anymore on the new T14s models... and also they ditched the LAN port at some point on the s
  • windex18 minutes ago
    Anyone have any pointers for sourcing genuine keyboards for thinkpads? I seem to run out of luck with them everytime.
    • hypercube336 minutes ago
      I think Lenovo has a parts depot website. I was able to get parts (LTE modem kit) for an 8 year old model there.
  • mdspan3 hours ago
    I really miss the customization that older laptops offered, especially the socketed CPUs. I remember putting a i7-3840QM in my T430 and having it shut down due to overheating every few minutes to the point where I had to install the heat sink from the GPU model. Was fun tinkering around with it and I wish modern laptops had a similar level of hackability.
    • Gathering66782 hours ago
      Never managed to get one myself, but Framework laptops could be your thing as well?
    • matltcan hour ago
      Hah I'm doing this with some models of that same era judging by the CPU you cited. I had frankensteined one laptop from like the best parts out of three I had from that era, got xubuntu on it, running fine-ish but the Wi-Fi antenna ran through the on-board display chassis, which was destroyed. Took off the top clamshell, was gonna put ether in it and use as a desktop, but oops! The clip holding ethernet cable fell out during disassembly! No prob, pop it back open, oops! One of the screws holding the mobo is stripped! (Also, wife goes into labor while everything disassembled) No sweat, get something from ace to extract. I think I ended up throwing it back together and not testing?

      Forgot about it for a couple years, wanted to put opnsense on it and see if I could replace stock equipment leased from ISP, nope. No display.

      Fun to a point but probably should just spring for a used thinclient at this point, but prices are scary and I hate letting all this hw go to waste

  • sandreas2 hours ago
    I was looking for a Notebook (best case Thinkpad) with the following Criteria:

    - Business class

    - Ryzen 5 or greater (Strix Halo would be great)

    - >= 32GB RAM (soldered would be ok)

    - 14.5" WQHD 2560x1440 Display (>1920x1200)

    - NO Numpad / centered keyboard

    - >=70Wh Battery

    There just is hardly anything to find in this category. There is Dell Precision, Hp Elitebook, LG Gram, Acer Swift... but somehow they all feel unsufficient. The Thinkpad P1 was close, but has Intel...

    So I'm gonna wait until the Framework 16 Pro (if ever released) or until Intel gets another decent GPU upgrade so it can compete :-)

  • daymanstepan hour ago
    I refuse to buy any laptop that doesn't have an easily swappable SSD. I don't want to have to open up the case to swap out the SSD.

    Yes, I realize that this requirement limits me to 15-year-old Toughbooks and Getacs.

    • wkjagtan hour ago
      What is your use case? Do you have multiple SSDs with different OSes?
  • CrociDB2 hours ago
    A newer guide would be good, as some of the information now is a bit outdated. But I love the concept. My main laptop where I do lots of programming and writing is an old T490s, i7 8th Gen, 16 gigs of RAM, running FreeBSD, that I paid around 150 euros last year. :)
  • ssl-3an hour ago
    I'm getting the sense from the comments here so far that I'm likely to be the only one still using a Thinkpad T530 from 2012.

    It still works.

    • UncleSlackyan hour ago
      T60 user here - just upgraded the CPU to a T7400 C2D, added an SSD and increased the RAM to 4Gb (3.25 or so usable thanks to Libreboot). It's actually still quite usable. I'm currently running Exe GNU/Linux for a modern yet retro look (Trinity DE), and the 4:3 screen and decent keyboard really make it.
      • 2b3a5135 minutes ago
        There's two of us. Stock T60 (3Gb ram, 320Gb mechanical hard drive, stock BIOS) with Slackware64 -current.

        Nice keyboard as you say. These things are solid.

        • hypercube334 minutes ago
          I have a pile of dell e series with the og i7 in them. Still can run windows 11 but yeah Linux is beautiful on these things.
  • elric22 minutes ago
    Somewhat tangential, but Lenovo's website is an absolute shitshow. It is so hard to find a laptop that matches a bunch of criteria. Their search facets are next to useless. Not to mention glacially slow. It's almost like they don't actually want to sell laptops.

    I probably buy more laptops than most people, I've owned some 30 thinkpads in my lifetime. Quality isn't what it used to be, but the serviceability and on-site repair warranty is still amazing.

  • PennRoboticsan hour ago
    Lenovo needs to fix the awful quality USB-C ports on modern Thinkpads.