Posted by Mr_Minderbinder 13 hours ago
If they ever sell their 12" version with AMD cpu, I might get one as well.
Encouraged my friend to buy one, his feedback: "best piece of tech in my past few years."
Forgot about it for a couple years, wanted to put opnsense on it and see if I could replace stock equipment leased from ISP, nope. No display.
Fun to a point but probably should just spring for a used thinclient at this point, but prices are scary and I hate letting all this hw go to waste
- Get the model T480 (avoid the T480s)
- Verify that both thunderbolt ports work before buying.
- After purchase, update firmware and bios as a step one.
- Install your favourite OS.
- Business class
- Ryzen 5 or greater (Strix Halo would be great)
- >= 32GB RAM (soldered would be ok)
- 14.5" WQHD 2560x1440 Display (>1920x1200)
- NO Numpad / centered keyboard
- >=70Wh Battery
There just is hardly anything to find in this category. There is Dell Precision, Hp Elitebook, LG Gram, Acer Swift... but somehow they all feel unsufficient. The Thinkpad P1 was close, but has Intel...
So I'm gonna wait until the Framework 16 Pro (if ever released) or until Intel gets another decent GPU upgrade so it can compete :-)
To be real I already had my mousepointer over the "order" button, when it was 3099 with Ryzen 395+ and 64GB RAM, but I didn't do it and 3 days later it was 3299 - regrets ;)
Another option as buy a used T14s with Ryzen 7840, 32GB and 2k Oled for 699 - but it was too far to check it out and pay it in cash, so I skipped... regrets²
Unfortunately T14 is NOT > 14.5" Display... I would prefer a 15-16" Display (I'm getting old and my eyes are not as good any more), but all of these have a numpad, except the Thinkpad P1 which is only available with Intel and pretty expensive. So the only Ryzen > 14.5" Display option without numpad might be the Framework 16 or maybe some other non business or niche brand.
Would still buy again unless something really good hits the market.
It still works.
These days it's only really a thin client for RDP into work and some admin tools & toys, but the 1920 x 1200 matt IPS screen is unbeatable and the keyboard is still lovely.
Nice keyboard as you say. These things are solid.
Thought I’d put Asahi Linux on it but the workflow I’ve settled on is to use my Mac as a thin client for a linux box under my desk. Best of both worlds.
Current main travel laptop is a T420, backed by a T520 w/nvidia when needed (older T41s, T60's lying around). Both work fine with linux & modern browsers (the T420 is particular has great battery life).
It was a close call between a totally new machine and a display mod though
Yes, I realize that this requirement limits me to 15-year-old Toughbooks and Getacs.
Also sometimes friends come over to my house and need to use my computer to do their stuff. So it is convenient if I can easily swap out the SSD and hand it over to my friends.
It's hard to come by that gnome is slower than windows 10
FWIW, posted via NetBSD 11.0 on a T430 w/16G memory and a 2T HDD.
I probably buy more laptops than most people, I've owned some 30 thinkpads in my lifetime. Quality isn't what it used to be, but the serviceability and on-site repair warranty is still amazing.