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Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

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Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#131

Post by pixelesque »

prmoustache wrote: post #105
ostenning wrote: post #20

I've owned an upgraded T480 since they were released, run archlinux on it. It was a decent computer, but despite having upgraded the battery to the largest possible configuration and using all the tricks in the book to maximize battery life in linux - it sucked. The reality is these Intel processors are just a big inefficient hot mess. I ended up upgrading to the 14" M1 Max, and there is literally no way you can make…

>, build quality, screen quality, weight, battery life, single core & parallel processing, speakers, trackpad - everything Strangely mac fanboys always make sure to carefully avoid the subject of their crappy keyboard. It is worth using a lenovo over a Mac for the keyboard only. Who cares about a trackpad one barely use on a decent desktop. Mac users overly rely on a good trackpad because their desktop is terribly us…

The newer Thinkpad keyboards are getting worse unfortunately: I have a T480S which I really like the keyboard of (other than the annoying positions of the pageup/down keys), but I tried the T14S Gen 3 and preferred the M1 MBP 14's keyboard, so went with that (battery life and screen quality also played a part)...

The 2016-2021 Butterfly keyboards were bad, but in my usage of the M1 MBP macs they're good again now.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#132

Post by icemelt8 »

iakov wrote: post #62
me551ah wrote: post #18

The thing that annoys me the most about M1 Macbooks is the lack of gaming ability. Even a basic windows laptop can play games like DOTA, Age of empires etc and so did the older macbooks. With M1, almost none of my games work.

It's really annoying given the fact that hardware is more than capable of running some oldies. Hell there is an official WoW build which runs super well, but no other blizz games are ported.

Starcraft 2 works very well

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#133

Post by klelatti »

> I wanted a cheap travel laptop I could replace without blinking an eye at the price. I live in Europe, Thinkpads are the most common enterprise laptops I see while travelling. I might even slap an asset tag sticker on the cover to make it even more inconspicuous.

Fair enough - this seems like the key rationale.

But given the amount of effort tinkering to get to an acceptable machine, I’d wonder if there isn’t a machine that can be replaced at short notice ‘on the go’ that would represent a better compromise?

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#134

Post by victorp13 »

michaelt wrote: post #80
kuschku wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> screen quality > battery life > speakers > trackpad All things you can replace with the T480. Which I've done, and can just recommend. There's much better options than the ones shipped by default, including trackpads rivalling the M1, a screen that beats the M1, and a battery that has 20h+ capacity and can be swapped with a second one to double the capacity in seconds.

Right, but "If you upgrade the screen, batteries, trackpad, speakers, RAM and SSD and then it's a pretty good laptop" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. A 38-horsepower 1980s Mini 1000 is a fast car, if you install the engine and drivetrain from a Toyota Celica GT-Four.

Did you... just quote my favourite car of all times, the GT-Four?!

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#136

Post by priomsrb »

me551ah wrote: post #18

The thing that annoys me the most about M1 Macbooks is the lack of gaming ability. Even a basic windows laptop can play games like DOTA, Age of empires etc and so did the older macbooks. With M1, almost none of my games work.

I use my M1 pro to play Dota 2 all the time. On medium settings I get between 60-100fps at 1440p.

I probably game on it more than my gaming PC and consoles at this point.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#137

Post by jojobas »

prvc wrote: post #92
ostenning wrote: post #20

I've owned an upgraded T480 since they were released, run archlinux on it. It was a decent computer, but despite having upgraded the battery to the largest possible configuration and using all the tricks in the book to maximize battery life in linux - it sucked. The reality is these Intel processors are just a big inefficient hot mess. I ended up upgrading to the 14" M1 Max, and there is literally no way you can make…

Trackpoint? Keyboard quality? Linux support for most/all components and features? Easily salvage data if some other part fails or is physically damaged by removing the SSD? Price and availability of replacement parts?

But... Steve Jobs... Think different... Aluminium with laser holes!

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#138

Post by jojobas »

michaelt wrote: post #80
kuschku wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> screen quality > battery life > speakers > trackpad All things you can replace with the T480. Which I've done, and can just recommend. There's much better options than the ones shipped by default, including trackpads rivalling the M1, a screen that beats the M1, and a battery that has 20h+ capacity and can be swapped with a second one to double the capacity in seconds.

Right, but "If you upgrade the screen, batteries, trackpad, speakers, RAM and SSD and then it's a pretty good laptop" isn't exactly a ringing endorsement. A 38-horsepower 1980s Mini 1000 is a fast car, if you install the engine and drivetrain from a Toyota Celica GT-Four.

The best things in life can't be bought ready and require thought and even sacrifice.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#139

Post by jojobas »

arein3 wrote: post #130
RileyJames wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which battery is required for 20+ hour capacity? And which track pad are you referring to? The track pad has always been the hardest part about moving away from a MacBook. Love my XPS, but I HATE it’s track pad. Battery life is another reason, but swappable batteries would be amazing (not on XPS)

Same, but I think he might refer to an external trackpad. I haven't ever encointered people upgrading their trackpads.

Does anybody even use the trackpad on a thinkpad?

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#140

Post by arcticbull »

goosedragons wrote: post #117
ostenning wrote: post #20

I've owned an upgraded T480 since they were released, run archlinux on it. It was a decent computer, but despite having upgraded the battery to the largest possible configuration and using all the tricks in the book to maximize battery life in linux - it sucked. The reality is these Intel processors are just a big inefficient hot mess. I ended up upgrading to the 14" M1 Max, and there is literally no way you can make…

T480 weighs 3.6lb vs. 3.5 for a 14" M1. I'm surprised you noticed. MBP doesn't have a trackpoint. Still can't run Linux as well, lacks USB A so still requires constant dongles despite improved port selection. I moved from a 2018 15" MBP to a P14s Gen 2 AMD. The speakers, screen, trackpad are worse. But I don't care. I'm not stuck using a horrible OS with miniscule amounts of storage to keep the price down. The machin…

> MBP doesn't have a trackpoint. Still can't run Linux as well, lacks USB A so still requires constant dongles despite improved port selection.

I've never wanted a nipple mouse, but to each their own and I know some people love them. What I have wanted is a giant 6" diagonal multi-touch trackpad.

Linux is very much a non-goal for me, and if I want to, I can always SSH into a remote instance or run a VM.

I don't miss type A at all, and the 14/16" M1/2s have a much broader variety of ports which largely solves the dongle issue. [edit] the only place I have a lot of Type A devices I also have a thunderbolt dock with gigabit ethernet too.

> The machine doesn't go from frigid to boiling in 3 minutes either.

That's a feature of the Intel CPU on the 2018 15" MBP. You will not find the same on an M1/2. In fact I'm not sure it even warms up?

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