>> I needed a machine that a) could run Logic Pro (the finest music-editing software available to humanity), b) had a high-resolution screen for my lousy eyesight, and c) had a 1-terabyte hard drive. It was the only machine that fit the bill. For a time, I too fell into the trap of looking for "readily made laptop" with shiny specs, only to eventually notice that getting ripped off is an understatement. Like spot a d…
> I'm buying "gaming laptops". step 1: disable rgb. Honestly, I wish the "lunchbox" style laptops existed. EDIT: I remember dolch lunchbox style laptops from a long time ago (search for "dolch pac") EDIT2: wow, search for FlexPAC III Of course, if these were a thing, somebody would bring it to starbucks.
The laptop that won't die
111–120 of 344 posts
Re: The laptop that won't die
#112> 12-year-old Thinkpad has outlasted two high-end Macbooks Nice! Our two MacBook Air from 2013 died at about the same time, about six months ago. Despite putting in a faster SSD and changing the battery: eventually RIP is RIP (and thanks for the 10 years). Our recent MacBook Air M1 lasted... 13 months. Upon waking up one morning the screen was fuxx0red. Meanwhile my 2017 LG Gram's screen is ultra flexible and sturdy…
I keep forgetting that LG is not HP and that, in contrast to HP, LG makes very durable and high quality things (especially white goods and TVs). Thanks for reminding me. I had never considered their laptop before. I would trust HP because their TV is quite ethical and ie compared to Samsung and other brands, it has never served me Ads and asks permission before collecting my data.
LG Gram is also quite unique in that there's 16 inch variant with only 1.15kg. Right, a 16 inch laptop weight less than a Macbook Air.
Re: The laptop that won't die
#113>> I needed a machine that a) could run Logic Pro (the finest music-editing software available to humanity), b) had a high-resolution screen for my lousy eyesight, and c) had a 1-terabyte hard drive. It was the only machine that fit the bill. For a time, I too fell into the trap of looking for "readily made laptop" with shiny specs, only to eventually notice that getting ripped off is an understatement. Like spot a d…
Imo for your usecase you can get a desktop+macbook. Use desktop when home, use macbook+some remote control when traveling.
Re: The laptop that won't die
#114This is another Thinkpad festival post? Let me just cold you down a bit by telling you that a 12-year-old laptop still kicking isn't that big of a deal. I have this DELL Studio laptop released back in September, 2009, and it can still kick very well too if I decide to recruit it back to my "workforce". I retired it just 3~4 years ago because I got a T480. Heck, some of my code (old versions) for the same project that…
Wife uses a mid-2013 Macbook Air as a daily driver still after >10 years, works in academia. What happened is simply that CPU stopped being the thing that made stuff slow, so a mid-2010s upper midrange can still hold its own today, ssd was already good then, and memory plateaued around 8gb for entry level machines some 5 years ago. So as long as your thermals don't suck, your ssd doesn't smoke out, and your keyboard holds up, you can still use these machines today. If you maxed out memory then, that is.
Re: The laptop that won't die
#115The 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.
Similarly here, that is what made me leave the "Year of Desktop Linux" behind, and re-focus on Windows as the main OS.
Re: The laptop that won't die
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
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
i7 version of the x220 has one USB3
Re: The laptop that won't die
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
Normal “low” DPI screens I can deal with, but the panels that used to be built into many ThinkPads until pretty recently are some of the worst screens I’ve ever used… washed out, terrible viewing angles, mediocre brightness. I have an old Dell workstation laptop and 15” MBP both manufactured around 2008, with 1920x1200 and 1440x900 panels respectively and they’re both much nicer to use than what you find in a lot of…
Agree. I’m not sure the exact years, but starting around 2013 the T series screens were awful.
Starting with the *40 gen they changed from LVDS to eDP screens and got access to better screens. This was the start of 1080p being available at 14" where it was only in 15" models before. There's a panel from one of the Razer Blade laptops that was popular to put in the ThinkPad T440p. 1080p IPS. Looks nice.
On the older models you can also do a mod to sacrifice your DP port for use internally with an eDP panel. There's one for the X220 to do that. Although if you're okay with 1366x768, the X220 Tablet models all have IPS panels from the factory and don't look too bad.
Re: The laptop that won't die
#118I have a laptop from the 90s that still works. So a laptop that does not die is, in itself, not that big of a deal. The main reason why I pretty much exclusively buy old business Thinkpads is that they are incredibly serviceable, and you can get replacement parts for many years (and also very cheap if the laptop is older). Also, there's a big community for running Linux on Thinkpads, so the hardware is usually very well supported, including kernel modules for fan control and stuff like that.
However, it's not all sunshine. Especially during the T4xx era, many business Thinkpads had absolutely terrible displays by default (can usually be replaced with a proper one, but adds additional cost). The T440 had a horrible trackpad where they ditched the dedicated buttons (again, can usually be replaced it with a proper one). So do some research before buying. Also, before buying from a commercial refurbisher, check if there's a Thinkpad community forum or similar in your area of the world, you'll often find stuff much cheaper there.
Re: The laptop that won't die
#119I 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.
One thing that would go a long way would be the return of S3.
This. It seems to me that nowadays, you can either have a well-behaved older machine or a Ryzen-equipped mobile powerhorse that will glitch every now and then.
Unfortunately for me, recent AMD's offerings have greatly decreased the attractiveness of older laptops. But be warned, you gotta take the good with the bad and accept that a modern laptop might wake up at any time (even when stored in your bag).
Re: The laptop that won't die
#120I am in the same boat. Lenovo Z50-70 bought 2015. 8 GB RAM upgraded to 16 GB recently. It has got 4GB Nvidia graphics, does mild AI stuff as well. Hard Disc replaced with Samsung SSD few years back. Full HD screen. I even bought a 4K-27 inch monitor to connect to it last week. Thought it struggles to play beyond 1440p. Win10 works and is totally responsive. I hope it keeps going for 3 more years. :)
Have a 12-year-old Lenovo desktop here, i5. Just put Windows 11 on it this weekend and it's even snappier than it was with 10 on it, which is nuts.
I use it as my main development PC, run Photoshop, edit 4K video on it. It was basically in a Dumpster when I found it.