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The laptop that won't die

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Re: The laptop that won't die

#91

Post by emantos »

segfaultbuserr wrote: post #84
calvinmorrison wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

X220 for the compact version. With the 9 cell? Hnnnngg

I recommend getting the X230 over the X220, if anyone decides to play with these old Thinkpads. I have both machines, and I found heat dissipation has been significantly reduced on the X230 for otherwise the same performance, thanks to Ivy Bridge's die shrink over Sandy Bridge. Most components from both machines are interchangeable with the exception of their bottom covers and motherboards (an EC firmware hack is ava…

Don't forget the USB3 of X230

Re: The laptop that won't die

#92

Post by naet »

I had a T420s I think? It got me well through college and for some years after, although I eventually retired it. It was a workhorse that stood up to a lot of abuse being thrown around in my backpack every day. After I wasn't using it all the time I set it up as a dedicated server to mess with and kept it constantly plugged in and running for a few more years.

I remember when the screen broke I got a perfect replacement for less than 40 dollars, and it was trivially easy to take the old one out and install the new one with a regular screwdriver and no other special tools. Similar experience when I broke the keyboard, easy to buy a new one and swap the whole thing out myself. I think I also replaced a battery when one started to drain a bit too quickly and the battery of course was something you just pop out and back in.

Now with my new MacBook any of those is easily hundreds of dollars plus either needing a trained repairman or seriously risking I break something using specialized tools to melt the glue or pop out the bezel or something like that.

Re: The laptop that won't die

#93

Post by thrtythreeforty »

NikolaNovak wrote: post #16
thrtythreeforty wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll second this: Non-Thinkpad Lenovo laptops are poorly designed trash heaps. Thinkpads have largely retained the build quality that everyone brags on. My tl;dr advice for buying a computer on a budget is, get a T480s off of eBay. They are corporate cast-offs and there are so. many. of them. The R2v3 rating system has become popular. Get one rated C5 or better (cosmetic: minor usage marks only) and F4 or better (fun…

Do you mean "T480-s" as in plural of T480, or T480s, as in the smaller version of T480? The reason I'm asking is - "T480" is the last nicely modular ThinkPad with removable external battery. Which means if you get a used one and need to replace the battery, it's literally a 2 second job - you push a button, slide it out, and slide the new one in :) The "T480s" though is a slightly smaller version with only an interna…

I did mean the T480s, singular. The increased portability is valuable in my opinion, but I'll grant that it's a tradeoff. Replacing the built in battery is a 3 minute job if you know how to work a screwdriver. (Literally just a Phillips.) Unless the battery is completely shot I'd argue that you should perhaps leave the OEM one, unless you know how to identify a genuine replacement.

Re: The laptop that won't die

#94

Post by eviks »

22c wrote: post #73
iwanttocomment wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... and so do Windows machines. Windows 10 will EOL in July 2025. My Threadripper 1950X, still outperforming most of today's mid-range CPUs, isn't allowed into the Windows 11 world. Why? Who knows? But yes, I didn't realize that Logic Pro was no longer compatible with macOS versions before 12. So, if this person wanted an indestructible laptop that could run Logic Pro, have a hi-res screen and be upgraded to a 1TB dr…

I think a key difference between Windows and MacOS is that Microsoft has (historically at least) not stopped you from installing newer versions of Windows on older hardware, provided it's fast enough to run it. Trying to run newer versions of MacOS on 10 year old Apple hardware is next to impossible. Windows 11 has a requirement for TPM 2.0, which older hardware doesn't have. I believe that requirement check is relat…

How is it impossible if opencore app exists that does the installation of MacOS for you?

Re: The laptop that won't die

#95

Post by lmm »

antisthenes wrote: post #83
snitzr wrote: post #65

The 420 with Windows 7 is my personal idea of the peak of desktop computing. 2011 was also around the peak of computing in general considering it was right before social media turned hellish psyop and smartphones became distraction / disempowerment devices.

Win 7 SP1 was peak desktop computing for sure. Actual desktop-first design without security kindergarten cancer that is every windows OS after.

What are you claiming was improved compared to Win2K? As far as I can remember everything after that was dumbed-down UI and pointless security clickthroughs.

Re: The laptop that won't die

#96

Post by jamesgeck0 »

guestbest wrote: post #51

I have a MacBook 13 inch from 2011 that now plays YouTube videos daily for my daughter when she is eating and Netflix until we canceled the subscription. Still going strong with only a replaced battery and the hard drive replacing the dvd spot. I have an older 2004 Toshiba portage m200 tart also won’t die. The only thing that seems to die on these computers is the battery, which used to be a lot easier to replace.

Yeah, my 2013 MacBook Air is similarly still trucking along. I wish it used a more standard storage medium; upgrading the chip did not look particularly cheap or easy.

Re: The laptop that won't die

#97

Post by somat »

I still have an x131 that I use whenever I need something portable. running openbsd. it sleeps flawlessly, has three physical buttons, an actual ethernet jack. It's pretty great. The only problem was the radio, and that was mainly a problem because of lenovo infernal radio whitelist. It is not enough to get a radio that works, you have to get a radio from lenovo that works. still bitter about that. but I found a lenovo branded intel card and it has been smooth sailing for more than... ugg, ten years now, probably closer to 15. makes me feel old. But still a damn fine little laptop.

Re: The laptop that won't die

#98

Post by GolfPopper »

shallichange wrote: post #53
GolfPopper wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm posting from my X220 (circa 2013). It's a laptop of Theseus at this point, but bits of the original still survive. (The keyboard is the single most-replaced component, and I'm on my third motherboard.) I can't stand more modern laptops - I've yet to find a newer laptop keyboard that's comfortable to type on. Performance-wise, it's perfectly adequate to run Linux Mint or Windows 10. And I get a kick out of having…

Does the trackpad skip? That’s the only thing that is not perfect about my x220. The only app that kills it is the dammed Zoom

I dislike trackpads, and use pointing sticks (or external mice, or trackballs) instead. (I know, I'm extremely picky on my input devices.) The first thing I do with a new Thinkpad is disable the trackpad, and then I never think about it again.

FWIW, I've noticed knock-off replacement keyboards consistently have awful pointing sticks.

Re: The laptop that won't die

#99

Post by thot_experiment »

I have a crazy idea that would vastly improve modern laptop design. You would build in some sort of a reversible conduit interrupt device (may be lost tech but I hear rumors that it's possible) that would allow the end user to disconnect the battery. This would solve the #1 problem with laptops which is that sometimes I need to use the laptop and it's out of battery because it decided to turn itself on in my bag.

Re: The laptop that won't die

#100

Post by baq »

thot_experiment wrote: post #99

I have a crazy idea that would vastly improve modern laptop design. You would build in some sort of a reversible conduit interrupt device (may be lost tech but I hear rumors that it's possible) that would allow the end user to disconnect the battery. This would solve the #1 problem with laptops which is that sometimes I need to use the laptop and it's out of battery because it decided to turn itself on in my bag.

That’s only started to happening in the last few years. Before 2015 laptops had good manners - when they were told to shut down, they kept being shut down.
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