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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

#201

Post by ChrisRR »

niclo wrote: post #186
arcticbull wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

> You will not find the same on an M1/2. In fact I'm not sure it even warms up? My M2 does quite regularly with only Chrome, Slack, VS Code and a few docker containers running.

I hate that sub downvotes facts that they don't like

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#202

Post by eertami »

fmajid wrote: post #172

I don't think so. Time to recompile the newest p7zip (using this as an example because it dropped yesterday): - My M1 Macbook Air, 16GB RAM: 11s - My M1 Ultra Mac Studio, 128GB RAM: 6s - My HP DevOne (AMD Ryzen7 PRO 5850U, 64GB RAM): 51s - My home server (HP Z2 Mini G4, Xeon E-2176G , 32GB RAM): 17s - my Gigabyt Aorus 17G gaming laptop (i7-11800H, 64GB RAM): 35s On GeekBench the DevOne should be faster than the Z2: h…

How are those the only two conclusions you came up with?

If all other independent benchmarks and data points to the 5850U being roughly comparable in performance to the M1 - yet for you it appears to be 5x slower, then surely that suggests an anomalous result, or at the very least, an edge case that is not indicative of real world performance.

The third, much more plausible conclusion:

- Your testing method/setup is flawed or broken in some way.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#203

Post by Reason077 »

goosedragons wrote: post #193
mort96 wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the trackpoint really that important when you have a trackpad which doesn't suck with associated drivers and software which doesn't suck? I've never been using a Mac trackpad and felt the need for something trackpoint-like. I understand the desire for a trackpoint on laptops with non-Apple trackpads though.

Yes? You don't need to move from the keyboard at all, you get physical buttons too. Your wrist is never misinterpreted as a mouse movement either. It's just better unless your workflow heavily involves the use of 3+ finger gestures. Which I don't personally care about but seems like a necessity to not go insane on macOS.

> "Your wrist is never misinterpreted as a mouse movement either."

This just doesn't happen on Mac trackpads: they have pretty sophisticated and effective palm rejection.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#204

Post by kwanbix »

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…

A year ago I was given a Macbook M1 at work. Really nice battery and mostly silent. However I couldn't stand macOS so I asked for a ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Battery was worst but not by that much, I mean, maybe the M1 would do 25% more actual time.

I really like what Apple has done with the M1/M2, however, I cannot stand the non-mate screens, not having a TrackPoint, the keyboard, the metallic body, and macOS. It also doesn't help the obsession of Apple of making everything thinner at the cost of ports.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#205

Post by qball »

mort96 wrote: post #166
goosedragons wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Is the trackpoint really that important when you have a trackpad which doesn't suck with associated drivers and software which doesn't suck? I've never been using a Mac trackpad and felt the need for something trackpoint-like. I understand the desire for a trackpoint on laptops with non-Apple trackpads though.

>Is the trackpoint really that important

Yes. The arguments for it are the exact same ones Vim evangelists make (ergonomics, speed), but having the TrackPoint there applies those advantages to every other program on the system as opposed to just the one.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#206

Post by Reason077 »

rkta wrote: post #180
mort96 wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the trackpoint really that important when you have a trackpad which doesn't suck with associated drivers and software which doesn't suck? I've never been using a Mac trackpad and felt the need for something trackpoint-like. I understand the desire for a trackpoint on laptops with non-Apple trackpads though.

Yes, because I have to move my hand off the keyboard to use the trackpad.

Fair. But don't you move your hand off the keyboard to use a mouse when using a desktop PC? Or do you have a trackpoint on your keyboard there too?

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#207

Post by phrz »

diffeomorphism wrote: post #158
kylec wrote: post #64

I'm all for pushing back on the idea that just because it's "old", that it's useless and needs to be replaced. Lots of old machines are still perfectly good at a lot of stuff, and can be had and upgraded for cheap, which is awesome! However, there's no way to slice going from a M1 MacBook Air to a ThinkPad T480 as anything but a downgrade. The screen is worse, the CPU is worse, the battery is MUCH worse, it's thicker…

Heavier? A 14 inch macbook pro is 1.6kg. The t480 is 1.3kg and the non-s weighs the same as the macbook. So what are you talking about?

The T480 with a battery is 1.6kg, or 1.8kg on the extended pack. https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_T...

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#208

Post by ofalkaed »

Just got myself an X13, love the screen ratio and the keyboard is almost as good as my old T42 which finally died. Not thrilled about everything being soldered on but every TP I have owned has outlived its own usefulness so I am not too concerned, even my $250 e11 is still going strong all stock and just shy of 10 years old. First computer with AMD and first computer with a remotely decent GPU which is kind of fun but I don't really need it. So far my favorite TP since the T42.

I do wish they would release another e11 that is not a yoga, going to miss that computer when it finally dies.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#209

Post by fmajid »

KyeRussell wrote: post #73
Octabrain wrote: post #61

I needed a new laptop and due to that, I've recently spent quite a lot of time browsing reddit, various forums and this sacrosanct place, trying to find information about experiences with laptop's brands and configurations. I ended up purchasing a Lenovo P15v AMD due to its upgradability and internal ports (RAID capability, non-soldered RAM memory) but was very close to get a Mac M1/2 laptop. I ditched the idea in th…

I think I saw something about kernel compatibility just the other day. No idea what the other pieces are the puzzle are.

The Linux 6.2 kernel released yesterday has official M1 support. It takes a lot more than just the kernel to have a functional machine: GPU and (W)LAN drivers, power management support, etc. But we are getting closer.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#210

Post by Reason077 »

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?

> "Easily salvage data if some other part fails or is physically damaged by removing the SSD?"

Fair point. But important to remember you're just as likely to lose the whole laptop if your bag gets stolen or something, or maybe the SSD will itself fail. Regular (cloud?) backups are indispensable.

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