Agree with all you said in the video. And also need to say, that spending 300 USD for a new cheap laptop is such a waste of money. I always recommend buying a second hand T series Thinkpad to my friends and they never have regret it. Great video there!
I cringe when I see someone spend so much money on some junk $200-300 Wal-Mart Special, they can get *any* used laptop for less and they'll be better off.
Picked up T460 with 16gb of ram, i5, and 128 gb nvme drive for $120 as a dedicated work laptop. These laptops are a great deal at these prices and I would say better than new $200-$300 laptops from the likes of HP and Dell.
@@Sjjeien Look for a ThinkPad T440p. That should check off most if not all of the boxes on your list (DVD drive, storage upgrades, able to run PowerPoint/Word/TH-cam/etc).
Being a ThinkPad user both when I worked and now for casual computing, I appreciate knowing more about them. You did a great job of giving me more of an understanding. Thank You.
Got a T460s recently with the 1440p display option, it's amazing to use and plenty fast (had to adjust display scaling to 125% as 100% is too small to read!). Was surprised at just how lightweight it is too! Shame they removed the PowerBridge feature, and the fact it uses two internal batteries is very odd.
In depth knowledge of the best Thinkpads is highly appreciated. Most of Thinkpad users will concur that the older T series are still desirable mainly of its classic keypad, upgrade options and durability aspect at a very reasonable cost.
I like the older models as well, but I can recognize some of the strengths of more modern machines (while also criticizing what I don’t like about them).
Inspired by your videos, I have purchased a W541 i7 4701mq ($187), X250 i5 5300 ($136) and L380 i5 8250 ($193), two ultra docks ($12) from ebay. All are in pristine condition featuring SSDs and 16GB RAM each and very good battery life. With less than $550, my mobile and workstation setup is flying. Thanks for the inspiration and keep up the good work!
@stonks First of all, you should know your computer specifications requirement. Needs must be fulfilled now. Wants may wait. That will narrow down your selection. Now, with enough time and focus on Ebay, you will eventually find good deals. Pro tips: try to find individual seller who is selling his/her laptop from work. Often these are first hand used and most like to be in better shape; but be ready to pay a bit premium. On the other hand, try to find out Bulk sellers/recyclers who are involved in charity; usually they sell at much cheaper price than others. Best offer works better than auction; at least for me. I have bought W541 from an individual, X250 from a bulk seller and L380/Docks from a charity seller; all through best offers. One note of Caution: try to avoid sell posts/message with harsh language. If the seller is rude before selling a product, s/he wont be any nicer afterward. If you don't get exactly what was in the post, dont be afraid to ask for partial refund (if that's ok to you) Or just refund it. Often, sellers with good intention will agree for partial refund if the product really differs and you still want it at lower price. Be Honest to yourself before such claim, though. Good Luck.
I appreciated your review on this video and the T480 and T480s units as I purchased a T460s to side step the problems that you had predicted on the T470s and T480s usb-c charging ports and the thunderbolt 3 port challenges. More and more reviewers are finding these problems as well on these and newer units. Thank you.
I have an X260 that I use as a "carry-around" (something I can just quickly toss in my bag while heading out the door), and a T470p as my "workhorse". A pretty good combination for my needs :)
just got my X260. Have the full loadout though, 1080p ISP display, i76600U, 32Gb DR4 RAM, 2TB SSD, LTE WWAN. Powerfull small machine. Really happy with it
@@Kanisterschaedel I still have my X260, but have hit quite a few limits with it (i.e. when working with multiple AVDs - Android Virtual Devices - and Flutter). It still "works" for what I need it to do, but was working quite slowly (I only have the i5 model with 16GB). I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 16 5625 to use as a "carry-around" thin-and-light Linux workstation, and it's not bad. Has 8 cores, 16 threads, 32GB of RAM and a 2TB NVMe. It feels cheap (not built like a ThinkPad), and the keyboard feels "yuck" (nothing like a ThinkPad keyboard), but it gets the job done. Has a great screen, really good speakers, and battery life is good. Resuming from sleep didn't work for about 4 months after I bought it, but after a few kernel updates, it now works. Oh, I also had to replace the WiFi/Bluetooth card it came with, as that didn't play nicely with Linux. In short: the Inspiron 16 5625 hardware is okay (feels cheap), but the AMD Ryzen 7 5825U chip is surprisingly impressive.
@@MnemonicCarrier yeah the Notebook Ryzens are a force to be reckoned with. Those things are amazing. I’ve got an HP Elitebook from Work with a Ryzen7 in it and that thing is so much more powerful than the i5 in my T480 that I had before. But the Keyboard of the HP is absolutely atrocious. But it is hard to emulate the typing feel of a think pad.
I am a Lenovo ThinkPad nut. I own a mid level medical type company. At any given time we have from 25-35 staff. We needed a minimum of 1 pc per 3-4 staff members for their data logging requirements. I tried cheep slim line desktop type pcs. Not a good idea. I am an old school PC tech from the mid 1990's - Mid 2000's. I found the ThinkPad docking stations and already had the monitors. So I put docks all over the facilities, and found a boat load of Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Laptops. I refurbished them. Found out that a 42mm M.2 SSD will fit in the SIM card spot. Then I put a 2TB HDD with BitLocker Encryption for HIPPA compliance. They are supper portable and for the unit, the HD screen swap, the SSD install, the spinning HDD, and maxing out the RAM. Each unit cost about $200. I was able to issue almost every staff member their own unit. So no sharing. Now that being said I had gone through T420 units, not my favorite, My personal unit was a P440. I installed a i7-4710 Quad Core CPU and 16GB of DDR3L, With an NVIDA Dedicated GPU with 1GB of VRAM. I pulled the Optical drive and added an additional 2T HDD, and 1T 42mm M.2 SSD with an additional 2TB SATA drive. Unfortunately My eye sight is starting to go. I had to have a unit that will doc with my docking stations around my offices and Lenovo does not support the old school connectors any longer. Now they use the USB-C docks. I was lucking and found a Lenovo ThinkPad P50. It has a Xeon 3 CPU, with 32GB of DDR4 RAM, some great NVMe Slots. Now you have to pick SATA or NVMe but those new PCIe SSDs are a lot less expensive. Plus it has a 15.6 inch display over my old 14 inch display. Plus it has 4GB dedicated VRAM. I got this unit for $350.00, (1) 2TB NVMe SSD, (2) 16GB DDR4 2166 RAM. and a New HD Screen for an additional $225 ish. This works with all my Docking stations. Its an awesome work station for me.
Got a T440p for around $90. Came with 8GB ram, HDD and an i7-4700mq. I have since upgraded it to the FHD IPS display, 16GB of RAM, 500GB m.2, 500GB SSD, 1TB hard drive caddy upgrade and an Intel i7-4910mq upgrade. It is a beast for my Dev work.
A friend of mine uses those Thinkpad with the clunkpad, she asked me to check some of her works in her laptop, long story short, I kept accidentally touching the clunkpad, almost slammed it out of frustation. I feel better when she opted to send me the file by mail so I can work on it using my own laptop, a T530, I know giant touchpad might look enticing at first glance, but they are definitely no fun for typist.
I was able to get used to it after a while, but I still think it's tolerable *at best.* A traditional touchpad and dedicated buttons will always be superior in my eyes.
@@SebisRandomTech I can't imagine the frustation I would get if I am trying to get used to clunkpad. I'll probably try to stay with my T530 for as long as humanly possible. Although, the new Ryzen Thinkpad really entices me.
If anyone wants an alternative to Thinkpads I would highly recommend looking at a Dell Precision m4000 or m6000 series. They offer extraordinary I/O and superior upgradability. Another option could be an HP Elitebook, which features great upgradability as well. However, I still have a fair bit of respect for these Thinkpads and wouldn't blame you for using them for many years to come.
I’m interested in looking at an Ivy Bridge HP ProBook, it’s a 12” machine like the X230 that has an upgradeable CPU. Probably the best ThinkPad that isn’t a ThinkPad!
The HP EliteBook 2570p is the one I'm thinking of. 12.5" screen, Ivy Bridge architecture, upgradeable CPU, ExpressCard and optical drive...really would be an intriguing machine to check out.
@@SebisRandomTech I agree. There's a ton of other stuff unlocked inside as well and I certainly would like to see some Expresscards that are a bit more ... obscure.
Although I'll always like my m4600 or m6700, which butts heads with the HP equivalents of the time period. Plus they got MXM on board for some slight graphics fenagling, albeit there are also HP laptops with similar MXM cards that are more upgradable. Anyways, can't wait to see whatever older devices you happen to come across.
This is actually very Helpfull was going to buy a T440 but the Upgradebility of RAM made me reconsider because the difference between a t440 and a t470s is about 100$ in my region right now
Very surprised I was featured in a screencap in a video 😅 Since then I have had my T470. From my experience, it has great battery life, and offers great value. Only thing I'm not a fan of is the trackpad, but its useable. The keyboard is fantastic, and is probably my favorite non-mechanical keyboard. It has enough features for me to be fine with it. I didn't expect much from the laptop. I snatched a good deal on mine. Happy Holidays!
Got a used 460s for myself for $100 with 12GB ram and 128GB storage. Probably gonna be upgrading the storage soon but its really worth the money. These laptops were built to stand the test of time. Not many out there with a 6th gen intel processor and have the upgradability options that these thinkpads give you.
Not so long ago I got a used x260 for around $300 in decent configuration. It's super portable, in comparison to my older T430. They surprisingly common on the used market here in Ukraine.
Not too far back I bought a base model t440 with a cracked 1366x768 display for around $70. Threw in a couple ssd's (m.2 and a sata ssd just for fun), the t450 trackpad, and the 1080p screen and I was all in at about $180. I used it for school until... well... you know. It worked great, and I still use it as my main laptop now. (I'm a little late to this video, whoops).
I ended up getting a cheap L440 to replace my recently dead T440P. All mods moved over and are 100% compatible. Now I have a L440 with i7 processor, 16GB RAM, 2.5" SSD, 2.5" HDD, IPS FHD panel, backlit keyboard and finally, 4G modem. Left the clunkpad alone. As for the T540P, the keyboard broke recently and now using it on the dock.
I just got into Thinkpads lately, I am currently using a very standard 2018 HP laptop and I don't mind buying a used t430 for its build and design with maxed out upgrades. Thanks for making videos of Thinkpads!
How are u willing to spend on used thinkpads?. Truth to be told these youtubers selling thinkpads are over inflating the prices. Simply doesn't make sense to spend close to new NBs.
@@therealb888 As of now I already bought a T420 to replace my current laptop. In my case it's just about preference, I really like the Thinkpad robust and classic laptop look. As long as I have that for the hardware, the Internal stuff comes second.
I think I'll attempt the dual->quad-core BGA upgrade for the x230, I have a hot air station and have fiddled with BGA chips in the past, sounds like a very compelling machine once upgraded to a 3615qe
Noticed this video a couple of years late. I bought a Yoga 9i last year for almost $1000 because it's beautiful. But last week I bought a T460S (FHD 1ps) in excellent condition for $140. I prefer the latter! No functional difference for the few things I use a laptop for. Good review.
In my country I got the E460 at about $200 when other laptops about the same specs where around the $350 - $400 mark, used of course. Since then almost all the functioning laptops got a huge price surge and to find a good deal is almost impossible even for the sandy bridge ones. I'm really happy with my Thinkpad even if I can't access the bios, since I'm using it as a desktop replacement the unplugged battery will last for a long time and when everything goes back to normal I will get some T series as a long term project. Love your videos Sebi!
I am loving my 1st gen x1 yoga. Having had multiple older thinkpads and one with a classic keyboard, I miss a lot of the upgradeability and the ability to play around with the laptops. The best way I have to explain it is that although the older laptops are fun to upgrade and learn about, the newer ones are more practical and easier to use for me personally. I miss the days I had of jumping around between different laptops day by day, but the newer one just makes more sense to use all the time. I mostly miss the ability to multi-boot with different drives, and I'm sure if my model wasn't maxed out I would want more RAM. I also think the speed is significantly worse even compared to third gen dual core. Ultimately though, it's a worthwhile jump and I no longer feel like my laptop is inadequate in any way. I think the best value for someone shopping for a modern laptop is the x1 carbon 3rd-4th gen and x1 yoga 1st gen. I was truly amazed by how much they packed into mine, and it seemed like it was overall rather little compromise.
Glad you're happy with your Yoga. I don't mind the original X1 Carbon (2012) despite its lack of upgradeability. For my uses I prefer a slightly chunkier machine though ;)
I got myself a e15 g2 and for me its defenitely one of the best ThinkPads. Because - fast fingerprint sensor - fast prozessor - good battery live - relatively thin - ~600 bucks (brandnew) So defenitely worth its money
I recently grabbed a T440s with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD in very good condition for only 80 US. Couldn't be happier with it for the price. Runs Linux Mint MATE very well.
Great video, it beggars belief why they brought in a buttonless trackpad only to replace it in the next upgrade. Only use ThinkPads and have quite a collection. Your channel has given me great value in it's approach to keeping these machines going on into the future.😊
Just got a really good deal on a slightly banged up T470s with maxed out ram. Installed arch with i3wm on it and using it for web development at work. The CPU can struggle a bit with heavier web pages, but the experience overall has been better than expected. Feels like using i3 (or any other super light window manager) is a saving grace for this class of laptop.
You bought your laptop from Mercari! I bought my two laptops: a T460 in 2018 for $200 and a touchscreen X250 for $140 in 2019 (although I got that for free because the seller sent me the wrong charger and I wanted to return it but the seller refunded me and let me keep the laptop).
I've gotten a handful of good deals off of there. Sometimes the search feature can be a little buggy but I've still made some nice purchases from there, including the T470s featured in this video.
Many years ago I picked upa T440 for cheap. I modded it myself, changed the screen for a high definition screen, modded the trackpad to have the three physical buttoms and even changed the keyboard to a back lit one. Loved using it despite how bulky it felt, but it was sturdy. Then one day, it wouldn't boot into the bios. Got the beeps of death. To this day I haven't been able to figure out the issue or had time to fix it but I still hope to use it again one day.
Everytime you say how sturdy Thinkpads are I die a little inside knowing the only reason I'm looking into Thinkpads again is because I broke the internal frame and both outer shells on my T450S. The lid just seems to be normal wear and tear but it's cracked, but I dropped it screen out flat, and broke the other parts. The internal battery also just gave up the ghost too... but this video has given me new hope. I didn't realize the T440S shared so many parts, how cheap the palm rest is! Thank you!
A few times I have used T440s palmrests to repair broken T450s’s, and vice versa. The modular nature of older ThinkPads is a huge part of why I enjoy working on them.
The T440s/450s are generally pretty reliable. I would say the most fail-prone components are parts that will gradually fail after heavy use in any laptop - the battery, the screen cable, etc. The T470s in this video had an unintentional drop test a few days ago and it fared just fine.
@@SebisRandomTech I guess I just have particularly bad luck then, mine was showing signs of structural failure long before the batteries died. Do you know of if any of the 3rd party 68+ batteries are any good?
@@ChrisD__ I try to stick to genuine Lenovo's whenever possible. If I had to get an aftermarket/3rd party one I would try to get one from a reputable battery manufacturer, but you can take your chances with a generic one.
@@gustavo8708 nice, been looking for one here but couldn't get or the prices are just unreachable so opted for a different one, but surely if I get another chance I will take one.. I don't use the ports a lot but if needed extra ports will just take an expanding card or extension or whatever they call it for plenty of other ports :)
I use a MacBook Pro for my daily work, but I just ordered a ThinkPad T460S to use in my basement workshop and garage. I need something that won't mind a bit of grease, grit, and sawdust. MacBooks are too precious and easy to damage with their glossy glass screens and shiny aluminum bodies.
I just recently got a T470 for $50 and it definitely one of the best purchases I've made, it does everything I need it to along with hacking Windows 11 onto it, I upgraded it to 16gb of ram, It had its internal battery replaced before it was shipped to me, currently it has no external battery but a plan to get a 36WH one to go along with the internal. If I do end up getting T480 then I'll def upgrade
I picked up a W530 for IIRC less than $100USD several years ago, came with 4 or 8 GB ram, (dont remember) no HDD/SSD, an i7 3740QM, and quadro K1100. Now what is nice about this laptop, is the 4 RAM slots, an mSATA and SATA slot for 2 SSDs, and an optical drive for an additional SSD Oh, and lets not forget the 1080p IPS panel. Once i replace this laptop with the Thinkcenter M75Q gen2 that i picked up for $530 with Ryzen 7 4750GE , i'll probably donate it to one of the students at work. Now i realise this isnt and 'ultraportable' but it isnt that bad if you're a big person like me
I would go for T480 rather than T470p for: - way better baterry life for 15W processors, you can tweak kabylake-r processor very easily and an i5 8250U would have the same performance as i7 7700HQ at 35W PL2. - thunderbolt support - thinner and lighter - power bridge
So before watching this video I got a T470p for 100 dollars on Facebook Marketplace. The guy selling it did not like the screen which I'm glad because I was able to get such a great laptop.
I was very impressed with my L470. I personally think the L models don't get enough credit. Even though I've moved to a t480 and am in love with it i still think of my l470 with VGA fondly.
I like that the L series has stuck on to some legacy aspects longer than the T series, like how the L570 still had VGA, a DVD drive, and ExpressCard when every other model had done away with those. However, the T series is built a little better and in the long run they end up being more practical as used machines, not only since they’re more common but also because replacement parts are more accessible than with the L series. Either one has its benefits though!
@@SebisRandomTech thanks for the reply. Yes i agree parts ability is a pain for example the commen failure of the power and VGA board which is one board unfortunately. And the build quality is still better than most other laptops but nothing compares to the T Series. And i love my t480 more than anything else.
@@adriaanserrao2016 There have been a few times with some of those lesser common laptops where it was cheaper for me to buy an entire second laptop to harvest parts from than it was to get the one replacement part I need, so I definitely understand your L-series struggles in that regard.
Looking forward to this video! Watching on a Thinkpad T450s right now that I bought used about 1.5 years ago for ~$200. Still running great and the IPS display is really nice for watching TH-cam or a movie. Although, I'm also craving a smaller x220 with the IPS option as a more mobile device (and for the old-style keyboard, of course).
With the X270 you still get a removable battery, upgradeable ram and a dock connector, but also usb-c, nvme support and a 7th gen intel Kaby lake. Still kinda expensive though
Usually, guy with versions that were expensive in their prime time won't see their beloved laptops here: T520, W520, T540p, X220 tablet, W540 and lightweight like X250, x260, some more modern version is T480, P50 or P51, P52. T480 (which make T490 counts) is the only exception of 14 inch that I think standing out of the 14 inch T. Of course all 14 inch T are great, I used T400, T410, T420. The point is, most T and W with 15 inch were expensive, and for the cost, they have better feature and the larger size doesn't mean just bigger but bettet heat performance, and are still comparatively expensive, but some guy love them so much that they bought whatsoever. And that's my honorable mention to these guy.
I have a t460s and prefer it to my t495s (AMD). The latter has more cpu grunt but the 460s has a 1440 panel and a 930m dgpu. It also doesn't have the whiney fan. They're nearly identical in size which goes to show the t495s needlessly dropped the full size ethernet and sd card reader. I also have a xeon p50, w540 (touchpad swapped) and previously had an x220 and t410, both sold for ridiculous money considering the age. Perhaps it was just the old style keyboards, but I'm used to the new ones. I don't miss the swappable battery because... I don't live off grid.
Always great reviews and welcome back (perhaps shorter bite sized snippet reviews/tips?). I was starting to think that you had a run in with a certain virus going around ;). Love the unassuming outdoor props that go well with unassuming ThinkPads.
I was preoccupied with school, hence the long absence. With winter break coming up I should have a little more free time to finish up a few projects. I’ve been lucky so far in regards to physical health, however a few people in my inner circle have contracted it so I’m being extra cautious!
The L14 and L15 don't have everything but they are moving towards the classic T expandability and durability. There will never be hot swap batteries again because USB batteries are better in every way. Eventually you won't be able to replace Thinkpad batteries but will still be able to use USB batteries.
What happens when USB batteries are obsolete? 😅 Just kidding, but you do have a point there. I just find the removable battery to be more convenient at the moment. We’ll see if that sentiment changes once Lenovo batteries are harder to come by.
If you need a Yoga/pen, either go with the first gen Yoga 12 (130-200 pounds for a dual core i5, 8 gigs and an ssd), or the first quadcores, with the L380/X380 (450-700 for a quad core i5/i7, 8-16 gigs, and an nvme.) Both have great IPS 1080p touchscreens and actually good battery life. Bought my i5 5300u 8 gig, 180 gig Yoga 12 for 130, and my i7 8550u 16 gig 480 gig X380 for 600! Both have been great in uni for notes and what not.
1:14 That's interesting, I live in Poland and when I was shopping for an ultra cheap laptop (under $180) this summer, there were more X-series available (X230, X240 sometimes X220) than anything else. I got an X230 for 147$.
Great content, but I'd suggest (if I may) to include some charts or final recap to help people to get along with the high amount of information provided. I think that would step up the quality even more of this content
@@SebisRandomTech the real problem is that I am new to this world so I struggle to keep along with all the information that were very dense, maybe it could help to insert also a squared with the model so that if someone wants to get back to the video could find the exact spot easily. That said is just my personal opinion I don't pretend to teach you how to do videos but I think it was worth writing you that :)
making a case in favor of the T470s. in the case of physical loss of the power connector on the laptop, you can still power up the laptop through the thunderbolt port ... :D
Not to mention the power connector is easily replaceable (plugs into the motherboard and replacements are like $5-7 on eBay), unlike newer models which rely solely on Thunderbolt and have the port soldered on to the main motherboard.
@@SebisRandomTech is the power connector for the T470 also easily replaceable? I just bought a T470 from eBay in immaculate condition. It has a 1080 IPS screen and the thunderbolt port is compatible with my Dell D6000 dock. The Thunderbolt cord powers the laptop and outputs video to three 24" 1920x1200 external monitors via the dock. I use the T470 for productivity. I am not a gamer.
I can strongly advise everyone to stay away from Lenovo's new E series Thinkpads. Both the E14 gen 1, E14 gen 2 and E15. I've tried them all and hated every one of them. If you config any of these with a dgpu you'll regret it since your entire laptop is now a heat bomb, throttling into oblivion with it's single heatpipe (on the E14 for example). They've all got dim screens, meh performance and horrible build quality. I hope this helps some others! Also let me know what you think if you own one of these laptops!
The E series has always been junk. I think the modern options are generally better than the original "Edge" models from the early 2010's, but I generally stay away from them as a whole and suggest others do the same unless it's all they can afford.
@deadbeef, I agree with that to an extent. Yes, the AMD E14 gen 2 has two heatpipes, but that shouldn't be a 'feature'. They're designing their new ThinkPads with the wrong compromises in my opinion. Having only a single heatpipe for a CPU and dedicated RX640 GPU in the E14 for example is just plain stupid. Why not add two heatpipes? You can't say the engineers forgot to add them. It's clear to me that they're purposefully making their E series (and possibly other models I haven't tried) shit so you'll go buy their more expensive models, but why? I wouldn't expect a 500 nit screen from a 'budget' (and I say that loosely, because their higher configs can get pricy pretty quick) ThinkPad, but they haven't come much further in recent years and are still stuck with garbage low brightness panels. Laptops from 2013 had comparable or even better displays than what Lenovo's offering now in 2020 moving into 2021. Quickly touching on build quality; It could be true that it's much better than it was with previous E series models like you say (I haven't tried them), but still nowere near what I expected. The plastic feels super cheap, the screen hinge is poorly constructed, is off center and creaks when adjusting the angle. The base plate, while made from aluminium etc. sounds nice on paper and for marketing, however I wouldn't trust it to add any protection to the laptop in the event of even a small drop or bump. It's a thin later of metal which quickly resorts to flimsy plastic which makes up the rest of the base. Soldering one stick of memory onto the motherboard is unfortunate, but that's one of the drawbacks I'd personally be able to live with. Just spec it as high as possible from the factory and you'll always have the option to double that when you need it. I too find upgradability important, and Lenovo often still gets praised for having "general common sense and providing easy access to internals for upgrades or repairs". If that's so, why is it that no one is talking about the aweful clip system that Lenovo is still stubbornly using on their bottom panels, usually resulting on it never fitting back on without a bulge or gap after removing it. Or how the keyboard is now baked into the design requiring full disassembly to replace. So many people still praise Lenovo for making 'the most durable laptops to date' and that was possibly true 10 years ago, but not anymore from how I see it. I'd also like to quickly giggle at how their new "redesigned from the ground up" cooling solution as seen on the ThinkPad P15 is literally an exact ripoff of the now almost three year old Dell Precison 7530. Same angles and everything! Great innovation coming straignt from Lenovo. Do you own the E14 Gen 2 @deadbeef? I'd like to hear what you think! Kind regards, Sunny
I love my L390Y. When they will get dumped by companies, they will be a great deal. Quadcore, upgradable RAM, USB C, good screen, good build quality and a nice touchpad. Only the trackpoint (elan trackpoint) is horrible compared to the older Alps tp.
Same. Also under Linux you can turn off "turbo" mode (make CPU not to go higher than 1.6GHz and stop trottling all the time and eat battery for no benefit) under the /sys/ directory, disable GPU mitigations and change your desktop manager to something light, like dwm. This gives me around 7-8 hours (from 85% due to battery degradation) with browser and youtube on, more than 10 hours without javascript bloat running on PC (some static sites in browser), text editing and with less brightness on screen, and more than 13 hours leaved running in backpack broadcasting wi-fi AP (you can create more than one interfaces on the same wi-fi card and even running one in AP mode and second will be connected to another wi-fi point at the same time, lol) and doing stuff on it via ssh in Termux from my smartphone. Shame it has no Ethernet port (well, it has one, but its proprietary "mini-ethernet" crap which demands to by a dongle from Lenovo for $30, so f- this) and has no ports for internal SATA stuff, but still there is 2 USB-A + 2 USB-C (from which it charges from any USB-C charger that you have) + HDMI + AUX (thank god this stupid idea about removing AUX from device didn't get to laptops) + mini-SD card slot (and + "mini-ethernet" thing, but I already said about it).
In "youtube in browser" mode it consumes around 5-7 watts, in easy working load 3-4 watts, in "backpack AP point" around 2-3, so it's quite good for i5-8265u + UHD620 combo.
I recently bought a t470p with an i7 7700hq and 1050! It had 8gb ram and a 128gb ssd but I upgraded to a 1tb nvme ssd and 16gb RAM. Don't intend on upgrading at all
T420's are still great laptops! My recommendations here don't discredit other models, in fact I generally prefer a T420 over the newer offerings. Hard to beat the sweet price of free!
I got a T580 with an i5 and 16 Gb RAM (no OS) for under $20, and my wife got a T590 wotj an i7 and 16 Gb RAM for $350. The T580 also showed up with a touchscreen, and I don't think the seller even knew about it. I swapped in a 61+ swappable battery and I'm getting DAYS of battery life.
Excellent machine if you can get it for a good price. Even older W-series ThinkPads tend to be on the expensive side. Save for the GPU just about everything can be upgraded.
Well explained mate👌 Btw Which is better in your opinion T450s or the T460s for light gaming/video editing /designing and coding, generally for freelancing and business and video/photo edits /designs
Hi there. I noticed you never mentioned options from the X lines. Any particular reason for that? I'm looking for something portable to replace my X220, and your video made me inclined to look at the T460S, but I really love the portability of the 12-13 screens. what do you say?
The X260 or X270 would be good equivalents to the T460s with a 12" screen, they are just generally a bit pricier and harder to find than the 14" ThinkPads. Still very solid laptops if you can score a good deal on one!
Thanks for the very insightful video Sebi. I am after a value laptop for just regular normal regular use. My budget is approx. AUD $300 - $400. Which model should I go for as your opinion? Many Thanks
i got a ipad pro 12.9 that i use to carry around and do office stuff. but i don't have a magic keyboard (and for that price, ill never will), but there's some cheaper alternatives more or less at the price of this lenovos thinkpads. im in the middle of a pickle with this. you still recommend a thinkpad? wich one? t460? t460s? great video by the way!
For basic office tasks the T460s wouldn't be a bad option. It's reasonably portable and has a good keyboard, and you can find them for decent prices now.
New video for 2024?
Agree with all you said in the video. And also need to say, that spending 300 USD for a new cheap laptop is such a waste of money. I always recommend buying a second hand T series Thinkpad to my friends and they never have regret it. Great video there!
I cringe when I see someone spend so much money on some junk $200-300 Wal-Mart Special, they can get *any* used laptop for less and they'll be better off.
@@SebisRandomTech but the intel xe graphics are good
But in my country there arent really any second hand options and parents wont allow me to buy anything at all lol
@@wb7551 lol that sounds bad.
Which is the best model in T series think pads? T450 or T 460 or T470 or T480
Picked up T460 with 16gb of ram, i5, and 128 gb nvme drive for $120 as a dedicated work laptop. These laptops are a great deal at these prices and I would say better than new $200-$300 laptops from the likes of HP and Dell.
That's a steal! Glad you like it and hope it works out well for you!
@@Sjjeien Look for a ThinkPad T440p. That should check off most if not all of the boxes on your list (DVD drive, storage upgrades, able to run PowerPoint/Word/TH-cam/etc).
i got the t440p for the same thing and its been so great way better than my wifes 1000 MACBOOK
Watching this on a Yoga 370 which I bought second hand at a steal. It's the best machine I've ever owned. The screen's colour accuracy is gorgeous.
what price did you get it at?
Being a ThinkPad user both when I worked and now for casual computing, I appreciate knowing more about them. You did a great job of giving me more of an understanding. Thank You.
Is t420 core i5 worth buying for basic coding, financial, retro games and movie stuff ?
Got a T460s recently with the 1440p display option, it's amazing to use and plenty fast (had to adjust display scaling to 125% as 100% is too small to read!). Was surprised at just how lightweight it is too! Shame they removed the PowerBridge feature, and the fact it uses two internal batteries is very odd.
I agree, my theory is that they didn't want to fully redesign it from the older T450s which did have the PowerBridge feature to save on costs.
In depth knowledge of the best Thinkpads is highly appreciated. Most of Thinkpad users will concur that the older T series are still desirable mainly of its classic keypad, upgrade options and durability aspect at a very reasonable cost.
I like the older models as well, but I can recognize some of the strengths of more modern machines (while also criticizing what I don’t like about them).
Inspired by your videos, I have purchased a W541 i7 4701mq ($187), X250 i5 5300 ($136) and L380 i5 8250 ($193), two ultra docks ($12) from ebay. All are in pristine condition featuring SSDs and 16GB RAM each and very good battery life. With less than $550, my mobile and workstation setup is flying. Thanks for the inspiration and keep up the good work!
@stonks First of all, you should know your computer specifications requirement. Needs must be fulfilled now. Wants may wait. That will narrow down your selection. Now, with enough time and focus on Ebay, you will eventually find good deals. Pro tips: try to find individual seller who is selling his/her laptop from work. Often these are first hand used and most like to be in better shape; but be ready to pay a bit premium. On the other hand, try to find out Bulk sellers/recyclers who are involved in charity; usually they sell at much cheaper price than others. Best offer works better than auction; at least for me. I have bought W541 from an individual, X250 from a bulk seller and L380/Docks from a charity seller; all through best offers. One note of Caution: try to avoid sell posts/message with harsh language. If the seller is rude before selling a product, s/he wont be any nicer afterward. If you don't get exactly what was in the post, dont be afraid to ask for partial refund (if that's ok to you) Or just refund it. Often, sellers with good intention will agree for partial refund if the product really differs and you still want it at lower price. Be Honest to yourself before such claim, though. Good Luck.
I own a T440s from 2013 with a i7, GeForce GT 730M, upgraded the whole thing with two SSDs and 12GB RAM and it's still rocking solid in 2021 !
is it still alive ?
@@chaitanyarajput7496 very
I appreciated your review on this video and the T480 and T480s units as I purchased a T460s to side step the problems that you had predicted on the T470s and T480s usb-c charging ports and the thunderbolt 3 port challenges. More and more reviewers are finding these problems as well on these and newer units. Thank you.
Is t420 core i5 worth buying for basic coding, financial, retro games and movie stuff ?
I have an X260 that I use as a "carry-around" (something I can just quickly toss in my bag while heading out the door), and a T470p as my "workhorse". A pretty good combination for my needs :)
T470p is a great machine. Too bad it’s so hard to find.
just got my X260. Have the full loadout though, 1080p ISP display, i76600U, 32Gb DR4 RAM, 2TB SSD, LTE WWAN. Powerfull small machine. Really happy with it
@@Kanisterschaedel Very nice!!
@@Kanisterschaedel I still have my X260, but have hit quite a few limits with it (i.e. when working with multiple AVDs - Android Virtual Devices - and Flutter). It still "works" for what I need it to do, but was working quite slowly (I only have the i5 model with 16GB). I recently purchased a Dell Inspiron 16 5625 to use as a "carry-around" thin-and-light Linux workstation, and it's not bad. Has 8 cores, 16 threads, 32GB of RAM and a 2TB NVMe. It feels cheap (not built like a ThinkPad), and the keyboard feels "yuck" (nothing like a ThinkPad keyboard), but it gets the job done. Has a great screen, really good speakers, and battery life is good. Resuming from sleep didn't work for about 4 months after I bought it, but after a few kernel updates, it now works. Oh, I also had to replace the WiFi/Bluetooth card it came with, as that didn't play nicely with Linux. In short: the Inspiron 16 5625 hardware is okay (feels cheap), but the AMD Ryzen 7 5825U chip is surprisingly impressive.
@@MnemonicCarrier yeah the Notebook Ryzens are a force to be reckoned with. Those things are amazing. I’ve got an HP Elitebook from Work with a Ryzen7 in it and that thing is so much more powerful than the i5 in my T480 that I had before. But the Keyboard of the HP is absolutely atrocious. But it is hard to emulate the typing feel of a think pad.
My refurbished T450s was such a great purchase. Excellent review of this family of laptops
I bought a T460 for 200 and I love the thing especially the 14” size!
You just saved my ass, I was in the market for a ultraportable thonk. Thanks!
Dude, Ive been trying to figure out the difference between all of the T models for a while... thank you so much for making this video!
Thanks for watching!
I ordered a T470s today to use for my primary podcasting machine , needed those ports !
holy crap, this is by far the most informative video I've come across on youtube in a while
I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for watching! 😊
I am a Lenovo ThinkPad nut. I own a mid level medical type company. At any given time we have from 25-35 staff. We needed a minimum of 1 pc per 3-4 staff members for their data logging requirements. I tried cheep slim line desktop type pcs. Not a good idea. I am an old school PC tech from the mid 1990's - Mid 2000's. I found the ThinkPad docking stations and already had the monitors. So I put docks all over the facilities, and found a boat load of Lenovo ThinkPad X240 Laptops. I refurbished them. Found out that a 42mm M.2 SSD will fit in the SIM card spot. Then I put a 2TB HDD with BitLocker Encryption for HIPPA compliance. They are supper portable and for the unit, the HD screen swap, the SSD install, the spinning HDD, and maxing out the RAM. Each unit cost about $200. I was able to issue almost every staff member their own unit. So no sharing. Now that being said I had gone through T420 units, not my favorite, My personal unit was a P440. I installed a i7-4710 Quad Core CPU and 16GB of DDR3L, With an NVIDA Dedicated GPU with 1GB of VRAM. I pulled the Optical drive and added an additional 2T HDD, and 1T 42mm M.2 SSD with an additional 2TB SATA drive. Unfortunately My eye sight is starting to go. I had to have a unit that will doc with my docking stations around my offices and Lenovo does not support the old school connectors any longer. Now they use the USB-C docks. I was lucking and found a Lenovo ThinkPad P50. It has a Xeon 3 CPU, with 32GB of DDR4 RAM, some great NVMe Slots. Now you have to pick SATA or NVMe but those new PCIe SSDs are a lot less expensive. Plus it has a 15.6 inch display over my old 14 inch display. Plus it has 4GB dedicated VRAM. I got this unit for $350.00, (1) 2TB NVMe SSD, (2) 16GB DDR4 2166 RAM. and a New HD Screen for an additional $225 ish. This works with all my Docking stations. Its an awesome work station for me.
You've made a quality video. As long as real work is being done on laptops, Thinkpads will always be relevant.
Freakin A Sebi! Awesome super detailed video as always. We've missed your content.
Great to be back!
Got a T440p for around $90. Came with 8GB ram, HDD and an i7-4700mq. I have since upgraded it to the FHD IPS display, 16GB of RAM, 500GB m.2, 500GB SSD, 1TB hard drive caddy upgrade and an Intel i7-4910mq upgrade. It is a beast for my Dev work.
Nice deal! Glad you have gotten some good use out of it.
They're great machines. I have one. Is the i7 factory issue or an upgrade?
@@stevenuttley upgrade I believe.
A friend of mine uses those Thinkpad with the clunkpad, she asked me to check some of her works in her laptop, long story short, I kept accidentally touching the clunkpad, almost slammed it out of frustation. I feel better when she opted to send me the file by mail so I can work on it using my own laptop, a T530, I know giant touchpad might look enticing at first glance, but they are definitely no fun for typist.
I was able to get used to it after a while, but I still think it's tolerable *at best.* A traditional touchpad and dedicated buttons will always be superior in my eyes.
@@SebisRandomTech I can't imagine the frustation I would get if I am trying to get used to clunkpad. I'll probably try to stay with my T530 for as long as humanly possible. Although, the new Ryzen Thinkpad really entices me.
If anyone wants an alternative to Thinkpads I would highly recommend looking at a Dell Precision m4000 or m6000 series. They offer extraordinary I/O and superior upgradability. Another option could be an HP Elitebook, which features great upgradability as well. However, I still have a fair bit of respect for these Thinkpads and wouldn't blame you for using them for many years to come.
I’m interested in looking at an Ivy Bridge HP ProBook, it’s a 12” machine like the X230 that has an upgradeable CPU. Probably the best ThinkPad that isn’t a ThinkPad!
The HP EliteBook 2570p is the one I'm thinking of. 12.5" screen, Ivy Bridge architecture, upgradeable CPU, ExpressCard and optical drive...really would be an intriguing machine to check out.
@@SebisRandomTech I agree. There's a ton of other stuff unlocked inside as well and I certainly would like to see some Expresscards that are a bit more ... obscure.
Although I'll always like my m4600 or m6700, which butts heads with the HP equivalents of the time period. Plus they got MXM on board for some slight graphics fenagling, albeit there are also HP laptops with similar MXM cards that are more upgradable. Anyways, can't wait to see whatever older devices you happen to come across.
@@SebisRandomTech Think about it... NO IPS display for this laptop.
This is actually very Helpfull was going to buy a T440 but the Upgradebility of RAM made me reconsider because the difference between a t440 and a t470s is about 100$ in my region right now
Very surprised I was featured in a screencap in a video 😅
Since then I have had my T470. From my experience, it has great battery life, and offers great value. Only thing I'm not a fan of is the trackpad, but its useable. The keyboard is fantastic, and is probably my favorite non-mechanical keyboard.
It has enough features for me to be fine with it. I didn't expect much from the laptop. I snatched a good deal on mine.
Happy Holidays!
Hahaha and the only reason why I look for a thinkpad is for its trackpoint
I have an x230 and it's awesome. I'm planning to get a t430 soon.
Got a used 460s for myself for $100 with 12GB ram and 128GB storage. Probably gonna be upgrading the storage soon but its really worth the money. These laptops were built to stand the test of time. Not many out there with a 6th gen intel processor and have the upgradability options that these thinkpads give you.
Still rocking a T410. The bottleneck is the crappy HD graphics, while the CPU is still going strong!
I had my old work one from 2011 till a couple of years ago, was in perfect condition apart from one left button 😎
I would like to say that I'm glad you aren't looking at the A series as they are way out of date by now
Not so long ago I got a used x260 for around $300 in decent configuration. It's super portable, in comparison to my older T430.
They surprisingly common on the used market here in Ukraine.
are you alive?
Not too far back I bought a base model t440 with a cracked 1366x768 display for around $70. Threw in a couple ssd's (m.2 and a sata ssd just for fun), the t450 trackpad, and the 1080p screen and I was all in at about $180. I used it for school until... well... you know. It worked great, and I still use it as my main laptop now. (I'm a little late to this video, whoops).
They're superb machines. I'm typing this on one right now.
I ended up getting a cheap L440 to replace my recently dead T440P. All mods moved over and are 100% compatible. Now I have a L440 with i7 processor, 16GB RAM, 2.5" SSD, 2.5" HDD, IPS FHD panel, backlit keyboard and finally, 4G modem. Left the clunkpad alone. As for the T540P, the keyboard broke recently and now using it on the dock.
Magic of thinkpads no other laptop offers this value
I just got into Thinkpads lately, I am currently using a very standard 2018 HP laptop and I don't mind buying a used t430 for its build and design with maxed out upgrades. Thanks for making videos of Thinkpads!
How are u willing to spend on used thinkpads?. Truth to be told these youtubers selling thinkpads are over inflating the prices. Simply doesn't make sense to spend close to new NBs.
@@therealb888 As of now I already bought a T420 to replace my current laptop. In my case it's just about preference, I really like the Thinkpad robust and classic laptop look. As long as I have that for the hardware, the Internal stuff comes second.
I think I'll attempt the dual->quad-core BGA upgrade for the x230, I have a hot air station and have fiddled with BGA chips in the past, sounds like a very compelling machine once upgraded to a 3615qe
Noticed this video a couple of years late. I bought a Yoga 9i last year for almost $1000 because it's beautiful. But last week I bought a T460S (FHD 1ps) in excellent condition for $140. I prefer the latter! No functional difference for the few things I use a laptop for. Good review.
0:32 is the best scene in the thinkpad history
thank you for this, i love this channel, i always wanted a thinkpad and i finally received mine this past october, its an x240, its super cute
im waiting to snipe another x250 for my sister
You rule!
Fantastic guide and great recommendations.
Thanks! Happy you enjoyed it!
U here, nice🤩
I bought my loving x230 after guidance from u two, thanks
In my country I got the E460 at about $200 when other laptops about the same specs where around the $350 - $400 mark, used of course. Since then almost all the functioning laptops got a huge price surge and to find a good deal is almost impossible even for the sandy bridge ones.
I'm really happy with my Thinkpad even if I can't access the bios, since I'm using it as a desktop replacement the unplugged battery will last for a long time and when everything goes back to normal I will get some T series as a long term project.
Love your videos Sebi!
This is the case where I live too. Good to hear good things about the E series.
I am loving my 1st gen x1 yoga. Having had multiple older thinkpads and one with a classic keyboard, I miss a lot of the upgradeability and the ability to play around with the laptops. The best way I have to explain it is that although the older laptops are fun to upgrade and learn about, the newer ones are more practical and easier to use for me personally. I miss the days I had of jumping around between different laptops day by day, but the newer one just makes more sense to use all the time. I mostly miss the ability to multi-boot with different drives, and I'm sure if my model wasn't maxed out I would want more RAM. I also think the speed is significantly worse even compared to third gen dual core. Ultimately though, it's a worthwhile jump and I no longer feel like my laptop is inadequate in any way. I think the best value for someone shopping for a modern laptop is the x1 carbon 3rd-4th gen and x1 yoga 1st gen. I was truly amazed by how much they packed into mine, and it seemed like it was overall rather little compromise.
Glad you're happy with your Yoga. I don't mind the original X1 Carbon (2012) despite its lack of upgradeability. For my uses I prefer a slightly chunkier machine though ;)
I got myself a e15 g2 and for me its defenitely one of the best ThinkPads. Because
- fast fingerprint sensor
- fast prozessor
- good battery live
- relatively thin
- ~600 bucks (brandnew)
So defenitely worth its money
600 usd is too costly. If u spend 100-200 more you'll get a latest gen laptop with warranty that's miles ahead.
Used TPs make sense only when they're
@@therealb888 it was a new model, sorry I didnt wrote that in my comment
@@robosapien314 that's a great price then. Sorry I assumed it was used. A TP for $600 is a steal considering their excellent quality.
I recently grabbed a T440s with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD in very good condition for only 80 US. Couldn't be happier with it for the price. Runs Linux Mint MATE very well.
Great video, it beggars belief why they brought in a buttonless trackpad only to replace it in the next upgrade. Only use ThinkPads and have quite a collection. Your channel has given me great value in it's approach to keeping these machines going on into the future.😊
Just got a really good deal on a slightly banged up T470s with maxed out ram. Installed arch with i3wm on it and using it for web development at work. The CPU can struggle a bit with heavier web pages, but the experience overall has been better than expected. Feels like using i3 (or any other super light window manager) is a saving grace for this class of laptop.
You bought your laptop from Mercari! I bought my two laptops: a T460 in 2018 for $200 and a touchscreen X250 for $140 in 2019 (although I got that for free because the seller sent me the wrong charger and I wanted to return it but the seller refunded me and let me keep the laptop).
You're very lucky, getting T460 and X250 for free (except the original charger)
I've gotten a handful of good deals off of there. Sometimes the search feature can be a little buggy but I've still made some nice purchases from there, including the T470s featured in this video.
Many years ago I picked upa T440 for cheap. I modded it myself, changed the screen for a high definition screen, modded the trackpad to have the three physical buttoms and even changed the keyboard to a back lit one. Loved using it despite how bulky it felt, but it was sturdy.
Then one day, it wouldn't boot into the bios. Got the beeps of death. To this day I haven't been able to figure out the issue or had time to fix it but I still hope to use it again one day.
Everytime you say how sturdy Thinkpads are I die a little inside knowing the only reason I'm looking into Thinkpads again is because I broke the internal frame and both outer shells on my T450S. The lid just seems to be normal wear and tear but it's cracked, but I dropped it screen out flat, and broke the other parts. The internal battery also just gave up the ghost too... but this video has given me new hope. I didn't realize the T440S shared so many parts, how cheap the palm rest is! Thank you!
A few times I have used T440s palmrests to repair broken T450s’s, and vice versa. The modular nature of older ThinkPads is a huge part of why I enjoy working on them.
@@SebisRandomTech That's really good to hear! Are there any parts that fail often on these?
The T440s/450s are generally pretty reliable. I would say the most fail-prone components are parts that will gradually fail after heavy use in any laptop - the battery, the screen cable, etc. The T470s in this video had an unintentional drop test a few days ago and it fared just fine.
@@SebisRandomTech I guess I just have particularly bad luck then, mine was showing signs of structural failure long before the batteries died. Do you know of if any of the 3rd party 68+ batteries are any good?
@@ChrisD__ I try to stick to genuine Lenovo's whenever possible. If I had to get an aftermarket/3rd party one I would try to get one from a reputable battery manufacturer, but you can take your chances with a generic one.
I feel left out. Please do a video about the X series. Thank you.
Some day!
Yes please do one .. am actually in love with the x250 buy will need your expert opinion on it
@@alisalim3507 I have one and I'm really loving it! My only problem with it being the lack of HDMI and of a third usb port
@@gustavo8708 nice, been looking for one here but couldn't get or the prices are just unreachable so opted for a different one, but surely if I get another chance I will take one.. I don't use the ports a lot but if needed extra ports will just take an expanding card or extension or whatever they call it for plenty of other ports :)
@@alisalim3507 I just bought one
I use a MacBook Pro for my daily work, but I just ordered a ThinkPad T460S to use in my basement workshop and garage. I need something that won't mind a bit of grease, grit, and sawdust. MacBooks are too precious and easy to damage with their glossy glass screens and shiny aluminum bodies.
I just recently got a T470 for $50 and it definitely one of the best purchases I've made, it does everything I need it to along with hacking Windows 11 onto it, I upgraded it to 16gb of ram, It had its internal battery replaced before it was shipped to me, currently it has no external battery but a plan to get a 36WH one to go along with the internal. If I do end up getting T480 then I'll def upgrade
Finally uploaded after 3 month!
I still love my T450
My t450s has 3-4 hours of battery with an added 6 cell battery
I still have my T420 and use it every day. The latest bios update allows for RAM upgrade from 8gb to 16gb.
I picked up a W530 for IIRC less than $100USD several years ago, came with 4 or 8 GB ram, (dont remember) no HDD/SSD, an i7 3740QM, and quadro K1100. Now what is nice about this laptop, is the 4 RAM slots, an mSATA and SATA slot for 2 SSDs, and an optical drive for an additional SSD Oh, and lets not forget the 1080p IPS panel. Once i replace this laptop with the Thinkcenter M75Q gen2 that i picked up for $530 with Ryzen 7 4750GE , i'll probably donate it to one of the students at work.
Now i realise this isnt and 'ultraportable' but it isnt that bad if you're a big person like me
W530's one of my favorites!
T470p machines are quickly dropping in price, and you are hard-pressed to find one poorly spec-ed. Solid machines.
I would go for T480 rather than T470p for:
- way better baterry life for 15W processors, you can tweak kabylake-r processor very easily and an i5 8250U would have the same performance as i7 7700HQ at 35W PL2.
- thunderbolt support
- thinner and lighter
- power bridge
@@yingxiangyao5323 yeah T480 is better but is it twice as good (like the price)? No.
@@yingxiangyao5323 hello, I have both laptops, how can you tweak the t480 i5 to t470p performance?
I still love x240 and t440p 🥰🥰🥰
So before watching this video I got a T470p for 100 dollars on Facebook Marketplace. The guy selling it did not like the screen which I'm glad because I was able to get such a great laptop.
That’s an incredible deal. Enjoy that laptop!
I was very impressed with my L470. I personally think the L models don't get enough credit. Even though I've moved to a t480 and am in love with it i still think of my l470 with VGA fondly.
I like that the L series has stuck on to some legacy aspects longer than the T series, like how the L570 still had VGA, a DVD drive, and ExpressCard when every other model had done away with those. However, the T series is built a little better and in the long run they end up being more practical as used machines, not only since they’re more common but also because replacement parts are more accessible than with the L series. Either one has its benefits though!
@@SebisRandomTech thanks for the reply. Yes i agree parts ability is a pain for example the commen failure of the power and VGA board which is one board unfortunately. And the build quality is still better than most other laptops but nothing compares to the T Series. And i love my t480 more than anything else.
@@adriaanserrao2016 There have been a few times with some of those lesser common laptops where it was cheaper for me to buy an entire second laptop to harvest parts from than it was to get the one replacement part I need, so I definitely understand your L-series struggles in that regard.
ThinkPad T420 + Linux =
Which distro and does the nvidia graphics card works?
@@Sujitth i am rocking with gentoo :P
@@Eidwood nice, thinking about installing raw debian with suckless tools :)
@@pabloschool2610 gr8
Looking forward to this video! Watching on a Thinkpad T450s right now that I bought used about 1.5 years ago for ~$200. Still running great and the IPS display is really nice for watching TH-cam or a movie. Although, I'm also craving a smaller x220 with the IPS option as a more mobile device (and for the old-style keyboard, of course).
With the X270 you still get a removable battery, upgradeable ram and a dock connector, but also usb-c, nvme support and a 7th gen intel Kaby lake.
Still kinda expensive though
Usually, guy with versions that were expensive in their prime time won't see their beloved laptops here: T520, W520, T540p, X220 tablet, W540 and lightweight like X250, x260, some more modern version is T480, P50 or P51, P52. T480 (which make T490 counts) is the only exception of 14 inch that I think standing out of the 14 inch T. Of course all 14 inch T are great, I used T400, T410, T420. The point is, most T and W with 15 inch were expensive, and for the cost, they have better feature and the larger size doesn't mean just bigger but bettet heat performance, and are still comparatively expensive, but some guy love them so much that they bought whatsoever.
And that's my honorable mention to these guy.
Another top notch video from one of my favorite channels. Keep up the good work!
I have a t460s and prefer it to my t495s (AMD). The latter has more cpu grunt but the 460s has a 1440 panel and a 930m dgpu. It also doesn't have the whiney fan. They're nearly identical in size which goes to show the t495s needlessly dropped the full size ethernet and sd card reader. I also have a xeon p50, w540 (touchpad swapped) and previously had an x220 and t410, both sold for ridiculous money considering the age. Perhaps it was just the old style keyboards, but I'm used to the new ones. I don't miss the swappable battery because... I don't live off grid.
Great video. Now to complete the series, a video on workstations like W and P series is in order :)
If I can get my hands on them! Those things are not cheap!
Always great reviews and welcome back (perhaps shorter bite sized snippet reviews/tips?). I was starting to think that you had a run in with a certain virus going around ;). Love the unassuming outdoor props that go well with unassuming ThinkPads.
I was preoccupied with school, hence the long absence. With winter break coming up I should have a little more free time to finish up a few projects. I’ve been lucky so far in regards to physical health, however a few people in my inner circle have contracted it so I’m being extra cautious!
The L14 and L15 don't have everything but they are moving towards the classic T expandability and durability. There will never be hot swap batteries again because USB batteries are better in every way. Eventually you won't be able to replace Thinkpad batteries but will still be able to use USB batteries.
What happens when USB batteries are obsolete? 😅 Just kidding, but you do have a point there. I just find the removable battery to be more convenient at the moment. We’ll see if that sentiment changes once Lenovo batteries are harder to come by.
If you need a Yoga/pen, either go with the first gen Yoga 12 (130-200 pounds for a dual core i5, 8 gigs and an ssd), or the first quadcores, with the L380/X380 (450-700 for a quad core i5/i7, 8-16 gigs, and an nvme.) Both have great IPS 1080p touchscreens and actually good battery life.
Bought my i5 5300u 8 gig, 180 gig Yoga 12 for 130, and my i7 8550u 16 gig 480 gig X380 for 600! Both have been great in uni for notes and what not.
Just gave my X200 a new cooler and redid the thermal paste, still works like a charm :)
Thinking about picking one of the thinkpads up. Thanks for the info.
1:14 That's interesting, I live in Poland and when I was shopping for an ultra cheap laptop (under $180) this summer, there were more X-series available (X230, X240 sometimes X220) than anything else. I got an X230 for 147$.
Same here man. I just bought a x270 i7 16GB SSD IPS machine for a little over $330. Not cheap but that's a pretty maxed out machine
Great video, as always!
Great content, but I'd suggest (if I may) to include some charts or final recap to help people to get along with the high amount of information provided. I think that would step up the quality even more of this content
Will try to keep that in mind in the future. Thanks for the feedback!
@@SebisRandomTech the real problem is that I am new to this world so I struggle to keep along with all the information that were very dense, maybe it could help to insert also a squared with the model so that if someone wants to get back to the video could find the exact spot easily. That said is just my personal opinion I don't pretend to teach you how to do videos but I think it was worth writing you that :)
@@FilippoVicari I do have timestamps for the video, so you can easily jump to the section about each model.
you made my day for buying old laptop
Thanks for this! I was really looking to upgrade my t420
The T420 is still an excellent laptop.
@@SebisRandomTech Mine is fine aparr from the speakers that I find very weak.
making a case in favor of the T470s.
in the case of physical loss of the power connector on the laptop, you can still power up the laptop through the thunderbolt port ... :D
Not to mention the power connector is easily replaceable (plugs into the motherboard and replacements are like $5-7 on eBay), unlike newer models which rely solely on Thunderbolt and have the port soldered on to the main motherboard.
@@SebisRandomTech is the power connector for the T470 also easily replaceable? I just bought a T470 from eBay in immaculate condition. It has a 1080 IPS screen and the thunderbolt port is compatible with my Dell D6000 dock. The Thunderbolt cord powers the laptop and outputs video to three 24" 1920x1200 external monitors via the dock. I use the T470 for productivity. I am not a gamer.
@@enriquejpsa Yes, you can replace the power connector in the T470.
First, watching on my classic keyboard modded T430s
I can strongly advise everyone to stay away from Lenovo's new E series Thinkpads. Both the E14 gen 1, E14 gen 2 and E15. I've tried them all and hated every one of them.
If you config any of these with a dgpu you'll regret it since your entire laptop is now a heat bomb, throttling into oblivion with it's single heatpipe (on the E14 for example).
They've all got dim screens, meh performance and horrible build quality. I hope this helps some others! Also let me know what you think if you own one of these laptops!
The E series has always been junk. I think the modern options are generally better than the original "Edge" models from the early 2010's, but I generally stay away from them as a whole and suggest others do the same unless it's all they can afford.
@deadbeef, I agree with that to an extent.
Yes, the AMD E14 gen 2 has two heatpipes, but that shouldn't be a 'feature'. They're designing their new ThinkPads with the wrong compromises in my opinion. Having only a single heatpipe for a CPU and dedicated RX640 GPU in the E14 for example is just plain stupid. Why not add two heatpipes? You can't say the engineers forgot to add them. It's clear to me that they're purposefully making their E series (and possibly other models I haven't tried) shit so you'll go buy their more expensive models, but why?
I wouldn't expect a 500 nit screen from a 'budget' (and I say that loosely, because their higher configs can get pricy pretty quick) ThinkPad, but they haven't come much further in recent years and are still stuck with garbage low brightness panels. Laptops from 2013 had comparable or even better displays than what Lenovo's offering now in 2020 moving into 2021.
Quickly touching on build quality; It could be true that it's much better than it was with previous E series models like you say (I haven't tried them), but still nowere near what I expected. The plastic feels super cheap, the screen hinge is poorly constructed, is off center and creaks when adjusting the angle. The base plate, while made from aluminium etc. sounds nice on paper and for marketing, however I wouldn't trust it to add any protection to the laptop in the event of even a small drop or bump. It's a thin later of metal which quickly resorts to flimsy plastic which makes up the rest of the base.
Soldering one stick of memory onto the motherboard is unfortunate, but that's one of the drawbacks I'd personally be able to live with. Just spec it as high as possible from the factory and you'll always have the option to double that when you need it.
I too find upgradability important, and Lenovo often still gets praised for having "general common sense and providing easy access to internals for upgrades or repairs". If that's so, why is it that no one is talking about the aweful clip system that Lenovo is still stubbornly using on their bottom panels, usually resulting on it never fitting back on without a bulge or gap after removing it. Or how the keyboard is now baked into the design requiring full disassembly to replace.
So many people still praise Lenovo for making 'the most durable laptops to date' and that was possibly true 10 years ago, but not anymore from how I see it.
I'd also like to quickly giggle at how their new "redesigned from the ground up" cooling solution as seen on the ThinkPad P15 is literally an exact ripoff of the now almost three year old Dell Precison 7530. Same angles and everything!
Great innovation coming straignt from Lenovo.
Do you own the E14 Gen 2 @deadbeef? I'd like to hear what you think!
Kind regards,
Sunny
I love my L390Y. When they will get dumped by companies, they will be a great deal. Quadcore, upgradable RAM, USB C, good screen, good build quality and a nice touchpad. Only the trackpoint (elan trackpoint) is horrible compared to the older Alps tp.
Same. Also under Linux you can turn off "turbo" mode (make CPU not to go higher than 1.6GHz and stop trottling all the time and eat battery for no benefit) under the /sys/ directory, disable GPU mitigations and change your desktop manager to something light, like dwm. This gives me around 7-8 hours (from 85% due to battery degradation) with browser and youtube on, more than 10 hours without javascript bloat running on PC (some static sites in browser), text editing and with less brightness on screen, and more than 13 hours leaved running in backpack broadcasting wi-fi AP (you can create more than one interfaces on the same wi-fi card and even running one in AP mode and second will be connected to another wi-fi point at the same time, lol) and doing stuff on it via ssh in Termux from my smartphone.
Shame it has no Ethernet port (well, it has one, but its proprietary "mini-ethernet" crap which demands to by a dongle from Lenovo for $30, so f- this) and has no ports for internal SATA stuff, but still there is 2 USB-A + 2 USB-C (from which it charges from any USB-C charger that you have) + HDMI + AUX (thank god this stupid idea about removing AUX from device didn't get to laptops) + mini-SD card slot (and + "mini-ethernet" thing, but I already said about it).
In "youtube in browser" mode it consumes around 5-7 watts, in easy working load 3-4 watts, in "backpack AP point" around 2-3, so it's quite good for i5-8265u + UHD620 combo.
I'm watching this on the T430 you recommended! Love your channel!
Thinkpads are just awesome, still using a T400 for a good few tasks because i love the keyboard, durability and most importantly. No Intel ME!
The keyboard is one of my favorite aspects of ThinkPads, other than the TrackPoint.
by the way, i watch this on T450s!
I have the L450, i put the 470 motherboard, and it fit very well.
Sebi, do you have any videos on the X1 Carbon? Thank you 🤓
I do actually! It was posted back in December.
@@SebisRandomTech thank you 🤓 I thought I had already subscribed!!
I recently bought a t470p with an i7 7700hq and 1050! It had 8gb ram and a 128gb ssd but I upgraded to a 1tb nvme ssd and 16gb RAM. Don't intend on upgrading at all
What is the price sir
I use a T420 mainly because I managed to get an I7 model for free and it's an upgrade over the chromebook I was using
T420's are still great laptops! My recommendations here don't discredit other models, in fact I generally prefer a T420 over the newer offerings. Hard to beat the sweet price of free!
Bought x260 2016 for 250$. I love the portablity, great business Laptop.
Concise and informative video....I am considering a desktop now.
I got a T580 with an i5 and 16 Gb RAM (no OS) for under $20, and my wife got a T590 wotj an i7 and 16 Gb RAM for $350. The T580 also showed up with a touchscreen, and I don't think the seller even knew about it. I swapped in a 61+ swappable battery and I'm getting DAYS of battery life.
Good video. I’d really enjoy your opinions of the L440’s or others.
Hi Seri.. Great video! Would like know your thoughts on W530 and its upgradability
Excellent machine if you can get it for a good price. Even older W-series ThinkPads tend to be on the expensive side. Save for the GPU just about everything can be upgraded.
the gravity part had me lol
Well explained mate👌
Btw
Which is better in your opinion
T450s or the T460s for light gaming/video editing /designing and coding, generally for freelancing and business and video/photo edits /designs
T460s is probably a better bet unless you *really* want an external battery, in which case go for the T450s.
@@SebisRandomTech btw why is an external battery that good?
If it doesnt have ex/battery if the battery dies cant i change it?
Can u explain 👍
Whatever you get, make sure it has upgradable ram and USB 3.0!!!
Hi there.
I noticed you never mentioned options from the X lines. Any particular reason for that?
I'm looking for something portable to replace my X220, and your video made me inclined to look at the T460S, but I really love the portability of the 12-13 screens. what do you say?
The X260 or X270 would be good equivalents to the T460s with a 12" screen, they are just generally a bit pricier and harder to find than the 14" ThinkPads. Still very solid laptops if you can score a good deal on one!
Great review! What's this game? 13:47 Do a review on the older P series.
It's an indie game called Cuphead. Highly recommend. I would like to take a look at the P series in greater detail eventually!
I got my t470 for 30 bucks from a danish recycling. Threw 8gb of ram for 10 bucks, and its a pretty good mashine.
more good shit, keep it comin
Thanks for the very insightful video Sebi. I am after a value laptop for just regular normal regular use. My budget is approx. AUD $300 - $400. Which model should I go for as your opinion? Many Thanks
The T460 might fit the bill for you, the T450s wouldn't be a bad choice either.
@@SebisRandomTech thanks Sebi
i got a ipad pro 12.9 that i use to carry around and do office stuff. but i don't have a magic keyboard (and for that price, ill never will), but there's some cheaper alternatives more or less at the price of this lenovos thinkpads. im in the middle of a pickle with this. you still recommend a thinkpad? wich one? t460? t460s? great video by the way!
For basic office tasks the T460s wouldn't be a bad option. It's reasonably portable and has a good keyboard, and you can find them for decent prices now.