I recently bought a 16GB DDR3 upgrade for my T420, purchased in 2011 from the Lenovo outlet store. Sure the bezels date it instantly and the battery life can't compare to an M1 Macbook, but in many ways it's the last "real" Thinkpad that's usable.
It's the last model with the old-style 7 row keyboard, and when my display cable flaked out in 2012, IBM(!) was still in charge of honoring the warranty. I got a box shipped to me that I put the laptop in, it got overnighted for repairs, and overnighted back. It's a chunky and hefty device by today's standards, but that's part of the charm. Swapping in a battery feels like reloading a weapon (especially the 9 cells).
16 GiB is usable in 2022, with exotic upgrade options for CPU (you can go to Ivy Bridge via a BIOS flash (!)), and external GPUs are an option as well (PCMIA !!!). There are 1080p screen retrofit kits, with the main liability going forward probably being the reliability of third-party 9 cell batteries.
Doesn't the T420 lack USB 3 though? I had a T430 and even with the "good" 900p screen it wasn't very good with awful viewing angles. I did recently pick up a cheap W520, same keyboard as the T420, USB 3, an actually decent 1080p screen and a quad core CPU plus a 32GB RAM ceiling. It is a chonker though.
Delighted to see this. The X61 is one of my favorite laptops and I felt silly buying a second one (8 years ago..!) when it was already considered out of date.
I recently had the same thought I did then: what if I got another X61?!
It's really disappointing that Lenovo's Thinkpad division went with a Macbook-ification of the product line, though I understand why they did.
One thing I discovered: Thinkpad sells external USB & bluetooth keyboards that have the pointing stick. They're based on the newer Thinkpad keyboard design but it was a nice enough compromise for me that I went for it.
The trackpoint keyboard II plus is really a treat. I have the bluetooth model now. Enjoying its minimalism as well as its similarity to my x230. I have an older SK8845 but its not as portable, being wired and all. https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/accessories/trackpoint_keyb...
Have you heard of the x62?
An OS build from OS/2 Warp 4.52 that tries to keep up IBM platform alive today with all sorts of updates; IIRC it features some ports system for Linux software
I'd love one of these with a much better screen and some light ARM CPU. Has anybody tried to stick a Raspberry Pi 4 and an iPad Pro screen (or something else with a matching aspect ratio) into one of these?
No ARM CPU, but there was an aftermarket conversion called the X62[0], with upgraded display and Intel Broadwell CPU. I think it's mostly been supplanted by an X201 conversion, the X210[1].
Sort of off topic but I have an X220 but I’m having issues getting the trackpad to work. Seems to only recognize the track point. Anyone else have similar issues?
It's the last model with the old-style 7 row keyboard, and when my display cable flaked out in 2012, IBM(!) was still in charge of honoring the warranty. I got a box shipped to me that I put the laptop in, it got overnighted for repairs, and overnighted back. It's a chunky and hefty device by today's standards, but that's part of the charm. Swapping in a battery feels like reloading a weapon (especially the 9 cells).
16 GiB is usable in 2022, with exotic upgrade options for CPU (you can go to Ivy Bridge via a BIOS flash (!)), and external GPUs are an option as well (PCMIA !!!). There are 1080p screen retrofit kits, with the main liability going forward probably being the reliability of third-party 9 cell batteries.