I really like how you mix in the surroundings of where you live into these videos, and sort of work them into the narrative of the ThinkPad. Showing a T430 on the stage of an acclaimed music hall as you talk about it being one of the last "classic" machines, incorporating trains into the background as they parallel the ThinkPad's solid, utilitarian construction, you do a wonderful job of not just telling the story verbally, but visually too! Can't wait to see more videos!
Watching this from my Thinkpad T430, which I bought new in 2012. Despite having paid full market prices for something that's now worth $200, I'm still happy with this machine and consider it to be one of the better purchases I've ever made. If you're considering a T430, here are some things that I'd highlight: 1) As the video said, a screen upgrade is almost essential. The 1080p upgrade is a bit hinky to get situated, but very doable if you're experienced with taking laptops apart. It's about as complicated as a motherboard replacement, with the added "thrills" of carefully handling a naked and easily breakable IPS diaplay. 2) Some models may have an HDD instead of an SSD, and that should also be upgraded. This is fairly easy as long as you have access to disk cloning software, and pretty much trivial if you pony up for the SATA ultra-bay caddy. Pop it in, clone the drive, swap the drives. I just upgraded to a bigger SSD a week ago and it took about an hour to get working (including the time to copy the drive.) There's only one screw holding the T430's hard drive in place. 3) Don't bother with the internal GPU that some of these came with. I had one. It barely impacted performance. The only thing it really offered of any value was that you could drive up to four displays at once instead of three, but let's be real: nobody really needs four displays. IMO, it's just one more thing to break and brick your motherboard (as it did with mine, though granted this happened after 7 years of reliable service) for no appreciable gain in gaming performance. 4) Unless you're going the external GPU route, be realistic with your expectations of this machine. It'll be a great general productivity, student, internet browsing machine that can handle running VMs, moderate processing tasks, and the like. It's not gonna play games very well on the go. You're honestly better off building a desktop gaming PC if 60fps 4k is your goal. I have a desktop set up for gaming in the back room and use the Thinkpad for nearly everything else. 5) I've had no problem with the chiclet style keyboard. It still has a very nice key feel (particularly the non-backlit one,) and you won't miss the original IBM layout if you've never dealt with it. The only major downsides it presents are that it hid some of the less used keys like system request, so if you have a program that uses those keys you'll need to learn the fn key combos. 6) Make sure you update the BIOS and all drivers. Earlier revisions of the BIOS had issues with sound, particularly when using the dock. You don't know how good the previous owner was at updating this stuff. Failing to do these updates could leave you troubleshooting mystery problems and wasting your time. 7) Things that broke when I upgraded to Windows 10 and probably won't ever get fixed: wireless display through Intel's WIDI (no longer supported), biometrics from a hard reboot (they still work when waking up from sleep,) and battery life got a bit worse. Just something to keep in mind. 8) Prepare for a nice experience. Motherboard died? Get a $40 donor unit on ebay. Somehow cracked the bezel? Rip a replacement off that same donor unit. Need biometrics? Buy an upgraded bezel for not that much money. Oh no, you dropped your computer? It probably still works, don't worry! Just pop the screen tabs back in, accept the new battle scar on the corner and move on. Yours came with a DVD drive but you want a Blu-ray player or second hard drive? Buy the ultrabay drive and hot swap it in! No part on these machines is rare or hard to find. There's very little to go wrong, and when it does you have a decent owner community and cheap parts galore. After doing the screen mod, I honestly can't think of any reason I'd upgrade to a new laptop for at least another five years. It does everything I want. It's sad that laptops aren't as modular and dependable as these machines anymore, so I'll hold onto this one for as long as is viable.
Totally agree on the keyboard part, it's an enthusiast project with a lot of moving parts and sourcing the hardware for it is a huge pain in the ass. It's nowhere near as easy as the 20-series keyboard swap. That being said, the chances of putting a classic keyboard into T480 are still technically higher than the chances of putting one into T440p 😂 The Thunderbolt port situation is a really bad move from Lenovo. Some users on Reddit speculate that the firmware patch is only going to prolong the Thunderbolt controller lifespan enough so that it breaks after the warranty has expired, but only time will tell. Wouldn't be surprised about that to be honest. I definitely won't be recommending those 80-series machines until it's clear whether the firmware update actually fixes the problem or not.
Yep, as I said my biggest concern about the patch Lenovo released is that we don’t know how much of a fix it is. Having recently acquired a T480 myself with the intent of using it through the rest of my college career, I really have worries about it making it through until I graduate and am seeing if it’s possible for me to upgrade my original warranty to the longest one they provide. It’s still a very nice laptop and I’m looking forward to making a video about it, and if I keep it for the next 2, 3, 4+ years it would be interesting to see how it wears and ages, as it’s the very first time I’ve purchased a brand new laptop. I could see myself making 2 videos, one now while it’s still “new” and another in a couple of years once it has worn down a bit. Thanks for watching!
Cannot wait to see an updated version of this vid one day. This was so useful when I was in the market for a new Laptop a couple of years ago. Ah. Simple times. It was so cool learning about the sheer value these underappreciated machines had. I grew up using a Thinkpad only a little younger than I was and I got really attached to that X61. But I only ever got really good with the early lenovo and late ibm thinkpads back in those days. This video was a great way to bring myself up to speed (along with ur thinkpad on a budget series videos) and understand how these machines changed and what new perks the newer models bought and where there was a sort of upper echelon in terms of "classic thinkpad" Unfortunately It'll be a little sad and mellow now that I'm going shopping for an upgrade to my T420 and there aren't really any good value options left in the older T series (They're great laptops there's just more practical options now for the same or even sometimes less of a price). I am curious to hear what you have to say on the X series and just generally the sort of landscape of Thinkpads in 2023. A LOT has changed in the last 2 years. But anyhow Thanks Sebi!
The x260 with the i7 6600u/16gb/512gb/FHD IPS is an absolute treat to use. Came into one by chance and I’m in love with this damn thing. Dual batteries, super small, built to last, amazing keyboard, ughh it’s sexy
I just acquired a T440p because of your recommendation in this video. The video was very informative and I like this series on Thinkpad very much. Kudos to you.
Just wanted to say that I picked up a t440s based on your videos. I wasn't interested in upgrading the processor, and the slimmer form factor and better battery life appealed to me. The slightly lower cost when compared to the t440p allowed me to make up some the difference when I purchased an IPS panel and the t450 trackpad upgrade. I'm loving it so far. So much so in fact, that when my brother called me earlier today and asked me for a recommendation because his dog thrashed the Dell he has been using, I promptly ordered another system identical to mine. Thanks for your content, and though I live in Austin now, I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. I wish I would have known about your videos and shook your hand while I was still out there!
@@SebisRandomTech I'm currently converting an old party bus into a solar RV (or tiny house, microhome, whatever you want to call it), but when it's all done I plan on heading back east before I head down to South America. When that happens I'll let you know, maybe we'll find time and I can show off my geek homebrew motor home skills!
As of right now, this gets my vote for UA-cam video of the year. Great content, great editing, and a great channel overall! And I watched it on my T420 with the crappy display!
i'm currently developing enterprise softwares (on windows 8.1) for one of the global company you all know for.. with x230. This machine is beast. No cracks or deformation, broken parts, no overheating, no replacement (other than getting 9cell battery). Extremely portable, durable, almost 9 hours of battery on the run, ergonomic keyboard and was still getting bios updates late 2019. I could not describe it better i guess..
People don't like the track mouse because they don't have patience to get used to it. It takes about 2 weeks, but once you get used to it, it is 100x better than a trackpad.
I remember seeing a reviewer testing one and complaining that you can only move it a few cm at a time, they were literally just brushing thier finger across it rather than using it like a joy stick
Thank you for making such top notch quality and detailed content. It's honestly better than most channels with 100x as many subscribers. I just bought a T440p thanks to you!
Your video is pure gold, I just bought a used T480, T470s and T430 for 1100€ combined. I presently use a 2015 HP spectre x360 13" which I don't really need and just dropped a new battery into (and a new keyboard a year ago after spilling a glass of wine on it; total nightmare to repair >2h). My girlfriend needs a laptop for university, so I'll let her choose whichever one of those four she wants (I suspect the HP due to looks), see which of the other three I like the most, sell the other two again and upgrade the one I will keep. Most likely I'll keep the T430. Thanks for all the info!
It should be pointed out that the Thunderbolt issue on some of the newer ThinkPad's (with the T series it started with the T470/T570) is caused by a critical bug in Intel's Thunderbolt firmware, which isn't present in the newer versions of the firmware. If the firmware is updated "before" the damage is done then the will be no Thunderbolt issue, and the affected ThinkPad won't need to be sent in for repair (entails getting the motherboard replaced). Was a huge surprise to hear that the Thunderbolt Firmware is developed by Intel and NOT Lenovo. Intel used to manufacture their own motherboards, but often they were defective. One of the major reasons the Intel motherboards were defective was because of the buggy firmware. Clearly Intel haven't learned their lesson. It is very likely that other laptops supporting Thunderbolt will be affected since Thunderbolt is a proprietary technology, and only Intel can develop the firmware. Can easily see "Boltgate" becoming a widespread scandal that catches Intel off guard, watch this space.
I believe I mentioned that the T480 was one of several different models affected by the firmware issue, maybe I didn’t. :P The patch released should fix the issue for controllers that haven’t gone kaput yet, but I still have doubts about it being a long-term fix. We’ll only know for sure in the coming years as these laptops are put through their paces.
The version of the Intel Thunderbolt firmware causing the critical issue is v14 ( github.com/fwupd/missing-firmware-lenovo-thinkpad/issues/25#issuecomment-577871227 ).
Watching this video from a refurbished T450s. My best friend has had one for a while and had nothing but positives to say, so I just had to grab one too. It's been a wonderful purchase.
These Thinkpads are the best value! I bought a used T440 last year, I put away my Macbook Pro and switched entirely to Thinkpad. My T440 it´s a baby, it´s got a Core I5, touchscreen, two batteries, one removable and one internal, two internal slots for M2 Sata, one for the Cache to improve speed on the HDD, another one hidden under the internal battery. I changed the HDD for a Solid State and got two M2 Sata drives so now I have 3 drives! with 2 windows installations, one for fallback, which I found out I never really use. It also comes with a slot for a WLan Modem, but I don´t find the need for it. It´s a beauty. I am a translator and the Thinkpad´s keyboard it´s so much better than my Macbook´s, I type so much faster. It also has a fingerprint reader, keyboard light, hdmi port, one USB 2 port, flash card slot, etc. The Bluetooth works great, so does the wifi. I found a docking station in Ebay and I hooked an extra monitor. Loving it. Planning to get another one. I am thinking about the T470 or a newer version of the T440.
I picked up a t440 with a broken keyboard today for 50€. This just started my interest in thinkpads again after selling my t400 years ago. Btw my dad is still using his t420 and loves it 😊
My daily used to be a T430 modded with the 7 row and IPS FHD. I gave it to a family member so it's still used daily. I now use a T420 modded with a quad and IPS QHD (2560 x 1440). I'm fond of the eSATA port on the T420 and use that occasionally for backups. They're both very versatile and competent machines, and still young enough that healthy batteries are affordably available, so they can still feasibly go mobile unlike even older models.
@@BananaCueCrew its a very good deal indeed. ive bought another one lately for 230 $. the one for 150 was from an old guy so i guess it was a very very good deal ;)
I love all of the Lenovo model and worked on so many of them, upgrading, and updating them without any problems. I highly recommend for college students of people that can't handle a nice cheap computer.
Watched you and one or two others before I decided on a T430. After 6 months or so, I do not regret it at all. I7 core with upgradeable memory and nvidia graphics plus fingerprint reader and backlighting. Has tons of I/O ports. You have to spend alot of bucks now to get something better, IMHO. Also found a X230 in a recycle shop and it took very little to get it going. I like my Thinkpads.
Can attest to the T420. I swapped the HDD for a SSD, upgraded the RAM to 16GB and it works like a charm running most flavours of Linux. Complaints: Battery life isn't great. Neither are its thermals under moderate load - I try to downscale youtube videos and/or don't have a million tabs open for instance. But these complaints aside, I wouldn't part with it. Love the thing to death. Took it out to the field for some astrophotography using Darktable, and it was just an utter pleasure to use. I also didn't have to worry about the laptop's exposure to the elements as much as I would had I taken my XPS out for the same gig; in fact the midnight cool really helped the machine I feel cause I was able to eek out about 6 hours of field use that night, and it still had some juice left in the tank. That was nice. In conclusion, T420 is fantastic machine if you require performance and rugged durability in the open. Highly recommended for wildlife, nightsky and astrophotographers working out in the field. This is not a machine that you have to treat with kid gloves.
Yep there are a load of OLDER thinkpads out there! After watching one of your earlier videos and being fascinated by the older types with the original keyboard,i managed to source 2 x t60 units with 2 spare batterries,spare ram cards,spare keyboards,chargers etc for $150 Au. The condition of the units,IMMACULANT! And being a science proff at one of our Au universities,the seller was outstanding in all respects. Units run Xubuntu and thats awesome for us.Now i am after an x201t,as that is the only other thinkpad that interests me.Thanks for all your videos they HELPED A LOT.By the way we use all systems,Chromebook, Android etc,no one device is a daily driver and the thinkpads we purchased,are because in our opinions the best looking,useful and serviceable pc EVERY MADE.! Have a great day,bye.
Fantastic video! Watched on my T430. It helped must understand at a deeper level why I've always loved ThinkPads, and this one in particular. Lots of great tips about to upgrade / get the most out of this machine. 🙂
I'd love to see a guide to using a ThinkPad as a Hackintosh., especially since my late 2011 MacBook Pro decided to die on me. Oh, and I ordered a T440P off of eBay - gotta stop pushing these ThinkPads Sebi, you're bankrupting me.
I have my T440p with i5 16GB and SSD, upgraded to FHD screen, T450 touchpad and backlit keyboard. I love it! Linux Mint or KDE neon runs just great on that. CPU is also upgradeable, but I don't really need a faster one. Also had the T430 before. Liked it maybe better than the T440P, so also very good choice. Thanks for the video, keep it up.
I bought a 3rd gen X1Carbon for about $240 a couple months ago and it's been amazing for me. It has its flaws, like the soldered ram and limited IO, but the size and portability make it a godsend to people on the go alot.
@@SebisRandomTech Nah, it has a 1080p TN panel. It's not very great, but it gets the job done for now. I had no idea it could do 1440p, thats definitely going to be something to upgrade to in the future.
I think I wrote this in other of your videos but thanks to you I decided to get a t430 and I couldn't be happier with that, it has been a very good and reliable laptop for my university with the bonus of droping windows and installing linux mint, sure I also have an Acer aspire that's more modern but I rarley use it other than just play some videogames and be my "desktop laptop" LOL
I have a T430 and just recently upgraded the screen to 900p and the processor to a quad-core i7. On Kubuntu, it easily runs Wii and PS2 games. Cool thing is I got this machine for less than $150 (in my country).
I think the T530 is a fantastic laptop, had mine 6 years. I've noticed the T500 series are often better condition than T400 series. Possibly because they are used more at desks and not carried about as much as the smaller models. A lot of education establishments bought the T400 series and they get heavily abused, keys missing scratched/cracked displays and cases. Needed a laptop for my daughter for home schooling. Ended up with an X250 for £160 which is in lovely condition with a Windows 10 refurbished license.
I just saw a X250 on eBay for $70! It's untested though....might be worth a risk for me or someone else! The T500 lineup may also be a tad more durable than the T400 series simply because it's thicker, and I imagine also because of their tendency to be used as a desk computer. Great machines either way.
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I just got a X250 for 200 euros for my niece's home schooling as well. It has an i5-5200u with a 120GB SSD, 8GB RAM, all original with an excellent battery and in great condition. It's an amazing computer.
Just bought a P50 with Xeon E3 1505M with 32GB RAM and two SSDs (1TB, 512GB) and a touchscreen for $230USD. Upgrading from a TN panel T460, this thing is huge and a beast in performance
20:10 if you aren't aware, people have successfully built EC patches for the T25-T480 frankenpad thing. I think it can only be flashed with hardware, but it shouldn't be too expensive. What is the issue is that you cannot get ANSI layout classic keyboards anymore, the only ones out there are JIS.
Thinkpads are wonderful devices, the ports, expansion practical design along with unlimited mods to make them even more future proof sets them apart from other devices, the fact that my t420s from 2011 is 100 times better than a macbook from a year ago is rlly shocking. Not only can I get 8 hours of battery on a regular day, I can easily fix it if something goes wrong, and the performance on the i7 is more than enough for most of my tasks. The keyboard is too good and its just such a good laptop. I honestly cant see a world without pre 2013 thinkpads.
You should get a P50, I bought one with 40GB DDR4 RAM and use it for Digital Forensic work, and I can say I do not regret it! I bought a second one with 24GB RAM to take it to where I need it.
if you made this video in 2022, would you say most of these have stayed the same? given the classic thinkpad features have still gone down with new ones have laptops like the P50/1/2 etc become more viable with time? or does their size counteract this, etc. many thanks
I'll probably do an updated version of this video sometime in the next few months or year, the T420/430/440 are still good options for everyday use if you can find them on the cheap but prices are starting to come down enough on newer models such as the P series and some T series models that those may also be viable options, not to mention they have the benefit of newer hardware and better battery life.
Some part of me deep down expects there to be some sort of laptop backlash once the pandemic is under control. By that I mean that there will be a percentage of users who: 1) Go back to an office job not needing that extra laptop anymore so they sell it. 2) Likewise for companies replacing a whole bunch of fleet laptops because of crazy excessive wear. 3) People who had to settle for whatever laptop they could lay their hands on in the mad rush to equip their school age children, replacing those with better stuff at start of next school year, birthdays, Christmas, Etc. Of course, a part of me also knows that the moment I decide to shop for bargains in earnest, all of these sorts of deals will vaporize for no good reason.
Always use Think pad T series for my offshore and jungle work, when you are miles away from everything you need a good solid reliable friend, so many times I see fellow inspectors with cheap make do laptops but an awful lot of them "fail" like they say, "you get what you pay for" I would never take the risk with an inferior imitation.
I ordered a T440p the other night for $160 at your recommendation, pretty excited to get into ThinkPad and it's my first laptop in many years since an old Dell Latitude running XP I had as a kid. Probably going to wait until lockdowns are over to seriously get into upgrading it though - the bad screen won't bother me too much for now considering it's going to be a machine to plug my drawing monitor into.
I got it the other night 4 days early and I'm loving it even just as is! I ordered a 2.5" caddy for the disk drive bay and a 1tb HDD since the SSD is kind of anemic.
I still found T430 is most reliable then most of the machines. Mine is upgraded with 12 GB RAM FullHD 1080 display and 256 GB SSD and believe me it rocks.
As I mentioned in the video, there are FHD kits you can buy on eBay that allow you to put a 1080p IPS (better colors, contrast, viewing angles) panel into your T430. I’m looking to do that upgrade to one of my machines soon and of course make a video about it.
I've done it. Look for "Saniter T430" on your favourite auction site. I used AliExpress as eBay UK didn't have any when I was doing it. Then you want a good screen. There's plenty of discussion on reddit and the ThinkPad forums as to which are the best to go for. I followed the standard advice and checked with the seller that they were sending me a B140HAN1.2 (as distinct from the .1 or .3 variants) and it is a superb screen. The first seller I bought one from lied and sent me a .1, claiming it was identical to the .2. I made them take it back, and didn't test it beforehand. It was time consuming, but made the laptop worth using.
Those B roll shots gave me so much anxiety lmao One shot where the display was the only thing moving center of gravity far back enough to keep the laptop from falling, and another shot where said display was somehow not pushing center of gravity so far back that it would fall
T420 with i7 quadcore, built in webcam, 1600x900 Display, at least 8GB of RAM, new batter, BD-drive and current Linux Mint Desktop system installed on a SSD. Perfect daily runner. You don't need more than that for your every day tasks. Just make sure you better get a version with Intel graphics since the Nvidia Optimus tends to overhead the system a little too much. Unless you wanna play some games on it and have a laptop fan cooling pad underneath.
You're the man. I Couldn't make my mind on witch one to pick but you helped me decide. Glad they managed to finally open the BIOS on machines past the X200.
So I picked a T430 for 61 dollars. (115 total for shipping and import fees) i5 2.6Ghz | 4go | no HDD (the bottom screen looked a bit cracked, no pic with screen turned on were provided but seller offer 30day return option) For now, they seem to go around 115 USD but without shipping. The famous x series look more expensive. You guys have any recommended links to max-out the ram? For screens I've seen 1440p displays but no 1080p ones. Isn't that too much for the GPU? I guess I cut the resolution in half in games and still have a sharp view since it's precise 50% pixel reduction.
Using a T430 for three years now as my daily mobile workhorse. Bought it off ebay, already with SSD. Added a caddy for a second SSD and another 4GB of RAM. Still extremely happy with it. Got 2 docking stations plus power supplies for next to nothing. Best thing I ever bought. I work on PCs, gaming not important for me.
Good video. I have two high school sons who have desktops but are outgrowing their Chromebooks. Bought two Thinkpads on ebay. Bought a T450 with Windows, 8GB and 128 SSD for $180. Weakest part of this laptop is the monitor but can be upgraded for
@@SupremePlayzMinecraftGames I bought them on Ebay. The prices have seemed to increase a bit but keep looking. In some cases you may need to upgrade some components like an SSD which provides the biggest upgrade bang for the buck. On the T430, an AC adapter ($10), battery ($40) and SSD ($45) had to be purchased which was why it was so cheap. I installed POP OS (free) and it has worked flawlessly. There are a lot of very cheap parts on ebay like docking stations, keyboards and other spare parts since this was a business machine. I have not had to invest anything on the T450 .
I'm using a T530 with a backlit keyboard at the moment and love it. I would rather have the newer style backlit keyboard than the non backlit classic one because I use it in a lot of low light conditions and find the backlight preferable to the Thinklight. I do need to find a reasonably priced older Thinkpad with a full keyboard with dedicated num keys like a W540 for a friend.
I always liked the ThinkLight better because if you need to illuminate more than just the keyboard (such as a sheet of paper or a book), it was a convenient reading light to have. I can remember a class I had last semester where the professor would turn all of the lights off while presenting the lesson (powerpoint), and I could use my ThinkLight to not only type up notes, but also write down some of the symbols and formulas that can’t be easily typed on a computer. I think the **30 ThinkPads did things best by offering both, so you could use whichever one you preferred. For finding a used ThinkPad with the dedicated numeric keypad, something like the T540 or T540p would probably be available for cheaper than the W540, unless your friend needs the extra power of a W series machine.
As you pointed out, the best part of Thinkpads is the modularity, upgradeability, great support and plentiful cheap parts availability. Unfortunately I am afraid that Lenovo is following the competition de-contenting and making their machines more difficult to repair.
Oh, and another thing. COVIID-19 has driven up demand and prices for laptops new and used as everyone had to scramble to get on line and factories and supply lines shut down. It will be interesting how this all plays out if the economy tanks and demand falls. Crazy times.
I got a good laugh out of ' they're light enough to not hurt your back.' lmao I've rocked a T520 and only recently switched to an X250, so i get it, just found that that line hilarious
My daily is a T530, circa 2013. Bought it at an employee sale for $300. No problems during the 5 years that I've owned it. Dual Booting between Debian 10/Windows 10. Once thing I can recommend, if you don't do any heavy graphics, disable the Discreet Video in Bios -it burns through battery life. I mostly use my laptop for SSH remote admin, Open Office, and streaming content from my HTPC. For an extra $100, I picked up a SSD and maxed out the RAM from Amazon. Even when I am too lazy to boot into Windows 10, I can run it in Vmware in Linux with no problems. Not bad for 7 yr old laptop.
i bought a T440p which is coming in the mail soon, i got it as a hobby project as i like the idea of messing around and building something up that i want. even though the performance isnt good anymore and you're better off with a T480
I bought an X1 Carbon (4th gen) off of eBay last week for $550 (16 gigs of ram, 510 ssd). It's awesome and I love it. I'll probably never buy a new computer again.
I agree with you. Trackpoint is essential feature for me. That is why I only use Thinkpads. I dont use trackpads at all. I am so used to trackpoint, i dont even need mouse. Too bad that X1 gen5 i have, has somewhat not that responsive trackpoint.
Love my T420. It's now the "shop PC" In my electronics lab, so mostly just for pulling up schematics and documentation. Hurts to not have that keyboard any longer, now that I'm using a T480s, but I think I can get another 5-10 years out of it in this role.
As always, great video. I love how you take the ThinkPads outside and take b-roll footage like that. I shot some footage of my T60 out in the snow (I didn't bury it in the snow, most of the snow/ice was under the laptop and pretty much vaporized with the CPU temp)
I wanted a media laptop to use at home for simple tasks (like browsing, writing and reading) because I was using always my good laptop that I use for work. Some months ago after some reserch bought a T440p (150€) and these upgrades :512GB M2 sata ssd MLC (90€) 16GB RAM 2133 Hz (80€) 2TB SSHD (70€) Docking station (15€) caddy for third hard disk (5€). I chose this model because I wanted the most recent with highest upgradability and i'm glad Sebi is the same opinion. The next upgrades will be the Lcd panel (40€) and the CPU (around 100€) but for now i'd stay, already spent too much :)
When I was on that bridge I was pretty much just waiting for a wind gust to blow my ThinkPad down into the creek or onto the tracks below. *That would have been fun to explain to the police.* XD
Been a big ThinkPad fan for awhile now. The T520 was the first machine I requisitioned when I started managing infrastructure for my employer. Probably went through 200+ of them. Built like tanks (with an ugly display). My favorite Thinkpad (and I know I'm probably in the minority here) was the Thinkpad Yoga S1. These were also a model I req'd for the entire company, and a sister company I worked for. My wife uses one, and I just got a couple for my 2 kids for $200 per off eBay. They're light-years ahead of what the school requires and has us buy (chromebooks). Nice review!
The great thing about the T420/430 and their 15” counterparts is that it is now possible to modify them to handle better displays. I’m about to do this with my T430 and I couldn’t be happier!
I agree with just about everything you say here. IMHO, the T430/T430s, is STILL the "Best Bang for the Buck" in 2020 for the average user. especially with the "better" 1600x900 display. I've been able to compare the T480, and W540/i7-4900mq, side-by-side. All things considered, the W540, or the i7-4800mq powered T440p, are a better value.
Still using T530 since it came out ... and a non-working T61p. (T530) Replace all drives to SSDs and still running great in 2020. Planning to mod it with classic keyboard and CPU soon.
It depends what job you're doing.. as an Engineer who working alot with Solidworks, 3D CAD, 3Ds Max i would recommend you: Thinkpad W541 & Thinkpad P50.. mine is Thinkpad W541 (refurbished) if you have more budget, you can get new Thinkpad P1 or Thinkpad P53.. later you can plug in External GPU with Thunderbolt Cable
I absolutely could NOT agree MORE with you here! I have a couple of W540 ThinkPads for my CAD, 3D Desk, and Photoshop needs. The K2100m graphics are more than adequate for my needs. The i7-4900mqq, is pretty much overkill for my needs. I won't need a P series for quite some time, however a P series is a REALLY good investment for the Engineer/Graphic Artist. When the cost comes down on a high-end P70, I may very well go to one, but I have a set budget of $400 USD, for the initial purchase price.
The T440p can be upgraded to a 4900MQ if I remember correctly. While I agree with both of you that the W/P series are very solid machines (I have a W540 myself), they are still a lot more expensive than an equivalent T series from the same generation. Obviously they have an advantage in the GPU category and usually have beefier processors, but nowadays the difference in performance between them isn’t enough to justify the premium commanded by a lot of W530’s, W540’s, etc that I see being sold online, when a T440p can be upgraded to around 80% of the performance of a W540 for less. A friend sold me a W540 he found at a recycling center for a whopping $15, which is the only reason I have one ;)
@@SebisRandomTech Maybe 4900. I've tried that and ended up with thermal issues. I have one with a 4800. It's warm, but pretty decent most of the time. I like to recommend a 4700, or 4710 for the T440p. No thermal issues at all.
Holy Moly, yea man. Good old ThinkPads. I personally hated all the notebooks...before ThinkPads. 6 Years ago my uncle gave me a Thinkpad T40. Holy Sheat, this mashine was still working like charm! Silent and still pretty fast with XP on it :D All the other notebooks were soo slow.... I dont know why, but all consumer notebooks i tested were pretty slow after some time... Then I bought a T400, T430, T440s, T540p, P50 with xeon. Now I am owning only my old T400 and my new T450s. Untill now P50 is still my favorite. Absolutely beautifull beast :) Some day I will get new P series, but it will take some time ^^ Overall, all thinkpads I got were excelent. Good qualty and durable as hell. T430 got problems with some noisy coolers from one manufacturer, T540p got dumb noisy cooler which was rumping up too full speed and tehn going down to normal speeds, Still dont get it, why they didn't fix it in BIOS?! Also, it wasn't black ,it was grey :( I love Thinkpas since I got my first T40 xD
Considering how how and power hungry my T430s is, I wouldn't even consider another laptop in that line. My T440p ran MUCH cooler and quieter, and was a lot more power and power efficient. Unfortunately, the fact that the p variant only has a single battery has been a massive negative to me. MAYBE i'll get around to trying to fix it one day, after I managed to brick two motherboards. Edit: not only can you get a harddrive caddy for the T440p, but you can also get a Blu-Ray RW drive.
i just bought a t430 with 16gb RAM, i5, duel SSD's (250 & 500gb), spare battery & dock, Win 10 with office, with backlit keyboard in near mint condition for £250 (around $300). very happy, thank you for all your advice Sebi. love the channel. only thing is the hinges are a little floppy, any chance of a hinge replacement video? almost forgot... *replying from my thinkpad*
I honestly think that Lenovo made a big mistake getting rid of the classic keyboards. Those were the one thing that truly set them apart from the rest, it felt like typing on an actual desktop keyboard, and I NEVER broke keys. I have a MacBook Pro and I absolutely hate chiclet keys.
Thinkpads are great. You can find yourself a laptop with reasonable specifications on a budget which is very feature-rich. I got a Thinkpad T450 just 2 days ago as my secondary machine for Rs 10,000 (roughly $121) and its rocking an i5-5300U and 8GB of RAM.
I have been working helpdesk now for 13 years, starting to use Lenovo products in late 2007. I have to say they are pretty tough and just great laptops in general. I do prefer the T440p's very much. Today I am still using my T450s with 12 gb ram and a 500gb ssd. Have the dock as well. I have lots of older Lenovo's at home. going back to the T/R61's. Solid design on the most part. The X series not a fan of so much, as the right front corners break the frame(has someone figure out a fix for this besides replacing frame?). The power port tab breaks, but found a hot glue trick to fix that. Anyway, I could talk about them for hours, thanks for the video, brought back lots of memories on these. Take care.
Fantastic video. From years of collecting and buying from former employers or used and refurbished machines, we have various older Thinkpads in our household: T60, X220, X230, T410, two T430. Even the oldest, the T60, runs flawlessly; despite being the oldest machine, it ironically has the by far best display, a beautiful 4:3 IPS display, 1400x1050 max. resolution. Then, there is THIS ONE "NEW" Thinkpad, an E480. And guess what? Just a little over two years (the warranty period for the machine), the Thunderbolt connector died, rendering the machine utterly useless, because it can no longer be charged. Unbelievably infuriating. I would definitely not recommend buying any USB-C charging laptops, and will certainly stay away from newer Lenovo laptops, since I'm not the only one with this problem...
Look for a P1, X1 Extreme, T15g, or one of the thicker P-series machines. They still use a standard Lenovo charger instead of relying on USB-C. I have the 1600x1200 IPS panel on my T60, without a doubt one of the best laptop displays of all time.
I was a pretty long term user of ThinkPads, my first one was an X61 and I loved it. However, as the GPU performance of all older/classic ThinkPads is their weak point (as described in the video) I had to jump to the Dell Precision and HP EliteBook lines instead. If you want a portable AND upgradeable machine then the HP EliteBook 2570p is a great option as it does offer a socketed Ivy Bridge CPU, upgradeable RAM, eGPU support and removable battery into a 12" chassis. And both Dell Precision and HP EliteBook 15" and 17" Sandy Bridge and up models support high quality IPS or DreamColor 1080p displays, dedicated number pad and the possibility to upgrade the internal dedicated GPU via a MXM slot, whereas the equivalent ThinkPad W series of the time get stuck with pretty old and inefficient Nvidia Quadro graphics. The only thing I do really miss from the ThinkPads is the keyboard, you'll never find something more comfortable to work with than those classic 7-row ones. Best regards!
The new X395 powered with an AMD chip is way better on graphics performances (vega 10 chip I guess) which is mind blowing comparing with the intel hd/uhd chip.
The 17" ThinkPads, the W700/701 and the P70/71, also had MXM slots to upgrade the GPU. Unfortunately with Nvidia ending support for the MXM standard the P72 and P73 did away with the MXM slot. As mentioned in the video, the T420 and T430, along with every older ThinkPad with an ExpressCard slot, can use an external GPU, and these laptops can be modified for IPS displays. I've seen a few Dells and HP's (actually just sold an HP ProBook 640 G1) that nearly rival the quality of a ThinkPad, but to me there's still no keyboard as good as the 7-row, or even the newer 6-rows. Some of the Dells and HP's have a pointing stick, but it pales in comparison to the TrackPoint, which is important to me since I don't really use the touchpad. I've of course also heard horror stories about support from Dell and HP. All of that aside, I will have to look into the 2570p, that seems like a very intriguing laptop. Might make for a good laptop to compare to the X230. Thanks for watching!
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I really like how you mix in the surroundings of where you live into these videos, and sort of work them into the narrative of the ThinkPad. Showing a T430 on the stage of an acclaimed music hall as you talk about it being one of the last "classic" machines, incorporating trains into the background as they parallel the ThinkPad's solid, utilitarian construction, you do a wonderful job of not just telling the story verbally, but visually too! Can't wait to see more videos!
Reminds me a whole lot of 65scribe’s style, and I’m all for it!
Watching this from my Thinkpad T430, which I bought new in 2012. Despite having paid full market prices for something that's now worth $200, I'm still happy with this machine and consider it to be one of the better purchases I've ever made. If you're considering a T430, here are some things that I'd highlight:
1) As the video said, a screen upgrade is almost essential. The 1080p upgrade is a bit hinky to get situated, but very doable if you're experienced with taking laptops apart. It's about as complicated as a motherboard replacement, with the added "thrills" of carefully handling a naked and easily breakable IPS diaplay.
2) Some models may have an HDD instead of an SSD, and that should also be upgraded. This is fairly easy as long as you have access to disk cloning software, and pretty much trivial if you pony up for the SATA ultra-bay caddy. Pop it in, clone the drive, swap the drives. I just upgraded to a bigger SSD a week ago and it took about an hour to get working (including the time to copy the drive.) There's only one screw holding the T430's hard drive in place.
3) Don't bother with the internal GPU that some of these came with. I had one. It barely impacted performance. The only thing it really offered of any value was that you could drive up to four displays at once instead of three, but let's be real: nobody really needs four displays. IMO, it's just one more thing to break and brick your motherboard (as it did with mine, though granted this happened after 7 years of reliable service) for no appreciable gain in gaming performance.
4) Unless you're going the external GPU route, be realistic with your expectations of this machine. It'll be a great general productivity, student, internet browsing machine that can handle running VMs, moderate processing tasks, and the like. It's not gonna play games very well on the go. You're honestly better off building a desktop gaming PC if 60fps 4k is your goal. I have a desktop set up for gaming in the back room and use the Thinkpad for nearly everything else.
5) I've had no problem with the chiclet style keyboard. It still has a very nice key feel (particularly the non-backlit one,) and you won't miss the original IBM layout if you've never dealt with it. The only major downsides it presents are that it hid some of the less used keys like system request, so if you have a program that uses those keys you'll need to learn the fn key combos.
6) Make sure you update the BIOS and all drivers. Earlier revisions of the BIOS had issues with sound, particularly when using the dock. You don't know how good the previous owner was at updating this stuff. Failing to do these updates could leave you troubleshooting mystery problems and wasting your time.
7) Things that broke when I upgraded to Windows 10 and probably won't ever get fixed: wireless display through Intel's WIDI (no longer supported), biometrics from a hard reboot (they still work when waking up from sleep,) and battery life got a bit worse. Just something to keep in mind.
8) Prepare for a nice experience. Motherboard died? Get a $40 donor unit on ebay. Somehow cracked the bezel? Rip a replacement off that same donor unit. Need biometrics? Buy an upgraded bezel for not that much money. Oh no, you dropped your computer? It probably still works, don't worry! Just pop the screen tabs back in, accept the new battle scar on the corner and move on. Yours came with a DVD drive but you want a Blu-ray player or second hard drive? Buy the ultrabay drive and hot swap it in! No part on these machines is rare or hard to find. There's very little to go wrong, and when it does you have a decent owner community and cheap parts galore. After doing the screen mod, I honestly can't think of any reason I'd upgrade to a new laptop for at least another five years. It does everything I want. It's sad that laptops aren't as modular and dependable as these machines anymore, so I'll hold onto this one for as long as is viable.
This video is the pinnacle of ThinkPad reviews. Honestly these types of videos is why I subscribed to the channel. That and Sebi's quirky ways too. 😋
Totally agree on the keyboard part, it's an enthusiast project with a lot of moving parts and sourcing the hardware for it is a huge pain in the ass. It's nowhere near as easy as the 20-series keyboard swap. That being said, the chances of putting a classic keyboard into T480 are still technically higher than the chances of putting one into T440p 😂
The Thunderbolt port situation is a really bad move from Lenovo. Some users on Reddit speculate that the firmware patch is only going to prolong the Thunderbolt controller lifespan enough so that it breaks after the warranty has expired, but only time will tell. Wouldn't be surprised about that to be honest. I definitely won't be recommending those 80-series machines until it's clear whether the firmware update actually fixes the problem or not.
Yep, as I said my biggest concern about the patch Lenovo released is that we don’t know how much of a fix it is. Having recently acquired a T480 myself with the intent of using it through the rest of my college career, I really have worries about it making it through until I graduate and am seeing if it’s possible for me to upgrade my original warranty to the longest one they provide.
It’s still a very nice laptop and I’m looking forward to making a video about it, and if I keep it for the next 2, 3, 4+ years it would be interesting to see how it wears and ages, as it’s the very first time I’ve purchased a brand new laptop. I could see myself making 2 videos, one now while it’s still “new” and another in a couple of years once it has worn down a bit. Thanks for watching!
I bought my T480 because of you Wolfgang!!!
@@j.p.9522 his name is Wolfgang like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? 😮
Cannot wait to see an updated version of this vid one day. This was so useful when I was in the market for a new Laptop a couple of years ago. Ah. Simple times. It was so cool learning about the sheer value these underappreciated machines had. I grew up using a Thinkpad only a little younger than I was and I got really attached to that X61. But I only ever got really good with the early lenovo and late ibm thinkpads back in those days. This video was a great way to bring myself up to speed (along with ur thinkpad on a budget series videos) and understand how these machines changed and what new perks the newer models bought and where there was a sort of upper echelon in terms of "classic thinkpad" Unfortunately It'll be a little sad and mellow now that I'm going shopping for an upgrade to my T420 and there aren't really any good value options left in the older T series (They're great laptops there's just more practical options now for the same or even sometimes less of a price). I am curious to hear what you have to say on the X series and just generally the sort of landscape of Thinkpads in 2023. A LOT has changed in the last 2 years. But anyhow Thanks Sebi!
Just bought my first Thinkpad because of this video and started making my own Thinkpad content!
I love my "new" T420!
i still have t420 and i’m using it for more than 5-7 years ans still very powerful
I got this one too. And still using it today for my research project.
Good model name too👌👌
The x260 with the i7 6600u/16gb/512gb/FHD IPS is an absolute treat to use. Came into one by chance and I’m in love with this damn thing. Dual batteries, super small, built to last, amazing keyboard, ughh it’s sexy
I just acquired a T440p because of your recommendation in this video. The video was very informative and I like this series on Thinkpad very much. Kudos to you.
Just wanted to say that I picked up a t440s based on your videos. I wasn't interested in upgrading the processor, and the slimmer form factor and better battery life appealed to me. The slightly lower cost when compared to the t440p allowed me to make up some the difference when I purchased an IPS panel and the t450 trackpad upgrade. I'm loving it so far. So much so in fact, that when my brother called me earlier today and asked me for a recommendation because his dog thrashed the Dell he has been using, I promptly ordered another system identical to mine.
Thanks for your content, and though I live in Austin now, I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. I wish I would have known about your videos and shook your hand while I was still out there!
Always welcome to come back to the Burgh! (well, when it’s safe to do so) I love living here.
@@SebisRandomTech I'm currently converting an old party bus into a solar RV (or tiny house, microhome, whatever you want to call it), but when it's all done I plan on heading back east before I head down to South America. When that happens I'll let you know, maybe we'll find time and I can show off my geek homebrew motor home skills!
As of right now, this gets my vote for UA-cam video of the year. Great content, great editing, and a great channel overall! And I watched it on my T420 with the crappy display!
i'm currently developing enterprise softwares (on windows 8.1) for one of the global company you all know for.. with x230.
This machine is beast. No cracks or deformation, broken parts, no overheating, no replacement (other than getting 9cell battery).
Extremely portable, durable, almost 9 hours of battery on the run, ergonomic keyboard and was still getting bios updates late 2019.
I could not describe it better i guess..
Today I got a clean i5 t440p no HDD, 4800MQ, ultra Dock, 135w charger and thermal paste for
People don't like the track mouse because they don't have patience to get used to it. It takes about 2 weeks, but once you get used to it, it is 100x better than a trackpad.
I remember seeing a reviewer testing one and complaining that you can only move it a few cm at a time, they were literally just brushing thier finger across it rather than using it like a joy stick
Picked up a T430 a bit over half a year ago for $50, possibly my greatest purchase of all time
I love how Sebi and Wolfgang reference each other in their videos.
Thank you for making such top notch quality and detailed content. It's honestly better than most channels with 100x as many subscribers. I just bought a T440p thanks to you!
Hope you enjoy it! Lots of good upgrades for that model as well.
Your video is pure gold, I just bought a used T480, T470s and T430 for 1100€ combined. I presently use a 2015 HP spectre x360 13" which I don't really need and just dropped a new battery into (and a new keyboard a year ago after spilling a glass of wine on it; total nightmare to repair >2h). My girlfriend needs a laptop for university, so I'll let her choose whichever one of those four she wants (I suspect the HP due to looks), see which of the other three I like the most, sell the other two again and upgrade the one I will keep. Most likely I'll keep the T430. Thanks for all the info!
Just wanna say I'm also interested in an updated vid. I barely see ThinkPads where I'm at but hopefully I can find some
It should be pointed out that the Thunderbolt issue on some of the newer ThinkPad's (with the T series it started with the T470/T570) is caused by a critical bug in Intel's Thunderbolt firmware, which isn't present in the newer versions of the firmware. If the firmware is updated "before" the damage is done then the will be no Thunderbolt issue, and the affected ThinkPad won't need to be sent in for repair (entails getting the motherboard replaced). Was a huge surprise to hear that the Thunderbolt Firmware is developed by Intel and NOT Lenovo. Intel used to manufacture their own motherboards, but often they were defective. One of the major reasons the Intel motherboards were defective was because of the buggy firmware. Clearly Intel haven't learned their lesson.
It is very likely that other laptops supporting Thunderbolt will be affected since Thunderbolt is a proprietary technology, and only Intel can develop the firmware. Can easily see "Boltgate" becoming a widespread scandal that catches Intel off guard, watch this space.
I believe I mentioned that the T480 was one of several different models affected by the firmware issue, maybe I didn’t. :P
The patch released should fix the issue for controllers that haven’t gone kaput yet, but I still have doubts about it being a long-term fix. We’ll only know for sure in the coming years as these laptops are put through their paces.
The version of the Intel Thunderbolt firmware causing the critical issue is v14 ( github.com/fwupd/missing-firmware-lenovo-thinkpad/issues/25#issuecomment-577871227 ).
Watching this video from a refurbished T450s. My best friend has had one for a while and had nothing but positives to say, so I just had to grab one too. It's been a wonderful purchase.
Thanks. I was thinking about getting a t440p and now I feel comfortable with my purchase
These Thinkpads are the best value! I bought a used T440 last year, I put away my Macbook Pro and switched entirely to Thinkpad. My T440 it´s a baby, it´s got a Core I5, touchscreen, two batteries, one removable and one internal, two internal slots for M2 Sata, one for the Cache to improve speed on the HDD, another one hidden under the internal battery. I changed the HDD for a Solid State and got two M2 Sata drives so now I have 3 drives! with 2 windows installations, one for fallback, which I found out I never really use. It also comes with a slot for a WLan Modem, but I don´t find the need for it. It´s a beauty. I am a translator and the Thinkpad´s keyboard it´s so much better than my Macbook´s, I type so much faster. It also has a fingerprint reader, keyboard light, hdmi port, one USB 2 port, flash card slot, etc. The Bluetooth works great, so does the wifi. I found a docking station in Ebay and I hooked an extra monitor. Loving it. Planning to get another one. I am thinking about the T470 or a newer version of the T440.
A T470 *is* the newer version of the T440.
If you change go for 480. But why would you... ;)
@@gramoukdoom Yeah. I´m happy with what I´ve got.
Still rocking my T530! Got the i7-3520M, 12GB RAM, and two 250GB SSDs (I replaced the DVD drive with one and I have a dual boot.)
I picked up a t440 with a broken keyboard today for 50€. This just started my interest in thinkpads again after selling my t400 years ago. Btw my dad is still using his t420 and loves it 😊
My daily used to be a T430 modded with the 7 row and IPS FHD. I gave it to a family member so it's still used daily.
I now use a T420 modded with a quad and IPS QHD (2560 x 1440). I'm fond of the eSATA port on the T420 and use that occasionally for backups.
They're both very versatile and competent machines, and still young enough that healthy batteries are affordably available, so they can still feasibly go mobile unlike even older models.
Just bought a t480 yesterday for 150€ very good condition, new battery, 16gb ram and 500gb storage. Couldnt be happier
I've bought t480 full hd ips, backlit keyboard, 16gb 500gb nvme for 223$ yesterday, not sure whether it's a good deal, but I'm happy
@@BananaCueCrew its a very good deal indeed. ive bought another one lately for 230 $. the one for 150 was from an old guy so i guess it was a very very good deal ;)
Love the "ThinkPads in the wild shots" 😍
I love all of the Lenovo model and worked on so many of them, upgrading, and updating them without any problems. I highly recommend for college students of people that can't handle a nice cheap computer.
Watched you and one or two others before I decided on a T430. After 6 months or so, I do not regret it at all. I7 core with upgradeable memory and nvidia graphics plus fingerprint reader and backlighting. Has tons of I/O ports. You have to spend alot of bucks now to get something better, IMHO. Also found a X230 in a recycle shop and it took very little to get it going. I like my Thinkpads.
Congratulations! You got the "Best Bang for the Buck" computer, in modern history! I hope it serves you well.
Your video blew up after 2 years, really appreciate your insight about ThinkPad on a Budget.
Hope you doing well, Sebi's.
No clue why it did but I'll welcome the extra views. Looking forward to putting a follow-up video out sometime in the near future!
@@SebisRandomTech Yes please! I'm looking for one right now, everyone seem to love t480, but t440p still costs 2x less (at least in Poland)
Can attest to the T420. I swapped the HDD for a SSD, upgraded the RAM to 16GB and it works like a charm running most flavours of Linux.
Complaints: Battery life isn't great. Neither are its thermals under moderate load - I try to downscale youtube videos and/or don't have a million tabs open for instance.
But these complaints aside, I wouldn't part with it. Love the thing to death. Took it out to the field for some astrophotography using Darktable, and it was just an utter pleasure to use. I also didn't have to worry about the laptop's exposure to the elements as much as I would had I taken my XPS out for the same gig; in fact the midnight cool really helped the machine I feel cause I was able to eek out about 6 hours of field use that night, and it still had some juice left in the tank. That was nice.
In conclusion, T420 is fantastic machine if you require performance and rugged durability in the open. Highly recommended for wildlife, nightsky and astrophotographers working out in the field. This is not a machine that you have to treat with kid gloves.
I wish I could up-vote this video a thousand times.
Yep there are a load of OLDER thinkpads out there! After watching one of your earlier videos and being fascinated by the older types with the original keyboard,i managed to source 2 x t60 units with 2 spare batterries,spare ram cards,spare keyboards,chargers etc for $150 Au. The condition of the units,IMMACULANT! And being a science proff at one of our Au universities,the seller was outstanding in all respects. Units run Xubuntu and thats awesome for us.Now i am after an x201t,as that is the only other thinkpad that interests me.Thanks for all your videos they HELPED A LOT.By the way we use all systems,Chromebook, Android etc,no one device is a daily driver and the thinkpads we purchased,are because in our opinions the best looking,useful and serviceable pc EVERY MADE.! Have a great day,bye.
Fantastic video! Watched on my T430. It helped must understand at a deeper level why I've always loved ThinkPads, and this one in particular. Lots of great tips about to upgrade / get the most out of this machine. 🙂
What a terrific video! Thank you for really breaking these laptops down, you helped me make a purchase :)
I'd love to see a guide to using a ThinkPad as a Hackintosh., especially since my late 2011 MacBook Pro decided to die on me. Oh, and I ordered a T440P off of eBay - gotta stop pushing these ThinkPads Sebi, you're bankrupting me.
I have my T440p with i5 16GB and SSD, upgraded to FHD screen, T450 touchpad and backlit keyboard. I love it! Linux Mint or KDE neon runs just great on that. CPU is also upgradeable, but I don't really need a faster one. Also had the T430 before. Liked it maybe better than the T440P, so also very good choice. Thanks for the video, keep it up.
I bought a 3rd gen X1Carbon for about $240 a couple months ago and it's been amazing for me. It has its flaws, like the soldered ram and limited IO, but the size and portability make it a godsend to people on the go alot.
Does it have the 1440p IPS screen?
@@SebisRandomTech Nah, it has a 1080p TN panel. It's not very great, but it gets the job done for now. I had no idea it could do 1440p, thats definitely going to be something to upgrade to in the future.
I think I wrote this in other of your videos but thanks to you I decided to get a t430 and I couldn't be happier with that, it has been a very good and reliable laptop for my university with the bonus of droping windows and installing linux mint, sure I also have an Acer aspire that's more modern but I rarley use it other than just play some videogames and be my "desktop laptop" LOL
I have a T430 and just recently upgraded the screen to 900p and the processor to a quad-core i7. On Kubuntu, it easily runs Wii and PS2 games. Cool thing is I got this machine for less than $150 (in my country).
2:59 Yeah... 2020 killed this for LOTS of old Thinkpad models forever.
how
I think the T530 is a fantastic laptop, had mine 6 years. I've noticed the T500 series are often better condition than T400 series. Possibly because they are used more at desks and not carried about as much as the smaller models. A lot of education establishments bought the T400 series and they get heavily abused, keys missing scratched/cracked displays and cases.
Needed a laptop for my daughter for home schooling. Ended up with an X250 for £160 which is in lovely condition with a Windows 10 refurbished license.
I just saw a X250 on eBay for $70! It's untested though....might be worth a risk for me or someone else! The T500 lineup may also be a tad more durable than the T400 series simply because it's thicker, and I imagine also because of their tendency to be used as a desk computer. Great machines either way.
I just got a X250 for 200 euros for my niece's home schooling as well. It has an i5-5200u with a 120GB SSD, 8GB RAM, all original with an excellent battery and in great condition. It's an amazing computer.
came for the thinkpads, stayed for the steinway.
just watching this video gives me a certain kind of emotion. I love thinkpad.
Just bought a P50 with Xeon E3 1505M with 32GB RAM and two SSDs (1TB, 512GB) and a touchscreen for $230USD. Upgrading from a TN panel T460, this thing is huge and a beast in performance
20:10 if you aren't aware, people have successfully built EC patches for the T25-T480 frankenpad thing. I think it can only be flashed with hardware, but it shouldn't be too expensive. What is the issue is that you cannot get ANSI layout classic keyboards anymore, the only ones out there are JIS.
Thinkpads are wonderful devices, the ports, expansion practical design along with unlimited mods to make them even more future proof sets them apart from other devices, the fact that my t420s from 2011 is 100 times better than a macbook from a year ago is rlly shocking. Not only can I get 8 hours of battery on a regular day, I can easily fix it if something goes wrong, and the performance on the i7 is more than enough for most of my tasks. The keyboard is too good and its just such a good laptop. I honestly cant see a world without pre 2013 thinkpads.
I got the X230 lsst year, works great after 3 months until 2020. Hope can get another one for my home laptop use
You should get a P50, I bought one with 40GB DDR4 RAM and use it for Digital Forensic work, and I can say I do not regret it!
I bought a second one with 24GB RAM to take it to where I need it.
Better take your charger everywhere you go :p or is battery life not that bad? I have a W530 and I can get 3 hours max
2022 update pleaseee
if you made this video in 2022, would you say most of these have stayed the same? given the classic thinkpad features have still gone down with new ones
have laptops like the P50/1/2 etc become more viable with time? or does their size counteract this, etc.
many thanks
I'll probably do an updated version of this video sometime in the next few months or year, the T420/430/440 are still good options for everyday use if you can find them on the cheap but prices are starting to come down enough on newer models such as the P series and some T series models that those may also be viable options, not to mention they have the benefit of newer hardware and better battery life.
Some part of me deep down expects there to be some sort of laptop backlash once the pandemic is under control. By that I mean that there will be a percentage of users who:
1) Go back to an office job not needing that extra laptop anymore so they sell it.
2) Likewise for companies replacing a whole bunch of fleet laptops because of crazy excessive wear.
3) People who had to settle for whatever laptop they could lay their hands on in the mad rush to equip their school age children, replacing those with better stuff at start of next school year, birthdays, Christmas, Etc.
Of course, a part of me also knows that the moment I decide to shop for bargains in earnest, all of these sorts of deals will vaporize for no good reason.
It’ll be easy to purchase them but hard to sell them. Unless another pandemic happens and you stockpile the laptops until then! :P
just bought a T440p after watching this. thanks the dope vids ✌🏼
Always use Think pad T series for my offshore and jungle work, when you are miles away from everything you need a good solid reliable friend, so many times I see fellow inspectors with cheap make do laptops but an awful lot of them "fail" like they say, "you get what you pay for" I would never take the risk with an inferior imitation.
I ordered a T440p the other night for $160 at your recommendation, pretty excited to get into ThinkPad and it's my first laptop in many years since an old Dell Latitude running XP I had as a kid. Probably going to wait until lockdowns are over to seriously get into upgrading it though - the bad screen won't bother me too much for now considering it's going to be a machine to plug my drawing monitor into.
I got it the other night 4 days early and I'm loving it even just as is! I ordered a 2.5" caddy for the disk drive bay and a 1tb HDD since the SSD is kind of anemic.
the overall camerawork and shot directions feels like watching natgeo for thinkpads
Just got my T430 last week, I need a laptop for my school work and I'm lucky enough to find a unit with an Nvidia NVS 5400 and I'm very happy with it
I still found T430 is most reliable then most of the machines. Mine is upgraded with 12 GB RAM FullHD 1080 display and 256 GB SSD and believe me it rocks.
how did you upgradet the display to FullHD? From which model you replaced it?
Another point for older thinkpads in some countries is that they are a lot less likely to be stoles than newer ones
Even in America. Have left one of my ThinkPads out many times without anyone touching it.
Watching on my T430. It's great except for the crappy panel. How can I upgrade it??? If the colors were better, I could deal with it.
As I mentioned in the video, there are FHD kits you can buy on eBay that allow you to put a 1080p IPS (better colors, contrast, viewing angles) panel into your T430. I’m looking to do that upgrade to one of my machines soon and of course make a video about it.
I've done it. Look for "Saniter T430" on your favourite auction site. I used AliExpress as eBay UK didn't have any when I was doing it.
Then you want a good screen. There's plenty of discussion on reddit and the ThinkPad forums as to which are the best to go for. I followed the standard advice and checked with the seller that they were sending me a B140HAN1.2 (as distinct from the .1 or .3 variants) and it is a superb screen.
The first seller I bought one from lied and sent me a .1, claiming it was identical to the .2. I made them take it back, and didn't test it beforehand.
It was time consuming, but made the laptop worth using.
Watching on a X220 with IPS display :)
Watching this comment on a X1 carbon with IPS display:)
Those B roll shots gave me so much anxiety lmao
One shot where the display was the only thing moving center of gravity far back enough to keep the laptop from falling, and another shot where said display was somehow not pushing center of gravity so far back that it would fall
T420 with i7 quadcore, built in webcam, 1600x900 Display, at least 8GB of RAM, new batter, BD-drive and current Linux Mint Desktop system installed on a SSD. Perfect daily runner. You don't need more than that for your every day tasks. Just make sure you better get a version with Intel graphics since the Nvidia Optimus tends to overhead the system a little too much. Unless you wanna play some games on it and have a laptop fan cooling pad underneath.
Thanks to your inspiration I got a T510 yesterday. Thanks
Four years ago dam time flys
You're the man.
I Couldn't make my mind on witch one to pick but you helped me decide.
Glad they managed to finally open the BIOS on machines past the X200.
So I picked a T430 for 61 dollars. (115 total for shipping and import fees)
i5 2.6Ghz | 4go | no HDD (the bottom screen looked a bit cracked, no pic with screen turned on were provided but seller offer 30day return option)
For now, they seem to go around 115 USD but without shipping. The famous x series look more expensive.
You guys have any recommended links to max-out the ram?
For screens I've seen 1440p displays but no 1080p ones. Isn't that too much for the GPU?
I guess I cut the resolution in half in games and still have a sharp view since it's precise 50% pixel reduction.
Using a T430 for three years now as my daily mobile workhorse. Bought it off ebay, already with SSD. Added a caddy for a second SSD and another 4GB of RAM. Still extremely happy with it. Got 2 docking stations plus power supplies for next to nothing. Best thing I ever bought. I work on PCs, gaming not important for me.
My desktop PSU blew so I was taking this chance to get a T430 and play around with it. Thanks for the very insightful video!
Good video. I have two high school sons who have desktops but are outgrowing their Chromebooks. Bought two Thinkpads on ebay. Bought a T450 with Windows, 8GB and 128 SSD for $180. Weakest part of this laptop is the monitor but can be upgraded for
Yeah excluding the display/ performance it is better then a lot of modern laptops even some in 1000$ price range
If you don’t mind me asking, I’m looking to get a t430 as my first thinkpad and was wondering where you bought both of yours?
@@SupremePlayzMinecraftGames I bought them on Ebay. The prices have seemed to increase a bit but keep looking. In some cases you may need to upgrade some components like an SSD which provides the biggest upgrade bang for the buck. On the T430, an AC adapter ($10), battery ($40) and SSD ($45) had to be purchased which was why it was so cheap. I installed POP OS (free) and it has worked flawlessly. There are a lot of very cheap parts on ebay like docking stations, keyboards and other spare parts since this was a business machine. I have not had to invest anything on the T450 .
Seeing as 3 years have passed
Are you going to make an updated video on this?
That is the plan!
@@SebisRandomTech We're all still waiting haha
I'm using a T530 with a backlit keyboard at the moment and love it. I would rather have the newer style backlit keyboard than the non backlit classic one because I use it in a lot of low light conditions and find the backlight preferable to the Thinklight. I do need to find a reasonably priced older Thinkpad with a full keyboard with dedicated num keys like a W540 for a friend.
I always liked the ThinkLight better because if you need to illuminate more than just the keyboard (such as a sheet of paper or a book), it was a convenient reading light to have. I can remember a class I had last semester where the professor would turn all of the lights off while presenting the lesson (powerpoint), and I could use my ThinkLight to not only type up notes, but also write down some of the symbols and formulas that can’t be easily typed on a computer. I think the **30 ThinkPads did things best by offering both, so you could use whichever one you preferred.
For finding a used ThinkPad with the dedicated numeric keypad, something like the T540 or T540p would probably be available for cheaper than the W540, unless your friend needs the extra power of a W series machine.
@@SebisRandomTech Thanks. I'll look into those. As for the Thinklight it does have it's place and I'm glad I have the option of either.
As you pointed out, the best part of Thinkpads is the modularity, upgradeability, great support and plentiful cheap parts availability. Unfortunately I am afraid that Lenovo is following the competition de-contenting and making their machines more difficult to repair.
Oh, and another thing. COVIID-19 has driven up demand and prices for laptops new and used as everyone had to scramble to get on line and factories and supply lines shut down. It will be interesting how this all plays out if the economy tanks and demand falls. Crazy times.
Agree with you there, I’m very anxious to see how everything plays out in the next few months and even years.
I got a good laugh out of ' they're light enough to not hurt your back.' lmao I've rocked a T520 and only recently switched to an X250, so i get it, just found that that line hilarious
My daily is a T530, circa 2013. Bought it at an employee sale for $300. No problems during the 5 years that I've owned it. Dual Booting between Debian 10/Windows 10.
Once thing I can recommend, if you don't do any heavy graphics, disable the Discreet Video in Bios -it burns through battery life.
I mostly use my laptop for SSH remote admin, Open Office, and streaming content from my HTPC. For an extra $100, I picked up a SSD and maxed out the RAM from Amazon.
Even when I am too lazy to boot into Windows 10, I can run it in Vmware in Linux with no problems. Not bad for 7 yr old laptop.
i bought a T440p which is coming in the mail soon, i got it as a hobby project as i like the idea of messing around and building something up that i want. even though the performance isnt good anymore and you're better off with a T480
Very nice. I have an x220 however I’m considering picking up a t440p or t480
Was planning the same but decided to just go for the T480
I bought an X1 Carbon (4th gen) off of eBay last week for $550 (16 gigs of ram, 510 ssd). It's awesome and I love it. I'll probably never buy a new computer again.
I agree with you. Trackpoint is essential feature for me. That is why I only use Thinkpads. I dont use trackpads at all. I am so used to trackpoint, i dont even need mouse. Too bad that X1 gen5 i have, has somewhat not that responsive trackpoint.
thank you for bringing the thinkmods expresscard to nvme adapter to light. That's an incredibly useful little piece of kit
No problem! I look forward to getting one of those for myself!
Love my T420. It's now the "shop PC" In my electronics lab, so mostly just for pulling up schematics and documentation. Hurts to not have that keyboard any longer, now that I'm using a T480s, but I think I can get another 5-10 years out of it in this role.
As always, great video. I love how you take the ThinkPads outside and take b-roll footage like that. I shot some footage of my T60 out in the snow (I didn't bury it in the snow, most of the snow/ice was under the laptop and pretty much vaporized with the CPU temp)
I wanted a media laptop to use at home for simple tasks (like browsing, writing and reading) because I was using always my good laptop that I use for work.
Some months ago after some reserch bought a T440p (150€) and these upgrades :512GB M2 sata ssd MLC (90€) 16GB RAM 2133 Hz (80€) 2TB SSHD (70€) Docking station (15€) caddy for third hard disk (5€).
I chose this model because I wanted the most recent with highest upgradability and i'm glad Sebi is the same opinion.
The next upgrades will be the Lcd panel (40€) and the CPU (around 100€) but for now i'd stay, already spent too much :)
My daily driver for college work is still a T430 I bought back in 2018 for $350ish. I didn't spec it perfectly but its lasted well. Glad I got it.
cool
Sebi: Sets Thinkpads on precarious ledges and other dangerous locations
Me: AUUUUUUUUGH
When I was on that bridge I was pretty much just waiting for a wind gust to blow my ThinkPad down into the creek or onto the tracks below.
*That would have been fun to explain to the police.* XD
@@SebisRandomTech Yeah, you would've been in trouble from damaging the railroad tracks. ;^)
Been a big ThinkPad fan for awhile now. The T520 was the first machine I requisitioned when I started managing infrastructure for my employer. Probably went through 200+ of them. Built like tanks (with an ugly display). My favorite Thinkpad (and I know I'm probably in the minority here) was the Thinkpad Yoga S1. These were also a model I req'd for the entire company, and a sister company I worked for. My wife uses one, and I just got a couple for my 2 kids for $200 per off eBay. They're light-years ahead of what the school requires and has us buy (chromebooks). Nice review!
The great thing about the T420/430 and their 15” counterparts is that it is now possible to modify them to handle better displays. I’m about to do this with my T430 and I couldn’t be happier!
I agree with just about everything you say here. IMHO, the T430/T430s, is STILL the "Best Bang for the Buck" in 2020 for the average user. especially with the "better" 1600x900 display.
I've been able to compare the T480, and W540/i7-4900mq, side-by-side. All things considered, the W540, or the i7-4800mq powered T440p, are a better value.
Still using T530 since it came out ... and a non-working T61p. (T530) Replace all drives to SSDs and still running great in 2020. Planning to mod it with classic keyboard and CPU soon.
It depends what job you're doing.. as an Engineer who working alot with Solidworks, 3D CAD, 3Ds Max i would recommend you: Thinkpad W541 & Thinkpad P50.. mine is Thinkpad W541 (refurbished)
if you have more budget, you can get new Thinkpad P1 or Thinkpad P53.. later you can plug in External GPU with Thunderbolt Cable
I absolutely could NOT agree MORE with you here! I have a couple of W540 ThinkPads for my CAD, 3D Desk, and Photoshop needs. The K2100m graphics are more than adequate for my needs. The i7-4900mqq, is pretty much overkill for my needs. I won't need a P series for quite some time, however a P series is a REALLY good investment for the Engineer/Graphic Artist.
When the cost comes down on a high-end P70, I may very well go to one, but I have a set budget of $400 USD, for the initial purchase price.
The T440p can be upgraded to a 4900MQ if I remember correctly. While I agree with both of you that the W/P series are very solid machines (I have a W540 myself), they are still a lot more expensive than an equivalent T series from the same generation. Obviously they have an advantage in the GPU category and usually have beefier processors, but nowadays the difference in performance between them isn’t enough to justify the premium commanded by a lot of W530’s, W540’s, etc that I see being sold online, when a T440p can be upgraded to around 80% of the performance of a W540 for less.
A friend sold me a W540 he found at a recycling center for a whopping $15, which is the only reason I have one ;)
@@SebisRandomTech Maybe 4900. I've tried that and ended up with thermal issues. I have one with a 4800. It's warm, but pretty decent most of the time. I like to recommend a 4700, or 4710 for the T440p. No thermal issues at all.
@@dragunovbushcraft152 Or the 4702, which runs at 35W instead of 45W.
@@SebisRandomTech Meh, that would be going backwards in clockspeed though. Even just a little bit, can matter at times. BUT it is an option.
Loving the jointed rail track at the beginning :P
I agree... I worked a lot with Lenovo at my job as a Technician - Field Service.
Holy Moly, yea man. Good old ThinkPads. I personally hated all the notebooks...before ThinkPads. 6 Years ago my uncle gave me a Thinkpad T40. Holy Sheat, this mashine was still working like charm! Silent and still pretty fast with XP on it :D All the other notebooks were soo slow.... I dont know why, but all consumer notebooks i tested were pretty slow after some time... Then I bought a T400, T430, T440s, T540p, P50 with xeon. Now I am owning only my old T400 and my new T450s. Untill now P50 is still my favorite. Absolutely beautifull beast :) Some day I will get new P series, but it will take some time ^^ Overall, all thinkpads I got were excelent. Good qualty and durable as hell. T430 got problems with some noisy coolers from one manufacturer, T540p got dumb noisy cooler which was rumping up too full speed and tehn going down to normal speeds, Still dont get it, why they didn't fix it in BIOS?! Also, it wasn't black ,it was grey :( I love Thinkpas since I got my first T40 xD
Considering how how and power hungry my T430s is, I wouldn't even consider another laptop in that line. My T440p ran MUCH cooler and quieter, and was a lot more power and power efficient. Unfortunately, the fact that the p variant only has a single battery has been a massive negative to me. MAYBE i'll get around to trying to fix it one day, after I managed to brick two motherboards.
Edit: not only can you get a harddrive caddy for the T440p, but you can also get a Blu-Ray RW drive.
buy a new battery bra
@@aneeshprasobhan the T430s has two brand new batteries. What's that gonna change?
i just bought a t430 with 16gb RAM, i5, duel SSD's (250 & 500gb), spare battery & dock, Win 10 with office, with backlit keyboard in near mint condition for £250 (around $300). very happy, thank you for all your advice Sebi. love the channel. only thing is the hinges are a little floppy, any chance of a hinge replacement video?
almost forgot...
*replying from my thinkpad*
I wanna buy T440s. is it good for value?
I might be doing that with my T430 soon, stay tuned to find out! :)
I have an x250 and it's simple: I love it!! And I need it!!
This video gave me a very good overview of old thinkpads. Thanks !
Cheers everyone, if I was going to purchase a think pad as a student with a bit of light gaming, what would you recommend?
If you have the money the X1 Extreme isn't bad, with the GTX 1650 Ti built in.
I honestly think that Lenovo made a big mistake getting rid of the classic keyboards. Those were the one thing that truly set them apart from the rest, it felt like typing on an actual desktop keyboard, and I NEVER broke keys. I have a MacBook Pro and I absolutely hate chiclet keys.
So why did you buy one then if they're garbage?
Thinkpads are great. You can find yourself a laptop with reasonable specifications on a budget which is very feature-rich. I got a Thinkpad T450 just 2 days ago as my secondary machine for Rs 10,000 (roughly $121) and its rocking an i5-5300U and 8GB of RAM.
Just curious, but where did you purchase it from?
@@Thomasthetrain2424 My dad bought from an office colleague.
I have been working helpdesk now for 13 years, starting to use Lenovo products in late 2007. I have to say they are pretty tough and just great laptops in general. I do prefer the T440p's very much. Today I am still using my T450s with 12 gb ram and a 500gb ssd. Have the dock as well. I have lots of older Lenovo's at home. going back to the T/R61's. Solid design on the most part. The X series not a fan of so much, as the right front corners break the frame(has someone figure out a fix for this besides replacing frame?). The power port tab breaks, but found a hot glue trick to fix that. Anyway, I could talk about them for hours, thanks for the video, brought back lots of memories on these. Take care.
Fantastic video. From years of collecting and buying from former employers or used and refurbished machines, we have various older Thinkpads in our household: T60, X220, X230, T410, two T430. Even the oldest, the T60, runs flawlessly; despite being the oldest machine, it ironically has the by far best display, a beautiful 4:3 IPS display, 1400x1050 max. resolution.
Then, there is THIS ONE "NEW" Thinkpad, an E480. And guess what? Just a little over two years (the warranty period for the machine), the Thunderbolt connector died, rendering the machine utterly useless, because it can no longer be charged. Unbelievably infuriating. I would definitely not recommend buying any USB-C charging laptops, and will certainly stay away from newer Lenovo laptops, since I'm not the only one with this problem...
Look for a P1, X1 Extreme, T15g, or one of the thicker P-series machines. They still use a standard Lenovo charger instead of relying on USB-C.
I have the 1600x1200 IPS panel on my T60, without a doubt one of the best laptop displays of all time.
I was a pretty long term user of ThinkPads, my first one was an X61 and I loved it. However, as the GPU performance of all older/classic ThinkPads is their weak point (as described in the video) I had to jump to the Dell Precision and HP EliteBook lines instead. If you want a portable AND upgradeable machine then the HP EliteBook 2570p is a great option as it does offer a socketed Ivy Bridge CPU, upgradeable RAM, eGPU support and removable battery into a 12" chassis. And both Dell Precision and HP EliteBook 15" and 17" Sandy Bridge and up models support high quality IPS or DreamColor 1080p displays, dedicated number pad and the possibility to upgrade the internal dedicated GPU via a MXM slot, whereas the equivalent ThinkPad W series of the time get stuck with pretty old and inefficient Nvidia Quadro graphics. The only thing I do really miss from the ThinkPads is the keyboard, you'll never find something more comfortable to work with than those classic 7-row ones. Best regards!
does it support i7 with quad core though?
The new X395 powered with an AMD chip is way better on graphics performances (vega 10 chip I guess) which is mind blowing comparing with the intel hd/uhd chip.
The 17" ThinkPads, the W700/701 and the P70/71, also had MXM slots to upgrade the GPU. Unfortunately with Nvidia ending support for the MXM standard the P72 and P73 did away with the MXM slot. As mentioned in the video, the T420 and T430, along with every older ThinkPad with an ExpressCard slot, can use an external GPU, and these laptops can be modified for IPS displays. I've seen a few Dells and HP's (actually just sold an HP ProBook 640 G1) that nearly rival the quality of a ThinkPad, but to me there's still no keyboard as good as the 7-row, or even the newer 6-rows. Some of the Dells and HP's have a pointing stick, but it pales in comparison to the TrackPoint, which is important to me since I don't really use the touchpad. I've of course also heard horror stories about support from Dell and HP.
All of that aside, I will have to look into the 2570p, that seems like a very intriguing laptop. Might make for a good laptop to compare to the X230. Thanks for watching!