[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How are Thinkpads? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/15/2015 11:55:33 PM EDT
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Looking at an inexpensive laptop for my 12 year old.
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B016KHBTNI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1GUUGREH53SSZ&coliid=IA0KRYZZ4CICR |
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Quoted: Wanted something small she can easily haul around. She uses my 13" Macbook now. It will primarily be for web surfing and homework. Quoted: Quoted: ThinkPads are great, but ... 11.6" screen AMD processor  Wanted something small she can easily haul around. She uses my 13" Macbook now. It will primarily be for web surfing and homework. |
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Buy her a used macbook Quoted:
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ThinkPads are great, but ... 11.6" screen AMD processor Wanted something small she can easily haul around. She uses my 13" Macbook now. It will primarily be for web surfing and homework. Refurbed 11" Macbook Air is $850. Little spendy for a Christmas present. |
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That's not a business class Thinkpad. The E and L series are slow unreliable pieces of shit. Buy one of these instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1ZD3FR1971&cm_re=t420-_-34-319-675-_-Product |
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That's not a business class Thinkpad. The E and L series are slow unreliable pieces of shit. Buy one of these instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1ZD3FR1971&cm_re=t420-_-34-319-675-_-Product I looked at some refurbs but the 90 day warranty worried me. |
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I looked at some refurbs but the 90 day warranty worried me. Quoted:
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That's not a business class Thinkpad. The E and L series are slow unreliable pieces of shit. Buy one of these instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1ZD3FR1971&cm_re=t420-_-34-319-675-_-Product I looked at some refurbs but the 90 day warranty worried me. T420 with 1 year warranty |
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Wanted something small she can easily haul around. She uses my 13" Macbook now. It will primarily be for web surfing and homework. Quoted:
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ThinkPads are great, but ... 11.6" screen AMD processor Wanted something small she can easily haul around. She uses my 13" Macbook now. It will primarily be for web surfing and homework. get her a used macbook air, 11" or 13" on KSL. much smaller, lighter, last longer, faster. thinkpads have HUGE power supplies. nearly as big as a macbook air 11", definitely heavier. |
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That's not a business class Thinkpad. The E and L series are slow unreliable pieces of shit. Buy one of these instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1ZD3FR1971&cm_re=t420-_-34-319-675-_-Product You can put a msata ssd drive in that as a boot drive which allows you to keep the hdd and the optical and still get fast boot up times. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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This one's great http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPad-W541-20EF-20EF000LUS/dp/B00YHIL9P6/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1450251491&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=T541 Issued a new one for work, been playing around with it, updates, etc. |
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Not the same as they used to be. They've veered from their userbase and greatly cheapened the brand.
For the T series the t420/520 was the last series with a proper keyboard, the tx30 was okish with a slightly better trackpad but the tx40 was awful and the tx50s fixed a couple things, but still generall awful for ergonomics imho. I have a t520 and t450s at work right now and greatly prefer the older t520. Most of the diehard thinkpad fans either have an older laptop or moved to the newer X1 Carbons for something light on the go while keeping their desktop as a primary workstation. Almost nobody has opted for the t450s anymore over the Carbon which I find interesting. Eta: interesting link, note the number and passion of the comments :p http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/retro-thinkpad-time-machine/ |
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I'm on my 5th or 6th Thinkpad.
Among those 6, I had one hard drive die and replaced. Two mother boards in one unit replaced, I fried the on board graphics card. This particular T500 has had the "roll cage" screen frame replaced 3 times under warranty and is starting to get weird again out of warranty. The cage design is too weak where it attached to the hinge and cracks. If I can find a frame, I'll replace it myself otherwise I'm looking for a new machine soon. All repairs were done under warranty, I'd get a box delivered Monday, ship it Tuesday, have it back Friday. |
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Refurbed 11" Macbook Air is $850. Little spendy for a Christmas present. Quoted:
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ThinkPads are great, but ... 11.6" screen AMD processor Wanted something small she can easily haul around. She uses my 13" Macbook now. It will primarily be for web surfing and homework. Refurbed 11" Macbook Air is $850. Little spendy for a Christmas present. Buy once cry once. |
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Awful. I have been a long time Lenovo fan, I've had2 personal and 1 company-owned since 2006. So naturally I bought one a few years ago for my own use. This will be the last one.
It was horrible. It would decide to shut down at random intervals, and sit for long (10 - 15 minute) periods displaying the boot-up screen. I upgraded to win 10 and the problem persisted. Updated the BIOS and did a clean install to remove bloatware and the problem persisted. Searching the forums and applying updates to drivers yielded no solution. Self tests and diagnostics found nothing. This thing has cost me WAY more time than is acceptable. Now, for some reason, it has gotten much better. For a few weeks now it has behaved well. I suspect some driver was at fault which has been updated, but for the first 2 years it was awful. |
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Looking at an inexpensive laptop for my 12 year old. http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B016KHBTNI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1GUUGREH53SSZ&coliid=IA0KRYZZ4CICR I bought that same laptop but with an a SSD for $200 on woot recently for a disposable/road laptop. Its not bad for $200, but for $300 and a mechanical drive that might be pushing it. Battery life is pretty good for an AMD proc. |
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I have an 11.6" Lenovo touchscreen laptop I bought a few years back and I love it.
75% of the time it is hooked up to my 60" in the den with a wireless keyboard/touch-pad combo. When I'm on the go it fits nicely into my backpack for school work. I am also interested in the Thinkpads durability as I would like a good laptop for the field while surveying. |
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Full of built-in Chinese spyware. This. Enough of a concern that I will never buy Lenovo. ETA: Lest anyone think the above is standard-issue commie paranoia, it's a legit issue. The first instance I know of was ~2008 and was serious enough that .gov/.mil put a stop to purchases of Lenovo computers. http://www.zdnet.com/article/malware-found-in-lenovo-software-package/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/12/lenovo_firmware_nasty/ http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31533028 https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150812/11395231925/lenovo-busted-stealthily-installing-crapware-via-bios-fresh-windows-installs.shtml http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2396023/lenovo-yes-we-ship-pcs-with-malware-pre-installed-that-compromise-your-security |
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I've got a Lenovo ThinkPad X201 that I bought 5 years ago (1nd Gen i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Win7/64.) The only problem I've had was a fan module going bad about two months ago. It was a BITCH to replace, but I got it done. It's still light enough and fast enough to do what I need it to do. |
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So they know I visit PornHub, xHamster, etc. on a regular basis? Next you'll tell me that Firefox is a Chinese redirect, and 'Private Browsing' opens a direct feed to some wanker's server in Shanghai... Quoted:
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Full of built-in Chinese spyware. So they know I visit PornHub, xHamster, etc. on a regular basis? Next you'll tell me that Firefox is a Chinese redirect, and 'Private Browsing' opens a direct feed to some wanker's server in Shanghai... See above. |
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Superfish adware was never installed on business class Lenovo products. Quoted:
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Full of built-in Chinese spyware. This. Enough of a concern that I will never buy Lenovo. ETA: Lest anyone think the above is standard-issue commie paranoia, it's a legit issue. The first instance I know of was ~2008 and was serious enough that .gov/.mil put a stop to purchases of Lenovo computers. http://www.zdnet.com/article/malware-found-in-lenovo-software-package/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/12/lenovo_firmware_nasty/ http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31533028 https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150812/11395231925/lenovo-busted-stealthily-installing-crapware-via-bios-fresh-windows-installs.shtml http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2396023/lenovo-yes-we-ship-pcs-with-malware-pre-installed-that-compromise-your-security Superfish adware was never installed on business class Lenovo products. Forest, meet trees. |
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They were $249 a week ago. I picked up this Thinkpad 11e mainly for a utility computer and I've been happy with it. |
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Quoted: That's not a business class Thinkpad. The E and L series are slow unreliable pieces of shit. Buy one of these instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1ZD3FR1971&cm_re=t420-_-34-319-675-_-Product Refurbished = Used. I don't like to buy used electronics. Some companies sell off laptops that guys like me have used every day for 2-3 years. If they're working, they're sold as refurbished. Any cheap laptop with decent reviews will be fine. |
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Refurbished = Used. I don't like to buy used electronics. Some companies sell off laptops that guys like me have used every day for 2-3 years. If they're working, they're sold as refurbished. Any cheap laptop with decent reviews will be fine. Quoted:
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That's not a business class Thinkpad. The E and L series are slow unreliable pieces of shit. Buy one of these instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1ZD3FR1971&cm_re=t420-_-34-319-675-_-Product Refurbished = Used. I don't like to buy used electronics. Some companies sell off laptops that guys like me have used every day for 2-3 years. If they're working, they're sold as refurbished. Any cheap laptop with decent reviews will be fine. OP has a limited budget. I buy those refurb T420's at work when someone needs a dirt cheap PC. I've never received a dirty, dinged, scratched, scuffed, or DOA unit. They're built like tanks (carbon fiber reinforced lid, hinges rated for 30,000 cycles) and are very fast when upgraded to 8GB and an SSD. Far better value than the typical $3-400 Best Buy special. Frankly, those don't last more than a year... the screen shits the bed, the keyboard breaks, the cooling fan fails, or the hinges fall apart. |
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My daughter has this one.
She's 13, and it does everything she needs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=09Z-01S1-000F0 |
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This. Been around more than a few T500s and T400s. My persoal T500 is six years old and still kicking great. I'd buy the T420 linked above. -J Quoted:
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T series thinkpad is the shit, the good kind This. Been around more than a few T500s and T400s. My persoal T500 is six years old and still kicking great. I'd buy the T420 linked above. -J Have you used the new ones? They don't build them like they used to, especially in the rigidity department. The used ones are ok, but there is no denying the Tx20 series is starting to show its age. |
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My daughter has this one. She's 13, and it does everything she needs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=09Z-01S1-000F0 Chromebook might be worth a look as well. |
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Chromebook might be worth a look as well. Quoted:
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My daughter has this one. She's 13, and it does everything she needs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=09Z-01S1-000F0 Chromebook might be worth a look as well. I looked at a Chromebook. The SSD drives are all small. Can they be upgraded? |
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I looked at a Chromebook. The SSD drives are all small. Can they be upgraded? Quoted:
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My daughter has this one. She's 13, and it does everything she needs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=09Z-01S1-000F0 Chromebook might be worth a look as well. I looked at a Chromebook. The SSD drives are all small. Can they be upgraded? Chromebooks are designed to leverage cloud storage. |
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I looked at a Chromebook. The SSD drives are all small. Can they be upgraded? Quoted:
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My daughter has this one. She's 13, and it does everything she needs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=09Z-01S1-000F0 Chromebook might be worth a look as well. I looked at a Chromebook. The SSD drives are all small. Can they be upgraded? Do not buy a Chromebook. The entire OS is literally a Chrome browser window. Utterly useless offline and limited app selection. |
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Chromebooks are designed to leverage cloud storage. Quoted:
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My daughter has this one. She's 13, and it does everything she needs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=09Z-01S1-000F0 Chromebook might be worth a look as well. I looked at a Chromebook. The SSD drives are all small. Can they be upgraded? Chromebooks are designed to leverage cloud storage. Very much this. You aren't storing music and movies locally, you're storing them on your google drive. A good idea, IMO. |
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What apps do you need to surf the web and do homework? Quoted:
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Do not buy a Chromebook. The entire OS is literally a Chrome browser window. Utterly useless offline and limited app selection. What apps do you need to surf the web and do homework? Maybe he wants to shut off the internet at night so she doesn't text/Facebook until 4am every night? |
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Maybe he wants to shut off the internet at night so she doesn't text/Facebook until 4am every night? Quoted:
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Do not buy a Chromebook. The entire OS is literally a Chrome browser window. Utterly useless offline and limited app selection. What apps do you need to surf the web and do homework? Maybe he wants to shut off the internet at night so she doesn't text/Facebook until 4am every night? Better ways of doing that too. |
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Maybe he wants to shut off the internet at night so she doesn't text/Facebook until 4am every night? Quoted:
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Do not buy a Chromebook. The entire OS is literally a Chrome browser window. Utterly useless offline and limited app selection. What apps do you need to surf the web and do homework? Maybe he wants to shut off the internet at night so she doesn't text/Facebook until 4am every night? Use the router. Or, go old school. Our kids must leave all electronics in my room after 9pm. You don't need to spend several hundreds of dollars on a computer these days. |
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Looking at an inexpensive laptop for my 12 year old. http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B016KHBTNI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1GUUGREH53SSZ&coliid=IA0KRYZZ4CICR old thinkpads (pre-lenovo) were GREAT! LENOVO sucks and has been banned from govt contracts due to chines spyware and rootkits. buyer beware. ps. I like Dells. |