Thinkpad Appreciation Thread

[Glenwing]

Yeah, color isn't great either, but its USB and very portable so I cant complain :P

Its a bit of a screen overload here now though, got 5 screen around me, and a total of 6 browsers with LTT forum, constantly refreshing to look for spammers, double posters, etc. etc.

(I like to keep the mods busy)

 

Yes... yes you do...

[looney]

Yes... yes you do...

Not many profile feed spammers recently though, so not keeping you that busy anymore.

Mostly kitchens, double posts and wrong topics lately.

[gibbsy81]

Well, they were xD Seems every successive release now they are sacrificing functionality to make it look nicer.  7-row keyboard is gone, to make it look more modern.  Trackpoint buttons on the way out with their upcoming Haswell releases, to take away as many buttons as possible and reduce clutter.  Angled edge at the front of the palmrest/top of LCD which kept out dust and dirt gone, upcoming Haswell designs are flat all the way across.  Display latch gone... I guess that didn't serve a huge purpose but it sure felt good whenever I closed it :P... LCD Roll cage gone for thinner displays.  Strong steel hinges attached directly to the internal metal frame gone, now replaced by drop down hinge like their Ideapads, with the hinge attached to the LCD now, and again with no magnesium roll cage in the LCD anymore... :/

 

EDIT: Anyway... Thar she blows!  Beautiful!

 

Ugh i see a vga cable.

[looney]

Well, they were xD Seems every successive release now they are sacrificing functionality to make it look nicer.  7-row keyboard is gone, to make it look more modern.  Trackpoint buttons on the way out with their upcoming Haswell releases, to take away as many buttons as possible and reduce clutter.  Angled edge at the front of the palmrest/top of LCD which kept out dust and dirt gone, upcoming Haswell designs are flat all the way across.  Display latch gone... I guess that didn't serve a huge purpose but it sure felt good whenever I closed it :P... LCD Roll cage gone for thinner displays.  Strong steel hinges attached directly to the internal metal frame gone, now replaced by drop down hinge like their Ideapads, with the hinge attached to the LCD now, and again with no magnesium roll cage in the LCD anymore... :/

 

They made their name with those features......

 

Guess I'm just in time with my W530, though that already hasn't got a 7-row KB

[TheProfosist]

They made their name with those features......

 

Guess I'm just in time with my W530, though that already hasn't got a 7-row KB

 

The 20's were the last to have many of those features as My T420 does and my friends W530 doesnt. Im happy I got mine when I did but I still kinda wish it had USB 3.0. O and the new keyboard isnt bad at all I got the bluetooth version of it for my HTPC and love it, but yes I do still prefer my older one. I do understand why they switched though as its far easier to backlight.

[rashdanml]

Afaik, only the ultrabook variants have the drop-hinge. X231s, T440s, etc. I'm still hoping the X240 (non-ultrabook) comes with the regular hinge, as there's been no word on it.

 

As for trackpoint/keyboard changes, since I've never used a Thinkpad, it won't make a big difference. Not sure if removing trackpoint buttons is going to be standard on non-ultrabooks; Chiclet keyboard and 6-row keyboard definitely is, since the X230.

 

Waiting to see what happens before I buy one anyway. Not a huge fan of the drop-hinge style, and I'm hoping it'll be an ultrabook-only feature.

[TheProfosist]

Yea I would wait for the 40's if you can and get haswell. O and i 100% couldnt recommend a dock more, It so nice to just dock and continue working on 2 monitors one being a 27in.

[rashdanml]

Yup. A dock is on my future list. Combined with Thinkvantage's battery saving features, it's really the best laptop to go with a docking solution. It'll make a good addition to a multi-monitor setup where one monitor gets taken over by the Thinkpad while docked, while PC gets access to all monitors when it's not docked. -dreams-

[TheProfosist]

Yup. A dock is on my future list. Combined with Thinkvantage's battery saving features, it's really the best laptop to go with a docking solution. It'll make a good addition to a multi-monitor setup where one monitor gets taken over by the Thinkpad while docked, while PC gets access to all monitors when it's not docked. -dreams-

 

i dont like any of their software for the most part and the power manager is really just telling windows what to do but I had to install if for something I forget what but eve since win8 it hasnt been on there because they didnt update it for win8 for my laptop which im perfectly fine with. They do still give yo a driver though.

[stevv]

Speaking of dual screens...
 
My x301 with the GeChic portable monitor.  Monitor is works with standard video inputs (vga or hdmi... ) and uses USB for power.   Try this with them other flimsy notebooks! B)  
 

 

 

 

 
 
X301... last great Thinkpad with no compromises.

[stevv]

i dont like any of their software for the most part and the power manager is really just telling windows what to do but I had to install if for something I forget what but eve since win8 it hasnt been on there because they didnt update it for win8 for my laptop which im perfectly fine with. They do still give yo a driver though.

 

I got an install  of the power manager for mine (x301) on win8, but I think they integrated it with windows this time since I got no alternate power interface.

 

 

Fingerprint login was a huge improvement on win8 though.  

 

 

 

Like it says in my sig, W530, I love it.

And today I got my USB monitor so I can have dual-screen on my laptop on the go

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?GroupID=460&Code=1452DS6#techspecs

 

I was going to get one, but I'm holding out for the touch screen version =).

[Glenwing]

Afaik, only the ultrabook variants have the drop-hinge. X231s, T440s, etc. I'm still hoping the X240 (non-ultrabook) comes with the regular hinge, as there's been no word on it.

 

As for trackpoint/keyboard changes, since I've never used a Thinkpad, it won't make a big difference. Not sure if removing trackpoint buttons is going to be standard on non-ultrabooks; Chiclet keyboard and 6-row keyboard definitely is, since the X230.

 

Waiting to see what happens before I buy one anyway. Not a huge fan of the drop-hinge style, and I'm hoping it'll be an ultrabook-only feature.

 

When they talked about the T431s, they said it was going to be the new design for ThinkPads.  To me anyway, that implied it would not be limited to just the ultra slim models.  We will see what they have decided when the T440 and T540 are revealed...

[stevv]

When they talked about the T431s, they said it was going to be the new design for ThinkPads.  To me anyway, that implied it would not be limited to just the ultra slim models.  We will see what they have decided when the T440 and T540 are revealed...

 

Is this what it's going to be in the future of thinkpads...  (source) ... no more trackpoint triple buttons!?!

 

 

 

no thanks.

[dylandylandylan]

Is this what it's going to be in the future of thinkpads...  (source) ... no more trackpoint triple buttons!?!

 

 

 

no thanks.

 

uh, damn, the ultrabook fad has definitely killed what I love about thinkpads..

[looney]

Is this what it's going to be in the future of thinkpads...  (source) ... no more trackpoint triple buttons!?!

 

 

 

no thanks.

YUK...

 

That does note deserve the T, X or W title, looks like a E series or something...

 

[dylandylandylan]

Do second hand older W series thinkpads come up for sale much in the USA/Canada? I have never seen one on my local auction site in New Zealand, they must know what they've got :P

[TheProfosist]

YUK...

 

That does note deserve the T, X or W title, looks like a E series or something...

 

who buys anything but those anyway? if they do their not getting a real thinkpad. this is where I think lenovo is smart where they have new and old designs to cater to everyone best they can. I really doubt theyll drop the old faithful design fully there would be too much backlash from companies and consumers alike.

[stevv]

does anyone here use an ultrabay ?

i bought mine on ebay

 

 

I also got mine off ebay.  I'm having a weird issue with compatibility though.  It seemed to only work (almost fully) with with my SLC Samsung 1.8 SSD that came with my X300 while using it on my X301, but only writes ~20MB/s, but reads at full sata2 speed.  I got a Samsung 840 to update firmware using it, but it hangs on boot when it's installed (that's booting from the main 128GB 1.8" ssd.  

 

I'm wondering if it's the controller in the tray.  Do you get any read/write issues?  I wanted to try with a standard hard drive, but I don't have one that thin enough.  The new WD super thin notebook drives can fit, but don't want to spend the money and not have it work.

 

I mainly use it for fast backup, or booting different OS's (including OSX  :ph34r: )

 

 

 

The samsung 840 is installed in ultrabay.

 

 

Updating Samsung 840 SSD firmware

 

 

The original drives of my X300 and X301.

 

 

OSX Snow Leopard on Thinkpad X301.

 

 

[TheProfosist]

I also got mine off ebay.  I'm having a weird issue with compatibility though.  It seemed to only work (almost fully) with with my SLC Samsung 1.8 SSD that came with my X300 while using it on my X301, but only writes ~20MB/s, but reads at full sata2 speed.  I got a Samsung 840 to update firmware using it, but it hangs on boot when it's installed (that's booting from the main 128GB 1.8" ssd.  

 

I'm wondering if it's the controller in the tray.  Do you get any read/write issues?  I wanted to try with a standard hard drive, but I don't have one that thin enough.  The new WD super thin notebook drives can fit, but don't want to spend the money and not have it work.

 

I mainly use it for fast backup, or booting different OS's (including OSX  :ph34r: )

 

 

I have a ultrabay in my T420 it holds my 500gb Samsung 840. I got mine direct from Lenovo thing is it also fits the T420s so its a bit thin but i fixed that with some foam socket insulators i found at walmart, some poster tape, and some packaging tape. Now the fit is perfect.

[stevv]

YUK...

 

That does note deserve the T, X or W title, looks like a E series or something...

 

uh, damn, the ultrabook fad has definitely killed what I love about thinkpads..

 

 

Looks too dumb down... need that intimidate user and whoever looking at it style.  Need Moar buttons!  Like a jet fighter!

 

Everybody gets so confused when they try to use my computer since I only use the trackpoint.

[TheProfosist]

Looks too dumb down... need that intimidate user and whoever looking at it style.  Need Moar buttons!  Like a jet fighter!

 

Everybody gets so confused when they try to use my computer since I only use the trackpoint.

 

so here, its so funny when they go to the trackpad and I dont day anything ;)

[stevv]

who buys anything but those anyway? if they do their not getting a real thinkpad. this is where I think lenovo is smart where they have new and old designs to cater to everyone best they can. I really doubt theyll drop the old faithful design fully there would be too much backlash from companies and consumers alike.

 

I hope your right.  I think if they loose the physical buttons, like the volume and trackpad/trackpoint clicks, home/pageup/down... then the sleek black chassis and the red dot on the keyboard...  is just a facade.  

 

I'm sad that they are loosing the ultrabay, especially for the x series since they are not much thinner (except the carbon) and weigh pretty much the same?  They could have just kept the x300/x301 chassis concept and use the extra space for anything from a graphics card, hard drives , battery.. red pills... etc.

 

 

 

I have a ultrabay in my T420 it holds my 500gb Samsung 840. I got mine direct from Lenovo thing is it also fits the T420s so its a bit thin but i fixed that with some foam socket insulators i found at walmart, some poster tape, and some packaging tape. Now the fit is perfect.

 

500GB SSD too small.. upgrade to the 1TB Evo! :lol:    Your caddy belongs in the ghetto riggins section (do we have on here?)

[dylandylandylan]

I have a ultrabay in my T420 it holds my 500gb Samsung 840. I got mine direct from Lenovo thing is it also fits the T420s so its a bit thin but i fixed that with some foam socket insulators i found at walmart, some poster tape, and some packaging tape. Now the fit is perfect.

 

How much did it cost for an official one? I'm keen to trade out my DVD drive in my T410 for one. Replacing the standard HDD in the thinkpad is easy as just swapping it out for a SSD right?

[qwertywarrior]

I also got mine off ebay.  I'm having a weird issue with compatibility though.  It seemed to only work (almost fully) with with my SLC Samsung 1.8 SSD that came with my X300 while using it on my X301, but only writes ~20MB/s, but reads at full sata2 speed.  I got a Samsung 840 to update firmware using it, but it hangs on boot when it's installed (that's booting from the main 128GB 1.8" ssd.  

 

I'm wondering if it's the controller in the tray.  Do you get any read/write issues?  I wanted to try with a standard hard drive, but I don't have one that thin enough.  The new WD super thin notebook drives can fit, but don't want to spend the money and not have it work.

 

I mainly use it for fast backup, or booting different OS's (including OSX  :ph34r: )

 

 

maybe it is the tray;s fault

i get full read and wright speeds on mine

 

try finding another tray on ebay

if u want to play it safe check with lenovo

[stevv]

you guys are in luck if have native SATA ultrabay connections.  

 

As Opposed to this

 

 

 

 

maybe it is the tray;s fault

i get full read and wright speeds on mine

 

try finding another tray on ebay

if u want to play it safe check with lenovo

 

Your machine uses the newer SATA ports in the tray, so there's no conversion like what I have, which is the PATA so it required a conversion circuitry.  Yeah, I'm suspecting the tray, but also the thinkpad bios as they have whitelist issues (meaning I can't even install a better wireless card, even though it's packed with extra antennas). 

 

 

@dylandylandylan

 

Looks like yours is also using the SATA connector so any tray would do.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultrabay-Slim-SATA-2nd-Hdd-Lenovo-ThinkPad-T410-DV13-/290575508995