Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message

Search found 607 matches

by mikemex
Thu Apr 04, 2024 2:03 am
Forum: Off-Topic Stuff
Topic: Windows 11 Support on AMD A9 processor?
Replies: 7
Views: 308

Re: Windows 11 Support on AMD A9 processor?

If I remember it was like 64MB of RAM with a 233MHz processor to run XP. Many things are different now, compared to how they were back then. One thing that comes to my mind is simple text. Back in the day, when I learned programming (C and assembler), it was pretty easy to manage memory for string ...
by mikemex
Wed Apr 03, 2024 2:00 am
Forum: ThinkPad X1 / X1-Carbon / X1-Extreme and later Series
Topic: X1 Carbon Gen 9 - crackling problem
Replies: 1
Views: 284

Re: X1 Carbon Gen 9 - crackling problem

I've never used the maximum volume. I tend to care for my ears...

But I'll check and get back to you.
by mikemex
Wed Apr 03, 2024 1:57 am
Forum: Off-Topic Stuff
Topic: Windows 11 Support on AMD A9 processor?
Replies: 7
Views: 308

Re: Windows 11 Support on AMD A9 processor?

The ai is just a text regurgitator. Oh, come on. You know better than that... My opinion is the restrictions are to encourage general public people to replace their otherwise fully functional and adequate PCs. These are the people who use the PC as a TV or as a game console or something else barely...
by mikemex
Sun Mar 17, 2024 11:52 pm
Forum: ThinkPad T430-T490 / T530-T590 Series
Topic: Windows 11 on Thinkpad T530?
Replies: 11
Views: 1260

Re: Windows 11 on Thinkpad T530?

Ivy bridge is more than capable of whatever the pitiful gm965 can do. Performance is quite poor but it's not only that. It's also the lack of features and support. What good is OpenGL 2.1 acceleration when most software now expects 3.2 and up? For practical purposes, if the software doesn't support...
by mikemex
Sun Mar 17, 2024 12:37 am
Forum: ThinkPad T430-T490 / T530-T590 Series
Topic: Windows 11 on Thinkpad T530?
Replies: 11
Views: 1260

Re: Windows 11 on Thinkpad T530?

If you're really serious about wanting more performance you do need a new PC. Problem with vintage Thinkpads are not the CPUs, but the GPUs. Only very recently intel began shipping decent GPUs with the Iris Xe graphics. Just to give you an idea of what the problem is look at this: https://www.noteb...
by mikemex
Sun Mar 17, 2024 12:07 am
Forum: Thinkpad AMD-Ryzen
Topic: Best new Win11 ThinkPad for a 15-year user of an x200 ??
Replies: 21
Views: 3477

Re: Best new Win11 ThinkPad for a 15-year user of an x200 ??

Quick answer: get yourself an X1 Carbon Gen 6. Believe it or not, you can still get one new in box (no warranty, however), I've seen them floating on eBay. Not cheap, of course, but no surprises compared to buying used. That way you get a nice format AND a nice keyboard (as close as you are going t...
by mikemex
Sat Mar 02, 2024 1:00 pm
Forum: ThinkPad T430-T490 / T530-T590 Series
Topic: Recommendation for a T4xx from the last 3-4 years
Replies: 4
Views: 372

Re: Recommendation for a T4xx from the last 3-4 years

That's a T14s, thinner, with soldered RAM (better get it with 32GB of RAM). Pretty good deal. The picture in the ad says 20UHS05Y00. Lenovo site says it's got a B140HAK03.2. It's FHD 300 nit. Nothing special but also pretty decent. Gen 1 and 2 can use the side mechanical dock. They all have USB-C ch...
by mikemex
Sat Mar 02, 2024 2:57 am
Forum: ThinkPad T430-T490 / T530-T590 Series
Topic: Can anyone look at my pics and confirm if t480 lid is magnesium?
Replies: 4
Views: 2380

Re: Can anyone look at my pics and confirm if t480 lid is magnesium?

It's difficult to understand from a photo. In a cool environment, it colder to touch, compared to the other parts of the laptop? Magnesium is a heat conductor, plastic is a heat insulator. Place ice in a plastic bag and put it in a corner of the lid. It's it's magnesium, you should be able to feel ...
by mikemex
Sat Mar 02, 2024 2:42 am
Forum: ThinkPad T430-T490 / T530-T590 Series
Topic: T480: What kind of battery life can I expect with a WQHD display + 96Wh of battery?
Replies: 4
Views: 4281

Re: T480: What kind of battery life can I expect with a WQHD display + 96Wh of battery?

My X280 with 8650U consumes 3-4W during light browsing. I'd expect the larger size, larger resolution screen to raise that consumption to around 5-7W. In order to get that consumption I use Firefox with disk cache disabled (won't wake the SSD) and NoScript to block bloatware. I also have 264ify to f...
by mikemex
Sat Mar 02, 2024 2:19 am
Forum: ThinkPad X230-X280 / X390 Series
Topic: X260 something loose inside making a clunk when it's turned over
Replies: 4
Views: 494

Re: X260 something loose inside making a clunk when it's turned over

This is my first time with an x260 so I thought I'd ask instead of grabbing the screwdriver. Good thinking. If I end up keeping it are there any special precautions I should be careful about when I open it to have a look. It may not be your case, but since most modern machines have built-in batteri...
by mikemex
Sat Mar 02, 2024 2:06 am
Forum: IBM or Lenovo Desktops/Workstations/ThinkStations only
Topic: Mini PC, which one to choose?
Replies: 5
Views: 6546

Re: Mini PC, which one to choose?

Have a look at the Lenovo M900 Tiny . I got one (with the i5-6600T CPU) to replace my desktop tower. (The CPU is socketed, so can be upgraded). They are all over eBay for very reasonable prices. This. I've got three, excellent machines. I also got them with 6500T processors and I upgraded them with...
by mikemex
Sat Mar 02, 2024 1:44 am
Forum: Off-Topic Stuff
Topic: Bought a last full ThinkPad
Replies: 4
Views: 2170

Re: Bought a last full ThinkPad

L570. I had never considered that model. Seems like a decent retro-machine. Problem with "obscure" models is that you're going to have trouble getting parts later on. I purchased an X280 recently and immediately noticed that there are far less parts floating around, compared to more common models. I...
by mikemex
Fri Mar 01, 2024 11:19 pm
Forum: ThinkPad T430-T490 / T530-T590 Series
Topic: Recommendation for a T4xx from the last 3-4 years
Replies: 4
Views: 372

Re: Recommendation for a T4xx from the last 3-4 years

T14 of course. Sometimes you can find a P14s (the "workstation" variant) cheaper just because people tend to know that model less. They are basically the same. If you go intel, I recommend you G2. All displays of that generation are IPS and even the basic one (250 nits) will look good coming from a ...
by mikemex
Fri Mar 01, 2024 10:18 pm
Forum: ThinkPad R, A, G and Z Series
Topic: What to do with R61 machines?
Replies: 11
Views: 775

Re: What to do with R61 machines?

"IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!" Hmmm. I don't think and R61 does. Actually, the last message was about your general activity as an antique system preserver. What I said earlier was about those R61s specifically. I don't think there is much interest in an R61 at this point. A working 386 in great conditio...
by mikemex
Thu Feb 29, 2024 1:23 am
Forum: ThinkPad R, A, G and Z Series
Topic: What to do with R61 machines?
Replies: 11
Views: 775

Re: What to do with R61 machines?

I just saw your signature. That's what museums are for: to fund people like you. The open market is not really interested in such things...
by mikemex
Thu Feb 29, 2024 12:57 am
Forum: ThinkPad R, A, G and Z Series
Topic: What to do with R61 machines?
Replies: 11
Views: 775

Re: What to do with R61 machines?

They'd probably be worth twice as much by stripping off the LCD, keyboard, HDD, memory, but equally I could be sitting on a pile of parts for another 10 years, which is harder to whittle down to nothing than 6/7 complete machines. Cut your loses and move on? This is literally the definition of the ...
by mikemex
Thu Feb 22, 2024 1:47 am
Forum: ThinkPad W500/W510/W520 and W700/W701 Series
Topic: 2 questions, RAM upgrade and OS downgrade on a W520
Replies: 9
Views: 7212

Re: 2 questions, RAM upgrade and OS downgrade on a W520

Windows 10. Believe it or not, unless you computer is really ancient (which is not), you're better off with the new OS because ever since M$ pushed the componentized driver model, whenever they update a driver for some other obscure device, you can usually benefit from it. And they update the catalo...
by mikemex
Wed Feb 21, 2024 10:44 pm
Forum: GENERAL ThinkPad News/Comments & Questions
Topic: CHEAP DDR3 RAM
Replies: 0
Views: 263

CHEAP DDR3 RAM

Hey fellas, I did my homework and, among the cheapest, almost no-name "brands", I found a solid source of super cheap Chinese stuff that seems to be quite reliable. I'm not sure if you can get this stuff in the US; it seems squarely targeted at the Third World (tm). But if you can find: Brand: JUHOR...
by mikemex
Wed Feb 21, 2024 12:42 am
Forum: ThinkPad W530/W540/W541/W550 Series
Topic: W530 Bluetooth sound broken after switching to windows 10
Replies: 1
Views: 2055

Re: W530 Bluetooth sound broken after switching to windows 10

I don't think there is anything wrong with the machine itself. It's simply that those tiny modules Lenovo used back then simply suck. Range is small because antennas are small and are surrounded by the magnesium skeleton. That's why they switched to combo Mini PCIe cards that do both WIFI (in PCI ex...
by mikemex
Sun Feb 18, 2024 9:11 pm
Forum: GENERAL ThinkPad News/Comments & Questions
Topic: How much is too much? - Battery self-discharge
Replies: 1
Views: 275

How much is too much? - Battery self-discharge

Hey, The first time this thing happened to me, it was with my P14s G1, which was the first "modern" machine I had in a while. Even when I turned it off, it would self discharge slowly over time, to the point that the next time I turned it on (say, after a week of not using it) it would be completely...
by mikemex
Sun Feb 18, 2024 8:43 pm
Forum: Off-Topic Stuff
Topic: Stay on Windows 11 or switch to Linux?
Replies: 29
Views: 236624

Re: Stay on Windows 11 or switch to Linux?

It seems all makers are making this micro towers and not much room to upgrade, even for Lenovo. You can still build your own machine. They still sell ATX motherboards. There are literally dozens of nice cases for them to suit your taste. Such motherboards still come with regular PCI Express slots a...
by mikemex
Sat Feb 17, 2024 11:06 pm
Forum: Thinkpad - General HARDWARE/SOFTWARE questions
Topic: Thinkpad x230 replacement for music production (Ableton)
Replies: 3
Views: 13763

Re: Thinkpad x230 replacement for music production (Ableton)

Can the replacement be a little bigger? If so, get yourself an L14 Gen 4. It has two DIMM slots for a whopping maximum RAM of 64GB. The battery in the L series used to be smaller, but in this generation you can get up to 63Wh, which is even higher than a T14. All the features available on the T seri...
by mikemex
Sat Feb 17, 2024 10:57 pm
Forum: ThinkPad X230-X280 / X390 Series
Topic: X230 Bluetooth?
Replies: 2
Views: 432

Re: X230 Bluetooth?

If I remember correctly, Bluetooth was an optional feature for X230s. Therefore, the first thing you have to check is if you actually have it or not. In previous versions of Windows the wireless connections were managed via the FN+F5 shortcut. But I don't think it works in Windows 10 unless you have...
by mikemex
Sat Feb 17, 2024 2:44 am
Forum: ThinkPad T430-T490 / T530-T590 Series
Topic: Windows 11 on Thinkpad T530?
Replies: 11
Views: 1260

Re: Windows 11 on Thinkpad T530?

Hello, im running Windows 11 on my old Thinkpad T530 because the support for windows 10 ends soon. SPECS: Intel i5 3320m Nvidia 5400m GPU 16 GB Ram DDR3 256 GB Msata SSD + 1 tb SATA SSD It runs okay, but are there any tips on how to make it run slightly faster? :D * I don't think Windows 11 support...
by mikemex
Sat Feb 17, 2024 2:22 am
Forum: Linux Questions
Topic: Theoretical oldest thinkpad to support gentoo x86?
Replies: 3
Views: 1013

Re: Theoretical oldest thinkpad to support gentoo x86?

I hope you're sitting in a pile of retro-stuff because I wouldn't be able to pull that out at this point even if I wanted. I don't think I have any IDE drive at this point, or a PCMCIA network card, a Laplink cable... even if I had one, what would I plug it to? 486... man, that's big words in 2024. ...
by mikemex
Fri Feb 16, 2024 1:24 pm
Forum: ThinkPad T60/T61 Series
Topic: Favorite Operating System? 64-Bit
Replies: 14
Views: 1245

Re: Favorite Operating System? 64-Bit

Well it's more than just cutting off older CPUs: the architecture itself changed a lot during the following years. As far as I know, UEFI isn't available on T61 and back, so there is a single generation of Core 2 Duo machines that supports it, and it's generally accepted that the early implementatio...
by mikemex
Thu Feb 15, 2024 4:18 pm
Forum: ThinkPad T60/T61 Series
Topic: Favorite Operating System? 64-Bit
Replies: 14
Views: 1245

Re: Favorite Operating System? 64-Bit

Feel like they're should be a poll then? Would that be enough compromise? There isn't a single Linux OS. There are MANY "distributions" that are somewhat, but not totally, compatible with each other. Historically, this has prevented software developers from knowing fully what to expect and thus, re...
by mikemex
Thu Feb 15, 2024 12:22 pm
Forum: ThinkPad X200/X201/X220 and X300/X301 Series
Topic: two x300 for parts *free, only shipping cost
Replies: 1
Views: 5232

Re: two x300 for parts *free, only shipping cost

I could use a screen to repair my beloved X301. Stupid me, I cleaned it using alcohol and it got sucked in by capilarity. It still works, but it's got an ugly liquid stain now...

Also, my machine didn't have the HDD cover when I bought it and I've used it that way for some time.

Go to advanced search