Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

ernestas.me

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 492 posts

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#131

Post by xeornet »

capableweb wrote: post #60
gabereiser wrote: post #45

I find it rather peculiar that tech folks think a plastic laptop is good build quality considering what we have from Apple and others. I wish more linux laptops had the build quality and support of macbooks. This isn't a rant from an Apple fan, this is a rant from a laptop fan. ThinkPad's aren't good laptops despite what the guy with the pocket protector says. They are flimsy and feel cheap. They still have 20th cent…

I exclusively used MacBooks from 2012 to 2018 or something like that, before switching to a Carbon X1, and could never switch back. None of the laptops from Apple I had could actually be used from my lap, which is where I want to use my laptop, because of the heat coming from the bottom of the MacBooks. So I'm quite happy with plastic/softer materials rather than whatever metal material Apple uses.

Time to try the M1 chips!

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#132

Post by sgt »

notorandit wrote: post #125

I find the lack of Ethernet port quite annoying, even on a dev laptop.

Ethernet ports can be a bit dangerous though - trip on that cable, and you end up ripping the entire port out of the motherboard. I've done that once on a iBook G4 in 2003 or 2004. Could never get the port soldered back on.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#133

Post by sgt »

schipplock wrote: post #51

> Display: 15.6” FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS ugh :(

Agreed. This is a great computer, if the year was 2012.

I guess us Apple folks just got spoiled down the line.

But knowing that there is at least a somewhat of a good Linux laptop option out there is nice to know, I guess.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#134

Post by shmde »

schipplock wrote: post #51

> Display: 15.6” FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS ugh :(

Whats wrong with 15.6" FHD IPS displays ? I thought the optimum display chart looked something like FHD 1080P till 24", 2k resolution from 27"-32", and 4K for anything bigger than 32". I have a 24" FHD monitor, unless I look too closely and focus on the screen during coding I don't usually see any pixels. Hating on a FHD 15.6" sounds like a first world problem to me :P

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#135

Post by schroeding »

tim-- wrote: post #80
Avamander wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have no issues with thermal throttling or inane power limits on Linux? Which kernel version are you running?

Not that I have noticed. Currently running 5.17.3-arch1-1. I don't usually push this machine too hard - maybe the most that I do is recompiling ffmpeg a few times a day, so it might just be a result of my usage patterns? I'll get back to you with more solid figures later tonight. EDIT: Just had a play around with sysbench running a few prime number tests while compiling a kernel or two. The k10temp-pci-00c3 (CPU temp…

Regarding the edit, that would make sense. I have the same laptop and first tried to run Ubuntu LTS, had some problems with the thermals, even though it was definitely usable.

Tried Arch (with the 5.17 kernel, from Ubuntu LTS's 5.4 kernel) and the thermals were more or less identical to Windows, including the fan behavior.

It's a really nice little machine! :D

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#136

Post by gtirloni »

avidphantasm wrote: post #116
scrlk wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will never understand the fetishisation of metal as a "premium" feeling material - if anything, it's impractical for a laptop. (conducts heat so can be uncomfortable to use on your lap if the thermal solution is poorly designed; dents/bends when dropped; probably harder for RF/antenna design...) It's the same reason why phones turned in to "premium" glass and metal sandwiches that people immediately slap in to a ch…

Plastic is made from oil, and has limited recyclability (the polymers degrade so at best you only down cycle). Aluminum is one of the most abundant materials in the earth’s crust, and once refined is basically infinitely recyclable (or so the story goes). Aluminum is also reasonable light and strong, with good thermal properties (if your laptop chassis gets too hot, it has other design issues at this point IMO).

Producing Aluminum requires huge amounts of energy, which might not come from renewable sources. Always look the at complete manufacturing chain.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#137

Post by pooper »

halotrope wrote: post #110

Generally great machines for Linux. Just a PSA from a X1E gen2 owner: Do NOT get the NVidia GPU, do NOT get the fastest CPU and most importantly: do NOT opt for the 4k screen. With 1080p and Intel GPU it is a good, even great laptop with ok battery life (if you can look over the touchpad). Wonderful keyboard, good Linux support (even fingerprint reader works). But just as with the last Intel macbook, the GPU, 10th ge…

> Wonderful keyboard, good Linux support (even fingerprint reader works).

I am on a T490s with Fedora now (this machine). Any tips on how you got the fingerprint sensor to work?

    $  cat /etc/os-release 
    NAME="Fedora Linux"
    VERSION="35 (Workstation Edition)"
    ID=fedora
    VERSION_ID=35
    VERSION_CODENAME=""
    PLATFORM_ID="platform:f35"
    PRETTY_NAME="Fedora Linux 35 (Workstation Edition)"
    ANSI_COLOR="0;38;2;60;110;180"
    LOGO=fedora-logo-icon
    CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:fedoraproject:fedora:35"
    HOME_URL="https://fedoraproject.org/"
    DOCUMENTATION_URL="https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora/f35/system-administrators-guide/"
    SUPPORT_URL="https://ask.fedoraproject.org/"
    BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugzilla.redhat.com/"
    REDHAT_BUGZILLA_PRODUCT="Fedora"
    REDHAT_BUGZILLA_PRODUCT_VERSION=35
    REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT="Fedora"
    REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT_VERSION=35
    PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Legal:PrivacyPolicy"
    VARIANT="Workstation Edition"
    VARIANT_ID=workstation

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#138

Post by COM2323 »

notemaker wrote: post #32
plafl wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a usually cited concern for so many people and I'm curious to know why because I rarely unplug my laptop, like most people I know.

This mindset is similar to what people with wired headphones think of Airpods et al. It's not an apparent benefit when you're in the bubble of thinking it's normal to have a wire going across your torso all day and hearing the thuds and bumps propagate through the wire to your ears. But when you buy a pair of wireless buds and have them for a week - you don't go back. You've discovered freedom. Likewise, with battery…

Both wireless headphones and laptops have downsides that you pay for the convenience of portability/ease of use. Sometimes it's worth it, sometimes it's not.

I use laptop only when I don't have any other option (traveling, meetings) and there is no way in hell that I'm going to work on a unplugged laptop for more that few hours simply because I don't like the ergonomics, performance and lack of "monitor space". This means that "battery life" after certain treshold (few hours) is useless for me and not something I would consider while buying one.

I understand that different people have different workflows and battery life is crucial for some of them, but it's not something everybody needs.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#139

Post by avl999 »

gabereiser wrote: post #45

I find it rather peculiar that tech folks think a plastic laptop is good build quality considering what we have from Apple and others. I wish more linux laptops had the build quality and support of macbooks. This isn't a rant from an Apple fan, this is a rant from a laptop fan. ThinkPad's aren't good laptops despite what the guy with the pocket protector says. They are flimsy and feel cheap. They still have 20th cent…

Thinkpads work. They don't make user hostile choices like zero-upgradability and zero-repairablity, the touchbar, replacing the esc key with the touch bar 'key' (only to roll it back) like the the macbooks. They also don't make confusing usability decisions like the giant ass trackpad that routinely registers false positives as you type.

I recently got an old refurbished Thinkpad T430 for casual use when I am not near my desktop and installed Debian + LXDE on it. T430s are models from 10 years ago and is more enjoyable to work on than the 2019 MacBook Pro provided by my employer that I have to use for work. The only way I can make the MacBook tolerable is by using it in clamshell mode connected to monitors + physical keyboard/mouse so I don't have to interact with the actual hardware. It takes off like a rocket engine and warms my side desk pretty well (not to mention physically hot to touch, can't even imagine using it on my "lap"), docker is crap on it, not to mention the cmd-ctrl nonsense in addition to the things mentioned earlier. I have already dropped my Thinkpad a couple of times in pretty bad falls as it has survived whereas I don't have the same level of confidence in the MacBook.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#140

Post by shasts »

gabereiser wrote: post #45

I find it rather peculiar that tech folks think a plastic laptop is good build quality considering what we have from Apple and others. I wish more linux laptops had the build quality and support of macbooks. This isn't a rant from an Apple fan, this is a rant from a laptop fan. ThinkPad's aren't good laptops despite what the guy with the pocket protector says. They are flimsy and feel cheap. They still have 20th cent…

Live in a cold country. Hesitant to touch an aluminium laptop. Static electricity and cold metal.
Post reply on HN