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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

#221

Post by jeroenhd »

nicolas_t wrote: post #56

The main reason I love my M1 is that it's cool to the touch after switching from an intel based mbp to an m1, I went from an average of 90 degrees Celsius (there was definitely an issue in the factory with thermal paste I think) to an average of 40-50 degrees Celsius. I can't imagine ever going back to an intel based laptop because of this (and in my experience, thinkpads don't run that cool for my uses with arch lin…

Apple intentionally used terrible cooling, letting the CPU passively heat up rather than spinning up the fans because they didn't want or couldn't figure out how to deal with fan noise. The chassis got hot because Apple decided that was the better alternative.

Intel's approach of "just send more power through the chip to make it faster" is definitely worse than Apple's own chips, but Apple has neutered their laptop CPUs for years. Had they gone with a modern cooling solution, the difference in heat wouldn't be so noticeable.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#222

Post by sgsag33 »

okamiueru wrote: post #149
sgsag33 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Officially? Would be surprised as its soldered to the motherboard!

Well, you can still replace it. You just have to replace the parts attached to it as well.

Which is the logic board aka the computer itself... that's not very sustainable for sure.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#223

Post by yokoprime »

sschueller wrote: post #74

The biggest contrast here and what we should be concerned about is the fact that this old Thinkpad can be upgraded and still be used vs an old macbook that if speced too low is now useless and ends up on a landfill. Not even considering that new macbooks if locked are unusable on the secondary market and get tossed even if the hardware is perfectly fine. It's as if we have given up on "solving" climate change in favo…

Please recycle your old computers, don't throw them in landfills.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#224

Post by ho_schi »

arcticbull wrote: post #151
ho_schi wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using still an ThinkPad X220 here with Archlinux. There two important things in any laptop, the built-in keyboard and the built-in screen. This is the I/O-Interface! Customers often do the mistake and doesn't invest in the best available screen. You cannot make this mistake with Apple, because they offer no options for the screen. Regarding keyboards, selecting a ThinkPad is always safe. I had to buy the X220 from a…

> PS: Battery replacement is a bless. Yes, built-in batteries allow for more sturdy frames but it is bad in long term. It would be enough the provide replacement batteries with a low-weight cage and screws instead of glue. I agree with this. That said, an all-in battery replacement by Apple is $199. Once every 3 years isn't going to break the bank vs. like $50 for an X220 battery. Especially when an X220 gets like 7h…

Yep. We should mention here improvements within the last decade? The X13 Gen3 (AMD) also should allow run theoretically 17 hours[1]. I think a peak was reached with the MacBook (Polycarbonate Body) or T430s which allowed to replace the battery at the device bottom with a coin, easy maintenance and sturdy frame. And good balance because the weight counteracted the open display.

With "peak" I mean the situation that a thing reached a point where it was actually good and then get impaired. Sometimes because another feature was added but didn't fit. Or just for the sake of change. The seven vs. six row keyboard layout is such a thing. The 16:9 screens where everyone immediately wanted the 16:10 back (happening right now). The MiniSD-Slots replacing the SD-Slots...

[1] https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_X...

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#225

Post by code-blooded »

kosikond wrote: post #104

I have both T480 and M1Pro 14", and let me tell you once you go Mac, you don't want to go back. I am keeping the T480 for some Linux/Windows workloads, but that is it. MBP is just better in every regard. And even though I have maxed out batteries (plural) with 98% health on '480, MBP has twice the battery life.

Because these are not exactly comparable. I have Thinkpad X1 Carbon which is more comparable and I'm easily getting 8+hrs of battery life.

But the real benefit is that it runs Linux. It's just a more productive environment for a power user. Docker uses little CPU, tools are the same as on my server, desktop environment is actually better and much more configurable.

Last but not least I'm not supporting a walled garden, which is a deal breaker for me in the first place.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#226

Post by goosedragons »

Reason077 wrote: post #203
goosedragons wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Nope. It definitely happened to me on my MBP because of the giant trackpad.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#227

Post by jeroenhd »

criddell wrote: post #171

> I've had quite enough of Microsoft's constant nagging to upgrade to Windows 11 I’m surprised he’s seeing a lot of nagging. That machine can’t even run Windows 11.

You think that stops Windows 10 from showing popups? I get those every time I boot Windows on my 7700k. At first I thought they relaxed their requirements and clicked the ads to see what it'd do but then it would just tell me my machine is incompatible.

I think they've fixed their detection recently but there are still references to Windows 11 all over the place.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#228

Post by Gigachad »

kdtsh wrote: post #173
nicbou wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In practice old MacBooks tend to have a much longer useful life in my experience. I'm working on a 12" Macbook and I love it. It's still decently fast for.the lowest specced Macbook from 6 years ago. It supplements a 2017 Macbook Pro that's still overkill in 2022. Both have excellent battery life. If it wasn't for the nearly free upgrade I got in 2017, I'd probably still rock a 2012 model.

I've got a 2012 MacBook Air which I bought second hand (maybe third or fourth hand, or more?) for $300 a couple years ago. The hinge is floppy probably due to being dropped several times, the FaceTime is busted, I replaced the battery but it still runs out in less than 2 hours, and I don't think macOS even gets security patches for the version it's running - but install Linux and it's _fine_, plus it's tiny. I could…

You can fix the hinge with a screwdriver. It’s a bit of a pain but not a terribly hard fix.

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#229

Post by Gigachad »

jeroenhd wrote: post #221
nicolas_t wrote: post #56

The main reason I love my M1 is that it's cool to the touch after switching from an intel based mbp to an m1, I went from an average of 90 degrees Celsius (there was definitely an issue in the factory with thermal paste I think) to an average of 40-50 degrees Celsius. I can't imagine ever going back to an intel based laptop because of this (and in my experience, thinkpads don't run that cool for my uses with arch lin…

Apple intentionally used terrible cooling, letting the CPU passively heat up rather than spinning up the fans because they didn't want or couldn't figure out how to deal with fan noise. The chassis got hot because Apple decided that was the better alternative. Intel's approach of "just send more power through the chip to make it faster" is definitely worse than Apple's own chips, but Apple has neutered their laptop C…

I had a 2019 i5 MacBook and the fans would be blasting and the thing still roasting hot. It’s incredible how just one year later they released something revolutionary

Re: Replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a ThinkPad T480

#230

Post by karteum »

seszett wrote: post #26

I'm still not sure why. The section doesn't really answer the actual question. It's cheaper, good enough, replacement parts are cheap, and I understand that argument; I myself use alternatively some kind of very old Thinkpad (that I don't remember the specs of), a 2011 Macbook Air, or a recent Macbook M1 and for what I do with them (little more than running Firefox and ssh) the only difference that matters in practic…

> But replacing a Macbook M1 with a Thinkpad only makes sense if the Thinkpad is better in some aspects, not if it's just good enough. Otherwise you would just keep your somewhat better laptop and replace it later if you ever have to, right?

Being able to remove the SSD (to recover data), to easily replace parts and repair the computer (especially when travelling a lot), to keep control and ensure a long-tife to your machine (rather than being stuck with no software upgrade when Apple decides the machine is too old), having better connectivity (hdmi, ethernet, sd...), etc. All of those are aspects where the Thinkpad is better than the M1 and can effectively be considered as upgrades ! Raw CPU horsepower and battery life are not the only criteria that matters. (and maybe once the author realized that, he also considered it was worthwhile to sell his M1 while it still had some value on the 2nd hand market rather than keep it and lose all the value if anything happens to the machine that is not easily fixable)

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