Best Quality Thinkpad of the last 5 years??

[mbarker]

I've been a Thinkpad guy forever and am thinking it might be time for a new one.....but I haven't been keeping up at all! Wondering what is the best TP in the post-IBM era??

Here's the criteria, in no particular order:
-build quality
-display quality
-keyboard quality
-reliability

Specs and features like processor speed, HD size, etc. are NOT criteria. Just quality.

So, whadda ya think? What's the closest we can get to the built-like-a-tank machines of yesteryear?

[killer]

My T510 is a lovely machine, solid as a rock, quiet, cool (temperature), responsive keyboard, clear display, works a treat.

Now, I understand that many people would want a smaller and lighter machine. The X201 is also a lovely piece of kit. It is much more portable than the T510.

[underclocker]

I'll agree that that 15.4" format T-series machines are solid, that would be my first place vote. I've owned several 15.4" models including the T60, T60p, T61 and T500. I use a 15.4" T61 every day for work.

I know of no weakness with 15.4" T-series machines. Whereas, 14" and 15" T-series T6x's suffered from weak subframes, especially near the fan, I've never seen one crack on a 15.4" model. I've seen several LCD cover cracks with 14" widescreen T61's, but none on 15.4" T-series. The hinges weakened quickly with 15" T60's, but the 15.4" models have much beefier hinges, I haven't seen any issues there.

The only real feature weakness was lack of a webcam option, which was addressed with the T500/W500 models.

With the right keyboard (NMB is my preference), 15.4" T-series or W-series are very solid machines.

My second place vote would go to the 14" R60. While the plastic cover finish wasn't as high quality as the T-series, it was a solid machine with a stronger subframe than the T60.

I know of no reliablity issues with either model, other than T61 NVidia GPU failures and premature battery failures with all models.

LCD quality was luck of the draw and depended upon the panel manufacturer, not ThinkPad model. Some were sub-par, others were outstanding.

[xyz]

Other than the display I would have to say the x300.

If they had put an ips screen in that it would have been one of the best thinkpads ever.

[ThinkRob]

Specs and features like processor speed, HD size, etc. are NOT criteria. Just quality.

IMO that sort of defeats the purpose. The hallmark of good engineering is working within the constraints of a problem to produce the best possible solution that meets a given set of criteria.

If you discard things like the internal hardware or the size of the laptop... well... that's like saying "excluding carrying capacity, mileage, and off-road ability, what's the best race car, minivan, or SUV that I can buy?"

So I won't answer that. Instead, I'll break it down into some slightly-more reasonable categories:

(NB: I'm excluding tablets, R-series, and L/SL-series from this list. I haven't used any tablets or the R series, and the L/SL series is simply a re-labeled IdeaPad. Also, it's important to note that durable!= well-built != reliable)

Sub-notebook (12"/13")

Lenovo-produced models in this category: X40, X41, X60, X60s, X61, X61s, X200, X200s, X300, X301, X201(i), X201s.

Of these, I'd have to say the X40 and X300/X301 are the best-built, followed very closely by the X60/X61 series, followed very closely by the X200/X201, followed not-quite-so-closely by the X200s/X201s.

The X40/X41 is a fantastic little machine, and I've seen a number of them withstand heavy usage. They feel quite solid too, and generally exhibit good fit-and-finish (if well kept.)

The X300 and X301 were produced as "flagship" models, and naturally exhibit stellar build quality. They're not terribly durable though (at least the ones I've handled don't seem as sturdy as the X200 series), but that's to be expected, as they were designed under different constraints (namely they were designed to be ultra-light weight without sacrificing connectivity/features.)

The X200/X201 have an excellent chassis design, and with the exception of the keyboard are very much reminiscent of older IBM models. In fact, if it weren't for the flex exhibited by some of the keyboard FRUs, I'd rank it right up there with the X40. The design is exceptionally durable, and while there are a few areas that "feel cheap", I'd have to say that in practice it can endure much rougher handling than most any other 12" notebook I've seen.

The X200s is an excellent ultra-portable. It's wonderfully light and has the most incredible power-efficiency of any laptop I've ever seen in 10+ years of heavy computer use. Unfortunately, it simply doesn't feel as well-built as the X200/X201. It's quite strong, no doubt, but it simply feels a tad too flimsy for my tastes. I realize that this is almost entirely psychological (fun fact: we tend to subconsciously associate the weight of a device with its strength), but the fact remains: I don't feel quite as comfortable with it as I do with the X200. I may get over that some day -- maybe some day soon -- at which point I'd have to rank it as one of my favorite ThinkPads (primarily due to the battery life.)

Notebooks (14"-15.4")

Lenovo-produced models in this category: T42(p)/T43(p), T60(p), T61(p), T400, T400s, T500, T410, T410s, T510.

This category is tough. Let's split it a bit further:

Durability

T400/T500, widescreen T6x(p). This one is pretty clear. The 4:3 T series had a magnesium lid, but the magnesium "roll cage" covered with plastic affords LCD panels in the widescreen T-series a little more resistance to impact and pressure.

The 14.1 T60 is also quite durable, but is prone to some hinge loosening. It's also not quite as resistant to lid compression as the T400 and T500.

The T410 is surprisingly durable, given the loss of the screen roll-cage, but the resulting weakness in the lid means that the T400 is probably superior in terms of resistance to LCD damage.

The T510 has a carbon-fiber lid (like that found on the X300/X301 and X200s) which affords it some resistance against pressure when closed. IMHO, it's still inferior to the T500 against compression, but the gap is less than that between the T400 and T410. Chassis durability appears to be about the same.

The T400s/T410s is durable... mostly. Unfortunately, the T400s suffered from a manufacturing defect (which Lenovo failed to rectify or even address in the T410s) causing cracks to appear in two specific locations of the palmrest. The cracks do not appear to be caused by specific usage patterns, but rather by simply using the machine.

The T42(p)/T43(p) are great machines for a lot of reasons. Durability is not one of them. Plagued by GPU and Southbridge issues, these models are extremely susceptible to torsion (as they lack the chassis "roll-cage" of the T6x/Txxx series). Their lids are fairly strong (likely slightly more so than the T60-series design), but given the flaws in the chassis design mean that they're at the bottom of this batch when it comes to durability. The configurations of these models with Intel GPUs are much better (as GPU failure is not an issue), but the Southbridge problems are still present.

Reliability

The T400 and T500 come out on top again. No real issues with reliability AFAIK, and the units I've used have served perfectly thus far.

The T61 is plagued by the massive failure rate of NVIDIA's now-infamous G84/G86 chips. In short, if you purchase a T61 with an NVIDIA GPU it's not a question of "will your GPU fail?" but rather "When will your GPU fail?".

The T60 is free of the problems that struck the NVIDIA-equipped T61s. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the T60 is one of the better, proven, reliable T-series in recent memory.

The T42(p)/T43(p). Well... see above. Basically, the GPU and Southbridge problems bring the reliability of these otherwise-excellent machines way down.

The T400s/T410s is a reliable design in that I haven't heard any widespread reports of specific failures. The plastic failure mentioned above, while disconcerting, does not technically impede the functioning of the machine. That said, this design is still too "young" to draw many conclusions regarding its reliability.

The T410 and T510 are too young to conclude much of anything at all. I assume they're reliable in that I haven't heard of the same sort of widespread issues as with the T61/T4x-series. It's worth noting, however, that both of those failure trends took a couple years to start to emerge. It's quite possible that something similar will show up for the T410/T510.

Build quality / Feel

The T42(p)/T43(p) tend to be well-built. I personally think they're the second-best built of this category. QA appears to have been more rigorous for this series than the others. The keyboard is (at least on the units I've come across) slightly more flexible than the T6x keyboard, but substantially less-so than the T400/T500.

A well-assembled T60 is, in my opinion, the best "feeling" of the Lenovo-produced machines. That's high praise, but I think it deserves it. The solid backplate design of the keyboard, the tight palmrest fit, and the slim tolerances on the chassis all come together to make one heck of a solid-feeling notebook. I've actually never used my mint-condition T60 solely for this reason -- it's just too perfect for me to want to mar! There are, of course, many T60s that don't exhibit these characteristics (just as there are many T4x series that are below their peers)... but I still think that the overall build quality of this line was much higher than subsequent models.

The widescreen T61s and T400/T500s are very, very solid machines... but they don't feel as nice as the T60 IMHO. The tolerances seem to be wider, and the QA process seems to have been relaxed. More parts have more play, and there are a number of points on the chassis that feel a little too flexible for comfort at times. The T400 and T500 also shipped with abysmyl keyboards (at least by ThinkPad standards), and Lenovo's response was shocking to say the least (they effectively said that they we [their customers] were simply imagining the problem.) To be fair, despite denying that the issue existed they did publicly address the issue and issue a "fix" (by shipping T60 keyboards to anyone who complained.)

The T410 and T510 are something of a mixed bag. On one hand, the design definitely looks like it has been subjected to some cost-cutting measures. On the other hand, the T410 actually *feels* quite solid (with the sole exception of the lid.) The palmrest design has less play than that found on the T400/T500, and little details (like the power and volume buttons) are handled better on the T410 than on its predecessor. The keyboard... well... I'll just quote two sections from my review:

Sadly, the new keyboards do not live up to claims of "flex-free typing". My T410 exhibits a rather noticeable amount of flex in the area above the Ultrabay, as well as a slightly-less-noticeable amount in the region of the 'W', 'A', 'S', and 'D' keys. In addition to tangibly flexing under normal typing, firm keystrokes produce a hollow "clack", caused by the flexible backplate bowing down until it hits the chassis supports.

Overall, I'd say that the T410 is an incremental improvement on the previous generation that (were it not for the abysmal display, flexible lid, and inferior keyboard) could almost be considered a "second coming" of the brand.

Fortunately, the keyboard issue is easy to fix on your own -- simply remove the keyboard, shim it with paper or business cards as necessary, and you're done. Now why Lenovo couldn't simply have done something similar with built-in supports, I don't know... but at least it's not incurable.

Summary: in descending order of build quality T60, T4x, T410/T510, T61/T400/T500.


...


Hope that helps!

[mbarker]

Hope that helps!

WOW. It does. Thanks for taking the time to lay all that out, very helpful!!

IMO that sort of defeats the purpose. The hallmark of good engineering is working within the constraints of a problem to produce the best possible solution that meets a given set of criteria.

My point, which I think you understood perfectly, is that I am not simply interested in the "latest and greatest." Posts recommending newer, loaded machines just because of specs would not be helpful. Your post was VERY helpful. Thanks again.

[billp117]

X200

[ZaZ]

I'd agree the X20x are very good Thinkpads. With the AFFS mod, you've got an an awesome little ultraportable for not much more than a netbook. I liked my R60s too. They never got the attention of the T60, but were solid machines.

[underclocker]

The X40/X41 is a fantastic little machine, and I've seen a number of them withstand heavy usage. They feel quite solid too, and generally exhibit good fit-and-finish (if well kept.)

I agree that these are fine subnotebooks, I left them off my list because they fall short of the durability mark. Their LCD covers were too thin and flexible. Most (all?) used X4x's have multiple pressure marks on their LCDs. Cracked LCDs were also common. Since they were designed as ultralight portables, the LCD design weakness is a big miss.

[ThinkRob]

I agree that these are fine subnotebooks, I left them off my list because they fall short of the durability mark. Their LCD covers were too thin and flexible. Most (all?) used X4x's have multiple pressure marks on their LCDs. Cracked LCDs were also common. Since they were designed as ultralight portables, the LCD design weakness is a big miss.

Well I don't think they're any less durable than the others in their class (hence my categorization).

As far as pressure marks go, fair enough. That is one of the issues that they're prone to. I guess I mentally skipped over that, since in my mind I count that as a minor cosmetic issue rather than a functional one (and since I think of a laptop's "durability" as "the ability to remain a productive, useful tool in the face of various external hazards".)

I didn't know that cracked LCDs were common. I've owned three X40s over the last two years, but obviously that sample set was too small (or too well-handled) for such an issue to appear.

I'd agree the X20x are very good Thinkpads. With the AFFS mod, you've got an an awesome little ultraportable for not much more than a netbook.

Absolutely. Or (if you're after the best constrast ratio and response times) the MVA mod. MVA? Ah... I haven't made that post yet. Stay tuned...

[JaneL]

As far as pressure marks go, fair enough. That is one of the issues that they're prone to. I guess I mentally skipped over that, since in my mind I count that as a minor cosmetic issue rather than a functional one (and since I think of a laptop's "durability" as "the ability to remain a productive, useful tool in the face of various external hazards".)

I didn't know that cracked LCDs were common. I've owned three X40s over the last two years, but obviously that sample set was too small (or too well-handled) for such an issue to appear.

I've had a number of X series systems pass through my hands, and I've never seen a pressure mark or a cracked LCD. In fact, I think the only cracked LCD I've ever seen on any system was a Toshiba that someone rolled a chair into. (It was in its case leaned up against a file cabinet behind the user, and he forgot it was there before pushing his chair back. Hard.)

[ThinkRob]

I've had a number of X series systems pass through my hands, and I've never seen a pressure mark or a cracked LCD. In fact, I think the only cracked LCD I've ever seen on any system was a Toshiba that someone rolled a chair into. (It was in its case leaned up against a file cabinet behind the user, and he forgot it was there before pushing his chair back. Hard.)

I have gotten quite a few machines with pressure marks or abraded areas of the screen, but since those were parts machines that were in pretty poor condition otherwise I just assumed it was due to general abuse.

[vtohthree]

ThinkRob did an excellent and thorough break down. I agree with him.

T60 is legendary, the "last of the mohicans" as being thin and strong with the right materials, and if you're lucky enough you can get one with an IPS panel. The T60 is one of the last T-series notebook to have a magnesium alloy panel cover(making it much thinner than the latter models). It also had one of the better keyboards as well.

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CrpUU3cCPE

It's a real world drop test of the T4x(my bad I accidentally said T60), very impressive. I have my doubts that newer or even any other thinkpads in the series could take such a beating.

On a sidenote, I would like to mention that my T41 was great, except it had a weak spot on the left bottom corner towards the palm rest(it was a common problem) and occasionally owner's gpu's would break if it was held from that spot.

I currently use a T500, one of the most quiet and more reliable(thus far) unit in the series, though I do have some thoughts on it. In general i wish that thinkpads would use metal/steel clips to close their lids rather than plastic(they do break once and a while and it's a hassle to replace), my other complaint is the keyboard on my unit(I was one of the unlucky ones who got the "newer" keyboards with flex and weaker keystroke feedback...although it's easily fixable by buying another keyboard).

[ThinkRob]

I have my doubts that newer or even any other thinkpads in the series could take such a beating.

Well the T500 certainly can.

Not... uh... not that I'd have any experience with that sort of scenario...

[vtohthree]

Well the T500 certainly can.

Not... uh... not that I'd have any experience with that sort of scenario...

Well that's something good to know, haha.

[sysiphus]

ThinkRob did an excellent and thorough break down. I agree with him.

T60 is legendary, the "last of the mohicans" as being thin and strong with the right materials, and if you're lucky enough you can get one with an IPS panel. The T60 is one of the last T-series notebook to have a magnesium alloy panel cover(making it much thinner than the latter models). It also had one of the better keyboards as well.

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CrpUU3cCPE

It's a real world drop test of the T60, very impressive. I have my doubts that newer or even any other thinkpads in the series could take such a beating.

While I agree that the T60(p) is nearly, if not the pinnacle of recent Thinkpad quality, the video you linked can't be a T60--the T4x keyboard and IBM splash screen give it away.

[dr_st]

Excellent posts here, great summaries.

I can add a few thoughts based on my own experience.

If you discard things like the internal hardware or the size of the laptop... well... that's like saying "excluding carrying capacity, mileage, and off-road ability, what's the best race car, minivan, or SUV that I can buy?"

I think the OP was not intending to discard laptop size, but HD size. Personally I agree that when estimating quality of laptop engineering as opposed to hardware engineering, one should discard things such as CPU, RAM, chipset, GPU, and in fact most of the hardware internals. This is because hardware evolution is something no laptop manufacturer has control over. It comes from the hardware vendors, and is simply periodically updated and incorporated in every new laptop. And it will naturally be better and faster and bigger than older generations. But that's a praise to the silicon manufacturers, not laptop manufacturers.

The 4:3 T series had a magnesium lid, but the magnesium "roll cage" covered with plastic affords LCD panels in the widescreen T-series a little more resistance to impact and pressure.

The 14.1 T60 is also quite durable, but is prone to some hinge loosening. It's also not quite as resistant to lid compression as the T400 and T500.

The 15" 4:3 T60 actually shows more hinge loosening than the 14" version, as underclocker pointed out (my experience has been the same). When the screen is upright, it can be moved about 1cm back and forth on the 15" version, less on the 14". However, it does not seem to wobble a lot by itself, and when opening and closing the lid, the hinges are still very tight. So much that it sometimes requires two hands to open (that's on a 3.5-year old machine).

14.1" wide T61/T400 (especially T61) hinges are total disaster with monstrous amounts of play in them (I haven't seen so much on any Thinkpad). However, even with all that play, I have not seen a single documented case with the hinges failing to support the screen, except in the case where a hinge was actually broken. It just looks cheap. Once again, I have no experience with 15.4" machines of this flavour.

Incidentally, I was surprise to learn from the LTWBOOK, that the magnesium composite in the lid is only present in the 14" 4:3, where 15" is just CFRP. With that said, the lid itself is significantly thicker on the 15", which makes it more resistant to compression, and trackpoint pressure marks are less likely to appear. Light wear marks on the screen seem to be just as common on the 15" as on the 14", but it has been suggested in the past that these appear due to the panel moving inside the lid, not due to lid compression.

The T400s/T410s is a reliable design in that I haven't heard any widespread reports of specific failures.

There have been a couple of reports here from IT guys dealing with massive quantities of these, that suggest an alarming rate of motherboard/LCD failures at least in some batches of these units (in comparison, for the regular non-S machines no such reports have been made).

The T42(p)/T43(p) tend to be well-built. I personally think they're the second-best built of this category. QA appears to have been more rigorous for this series than the others. The keyboard is (at least on the units I've come across) slightly more flexible than the T6x keyboard, but substantially less-so than the T400/T500.

My experience has actually been that T4x keyboard are more rigid than T6x. But it may be due to the manufacturer of the keyboard. All of the ones I used were NMB...

About the T410 keyboard - I have one now, and although it feels slightly more loud and hollow than the T60 keyboard, and it still uses the Swiss cheese backplate, I'd say the support is still a lot better than T400. I have tried both, and while the T410 exhibits some flex above the ultrabay - on the units I used it was well within expected, and much less than on the T400, even after the extra support Lenovo added to those.

Your suggestion to add extra support under the keyboard is a great one and works well. I did it (using small pieces of magnet) to remedy some flex and hollowness on the left side of my 15" T60 keyboard. It made very noticeable difference.

Summary: in descending order of build quality T60, T4x, T410/T510, T61/T400/T500.

These are my feelings exactly.

[ThinkRob]

There have been a couple of reports here from IT guys dealing with massive quantities of these, that suggest an alarming rate of motherboard/LCD failures at least in some batches of these units (in comparison, for the regular non-S machines no such reports have been made).

I actually forgot about the LCD issues. I do remember reading about a large number of reports of LCD failure for the T4x0s series, but IIRC Lenovo identified the faulty panels and has since stopped shipping units with them.

My experience has actually been that T4x keyboard are more rigid than T6x. But it may be due to the manufacturer of the keyboard. All of the ones I used were NMB...

I've only ever used a half dozen T4x units, and only two of them were new/like-new, so my opinion should be taken with a large grain of salt. I'm also not sure of the make of all the T4x keyboards, although I do know I've tried a couple NMBs. I do like the T4x keyboards quite a bit -- they just seemed less consistent (in terms of activation force) than the T60, and a little to shallow and springy for my tastes.

Both the T4x and T6x series keyboards are excellent, and keyboard quality is probably one of the more subjective metrics by which one can assess a laptop; the "feel" of a particular board depends as much on the mechanical characteristics as it does on the typist... (Translation: to heck with what I said, try the keyboards yourself and use what works best for you.)

About the T410 keyboard - I have one now, and although it feels slightly more loud and hollow than the T60 keyboard, and it still uses the Swiss cheese backplate, I'd say the support is still a lot better than T400. I have tried both, and while the T410 exhibits some flex above the ultrabay - on the units I used it was well within expected, and much less than on the T400, even after the extra support Lenovo added to those.

Your suggestion to add extra support under the keyboard is a great one and works well. I did it (using small pieces of magnet) to remedy some flex and hollowness on the left side of my 15" T60 keyboard. It made very noticeable difference.

Yeah, honestly I'd say that the T410 keyboard is within the "acceptable" range for a ThinkPad (both iterations of the T400 keyboard design were not). It's not perfect, but it's quite good, and easily-improved.

And personally I'd be a bit wary of using a magnet as a support inside my computer's case (unless I had an SSD)...

[dr_st]

Yeah, I wanted to say "small pieces of rubber magnet". These are designed to stick fliers to one's fridge and are so weak that they barely stick. And they are also on the far side from the drive, so doubt they can have any effect even the smallest. And if they do, it'll give me an excuse to upgrade the old slow 120GB 5400RPM drive.

[vtohthree]

While I agree that the T60(p) is nearly, if not the pinnacle of recent Thinkpad quality, the video you linked can't be a T60--the T4x keyboard and IBM splash screen give it away.

You're right, I goofed and posted a video of a T4x being dropped, I saw a video a while back and thought it was a t60 being dropped and quickly found this, I should've checked more carefully. Thanks for pointing it out, and I'm actually surprised that the T4x could take that drop, I have one myself and the screen distorts violently on and off due to the gpu I believe(from the weak spot on the lower left).

Also wanted to reiterate to the OP that the T500, while being reliable and seemingly durable, is also considerably more bulkier(due to different designing..ie: mag roll cage on lid being wrapped in plastic) than the T60. If I could ever get my hands on a T60 again... very sleek and well rounded machine.

[sysiphus]

You're right, I goofed and posted a video of a T4x being dropped, I saw a video a while back and thought it was a t60 being dropped and quickly found this, I should've checked more carefully. Thanks for pointing it out, and I'm actually surprised that the T4x could take that drop, I have one myself and the screen distorts violently on and off due to the gpu I believe(from the weak spot on the lower left).

Also wanted to reiterate to the OP that the T500, while being reliable and seemingly durable, is also considerably more bulkier(due to different designing..ie: mag roll cage on lid being wrapped in plastic) than the T60. If I could ever get my hands on a T60 again... very sleek and well rounded machine.

Yeah, given the T4x video issues, I was a bit surprised, too. My guess is that the one in the video must have been Intel-based...they weren't prone to the issues the ATI ones were (at least not to the same degree).

The 14" T60 really is a fantastic beast--I've been hording a super-clean one (2623-D6U) as a backup, even the though I have absolutely no justification/budget for doing so...

[HACCP76]

http://thinkpaddock.posterous.com/offic ... enovo-mode

I have been doing a bit of research recently on Thinkpads and Docking Stations and which one I may buy in the near future. I would this link which I can watch for hours, sad but hey they are just fantastic. The elegance, the build, just cool ya know.

I have just seen a recent video of the T410 which I believe is the number one spot in the Laptop charts for December.

With X201 as 2nd.

Well what do I do? i need one now!!

[ZaZ]

If you said something about what you needed, it would make it easier to tell what's a good fit.

[ssd_thinkpad]

Lenovo-produced models in this category: X40, X41, X60, X60s, X61, X61s, X200, X200s, X300, X301, X201(i), X201s.

Of these, I'd have to say the X40 and X300/X301 are the best-built, followed very closely by the X60/X61 series, followed very closely by the X200/X201, followed not-quite-so-closely by the X200s/X201s.

My vote goes to the x301. It is extremely well build. Of all the thinkpads I used - x60, x40, x30, x20, T60, T40, R30, 600 - this was the laptop where everything fit in perfectly. And the rubber material outside feels very good. You hold it in your hand and feel that it is a very expensive build machine.

[edikat]

I don't know about the X40, having owned one (and the 1.8" drive failing within weeks but that's another story) I was extremely happy to go back to my X31, and even that I felt was not as solid as my older X23.

IMHO the X31 was better built than the X40 (and my X60s now seems on par with the X40, which is, OK, but not X23/31 quality).

The 7XX series (76X's/770's that I've owned) were along with the 600, and perhaps the T23 totally solid machines.

The T30 was a pretty tough beast as well.

[pianowizard]

I don't know about the X40, having owned one (and the 1.8" drive failing within weeks but that's another story) I was extremely happy to go back to my X31, and even that I felt was not as solid as my older X23.

Did you buy your X40 new? I bought my first X40 new and its quality was exceptional. If yours was a second-hand unit, it could have been mishandled by the previous owner.

[ThinkRob]

In terms of build quality, the X40 is quite good, but due to its mechanical design, I feel like it "aged prematurely". The drive door is prone to warping a bit and no longer seating flush with the rest of the chassis, and the lid is (IMHO) a little too weak, causing pressure marks to appear on the LCD pretty early in the machine's life. The X60 series fixed both of those flaws, at the cost of a (very small) increase in thickness.

[edikat]

Did you buy your X40 new? I bought my first X40 new and its quality was exceptional. If yours was a second-hand unit, it could have been mishandled by the previous owner.

Yes, back in 2004 I purchased it new, as I was impressed with my X31 so much I wanted to upgrade it (and had the money then!) so went ahead.

I can still remember being a little disappointed with it, whether the drive failure contributed to that I can't say now, but I do remember that "warm" feeling returning to the X31.

The problem was I'd sold the X31.. and had to buy another. And I was based in Moscow at the time, but working out of the Republic of Georgia... so sourcing one wasn't as easy I'd liked.

But here is a picture of my X40 whilst I did have it travelling at the Marriott in some weird and wonderful part of the world way back in 2004... looks like it is charging my old HP IPAQ via USB

[sportfreak]

back in 2007, my first salary went towards buying my first ever thinkpad ... the x61 .. (history:: back when i was 15, i managed to fry my dad's R42 due to a voltage trip .. it was few days out of warranty and was outta luck) .. anyways, ever since the x61 purchase, it has been nothing but "faithful companion" to me .. i mean in 2008, for my thesis in cloud computing i let my x61 run for 6 months without re-booting once .. leaving it on a server rack (without the battery, with an SSD) as a linux node for testing CPU cycle distribution over the network .. and at the end of that 6 month period, my professor who had not once examined the server rack, looked at the laptop and asked if it was there just for show .. and at that point, i told him that the laptop was infact one of the primary nodes in our 6 month testing period, and had not had a single instance of downtime/reboot .. i guess that sums up the thinkpad quality on the x61 ..

[rleo25]

x220 now