Yeah! i have the X280 i7 8650 8°gen 16gb ram, 90% health battery, bought for 200 euro less than a year ago, i use it a lot with photoshop and audacity. very nice thinkpad with a "modern" cpu.
I bought an X280 off Ebay last night. Excited to get it. My last Thinkpad was an X240 and I loved it. Lost it to dangers of living next to the ocean with open windows and no AC. Lol It's gonna be a great travel laptop (I'm a full-time traveler).
I've just bought a x280, i3 though. I've also got the x240. I hated it. The screen is horrible and hated the trackpad so never used it plus it was so heavy. The x280 is great, the 1080p IPS screen is gorgeous, feels light, trackpads great. Love the form factor but thought Lenovo could have squeezed a slightly bigger screen on it, which would have been perfect. Not bad for £60 though which I paid. Look at the x390 or x13 if you want a bigger screen in the same form factor.
The a285 (the amd version of this netbook) is awesome. It's got a better igpu and when the tdp is unlocked with ryzenadj on linux or UXTU on windows, it can play games pretty alright. With proper cooling, my a285 got 20-30fps in baldurs gate 3. The only reason to buy a x280 over an a285 I would say is thunderbolt, since a thunderbolt egpu dock + psu + gpu can quite easily fit in a rucksack. I got a t14 gen 2 for £200 with a nvidia dgpu. Its pretty alright.
damn, i might look into one! are they a good price? also, can u give me some more benchmark reference on dGPU/iGPU? id love a dinky X-series that could game, i'd like to have a garuda linux install on something like that, or a SteamOS type install ps: i replied already b4 sayign basically the same thing, evidently it didnt post, so apologies for delayed response!
I just bought a used cosmetically excellent condition x280 with 16 gb Ram, 256 gb SSD, touch screen, and both the regular webcam and infrared Hello Windows Compatible cam for roughly 150 euros. It came with Windows 11 Pro . I was concerned about the battery and ran the powercfg/batteryreport diagnostic. It showed 82% remaining of original design capacity. What's really weird is that the report also showed a cycle count of 809, which is way beyond the expected useful battery life. Right now, it seems with normal office workload to be getting over 5 hours when I charge it to what showed 80% in trying to prolong it's life further. Obviously, the former owner did something right in maintaining this gem.
Exactly. That's why I made sure the laptop I bought has 16 gb. The only thing user upgradable is the SSD. Also, the battery could be replaced because it is screwed in, not glued.
Just ordered my x280 today. I have a beast of a desktop, but it's nice to have these cheap and light thinkpads for school work. For my laptop, I have been running a MSI GS66 Stealth for the past few years but it has been a bit too bulky and overpowered for my needs. However, I have always had a thinkpad on the side because I am such a fan. My thinkpad journey: T60(IBM Branded)>X220>T450s>X280. I can't wait for my X280 to come in. First thing to do is wipe windows for Ubuntu. Wild to think the UHD 620 at this price point is able to run Skyrim. How far we have come in the last 10 years...
Nice! Happy to hear it! I'm just debating distro for my 2nd ssd (128gb 2242 ssd in wwan port) for next video, I want to use eGPU. So needs careful thought. Or I'll just say f*ck it and install arch
I just got one in the mail and did some surgery on it to swap the screen assembly, keyboard, battery + a repaste. It might need a trackpad replacement or cleaning because the previous owner had some stickiness/lack of spring going on under there. I have an i7 16gb config. This gives me bootleg X1 Nano vibes and the dimensions + weight will back that up. I got this over the x390/x13 because I don't like that Lenovo resized this form factor to fit those; I love the smallest functional laptop possible that also isn't a piece of crap. I'm gonna daily drive this with Mint 22 MATE.
very happy for u! mine is currently running endeavorOS/Hyperland (128gb nvme 2242) and win11pro (256gb nvme: main drive bay) I will soon be setting it up with WIn10Pro as a lightweight music device to replace the win11 install!
My x280 is the non touch version. Would be intrigued to know how much you use the touch screen? You can clean up some of the white areas where the black paint has come off using a black marker.
Writing this on one of my X270 and yes the X series are brill. Not a fan of Lenovo ditching the bridge battery with the xx80 series of laptops. Early xx80 laptops could suffer with main usb-c charge port failure so be wary of that.
I'm defo looking into an x270 when the time is right, in general the whole usb-c charging thing seems not very robust, even on my t480, I shall have to be careful!
@@TechDavethere’s a thunderbolt/usb c firmware update available, so hop on that asap :) I just ordered an x280 a few hours ago 😬 very grateful for your video!
Nice! I wanted a decently powerful Linux machine, 7th gen still great for linux, what's the max ram on those bad boys? I wanted eGPU/tb3 setup, so 16gb+ wud be great for gaming and editing
@@TechDave Actually the X270 supports up to 32gb, I have 16gb and it's enough for my needs. I also like the fact that two batteries are used - with the original batteries, the operating time is still +4h depending on use.
@@sehofin oh thats awesome! my T480 has 16gb, and ive not really needed more, as im rocking 32gb in my p51. the bridge battery system is definitely a great feature, i get about 20+ hours w/ extended battery + internal +3 cell external (on t480) would be fun to test the x270 w/ my egpu/rx 6600 8gb & 32gb ram, might be a lil editing beast for davinci resolve
might be a dumb question but how did you get yours on windows 11? Mine came from ebay with 10, and im unable to get 11 due to secure boot not being enabled.
@@TechDave i tried to in bios, it allowed me to, but it wouldnt boot after that. I found out its because the ssd it came with is in the wrong file format (mbr). Will have to find a way to change it.
should be perfect for it, DEFINITELY get the 16gb ram version if you can afford it, i regret getting the lower ram amount, as i find im hitting 7gb+ a lot
@@TechDave i'm on ebay watching 3 models, an 8th gen x1 carbon 16gb, a 16gb x280, and a 16gb t480s, once I've got the money I'll make the decision. I'm gravitating away from the t480s because I already have a t450s (which im planning on selling) asI find it a bit cumbersome carrying it around. anyway love the channel, very few make detailed laptop videos like these.
I am getting x280 i7 8th gen 16 gb ram 512 ssd and t480 i5 8th gen 8gb ram 256ssd in same price. Which on to consider. Also hows your experience with 12.5 display.
@dbedits44 I wud strongly recommend 16gb if u can, already hitting 7.3 of 7.9gb of ram regularly tbf re the screen, its lovely, really hgih fidelity and comfortable, best in less bright conditions (as shown towards end of video) but very pleased wit hit in general!
The 12.5 inch screen is nice (non touch), is bright and sharp with good colours but can feel a bit cramped. Probably not your best option if you plan to do extensive work on it. Fine for light work, browsing etc. Look at x390 or X13 for slightly bigger screen (13.3), which is a bit more comfortable. t480 will be bigger and heavier.
@@TechDave 12 inches, a nice keyboard, and Thinkpad T430s quality workmanship, USB-C. Ideally a hard drive slot on the side but I won't be able to find one anywhere. I use Arch Linux.
@asdfgenrespasstasdf hmm. That will be hard to meet, but in general the x270 will be cheaper and has dual battery/bridge battery (and I believe USB c & standard power as well). If u were using Windows I'd say go with the x280 & get the max ram of 16gb, but as an arch user, the x270 shud more than meet ur needs and AFAIK has non-soldered ram as well Edit; No USB c on x270, so ur best choice may be x280 after all, defo get 16gb ram
@asdfgenrespasstasdf ps: I'm running endeavourOS/hyperland dual boot w/ windows10pro now on my x280. I regret the 8gb of ram tbh, this machine cud use the extra oomph for windows. EndeavourOS however, runs flawlessly, as it has lower overheads with hyperland. I assume ur not gaming, bit if I'm incorrect , or u have interest in eGPUs for gaming, I'd suggest the x280 w/ 16gb ram a: future proofing and b: they are still damn cheap, and as was shown in the video, some pretty decent quality games w/ egpu. I'm not sure but I think the x270 is not thunderbolt 3, just USB c, I cud be mistaken tho
3 місяці тому
I have the x240, is it possible to install ssd to the second m.2 slot as it is possible in x240? Or it is only for lte cards?
im not sure, the x280 wwan port can be used with 2242 nvme ssd, im not sure for x240 edit: accordign to thinkpad forums, u can use 2242 nvme ssds in x240 as well!
@mohmad-y7e hey! Good question that I can't directly answer: What sort of software & hardware would be involved? If u can answer that for me 1: I cud test some stuff and 2: potentially create a 15-20mins video demoing said equipment!
They have roughly the same chassis materials -- the X280 just doesn't have the same power profile and size. It's better if you're someone that values the portability enough. T480s is better if you value power and modularity along with the 14" screen size over 12.5" in the X280. I am a fan of both.
aw mate thanks! just the excuse i needed! i was thinking popOS (for eGPU) & arch/i3gaps dual boot, saw one for £80 on ebay, its now on my shopping list!
@@TechDave Arch i3 ,would work great ,low resources,also check out Arcolinix,arched based but it's bloody brilliant ,besides the 4k how to videos on UA-cam that Eric du Bois the creator has,not plugging this but worth a look ,at the same time use whatever works for you
@@TechDave thanks mate ,no worries ,I don't really upload anymore ,a sports scientist by profession but a failed your tuber ,lol , I think my passion is with tech and ThinkPads and Linux
@RetosSpace don't give up, ull get there! I can vouch for the fact there's a big thinkpad-linux community here, u never know where it might take u! Ps: Linux metabolism caught my eye
@Blank-uc7jf depends what u wanna run I suppose? I would imagine it wud work well Did u have specific software in mind? VScode, pycharm? Which OS wud u use? I may be able to test some stuff
Yeah! i have the X280 i7 8650 8°gen 16gb ram, 90% health battery, bought for 200 euro less than a year ago, i use it a lot with photoshop and audacity. very nice thinkpad with a "modern" cpu.
ahh nice! im slightly envious of ur 16gb of ram & I7! nice choice, i imagine its pretty damn fine machine! happy for u!
I bought an X280 off Ebay last night. Excited to get it.
My last Thinkpad was an X240 and I loved it. Lost it to dangers of living next to the ocean with open windows and no AC. Lol
It's gonna be a great travel laptop (I'm a full-time traveler).
Rip ur x240, congratulations on the new purchase, I hope it serves you well!
I've just bought a x280, i3 though. I've also got the x240. I hated it. The screen is horrible and hated the trackpad so never used it plus it was so heavy. The x280 is great, the 1080p IPS screen is gorgeous, feels light, trackpads great. Love the form factor but thought Lenovo could have squeezed a slightly bigger screen on it, which would have been perfect. Not bad for £60 though which I paid. Look at the x390 or x13 if you want a bigger screen in the same form factor.
@@kingmonkey88 sounds like a right bargain!! Happy for u mate
@@TechDave I think I got lucky. Does the job, so can't complain.
Content Creation on a Budget, Hell Yessssssss, id be waiting for that one Mate
excellent! will be a pretty long one as i'm filming it over a week of footage! thanks for lovely comment, helps motivate me!
I love the x280. I get why it’s not more popular but it fills a niche nothing else does.
The a285 (the amd version of this netbook) is awesome. It's got a better igpu and when the tdp is unlocked with ryzenadj on linux or UXTU on windows, it can play games pretty alright.
With proper cooling, my a285 got 20-30fps in baldurs gate 3. The only reason to buy a x280 over an a285 I would say is thunderbolt, since a thunderbolt egpu dock + psu + gpu can quite easily fit in a rucksack.
I got a t14 gen 2 for £200 with a nvidia dgpu. Its pretty alright.
damn, i might look into one! are they a good price? also, can u give me some more benchmark reference on dGPU/iGPU? id love a dinky X-series that could game, i'd like to have a garuda linux install on something like that, or a SteamOS type install
ps: i replied already b4 sayign basically the same thing, evidently it didnt post, so apologies for delayed response!
I just bought a used cosmetically excellent condition x280 with 16 gb Ram, 256 gb SSD, touch screen, and both the regular webcam and infrared Hello Windows Compatible cam for roughly 150 euros. It came with Windows 11 Pro . I was concerned about the battery and ran the powercfg/batteryreport diagnostic. It showed 82% remaining of original design capacity. What's really weird is that the report also showed a cycle count of 809, which is way beyond the expected useful battery life. Right now, it seems with normal office workload to be getting over 5 hours when I charge it to what showed 80% in trying to prolong it's life further. Obviously, the former owner did something right in maintaining this gem.
sounds like a beast for that price!
new batteries are reasonably cheap and easy to install!
Is the RAM and SSD upgradeable?
@nadiatunsiddika3703 ssd, but ram soldered sadly
Exactly. That's why I made sure the laptop I bought has 16 gb. The only thing user upgradable is the SSD. Also, the battery could be replaced because it is screwed in, not glued.
@@lawrencekahn2766 ah yup, i forgot the battery! reminds me, i need replace mine! only last 30 mins, and its stopping me using my x280 as intended!
Just ordered my x280 today. I have a beast of a desktop, but it's nice to have these cheap and light thinkpads for school work. For my laptop, I have been running a MSI GS66 Stealth for the past few years but it has been a bit too bulky and overpowered for my needs. However, I have always had a thinkpad on the side because I am such a fan.
My thinkpad journey: T60(IBM Branded)>X220>T450s>X280.
I can't wait for my X280 to come in. First thing to do is wipe windows for Ubuntu. Wild to think the UHD 620 at this price point is able to run Skyrim. How far we have come in the last 10 years...
Nice! Happy to hear it! I'm just debating distro for my 2nd ssd (128gb 2242 ssd in wwan port) for next video, I want to use eGPU. So needs careful thought. Or I'll just say f*ck it and install arch
I just got one in the mail and did some surgery on it to swap the screen assembly, keyboard, battery + a repaste. It might need a trackpad replacement or cleaning because the previous owner had some stickiness/lack of spring going on under there. I have an i7 16gb config.
This gives me bootleg X1 Nano vibes and the dimensions + weight will back that up. I got this over the x390/x13 because I don't like that Lenovo resized this form factor to fit those; I love the smallest functional laptop possible that also isn't a piece of crap.
I'm gonna daily drive this with Mint 22 MATE.
very happy for u!
mine is currently running endeavorOS/Hyperland (128gb nvme 2242) and win11pro (256gb nvme: main drive bay)
I will soon be setting it up with WIn10Pro as a lightweight music device to replace the win11 install!
My x280 is the non touch version. Would be intrigued to know how much you use the touch screen? You can clean up some of the white areas where the black paint has come off using a black marker.
Thus far not really much, it's great for browsing though! My fingers are pretty chunky (I'm a bass player lol) so I have it on 125% scaling to help
Bro you got Safari guy vibes love itt😂
I don't know what that is, bit, thanks anyway!!
Edit: Google didn't help, context please?
Writing this on one of my X270 and yes the X series are brill. Not a fan of Lenovo ditching the bridge battery with the xx80 series of laptops. Early xx80 laptops could suffer with main usb-c charge port failure so be wary of that.
I'm defo looking into an x270 when the time is right, in general the whole usb-c charging thing seems not very robust, even on my t480, I shall have to be careful!
@@TechDavethere’s a thunderbolt/usb c firmware update available, so hop on that asap :) I just ordered an x280 a few hours ago 😬 very grateful for your video!
Dave! I'm still using daily my Lenovo X270! And it's amazing! It's a bit bummer that X270 doesn't support Win11, but I'm mostly using Linux anyways :)
Nice! I wanted a decently powerful Linux machine, 7th gen still great for linux, what's the max ram on those bad boys? I wanted eGPU/tb3 setup, so 16gb+ wud be great for gaming and editing
@@TechDave Actually the X270 supports up to 32gb, I have 16gb and it's enough for my needs. I also like the fact that two batteries are used - with the original batteries, the operating time is still +4h depending on use.
@@sehofin oh thats awesome! my T480 has 16gb, and ive not really needed more, as im rocking 32gb in my p51.
the bridge battery system is definitely a great feature, i get about 20+ hours w/ extended battery + internal +3 cell external (on t480)
would be fun to test the x270 w/ my egpu/rx 6600 8gb & 32gb ram, might be a lil editing beast for davinci resolve
might be a dumb question but how did you get yours on windows 11? Mine came from ebay with 10, and im unable to get 11 due to secure boot not being enabled.
it came with win11, but when i reinstalled i use rufus to bypass requirements. u shud just be able to enable secureboot tho!
@@TechDave i tried to in bios, it allowed me to, but it wouldnt boot after that. I found out its because the ssd it came with is in the wrong file format (mbr). Will have to find a way to change it.
@@TyEats2200 ahh ye i had that issue: change write type to GPT in rufus as well, bypass tpm/secure boot and shud be good to go
@@TechDave cool thanks for the info!
thinking about buying this laptop for hobby C programming and uni, as well as some light gaming (factorio, minecraft, terraria).
should be perfect for it, DEFINITELY get the 16gb ram version if you can afford it, i regret getting the lower ram amount, as i find im hitting 7gb+ a lot
@@TechDave i'm on ebay watching 3 models, an 8th gen x1 carbon 16gb, a 16gb x280, and a 16gb t480s, once I've got the money I'll make the decision. I'm gravitating away from the t480s because I already have a t450s (which im planning on selling) asI find it a bit cumbersome carrying it around.
anyway love the channel, very few make detailed laptop videos like these.
@happygofishing thanks so much for the appreciation, I aim to be as thorough as I can! Good luck whatever u choose!
@@TechDave would you recommend the x280 over the x1 carbon or vise versa?
@@happygofishing totally depends which x1 carbon! which generation u looking at?
Best gaming laptop❤❤❤
u game on it? u got the a dGPU?
I am getting x280 i7 8th gen 16 gb ram 512 ssd and t480 i5 8th gen 8gb ram 256ssd in same price. Which on to consider. Also hows your experience with 12.5 display.
@dbedits44 I wud strongly recommend 16gb if u can, already hitting 7.3 of 7.9gb of ram regularly tbf
re the screen, its lovely, really hgih fidelity and comfortable, best in less bright conditions (as shown towards end of video) but very pleased wit hit in general!
The 12.5 inch screen is nice (non touch), is bright and sharp with good colours but can feel a bit cramped. Probably not your best option if you plan to do extensive work on it. Fine for light work, browsing etc. Look at x390 or X13 for slightly bigger screen (13.3), which is a bit more comfortable. t480 will be bigger and heavier.
I can't decide between the x270 and the x280...its helll on earth
what are u requirements?
@@TechDave 12 inches, a nice keyboard, and Thinkpad T430s quality workmanship, USB-C. Ideally a hard drive slot on the side but I won't be able to find one anywhere. I use Arch Linux.
@asdfgenrespasstasdf hmm. That will be hard to meet, but in general the x270 will be cheaper and has dual battery/bridge battery (and I believe USB c & standard power as well). If u were using Windows I'd say go with the x280 & get the max ram of 16gb, but as an arch user, the x270 shud more than meet ur needs and AFAIK has non-soldered ram as well
Edit; No USB c on x270, so ur best choice may be x280 after all, defo get 16gb ram
@asdfgenrespasstasdf ps: I'm running endeavourOS/hyperland dual boot w/ windows10pro now on my x280. I regret the 8gb of ram tbh, this machine cud use the extra oomph for windows. EndeavourOS however, runs flawlessly, as it has lower overheads with hyperland.
I assume ur not gaming, bit if I'm incorrect , or u have interest in eGPUs for gaming, I'd suggest the x280 w/ 16gb ram a: future proofing and b: they are still damn cheap, and as was shown in the video, some pretty decent quality games w/ egpu.
I'm not sure but I think the x270 is not thunderbolt 3, just USB c, I cud be mistaken tho
I have the x240, is it possible to install ssd to the second m.2 slot as it is possible in x240? Or it is only for lte cards?
im not sure, the x280 wwan port can be used with 2242 nvme ssd, im not sure for x240
edit: accordign to thinkpad forums, u can use 2242 nvme ssds in x240 as well!
Is it good for cybersecurity ?
@mohmad-y7e hey! Good question that I can't directly answer:
What sort of software & hardware would be involved?
If u can answer that for me 1: I cud test some stuff and 2: potentially create a 15-20mins video demoing said equipment!
cool brother!
Thank you! Cheers!
Is this laptop better than the thinkpad T480s?
@EduardoArauz-rw9hy I wudnt say better, specifications wise the x series is weaker and less upgradable, but I don't have a t480s for direct comparison
no. it is not better. just smaller and weaker. but may have 300 nits screen instead of 220 nits screen which makes difference...
They have roughly the same chassis materials -- the X280 just doesn't have the same power profile and size. It's better if you're someone that values the portability enough. T480s is better if you value power and modularity along with the 14" screen size over 12.5" in the X280. I am a fan of both.
Another Banging Video, i appreciate a fellow Thinkpad enthusiast, get the x270 and load it with Linux!!!!! Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa!!
aw mate thanks! just the excuse i needed! i was thinking popOS (for eGPU) & arch/i3gaps dual boot, saw one for £80 on ebay, its now on my shopping list!
@@TechDave Arch i3 ,would work great ,low resources,also check out Arcolinix,arched based but it's bloody brilliant ,besides the 4k how to videos on UA-cam that Eric du Bois the creator has,not plugging this but worth a look ,at the same time use whatever works for you
ps: i subbed to you, ill check out ur vids soon!
@@TechDave thanks mate ,no worries ,I don't really upload anymore ,a sports scientist by profession but a failed your tuber ,lol , I think my passion is with tech and ThinkPads and Linux
@RetosSpace don't give up, ull get there! I can vouch for the fact there's a big thinkpad-linux community here, u never know where it might take u!
Ps: Linux metabolism caught my eye
Can i use the Thunderbolt 3 port to charging the laptop?
@@mitsokishow321 that is correct x
Can this do programming?
@Blank-uc7jf depends what u wanna run I suppose? I would imagine it wud work well
Did u have specific software in mind? VScode, pycharm? Which OS wud u use? I may be able to test some stuff
Linux on that would be great!
2nd ssd currently running EndeavourOS/Hyperland, its lush!