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Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Hi,
Please help me make a decision.
You see, I love Macs. They’re great. And if Apple wouldn’t have [censored]*d this up by creating overpriced, unreliable fashion statements instead of their old laptops, I would have bought a new one.
But I hate the Butterfly keyboard and honestly, I’m turned off by the new models. At the same time, I’m a bit weary of getting a 2015 Pro as an upgrade from an Air, as if they break, I’m out of luck.
So I want a ThinkPad.
And I have no freaking idea which one to buy.
I think the workstations are amazing but they’re so heavy and big and I travel a lot. I believe that the X series is great but there are six generations between them and I don’t know what to pick. The T series is cool but again, what to pick?
So maybe you can give me some suggestions based on my usage profile:
I need long battery life, road warrior type of thing.
No need for a 3G modem with a SIM slot, had one before, never used it.
Screen, I don’t care so much about the resolution as I care about the quality. I spend extremely long hours in front of a display so viewing angles and generally, the warmth of the screen matters a lot to me. I know these are user configurable but some screens lead to eye fatigue while others don’t.
Performance, I mostly write, research online, use the occasional resource heavy SaaS. No or only light gaming.
Keyboard - this is the most important thing out of them all.
Ports - again, I don’t know how much it really matters.
Reliability - it should be able to take a small beating, as it will be in a backpack and not on a desk, most of the time.
Size, I’m used to 11.6 and 13.3 and it doesn’t matter that much, as long as it’s not very heavy.
I don’t really want to buy it new from Lenovo but rather, the previous generation, pre-owned. So models before 2017 or before what’s considered new right now.
Last month, I almost bought on an impulse a huge W workstation, 16 GB RAM, 17 inch screen, etc. Amazing machine and totally unpractical on a day to day level. So, something as close as possible to the MacBook Air 13.3 (size, weight) is preferred.
Thank you,
Razvan
Please help me make a decision.
You see, I love Macs. They’re great. And if Apple wouldn’t have [censored]*d this up by creating overpriced, unreliable fashion statements instead of their old laptops, I would have bought a new one.
But I hate the Butterfly keyboard and honestly, I’m turned off by the new models. At the same time, I’m a bit weary of getting a 2015 Pro as an upgrade from an Air, as if they break, I’m out of luck.
So I want a ThinkPad.
And I have no freaking idea which one to buy.
I think the workstations are amazing but they’re so heavy and big and I travel a lot. I believe that the X series is great but there are six generations between them and I don’t know what to pick. The T series is cool but again, what to pick?
So maybe you can give me some suggestions based on my usage profile:
I need long battery life, road warrior type of thing.
No need for a 3G modem with a SIM slot, had one before, never used it.
Screen, I don’t care so much about the resolution as I care about the quality. I spend extremely long hours in front of a display so viewing angles and generally, the warmth of the screen matters a lot to me. I know these are user configurable but some screens lead to eye fatigue while others don’t.
Performance, I mostly write, research online, use the occasional resource heavy SaaS. No or only light gaming.
Keyboard - this is the most important thing out of them all.
Ports - again, I don’t know how much it really matters.
Reliability - it should be able to take a small beating, as it will be in a backpack and not on a desk, most of the time.
Size, I’m used to 11.6 and 13.3 and it doesn’t matter that much, as long as it’s not very heavy.
I don’t really want to buy it new from Lenovo but rather, the previous generation, pre-owned. So models before 2017 or before what’s considered new right now.
Last month, I almost bought on an impulse a huge W workstation, 16 GB RAM, 17 inch screen, etc. Amazing machine and totally unpractical on a day to day level. So, something as close as possible to the MacBook Air 13.3 (size, weight) is preferred.
Thank you,
Razvan
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Probably a T470 or T480. If you want lighter then T470s or T480s.
14" display. Gotta get the best high res disay because unlike Apple resolution is quality with display. Get the lowend display and youll feel what it's like to shoot yourself in the foot.
Everything else will meet your requirements. May want to look at a X1 carbon which is even lighter than the T series while retaining the 14" display. Also look at the X270 and X280 for 12" devices.
14" display. Gotta get the best high res disay because unlike Apple resolution is quality with display. Get the lowend display and youll feel what it's like to shoot yourself in the foot.
Everything else will meet your requirements. May want to look at a X1 carbon which is even lighter than the T series while retaining the 14" display. Also look at the X270 and X280 for 12" devices.
Thinkpad4by3's Law of the Universe.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
For upgradeability, I would look at T420/(14") or x220
If you want to run OSX, then T420 is easy enough, or, come to that, an X220 (12"), though I'll admit, I am not a fan of the "Clunkpad (combined trackpad and mouse buttons).
Both have classic keyboard.
T430/X230 can be modified to house the classic keyboard with a little time and knowledge.
I run a T420, T430, x220, L412.
T420 is almost at maximum spec and runs three SSD's (Standard drive bay, mSata in WWAN port, SSD in Ultrabay Adapter, replacing optical drive) or Two SSD's and a second battery in the UltraBay An FHD LCD upgrade is about to be installed, along with max spec memory (16GB) and a higher spec i7 CPU.
T430 is on an upgrade path so is not in daily, but rather irregular, use.
x220 is in daily use and on a rolling upgrade path. Two SSD's and 9 cell battery.
Am I being biased? perhaps, but then I like my machines to be easily upgradeable and a BIOS that is easy to flash (unlike the T430!)..
If you want to increase usage by utilising 3rd party batteries, you may want to look at slightly older models, as per the T420/X220, where there is no "whitelist" for battery or WiFi card in the BIOS to stop you using 3rd party batteries or your own choice of WiFi card.
If you want to run OSX, then T420 is easy enough, or, come to that, an X220 (12"), though I'll admit, I am not a fan of the "Clunkpad (combined trackpad and mouse buttons).
Both have classic keyboard.
T430/X230 can be modified to house the classic keyboard with a little time and knowledge.
I run a T420, T430, x220, L412.
T420 is almost at maximum spec and runs three SSD's (Standard drive bay, mSata in WWAN port, SSD in Ultrabay Adapter, replacing optical drive) or Two SSD's and a second battery in the UltraBay An FHD LCD upgrade is about to be installed, along with max spec memory (16GB) and a higher spec i7 CPU.
T430 is on an upgrade path so is not in daily, but rather irregular, use.
x220 is in daily use and on a rolling upgrade path. Two SSD's and 9 cell battery.
Am I being biased? perhaps, but then I like my machines to be easily upgradeable and a BIOS that is easy to flash (unlike the T430!)..
If you want to increase usage by utilising 3rd party batteries, you may want to look at slightly older models, as per the T420/X220, where there is no "whitelist" for battery or WiFi card in the BIOS to stop you using 3rd party batteries or your own choice of WiFi card.
X31 2672-58G, M73 10AXS, M73 10AXS i7, L412 4403-72G i5,T420 4236-9N8 i7-2630QM, T430 2349-TDG, X201 3680-C85, X220 42902
Install Mojave on X220 & T420
Install Mojave on X220 & T420
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
T420 screens are junk unless you want to put in a modkit for an FHD display FYI.
Thinkpad4by3's Law of the Universe.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Which is why I mentioned "An FHD LCD upgrade is about to be installed"..
A valid point though, none-the-less.
A valid point though, none-the-less.
X31 2672-58G, M73 10AXS, M73 10AXS i7, L412 4403-72G i5,T420 4236-9N8 i7-2630QM, T430 2349-TDG, X201 3680-C85, X220 42902
Install Mojave on X220 & T420
Install Mojave on X220 & T420
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Totally missed that, though that TN display is bad enough a second reminder is well justified .GrifterGuru wrote: ↑Thu Nov 01, 2018 10:41 amWhich is why I mentioned "An FHD LCD upgrade is about to be installed"..
A valid point though, none-the-less.
Thinkpad4by3's Law of the Universe.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
We all miss things occasionally. A lot of it is to do with speed reading or skim reading..
X31 2672-58G, M73 10AXS, M73 10AXS i7, L412 4403-72G i5,T420 4236-9N8 i7-2630QM, T430 2349-TDG, X201 3680-C85, X220 42902
Install Mojave on X220 & T420
Install Mojave on X220 & T420
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
just a quick few comments..
first, if you are in romania as you said when registering and not in taiwan as the IP you're logging in from, then a new or used thinkpad might be more expensive..
if in taiwan there might be more opportunity for some price favorability..
for ME, i simply love the X1.. avoid a used gen 2.. the keyboard just sucks..
i would get the best display X1 you can find..
i like the touch screen..
got to run and do my daily 5 miles on my bike before the rain gets here..
finally, welcome to the forum..
first, if you are in romania as you said when registering and not in taiwan as the IP you're logging in from, then a new or used thinkpad might be more expensive..
if in taiwan there might be more opportunity for some price favorability..
for ME, i simply love the X1.. avoid a used gen 2.. the keyboard just sucks..
i would get the best display X1 you can find..
i like the touch screen..
got to run and do my daily 5 miles on my bike before the rain gets here..
finally, welcome to the forum..
Bill Morrow, kept by parrots & cockatoos
Sysop - forum.thinkpads.com
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She was not what you would call refined,
She was not what you would call unrefined,
She was the type of person who kept a parrot.
~~~Mark Twain~~~
Sysop - forum.thinkpads.com
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She was not what you would call refined,
She was not what you would call unrefined,
She was the type of person who kept a parrot.
~~~Mark Twain~~~
Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
X1 Carbon FTW.
The major redesign that happened to the X1 Carbon series in the 5th generation made it significantly lighter and smaller than a T series, but with the same screen size. It is also amazingly functional with very few compromises in the port selection: you lose the full-size SD slot (there is a micro-SD), the RJ45 Ethernet (but there is an adapter), and one USB-A port (but gain an extra USB-C). Having received one (5th gen) from my employer recently I can't help but appreciate how much nicer it is than a traditional 14" T series, and I can totally understand why some folks lamented that the TP25 was based on T470 and not the Carbon.
The 6th gen Carbon, of course, gets the Coffee Lake overhaul which means Quad Core CPUs. So I say - go for that if possible; you don't have to buy new from Lenovo - you can probably find some refurbished / used / new open box on eBay or similar sources, with almost full warranty remaining.
The major redesign that happened to the X1 Carbon series in the 5th generation made it significantly lighter and smaller than a T series, but with the same screen size. It is also amazingly functional with very few compromises in the port selection: you lose the full-size SD slot (there is a micro-SD), the RJ45 Ethernet (but there is an adapter), and one USB-A port (but gain an extra USB-C). Having received one (5th gen) from my employer recently I can't help but appreciate how much nicer it is than a traditional 14" T series, and I can totally understand why some folks lamented that the TP25 was based on T470 and not the Carbon.
The 6th gen Carbon, of course, gets the Coffee Lake overhaul which means Quad Core CPUs. So I say - go for that if possible; you don't have to buy new from Lenovo - you can probably find some refurbished / used / new open box on eBay or similar sources, with almost full warranty remaining.
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad
Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
@Dr_ST - So the fifth gen X1 Carbon is worth it? It’s considerably cheaper to buy a pre-owned X1 5th gen than a brand new X1 6th gen from Lenovo.
This could work. The only thing that scared me about the Carbon was the price but I’ve found some amazing deals for the older generations, with enhanced specs.
I have a question about ThinkPad batteries. Are they user replaceable? I’ve heard that they have a chip that prevents third party batteries. Since battery life is extremely important to me, how easy is to get a new battery when the old one dies?
Also, what about the keyboard? My quote for repairing my MB Air keyboard was around $200. Fortunately, I’ve found an engineer in the Philippines who did it for $10 but that was a stroke of luck, as four Apple repair shops quoted me over $200. Is repair cheaper on the ThinkPad line?
@BillMorrow - Hi, happy to be here.
Yes, I’m in Taiwan right now. I haven’t been in Romania for almost four years.
The prices here are quite high too. I’ve found some amazing prices for ThinkPads, both new and used in the Phillipines. We’re talking 30 - 35% less for no compromises whatsoever. You'd think that products made here or that are close, supply chain wise, are cheaper. But they're not. It's cheaper to buy Acer or Asus outside of Taiwan than in Taiwan. The only thing that is cheaper is Apple, from time to time. The ThinkPads are about 20 - 25% more expensive than their US counterparts and pre-owned ones are about 30 - 35% more expensive than buying them in Romania. I'll go soon to Vietnam where tech is very cheap.
So any from the X1 series apart from the 2nd generation. Got it. Thank you.
@GrifterGur.
I’ve seen the X220. It’s nice. I do want something a bit better though, as I replace my tech every two years and I don’t feel it would be that much better compared to my MB Air.
The problem with my Air is that I’m at 900 charging cycles already, so it will lose battery fast from now on. I’m thinking more of X1 or T470. Also, specs are not very important for me. Office work doesn’t require top speed.
Honestly, I could do my work on a T61p too (I used this model before, a long time before, it was brilliant).
@ThinkPad4by3
Do you have any suggestions on what generations to avoid or to pick from the T470 / 480 line?
As I mentioned before, I’m weary to buy from Lenovo so I’ll try pre-owned refurbished. And this means that I need to focus starting with one generation behind the current one.
Thank you all.
I’m looking forward to just get one because I barely get 3.5 hours of battery life on my MB. It’s annoying to not be able to get work done because I run out of battery.
Best regards,
Razvan
This could work. The only thing that scared me about the Carbon was the price but I’ve found some amazing deals for the older generations, with enhanced specs.
I have a question about ThinkPad batteries. Are they user replaceable? I’ve heard that they have a chip that prevents third party batteries. Since battery life is extremely important to me, how easy is to get a new battery when the old one dies?
Also, what about the keyboard? My quote for repairing my MB Air keyboard was around $200. Fortunately, I’ve found an engineer in the Philippines who did it for $10 but that was a stroke of luck, as four Apple repair shops quoted me over $200. Is repair cheaper on the ThinkPad line?
@BillMorrow - Hi, happy to be here.
Yes, I’m in Taiwan right now. I haven’t been in Romania for almost four years.
The prices here are quite high too. I’ve found some amazing prices for ThinkPads, both new and used in the Phillipines. We’re talking 30 - 35% less for no compromises whatsoever. You'd think that products made here or that are close, supply chain wise, are cheaper. But they're not. It's cheaper to buy Acer or Asus outside of Taiwan than in Taiwan. The only thing that is cheaper is Apple, from time to time. The ThinkPads are about 20 - 25% more expensive than their US counterparts and pre-owned ones are about 30 - 35% more expensive than buying them in Romania. I'll go soon to Vietnam where tech is very cheap.
So any from the X1 series apart from the 2nd generation. Got it. Thank you.
@GrifterGur.
I’ve seen the X220. It’s nice. I do want something a bit better though, as I replace my tech every two years and I don’t feel it would be that much better compared to my MB Air.
The problem with my Air is that I’m at 900 charging cycles already, so it will lose battery fast from now on. I’m thinking more of X1 or T470. Also, specs are not very important for me. Office work doesn’t require top speed.
Honestly, I could do my work on a T61p too (I used this model before, a long time before, it was brilliant).
@ThinkPad4by3
Do you have any suggestions on what generations to avoid or to pick from the T470 / 480 line?
As I mentioned before, I’m weary to buy from Lenovo so I’ll try pre-owned refurbished. And this means that I need to focus starting with one generation behind the current one.
Thank you all.
I’m looking forward to just get one because I barely get 3.5 hours of battery life on my MB. It’s annoying to not be able to get work done because I run out of battery.
Best regards,
Razvan
Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Thinkpads are popular enough that one can typically source a genuine battery even for a machine several years old. The battery for the X1 Carbon is internal, so you need to remove the base cover first, but it does not appear to be exceedingly difficult:
https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/ng/en/prod ... s/pd104961
In most cases, yes.Claudiu1 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 02, 2018 1:22 amAlso, what about the keyboard? My quote for repairing my MB Air keyboard was around $200. Fortunately, I’ve found an engineer in the Philippines who did it for $10 but that was a stroke of luck, as four Apple repair shops quoted me over $200. Is repair cheaper on the ThinkPad line?
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Thinkpad keyboard replacement, at worst just ends up being a 15 minute endeavor, and Keyboards can be found for $20 ($10 for me, but only because everything is cheaper in China)Claudiu1 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 02, 2018 1:22 amAlso, what about the keyboard? My quote for repairing my MB Air keyboard was around $200. Fortunately, I’ve found an engineer in the Philippines who did it for $10 but that was a stroke of luck, as four Apple repair shops quoted me over $200. Is repair cheaper on the ThinkPad line?
Your local Pony.
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Sold:E6320, X1C1
Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Usually, but not on all models... You never tried to replace the keyboard on a Thinkpad Yoga S1 or Thinkpad Yoga 12.... the worst tricky keyboard replacement I ever did.
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
I did a S1 swap. It was horrid. Especially trying to get the keyboard relinked to the hinges.
Thinkpad4by3's Law of the Universe.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Yep, it's really easy to mess something especially with hinges when putting everything back together after keyboard swap on those Thinkpads.Thinkpad4by3 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 11:53 amI did a S1 swap. It was horrid. Especially trying to get the keyboard relinked to the hinges.
I've done keyboard replacement on S1 and Yoga 12 three times, but I've yet another one to do and I'm procrastinating for 2 months...
T430-Classic-Keyboard HD+ Glossy LCD| X230-Classic-Keyboard IPS LCD| SK855 & SK-8835 keyboards | IBM Model M keyboard
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
The Yoga keyboards seem horrid to replace. In the X240 you have to completely tear down the machine, which now seems better than the Yoga in some arcane way.ztof wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 5:00 pmYep, it's really easy to mess something especially with hinges when putting everything back together after keyboard swap on those Thinkpads.Thinkpad4by3 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 11:53 amI did a S1 swap. It was horrid. Especially trying to get the keyboard relinked to the hinges.
I've done keyboard replacement on S1 and Yoga 12 three times, but I've yet another one to do and I'm procrastinating for 2 months...
Your local Pony.
My Collection: X60, T60, X61, X200, X200s, X220i, T420, X130e, X330, X240, XPS 9350
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My Collection: X60, T60, X61, X200, X200s, X220i, T420, X130e, X330, X240, XPS 9350
Sold:E6320, X1C1
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
In my opinion, ThinkPads aren't all that great in terms of slimness recently (without significant compromise in term of longevity, upgradability and durability at the very least). If you just want a small and light traditional ThinkPad laptop, something like a ThinkPad X220 or X230 should be good if you don't mind the screen. But be sure to get a good CPU with it as the CPU is non-upgradable while RAM storage and just about everything else is. I am personally on the T520/T530 side of things as I really like 15" size screens, plus there is also official support for FHD with that AUO panel (which is a TFT display with colours similar to an AMOLED with better than average contrast and viewing angles for TFT, which still runs circles around that 2015 MacBook air display). That said I am not so sure if the battery life of these things will suffice you. My T530 still lasts 3-4 hours with conservative usage, so I think it is best if you get a spare battery and get another cheap non-fully functional unit as a battery charger or something.
Dell Lat CP MMX-233 64mb 40gb W2k
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Not sure what you mean. The X220/X230 are not slim at all compared to recent offerings. Even the 14" standard Thinkpad (T470/T480/TP25) are slimmer, not to mention the -s series or X1 Carbon. While some of these suffer in upgradability, I don't think they suffer much in durability.kfzhu1229 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 04, 2019 11:43 amIn my opinion, ThinkPads aren't all that great in terms of slimness recently (without significant compromise in term of longevity, upgradability and durability at the very least). If you just want a small and light traditional ThinkPad laptop, something like a ThinkPad X220 or X230 should be good if you don't mind the screen. But be sure to get a good CPU with it as the CPU is non-upgradable while RAM storage and just about everything else is.
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
I never said X220/X230 are slim. I just said they are small and light. But comparing the likes of those T470/T480 to something like a T4x series (if without its chassis flex problem) is like comparing the build quality of a modern day slim monitor to a good branded CRT. They physically look prettier and have durable looking shells, but not sure how well the plastics inside the chassis and the mobo holds up after a decade or so, or it may just be choked to death because you can't upgrade to the fastest CPU (sometimes even RAM) for those models' lineup later when you absolutely need it.
Dell Lat CP MMX-233 64mb 40gb W2k
600 PII-266 416mb 40gb WXP
T23 PIII 1.13ghz 1gb W7
Precision M4300 X9000 8gb 160gb WUXGA Ultrasharp fp W10
T530i 15.6" i7 16gb fp W10
UXGA:
A30p PIII 1.2 1gb W7 (IDTech)
T43p 2.26 2gb fp W10 (Sharp)
Lat C840 P4-2.5 2gb 60gb W7 (Ultrasharp)
600 PII-266 416mb 40gb WXP
T23 PIII 1.13ghz 1gb W7
Precision M4300 X9000 8gb 160gb WUXGA Ultrasharp fp W10
T530i 15.6" i7 16gb fp W10
UXGA:
A30p PIII 1.2 1gb W7 (IDTech)
T43p 2.26 2gb fp W10 (Sharp)
Lat C840 P4-2.5 2gb 60gb W7 (Ultrasharp)
Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
Sorry, this is just bogus. As you can see from my sign, I've owned quite a few Thinkpads, from various generations, and anyone who says that the average build quality has gone down simply has no idea what he's talking about. Every model has had its own problems and design deficiencies - some functional, some cosmetic. On average the quality is not going down.kfzhu1229 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2019 7:08 pmBut comparing the likes of those T470/T480 to something like a T4x series (if without its chassis flex problem) is like comparing the build quality of a modern day slim monitor to a good branded CRT. They physically look prettier and have durable looking shells, but not sure how well the plastics inside the chassis and the mobo holds up after a decade or so, or it may just be choked to death because you can't upgrade to the fastest CPU (sometimes even RAM) for those models' lineup later when you absolutely need it.
Your example about LCD and CRT is comparing apples to oranges. The technology of CRT necessitated a huge, heavy and bulky case, which was more solid due to the sheer size of it. With modern day LCDs you get more variety in build quality, but the good, expensive ones are just as solid as an old CRT. So not only you are comparing apples to oranges, you are not even necessarily correct.
The rest of your argument is pure and simple FUD - "not sure how well the plastics will hold". Well, since you have no clue, why assume things will be worse? Maybe they will be better? Can't upgrade to the fastest CPU... It's not like on your favorite T4x series you can upgrade the CPU even to a most basic dual core. All you can get is a few stinky hundred MHz which make no difference. Some of the newer models have soldered RAM or just a single slot - but that's not a build quality issue - it's a design choice to make slimmer models, which many customers appear to want. Don't like it? There are models that offer fully upgradeable RAM sockets, and still probably weigh less than what you had back in the day.
Many people have an almost irresistible tendency to 'romanticize' the past, "when things were better". They don't seem to be able to do a cold analysis which sometimes shows that things were not better at all, and are willing to gloss over obvious faults of the past, even those they are painfully aware of (e.g., "if without its chassis flex problem").
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad
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Re: Replacing My MB Air With A ThinkPad. Suggestions?
I have to agree 100%. I don't abuse my Thinkpads but they do get bimped and bumped around from time to time. My T450 is doing no better or worse a job than any other Thinkpad I've seen. Hell, the rubberized coating is staying intact better than I've seen on any other TP.dr_st wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:34 amSorry, this is just bogus. As you can see from my sign, I've owned quite a few Thinkpads, from various generations, and anyone who says that the average build quality has gone down simply has no idea what he's talking about. Every model has had its own problems and design deficiencies - some functional, some cosmetic. On average the quality is not going down.
Your example about LCD and CRT is comparing apples to oranges. The technology of CRT necessitated a huge, heavy and bulky case, which was more solid due to the sheer size of it. With modern day LCDs you get more variety in build quality, but the good, expensive ones are just as solid as an old CRT. So not only you are comparing apples to oranges, you are not even necessarily correct.
The rest of your argument is pure and simple FUD - "not sure how well the plastics will hold". Well, since you have no clue, why assume things will be worse? Maybe they will be better? Can't upgrade to the fastest CPU... It's not like on your favorite T4x series you can upgrade the CPU even to a most basic dual core. All you can get is a few stinky hundred MHz which make no difference. Some of the newer models have soldered RAM or just a single slot - but that's not a build quality issue - it's a design choice to make slimmer models, which many customers appear to want. Don't like it? There are models that offer fully upgradeable RAM sockets, and still probably weigh less than what you had back in the day.
Many people have an almost irresistible tendency to 'romanticize' the past, "when things were better". They don't seem to be able to do a cold analysis which sometimes shows that things were not better at all, and are willing to gloss over obvious faults of the past, even those they are painfully aware of (e.g., "if without its chassis flex problem").
And for the monitor thing, I got a 70" LG TV recently. It weights 75lbs, so CRT against this should be pretty fair. I was expecting some kind of flimsy plastic back and it kinda wobbles but no. It is a metal-backed metal core built like a tank piece of equipment, easily on par with a 21" CRT in build quality. I was installing with someone else and when we picked it up, the thing didn't flex at all. I mean its olny what like over 5' from side to side. And if you compare on that note, I've also seen very shoddy CRT TVs where the mounts practically fail inside just like cheap LCDs of today.
The world still makes quality products if you don't throw on your nostalgia glasses before you go shopping. I've been a fan of the indicator lights from the x00 series and before, but now that I have a T450, the "ThinkPad light" I find much less distracting, and I like it better because all I really care about is "is it sleeping" or "is it on" or "battery life" and the third one is right in the W10 tray. Also with 9 cells of combined battery, battery life isn't such a huge deal.
Thinkpad4by3's Law of the Universe.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
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