Lenovo Thinkpads
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ddrueding
Fixture
This machine got an Intel X25-V 40GB as a replacement.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I think every Lenovo-branded Thinkpad I've gotten has had a Hitachi drive in it. I didn't know they put WD drives in them.
ddrueding
Fixture
This was a ThinkStation, not a ThinkPad (I know, the subject says ThinkPad). Of the 7 I've opened up, all had 320GB or 500GB 7200RPM WD HDDs.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I've got two T420s side-by-side here. They both have 8GB RAM and i7-2640 CPUs. One has a 120GB Intel 320 and the other has a 240GB Crucial M4.
The M4 is, subjectively, a tick faster for almost everything while Windows is running. Given the differences between SSDs, "a tick" is probably about as precise as I could get.
However, the M4 is much faster at starting or resuming Windows, probably 5 seconds on a boot and eight or 10 from hibernate.
I realize that confirms something we basically already knew, but it's still useful to know that the difference isn't just benchmark wankery.
The M4 is, subjectively, a tick faster for almost everything while Windows is running. Given the differences between SSDs, "a tick" is probably about as precise as I could get.
However, the M4 is much faster at starting or resuming Windows, probably 5 seconds on a boot and eight or 10 from hibernate.
I realize that confirms something we basically already knew, but it's still useful to know that the difference isn't just benchmark wankery.
ddrueding
Fixture
Thanks for that Merc. I've been buying quite a few of each of those lately.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
One of my customers let a salesman go last week.
He shipped his T520 back in a large, unpadded envelope, wrapped one time around the wide axis with bubble tape.
It works fine.
He shipped his T520 back in a large, unpadded envelope, wrapped one time around the wide axis with bubble tape.
It works fine.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I had the opportunity to get a couple top-end T430s and here's what I can say.
1. It's pretty much the same as the T420, except for the keyboard and native USB3 ports. I hesitate to say that the old keyboard is better because I actually like most of the layout changes - Pageup and Pagedown are now found in the arrow key cluster, for example, but the new keyboard also lacks a Context ("right click") key.
2. It's a tiny detail, but I see 10 different screws used in this thing. Everything is as solid as ever, but that's the sort of thing that suggests Lenovo isn't paying as much attention to Technician convenience as it has in the past.
3. Also, in taking the keyboard off, the top molding (for the power button and volume controls) popped off on both the units I have. Might've been carelessness on my part but I never saw that with previous T-series models. Putting that molding back on is more work than taking off the keyboard to install RAM in the first place.
4. Personal aside: I hate the textured touchpad. They do not wear well. Even if I don't use it that much, my thumb rests there and it gets schmutzy in a way that doesn't seem to be cleanable. Boo.
5. Lenovo shipped this machine with its load of Windows 8, not 8.1, even though I bought it on December 9th. There wasn't MUCH crap on it - trial versions of Norton Internet Security and Nitro 8 Pro, plus Sugarync and some Cyberlink Media Suite that don't really hurt anything. Curiously, there WASN'T a Microsoft Office Trial. The machine needed 62 Windows Updates from power-on, a number that strikes me as excessive.
6. The EFI was configured for secure boot only. I had to play around before I found all the settings to allow my USB sticks to boot. I only mention that because I had to go hunting for the settings so I could run TrueImage.
7. Both my T430s shipped with 500GB 7200rpm HGST drives.
8. I can't do an apples to apples battery life comparison because my personal T420 machine is running a slightly different OS and has a two year old battery in it, but but Windows says 6:40 on the T430 I just-now unplugged. The battery on the new guy is physically slightly smaller, but subjectively the T420 and T430 are pretty much the same weight.
I'm going to take this guys and re-sell them, but I had been thinking I might keep one. As things stand, with an Expresscard for USB3, it doesn't seem like I'd be gaining anything (100MHz and maybe slightly better battery life?) to make it worth the hassle of switching from one machine to another.
1. It's pretty much the same as the T420, except for the keyboard and native USB3 ports. I hesitate to say that the old keyboard is better because I actually like most of the layout changes - Pageup and Pagedown are now found in the arrow key cluster, for example, but the new keyboard also lacks a Context ("right click") key.
2. It's a tiny detail, but I see 10 different screws used in this thing. Everything is as solid as ever, but that's the sort of thing that suggests Lenovo isn't paying as much attention to Technician convenience as it has in the past.
3. Also, in taking the keyboard off, the top molding (for the power button and volume controls) popped off on both the units I have. Might've been carelessness on my part but I never saw that with previous T-series models. Putting that molding back on is more work than taking off the keyboard to install RAM in the first place.
4. Personal aside: I hate the textured touchpad. They do not wear well. Even if I don't use it that much, my thumb rests there and it gets schmutzy in a way that doesn't seem to be cleanable. Boo.
5. Lenovo shipped this machine with its load of Windows 8, not 8.1, even though I bought it on December 9th. There wasn't MUCH crap on it - trial versions of Norton Internet Security and Nitro 8 Pro, plus Sugarync and some Cyberlink Media Suite that don't really hurt anything. Curiously, there WASN'T a Microsoft Office Trial. The machine needed 62 Windows Updates from power-on, a number that strikes me as excessive.
6. The EFI was configured for secure boot only. I had to play around before I found all the settings to allow my USB sticks to boot. I only mention that because I had to go hunting for the settings so I could run TrueImage.
7. Both my T430s shipped with 500GB 7200rpm HGST drives.
8. I can't do an apples to apples battery life comparison because my personal T420 machine is running a slightly different OS and has a two year old battery in it, but but Windows says 6:40 on the T430 I just-now unplugged. The battery on the new guy is physically slightly smaller, but subjectively the T420 and T430 are pretty much the same weight.
I'm going to take this guys and re-sell them, but I had been thinking I might keep one. As things stand, with an Expresscard for USB3, it doesn't seem like I'd be gaining anything (100MHz and maybe slightly better battery life?) to make it worth the hassle of switching from one machine to another.
sedrosken
Florida Man
^ I lol'd.
I want to chime in and say that, if I could afford it, I'd be heading for a ThinkPad. But realistically, I would have to settle for a Dell Latitude, because they aren't terrible for the money. But PC sales are dipping in general, and things look bleak, though I will say I don't think the PC will truly die until they can make a full keyboard for tablets that doesn't suck it's battery down the drain via bluetooth and they can put the awesome hardware capabilities of a modern Intel-based PC into such a small and confined space without it burning down your house when you put it down, and giving you 9th degree burns when you're holding it. Nothing will ever, in my opinion, truly replicate hardware feedback.
sedrosken
Florida Man
Wow, derailed that didn't I?
Well, back to the topic: If I could go with a ThinkPad, I'd go for a T420 not just because the model number's funny (tee hee), but because it seems to be the better value for the money. 100 MHz isn't a noticeable difference anymore, hasn't been for a few years now. Heck, I went from a PDC E2200 (2.2 GHz) to a T4300 (2.1 GHz) and didn't notice a difference at all, except for when I'm running a heavy game like Minecraft (which I don't make the mistake of doing often.)
Off topic again:
Happy New Years everyone!
I kinda want to make the jump to 8.1, but is it worth it (obviously after installing Classic Shell)? Over Windows 7 Ultimate x64, what advantages does it offer? Disadvantages? Does it have incompatibilities that Windows 7 doesn't that I should know about? Would it be worth it for my hardware? Will Diablo 1 still run on it? Will I ever shut up?
Answer to that last one: probably not.
Well, back to the topic: If I could go with a ThinkPad, I'd go for a T420 not just because the model number's funny (tee hee), but because it seems to be the better value for the money. 100 MHz isn't a noticeable difference anymore, hasn't been for a few years now. Heck, I went from a PDC E2200 (2.2 GHz) to a T4300 (2.1 GHz) and didn't notice a difference at all, except for when I'm running a heavy game like Minecraft (which I don't make the mistake of doing often.)
Off topic again:
Happy New Years everyone!
I kinda want to make the jump to 8.1, but is it worth it (obviously after installing Classic Shell)? Over Windows 7 Ultimate x64, what advantages does it offer? Disadvantages? Does it have incompatibilities that Windows 7 doesn't that I should know about? Would it be worth it for my hardware? Will Diablo 1 still run on it? Will I ever shut up?
Answer to that last one: probably not.
Agree with you on the upgrade to 8.1 from Win7 not really being worth it. I did it, primarily because I wanted to take my Win7 activation code and use it on my Laptop (replacing Vista Basic on the laptop).
There are some minor improvements in Win8 with Classic Shell, but I'd not say it's worth paying for if you have everything you need with your Win7 install already. Especially if you're strapped for cash.
There are some minor improvements in Win8 with Classic Shell, but I'd not say it's worth paying for if you have everything you need with your Win7 install already. Especially if you're strapped for cash.
sedrosken
Florida Man
I had an 8 32 bit dvd and code, but it refused to activate. Windows 7 it is then!
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I got three i5 / 4GB / 180GB SSD T420s for $500 last week, but I'm just now getting around to checking them out. These things make me so happy. One of them even has the 16x9 panel and nVidia GPU. I'm going to add 4GB RAM since I have the DIMMs just sitting around and I'll resell two of them for $300 each. A four year old, $300 Thinkpad T420 with an SSD is still miles better than a 2kg $600 vomit-top with an A10, right? And it's poor-decisions-about-cheap-laptops season, so at least I can be comforted in knowing I'm saving some poor kid from an HP Shitmachine.
The T420 also has an Expresscard slot. I've always used mine for USB Superspeed ports, but since I have an fast extra machine that's relatively low-power/heat/noise, I'm thinking that I might buy a PE4H kit so I can run a spare GTX750Ti on it. How cool would that be if it works?
The T420 also has an Expresscard slot. I've always used mine for USB Superspeed ports, but since I have an fast extra machine that's relatively low-power/heat/noise, I'm thinking that I might buy a PE4H kit so I can run a spare GTX750Ti on it. How cool would that be if it works?
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
You'll prepare and resell the Thinkpad to people in your area?
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
That's the idea. I have people asking for cheap notebooks all the time and I can't think of anything better to offer. I got them off Ebay from a church of all places.