New laptop time. Thinkpad recommendations?

My lappy has bitten the dust, and I'm in the market for a laptop. I'm thinking about going Thinkpad.

I only plan on this being for web browsing, text editing, coding, etc. Any gaming is done on my desktop.

What would be a good Thinkpad model? I do t mind getting an older/refurbished one. Haven't been on the laptop market in nearly 8 years, so I don't know what to look for anymore

LunchEnjoyer ,

Personally just got a T15 gen 2. AMD version, and very happy with mine. Especially since it has the numpad included. Been running nixOS without any issues so far!

Zeon ,

T440p if you're comfortable upgrading it yourself. It's very easy to customize, parts are cheap, and it has a socketed CPU slot. You can buy upgrades for it like a i7 4900MQ, 2x8GB RAM, and a nice 1080p IPS display. It can also be Librebooted (you have to take it apart), and it has a SD card slot, CD tray, and a option to upgrade the standard keyboard to a backlit keyboard.

I've been using it everyday and could honestly use it for another 5-6 years and I'd be fine with it. I just do browsing, coding, etc.

Joker ,

I have been very happy with my X1 Extreme. I did have an issue with the keyboard and later the touchpad, but I paid for onsite support so it wasn’t a big deal. They came out a day later and fixed it right there at my dining table.

I would say buying a ThinkPad is worth it for their paid support options alone. When I had a keyboard problem on my old MacBook, AppleCare took like 10 days to fix it. Lenovo’s premium support is reasonably priced and they don’t mess around. A person picks up the phone when you call and they treat you like you are important. If it’s a hardware problem, they are not fucking around. They don’t care how it happened or ask a bunch of questions. It’s covered and they are fixing it. Fast.

The X1 is also super easy to work on. It’s easily disassembled with normal tools and upgradable parts like SSD and RAM are right there when you open it up. They don’t do dumb things like solder in the RAM or leave you without an open slot. This thing is designed to be repairable.

Linux support is flawless.

cooopsspace ,

Framework

just_another_person ,

Framework

FlavorPacket ,

Framework

BrianTheeBiscuiteer ,

This will be high on my list when I upgrade next. If you know your OS will be Linux I say it's a waste of time and energy to get a laptop that doesn't come loaded with it. I'm sure 90% of my laptop woes are due to poor support and optimization for Linux.

TheAnonymouseJoker ,

ThinkPad never has had problems with Linux compatibility. You will get better (best) aftersales and better (best) third party parts availability, since it is "mainstream" and a business user brand.

Boutique Linux laptop shops just cannot compete on that.

flashgnash ,

I've actually had a few issues with Linux on my ThinkPad, have struggled endlessly with the fingerprint reader and Nvidia on Wayland is a bit of a pain still

TheAnonymouseJoker ,

Is the FP reader Synaptic? It has no issues. I have not yet heard of a different FP reader on ThinkPads.

flashgnash ,

It rings a bell

I managed to get it working on Ubuntu once and then never again

I think I might've screwed it up by trying to get it working dual booted

TheAnonymouseJoker ,

Maybe check added repositories for needing to add a separate one, or try using YAST?

flashgnash ,

I'm on NixOS so no yast, I've tried installing the one that supposedly worked for a p50

cooopsspace ,

Still, you can pry Linux from my cold dead hands.

I'll be a homesteading hermit living off grid in the bush before I install Windows on a personal PC.

steal_your_face ,
@steal_your_face@lemmy.ml avatar

If you order it now you only have to wait til April!

(yes I'm on the wait list)

sgtnasty ,
@sgtnasty@lemmy.ml avatar

frame.work

sibloure ,

I got a used ThinkPad T480s and installed 40 GB of RAM in it for Qubes OS. It's modern enough to charge over USB-C, so one plug for everything. I also have a MacBook I use for school and both are solid.

Elkenders ,

Second for this. Got one myself. 1080p, USB C, upgradable ram, I replaced the internal and external batteries no problem. I stuck a second SSD inside last weekend and replaced the thermal paste in about 20 mins. If you like tinkering and being able to repair and maintain yourself it's really great.

Got win 11 on one SSD and Debian on the second and all running well.

sibloure ,

Wow I just learned I could put a second SSD in the WWAN slot! Sounds awesome for a dual boot setup.

Elkenders ,

Yeah, was easy peasy. Bought the sad off eBay. Be careful which SSD you pick up only specific ones fit, I think there's a thread on Lemmy somewhere. I used a western digital sn520 2242 m.2. A 256 one. I think 512 exist but harder to source.

electric_nan ,

T or P series refurb from eBay.

cirdanlunae OP ,

I went away for a few hours, wow, all the replies! Thanks all!

I ended up going with a refurbished T480s. Wanted something I could upgrade memory/storage on. The form factor and the metal case also sounded appealing. Should have it in a week.

owatnext ,
@owatnext@lemmy.world avatar

I find my T480s really fits my lightweight usecase. Hope you enjoy yours.

StorageB ,

Where did you buy it? Looking for something similar for myself.

cirdanlunae OP ,

Found one refurbished on eBay. I'll report when I get it as to the quality

gravitas_deficiency ,

You looked at starlabs or purism?

clever_banana ,
@clever_banana@lemmy.today avatar

Purism is crap

pan_troglodytes ,

got a t470 refurb for $150 last year and have been very happy with it.

clever_banana ,
@clever_banana@lemmy.today avatar

X1 Carbon is king

Evoliddaw ,

Massive QC issues in the last 2-3 years at least, while they may not be terrible you definitely have to repaste and re-thermal pad if you get anything Carbon from Lenovo.

MXX53 ,

I bought a t460s i5 model with 20gb of RAM and replaced the second internal battery for a total of $180 in the US. Other than the screen not being the best (but I mostly work in terminal so it wasn't a big deal for me), it has been a great laptop with great battery life.

thecrotch ,

I don't recommend thinkpads. As I mentioned elsewhere in this thread, they don't allow you to replace your own wifi card. Latitudes have great Linux support, and as a business class machine they're as reliable and easy to work on as thinkpads

cirdanlunae OP ,

I'm replacing a dead Latitude currently, it was a fun ride, but I'd like to replace it with something else

cyberpunk007 ,

It doesn't matter, every one of them will spy on you

CorrodedCranium ,
@CorrodedCranium@leminal.space avatar

Isn't that why a lot of people recommend ThinkPads? So they can run libreboot

cyberpunk007 ,

It came out at some point they had hardware spyware I thought

CorrodedCranium ,
@CorrodedCranium@leminal.space avatar

That's what they are trying to fight. I don't think there's been any substantial claims of them spying. At least I couldn't find any

BaumGeist ,

Your use-case says "ARM laptop" to me.

Pros: Get some kind of SoC laptop, and never worry about battery charge again. They're also lighter-weight and better at thermal management. Right now, Linux on ARM is still kind of fledgling so there's not as many apps made to run on ARM natively; the upside is that since there's not as many possible combinations of hardware, there aren't nearly as many edge case bugs and issues.

Cons: If you want youtube in 1080p+ and 60 fps or if you want to use Visual Studio (instead of something lighter-weight), you'll either want the most powerful SoC laptop on the market (probably something by Apple), or not SoC at all. Same goes if you want to have like 5+ programs opened at once and 10+ tabs open on firefox. If you're on the opposite side with me and don't mind if the video is 30 fps or the resolution is 720i and using vim as an IDE, you can get away with something dirt cheap. The other downside of course being the inability to upgrade hardware, which goes hand-in-hand with the reduced hardware combinations aforementioned. Also, since it's not as widely adopted/developed, there are more standard case bugs/issues.

It does force a more minimal approach to computing—it's not powerful, and it's on the lower-end of ARM laptops—but my Pinebook has only done well by me. The security/privacy factor of Pine was also a big plus.

Pantherina ,

Gonna drop Novacustom/System76 here. Laptops with open firmware are key

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