Best ThinkPad Ever

[Temetka]

I just got done fixing up a 600 for a friend of mine. I have to say not only was it really easy to work on, I can tell the craftsmanship put into its design was definitely done out of love. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed working on it so much, that I am bidding on one from e-bay.

[wswartzendruber]

I have voted for the T40 series.

I also have a T60P which is great, but in my opinion the build quality is not as good as in the older T series. I also prefer the design of the T40 series.

Dude, what are you smoking?

Don't be fooled by the plastic on the outside of the T60. Open that sucker up and actually have a look at what's in there. And then if you're bored, take a hammer to it just for kicks and giggles. Just be sure to take the HDD out first (even though it's shock-mounted).

[CeeDee]

One that was never marketed here in north america gets my vote. The S30 was ultra lite, ultra sheik, and ultra portable. Just what a notebook was supposed to be. X32 next best.

[hausman]

ultra sheik

Only the mid-East version The Asian versions were considered ultra-chic, eh?

[andyP]

I voted for the 600 because it was, still is, IMHO the best ever ThinkPad made. It's performance was, (is), incredible and it was, is, almost indestructable. I just love it to death. My T23 comes a very close second.

edit; jff

[CeeDee]

Only the mid-East version The Asian versions were considered ultra-chic, eh?

OK so I am now "officially" embarrassed.

[Thinkpaddict]

My vote goes to the T2X and X2X series (I actually voted for the X2X series in the poll.) I have had several T23s, X21s, and X24s, and in my opinion they are the apex in the evolution of the Thinkpad. Perfect design (one of the most pure Thinkpad designs IMO,) great durability (typing this on my X24 right now,) and incredible longevity (doing everything I want on my X24 after 5 years, including running a Windows XP virtual machine inside Linux.)

There is something about the T2X and X2X series that hasn't been equaled yet by any laptop (but I don't have any experience with the 600 series among others, so my opinion is biased.)

As much as I like my T41p, I think that it was a step back in many ways from the T2X series (I won't even discuss the T30.) Yes, the T4X was thinner, faster, and (some people claim) more aesthetically pleasing. But all that came at the cost of ergonomy and reliability. And to me, there is nothing that can equal the symmetrical look and simplicity of the T2X/X2X design.

I worked with a T60 for a while that I had assigned at my job, and it was OK, except that it was too thick and had Lenovo plastered all over it. To me nothing has or will ever equal the T2X and X2X series. OK, I'm getting nostalgic now...

[ibm350]

for me its a tossup between the thinkpad 350 I had - hardware suspend&resume rocks, none of this OS based rubbish.

and the PS2/Note I borrowed before that.

[Speeder.dk]

Tough question... Some T2x series had issues with the S3 chip in linux, T4x (some models) had the GPU issue which needed resoldering, T3x flawed by bad memory slot... Hmm, my vote goes for X6x series in terms of portability, stability and perfect keyboard... Haven't tried anything older than my T22 though, so can't tell if there's a better model from back then...

/Speeder

[AIX]

I love the T4x series but my vote is for the T60; being more rugged it's just a better T4x. It is somewhat the apex of the T4x series - a swan song.

[asiafish]

I miss my old T20. That thing in its day was a revelation. It was sturdy, fast and so thin and light. I don't think any machine before or since has stood out in comparison to everything else on the market the way the original T series did.

[ZaZ]

I'm not steeped enough in the older ThinkPads to have a qualified opinion. I had an old 600 from work along with a T22. I know people besides here who are still using T2x machines as everyday notebooks, which is impressive. I didn't start buying ThinkPads for myself until my T41. My favorite ThinkPad so far has probably been my R60. It's solid. It's in better shape than either my T41 or T42 after almost three years of usage. I haven't had a single issue with it. It runs cool and quiet, better than the T series. It probably isn't quite as road ready as the T series, but I don't need a ton of mobility. As a solid all-around notebook notebook, which is all I need, it's been a great investment.

[JJVascon]

I'll have to agree with you Bill on the 770Z. I still have the 770Z you sold me several years ago and it's still going strong. As I recall, you told me it was your own personal computer.
Regards,
John Vasconcelos

770Z was about THE BEST for rugged build and "smarts"..
the US Army really liked the 770 series..

the 600 wins because they sold a million of them or some such phenomonal number..
the 600E and 600X..

the T40 series, especially the R50 (or was it the R51) which was the precursor to the 15 inch UXGA T40's..

the T60p UXGA for speed, being up to date and just a terrific thinkpad..
i will never sell mine..

and, i can't fail to mention the A31p (15 inch UXGA flexview) which was a 3 spindle machine and is highly thought of to this day..

there were many other models that broke ground like the first 700C and the 755CD, the 300X and of course the 755CDX which was made for removing the back of the top so an overhead projector could display the contents of the thinkpads see through display..
(how'ed they DO that? - i have one in my museum)

there are many criteria, like marin says (i think ) so until a real question is put there is no one model that is so superior as to stand out above all the rest of these really great computers..

OH!, marin, it's Cassandra with a "C"..

[jdhurst]

I read through much of this (rather speedily).

I voted for the T61 because I have a T61p and it the best (except for size and weight) of all the machines I have owned back to the Thinkpad 365.

How does size and weight figure into it? As noted in this thread, and as I have written in other threads, nothing before or since has beaten out the A22e/T23 form factor.

And to the 600 - I had one, and I liked it. But it doesn't compare to my T61p

... JDH

[asiafish]

I think that the brand is alive and well. I just got a T400 and while the keyboard does have some flex, it is far better than the T2x in that regard. Of course perfectionist that I am, I talked Lenovo into sending me an NMB keyboard for the T61 and now have an extremely rigid keyboard that is every bit as nice to type on as the T42p, 600E or any other computer I've ever owned.

Where none compare to this one is versatility. 13 hour battery life with the 9 cell and bay battery, or under 5 lbs with the 4 cell, and my choice of discreet GPU for moderate gaming or integrated for extended battery life.

The screen (non-LED) isn't as nice as my MacBook Pro, but its as nice as any ThinkPad I've ever owned (I never had a FlexView) and I prefer the matte surface to the Mac's glossy.

Is this going to be looked back on as the best ever? I doubt it. I think that whichever one you enjoy at present is the best one, while some stick out over time (T20 for me).

[ebonytyger]

My vote is for the t60. I'm not as fluent in thinkpadology as many of the contributors here but I've owned the t60p, t40, and t30. And I've had brief encounters with the x60, r50, and the t43. I chose the t60/p because it has the best combination of technology, durability, functionality, and personality. With the 64 bit core 2 duo it's way ahead of its time (considering 64bit OS still isn't common place). The t60p comes with firegl v5250 with 256 dedicated and 512 shared so it can handle even modern gaming. Flexveiw is one of the industries best screens. It can go up to 4 gigs of ram. spill proof keyboard, magnezium alloy frame, and shock detecting hard drive technology and functionality are covered. it still has that quality feel like the older thinkpads and its looks sexy as hell. The choice was really quit easy.

My second choice would be the t30. it oozes of quality. great keyboard and i still use it today. just a great laptop; little heavy and slightly on the clunky side but its not too bad at anything.

[yak]

My vote is for the t60. (...) It can go up to 4 gigs of ram.

My vote was for a T60 too, for similar reasons. But you're wrong about the RAM, all T60/p can utilize max. 3GB. 4GB is the maximal amount it can handle (2x2GB) but only 3GB will be accessible due to chipset limitation.

All that said, it's still the best ThinkPad ever

[ZaZ]

Yeah the T60 is a very good machine, especially with one of those FlexView screens. It seems like there's nothing else like it coming down the pike for the foreseeable future.

[craigmontHunter]

I voted for the t4x series, because I think they look the best, and if you get a t43 with Intel graphics, you don't need to worry about the GPU problem. They are thinner than the t6x and powerful eneough for what I do with my laptop.

[portsample]

Somehow I feel like this is a little like comparing ex-girlfriends.

The Thinkpad that I remember the most and have the fondest memories of was also the one that I probably traveled the furthest with from the South Pole in Antarctica to the Bering Sea in Alaska.

It was my first Thinkpad: a 760ED.

It was also a machine that I significantly upgraded and modified from the stock Win98 to Redhat and SuSE Linux. In addition to upgrading HDs and RAM, I also did some repairs to hardware: a cracked LCD bezel and later the LCD panel itself. I REALLY liked being able to just lift up the keyboard and have clean access to the machines internals. In addition, not having the palmrests that are the rage today did result in a smaller and more compact form. This feisty little spitfire also had a battery life of over 2.5 hours.

Since that time I've flirted w/other Thinkpads...I had a rebuilt 770 that I carried for a while. I really liked the solid feeling of its non-flexing aluminum case. And other TPs as well.

I've just "upgraded" to a used T60 that I bought off the 'bay. I've swapped out the stock T2400 1.83ghz processor for a T7600 2.33ghz, installed 4gb of RAM and a 250gb 7200rpm HD. I'm loving the 1400 x 1050 resolution and the fast-fast processing speed. However, I do admit to missing the rigid body, the tilting keypad and the snappy keys of the machines that came before...

[aPanzerIV]

My dad used to work for IBM, now hp, ever since he worked for Trane in the 90's he had a IBM Laptop.
T22, T41, and finally before he left he was given a T60 in 2005/6?

That thing went through one hell of a beating, and it took it really well. In may of '12 he was given a T420 to upgrade to because of the hardware limits of the T60. I wish they would have let us keep it, it was a great machine.

I'm suprised the 600 and T6x series didn't get more votes, they are practically indestructible!

[Radioguy]

This poll is close to five years old. You might want to take the results with a grain of salt now. The newer models may have grown on some who voted otherwise back then.

[Cola]

I chose T40-series. I have owned all the ones in my signature so far, and yet, I categorize them like this: T43p > T400 > W500.

I do use the W500 everyday, but this is only due to it's superior specifications compared to the T43p. The T43p is definitely the one with the best touch and feel to it, the T400 feels alot more solid than the bigger W500, which is probably do to the fact that the T400 is smaller and more compact. The keyboard and overall build quality of me W500 just cannot beat the others. The plastik feels loose around the screen, the display moves around (very slight bit), hinges are way too tight, and then again they are loose as hell. Not to mention the keyboard on it, which has so much flex it feels like it's gonna fall apart.


But yeah, even the W500 still feels very superior indeed to all other modern laptops on the market. If they'd make a 16:10 version of the T43p, in 14'' with modern specs, it would definitely make the best Thinkpad ever in my opinion.

[RealBlackStuff]

For a T43p in 16:10 format: The Z60m with Pentium M 780 comes to mind...
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2599

[Cola]

For a T43p in 16:10 format: The Z60m with Pentium M 780 comes to mind...
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2599

Yeah true, but what I meant, was the quality and looks of the T40-series, and the specifications of newer machines, 16:10 because that's just my own preferred aspect ratio for displays.