How often do YOU buy a new ThinkPad?

at least it doesn't chew through a lot of petrol, which is good for the planet. In many Australian and USA cities, having a car is a necessity, but in many European and Asian cities having a car is a social detriment and makes travel slower.

 

That's so true.

 

hey guys,
I am a potential Lenovo buyer atm,
this thread has been very helpful to me since you guy shown me how durable is Lenovo machine.
However, I also very concern about batter health. With a few years of experience, what can you tell me?

 

Mine is still surprisingly going strong. In 3 1/2 years I'm on my 3rd LCD but still on my original battery. It's actually a good thing since the battery is not covered on the extended warranty but the LCD is.

 

Wow, this thread has grown
I still have my T61 I bought almost 2 years ago. The T61 serves as my main computer. I'll also be going back to college as well, and will probably be getting an X301 sometime later this year, or very early next year (for school work, plus I need a laptop that's more portable then this 15.4inch behemoth lol). Hopefully I'll be able to get a student discount on one as well

 

Haha I tried fitting into the driver seat in that car once and driving it was a royal pain! My head was slammed against the roof and my knees were getting pushed into the dashboard. Not recommended for anyone over 6'3".
Great little car though! Gets the job done nicely.

 

while the car is not that flash, the house where the car is parked looks to be very good.

 

If you care about build quality and reliability, go ONLY for the TRUE business-grade ThinkPad lineage ie. T, X, W series. Forget about SL and other consumer-grade machines by Lenovo. Slap on a 3 year on-site IWS (international warranty) and you'll be a happy camper.

 

that is exactly what I am thinking.
I am looking at the X200.
But how about battery health over years? Can someone please give me some experience?

 

Using power management fairly consistently over the two years I have had my T61p, has resulted in a 13% loss in battery capacity. This is quite good, compared to my HP which had to have a battery replaced well inside this time period.

 

you should get three years onsite and accidental protection coverage, since there are so many people needing them lately.

If you don't have lot of budget for a new laptop the R400 is also great. if you use the laptop mainly at home, then the R500 is not bad with the displayport. This means you can use DVI out even without a dock, which is real handy as compared to the previous generations of R series 15.4 inch thinkpad which do not support dvi out even on the dock, when it is using an integrated GPU.

 

Battery management is one of the best - if not THE best distinguishing feature/utility of ThinkPad ownership.

IIRC, all proper business-grade ThinkPad "smart" batteries have a built-in chip that allows it to communicate with the machine, relaying information about the charge cycles completed, voltages, wattages, first manufactured, manufacturer, serial no, etc, etc.

Whilst this may be interesting information for the geek in us, what is more useful is that the Power Manager utility allows users to dictate battery charge thresholds ie. when we would like our batteries to start charging, eliminating the "topping off" phenomenon common in other "non-smart" Li-ion laptop batteries. When the charge capacity goes below say 95% for other machines, they start charging the battery to 100%. Can you imagine how many charge cycle such batteries have to endure in a short span of time? This frequent charging shortens their battery life. That is why you see some people unplugging their batteries when they're on AC power in a desperate attempt to save their batteries!

ThinkPad machines not only prevents this, it allows you to instruct the machine to only start charging say when its capacity is, say below 10%, thus reducing the frequency of charging - and to tell it to stop charging at say 95%, instead of 100% - all in an effort to improve its longevity.

This means that ThinkPad users who connect to AC power only draws power via AC. There is NO battery activity when ThinkPads are on AC power (you can always verify it via the Power Manger battery gauge on the taskbar) - unless it falls below our designated battery threshold, whereupon it'll start charging. We can happily keep our batteries plugged in without the machine charging it indiscriminately and lowering battery life.

One more fantastic feature of the Battery maintenance component of ThinkPad's Power Manager utility is the Battery Gauge Reset function. This fully charges, fully discharges before finally fully charging your battery once more. This helps to recover as much full charge capacity as possible from its design capacity.

Of course ThinkPad's Power Manager is more than just battery management. It also allows you to fine tune user-defined power settings to maximize performance or battery life, depending on your needs and circumstances.

 

apparently when using the 65 w adapter the laptop supposedly power from both the battery and the power adapter when there is high CPU usage, which is why if your laptop doesn't have the battery inserted the CPU usage will never go to 100%.

For home use, i have replaced all my 65 w to 90 w adapters.

 

Those of you who have had the same Thinkpad for more than 3 years, do you still have warranty? Do you worry if not? Any major problems after warranty expired?

 

I just figured I'd bring this "blast from the past" thread back to life.

I know a friend of mine wanted to upgrade his T400 to a T410, and I was like "wow, that's kinda soon for an upgrade".

BUT, to each your own I guess.

As for me, I still have my trusty T61 that I bought 2 and a half years ago. It's been running everyday for 4+ hours a day since I bought it.
I DID end up buying the X301, which gets used as my travel companion.

Since my funds are maxed out from the X301 purchace, I probably will not be getting a new Thinkpad for at least another 2+ years.
Hopefully my T61 will last with daily use for another 2+ years (it should).

So, for the members that have no seen this thread (or for those that have and have since upgraded, what did you upgrade FROM, and what did you get ? ).
It's always neat to hear about peoples upgrading habits !

 

Hmmm, let's see, I've had a T40, T42, T43, T60, T61, T410 and now an X201. I think the madness is over for a while. I'm happy with the X201 and don't plan on upgrading for several years. The T410 was nice but the portability of the X201 won me over.

 

Hehe, the madness never ends

As far as thinkpads are concerned I did my first purchase in 2003 and the beast (in my sig.) still performs. Of course I have an AW M17X (a whim rather than a necessary system) and another one (HP 8740w) is on its way [another whim ].
I might just upgrade the TP to let it last 3-4 more years, who knows....

 

I got my first Thinkpad in April 2010. It's a T410. I'm hoping it'll last at least 2 years as I finish my Bachelor's degree. I'd probably want to get a more portable laptop in 2 years. The T410 is pretty heavy to carry around especially with books and notebooks.

 

Spare a thought for people whom carries around an Alienware 17 inch laptop.. or Macbook Pro 17 inch laptop (i.e. Me for a while) in addition to their books and notes....

 

I get 3 year warranty and use them until they die or start to have major problems while out of warranty.

 

MikesDell's post above is an excellent example of what is so good AND bad about ThinkPads! If you are reasonably lucky, then the Thinkpad that you buy will not give you a good reason to buy another one for sometime. Unless your usage profile changes, your ThinkPad will serve you well, except for the fact that it will not allow you the luxury of a "reason" (justifiable reason, that is) to buy a new one.

 

approximately once every 5 years...

 

I have not been a Thinkpad user for very long (1 year) but have owned and used the 600X, T30, R40, R51e, R52, and T400 Thinkpads. I've had the pleasure of manually upgrading my Thinkpads on my own and pride myself on how much I've learned.

I am amazed at the engineering that went into the Thinkpads and the ease at which we can access items inside the chassis if need be! I've worked on laptops that were just horrendous and required a complete dismantling of the entire system just to redo the thermal compound!

Presently my T400 is my main system and it's providing me great performance! I may be tempted to purchase an X201 sometime in the future for a change in portability.

So the answer to the question is " whenever I feel like it."

 

in the same situation as you. i have a t400 which i bought 7 months ago and it serves my purposes wonderfully, but the portability of the x201 is so enticing!

 

I had a few ThinkPads and a Dell from work, but I bought my first ThinkPad, a T41, shortly after coming here. I sold that after a few months because I didn't like the XGAness of it.

I then dropped about $1800, I know amazing, on a new T42. I instantly fell in love with the FlexView screen. After about a year the size of it and the fact that DVD burners for it cost about $400, which caused me to get an external drive, started to wear on me. It was starting to get a bit creaky too.

I almost bought a T60, but missed out on a Lenovo rebate, so I went with the 14" R60 for about a 40% reduction in price. I was glad I did. I think the R6x and Rx00 offered great value. For a small increase in weight and size, you got a machine that was a near equal of the T series, usually at a lower price. I think a 14" SXGA+ notebook is the perfect blend of size, portability and screen real estate. If they ever made one with an above average screen, they'd be printing money if you ask me.

After a couple years, the poor screen started to become aggravating. I decided to build my own FlexView R60, reasoning I didn't need much mobility. I was happy with my larger R60. I still didn't like the weight, but the screen was gorgeous.

I didn't really have any plans to upgrade my R60, but then the 20% outlet coupon came along. A X200 for $600, how could I resist? The fact I could get a great screen and a much smaller footprint was very appealing.

I guess the point of this post is to say there's no perfect notebook, at least I've not found one. Every time I've gotten a new ThinkPad, except for my T41, I thought this is going to be my notebook for years, but somehow in a few years I found a reason to upgrade. I feel this way about my X200, but perhaps someone in a few years offers a 14" AFFS SXGA+ notebook. If they do, I'm all over that, cost be damned.

 

Hoo boy... I've definitely run the upgrade path like crazy over the past few years. I've definitely wanted as much power as I could get so I've done a lot.

I got my T21 back in 2004. It was a really good machine for a few years but I really wanted something more powerful. I got a T40 early in 2007, but it died due to the infamous ATI GPU issues... and the board failed a reflowing.

I jumped to Dell for a while, first with the original XPS gaming beast, then upgrading to the M1730 eight months after that. I was planning on going to school soon, so I wanted a machine that could do everything I needed to and then some. But... the M1730 was destined to become a DTR since it was far too large and heavy to carry to class and back.

I went back to the T4x platform, purchasing a T41 off of Craigslist for a decent price, then buying a bunch of parts off of an acquaintence a couple of weeks after that. I ended up making an SXGA Flexview T42 out of the deal as well as recouping my costs by making and selling two T41s out of the parts.... I was pretty amazed at that.

But, I decided I needed more power and got a T60 right before I entered school... UXGA Flexview. I ended up putting a T60p motherboard in it with the V5250 GPU, which was a pretty decent running system. But, even that was a little too large to be using in the cramped classrooms I was in, so I picked up an X60s for pretty cheap. Ended up bumping that up with an X61s motherboard.

A few months later found me not really that impressed with either system... liked the size of the X61s but hated the resolution and cramped keyboard. I like to game a little bit on the go, and the X3100GPU just wasn't cutting it as well as I'd hoped. Liked the power and the GPU of the T60p, but the size and heat were an issue. I sold both and picked up my T400.

I didn't use my M1730 all that much and had to pay off a couple of debts so I traded the M1730 plus some cash for an older, fairly powerful desktop. Not the best decision in the world as I just don't have much use for a desktop anymore. I'd been itching for an X200 for a little while and was kinda kicking myself about not getting one instead of the T400... the full-sized keyboard, better res than the X61, and more powerful IGP seemed like it'd make a good combination. I caught another lucky break on Craigslist when I saw someone selling his for cheap. I offered that desktop and $100... and came home with what might possibly be the best notebook I've ever had.

I still use the T400 for gaming and all that fun stuff, but I actually use the X200 about 90% of the time. Between the two I've got all my PC needs covered, and the X200's going to get the full treatment. I can't wait to start putting some upgrades on this puppy.

I think I'm done for now, but the thought of finding an X201 motherboard and Frankensteining it into the X200 case(like I did with the X60s-to-X61s several months ago) sounds rather tempting at times.

 

just wait for some unlucky person to break their casing of the x201, and you would find some perfectly good x201 motherboard for sales.

 

That's true. Judging from the port placement and the photos I've seen, the only major difference between the two form factor wise is the fact the X201 has stereo speakers. At the absolute most all it might need is a new bottom casing, and probably only one speaker from the X201 to really work. Exciting, no?

 

extremely exciting, especially given the fact that the X200 CPU can't be upgraded once ordered from factory (physically soldered).

i5-520m is equal in raw processing power of the T9800.

 

One per lifetime.

 

My T61 is almost 4 years old. Since it was a newborn, I've used it from morning to evening. I use it at work - word, web, photoshop, indesign.

I game on it every evening and weekend. Mostly WOW but also more demanding games like: Batman Arkham Asylum, Demigod, Overlord 2 and Prototype.

This baby is my first Thinkpad, and it have been with me over the atlantic several times, as well as it always travels with me to friends and family.

The only work I've done on it is upgrade the ram to 4 gigs and use a can of compressed air to clean it (once).

I'm considering upgrading it in half a year due to the fact, that I would love to run games smoother (and yes - I do want a laptop for gaming as well.)
But dunno for sure yet.
What I do know, is that this lappy has been sturdier than any stationary pc I've owned

 

I would buy another ThinkPad if another good deal comes up...

We have an R500 for like ~450. I would like a 12.1" tablet ThinkPad and an old school T60/T60p with the Flexview screen...

 

t400 is 2+ years old the x200s is new to me. I plan on using them for at least another 2+ years, hopefully alot more.

 

You can get R500 for around 250 to 300 USD nowadays.

 

I bought my first desktop PC about 11 years ago. I bought my first laptop about 8 years ago, a used ThinkPad 600E. I loved it! It still is fully functional, although the battery is a bit weak.

When the T42 series came out, I bought a new mid-range model T42 from Cost Central shortly before IBM sold their PC division to Lenovo. I was looking for a more up-to-date and faster laptop than the 600E. The T42 has been a fantastic laptop!

About a year later my daughter needed a laptop for school. Rather than buy her a *new* laptop, I gave her my T42 and bought a used top-of-the-line T42 from an acquaintance for myself. Also around this time I also bought a new mid-range T42 from Lenovo for my wife who also needed a laptop for school. My wife still uses her T42 frequently. My daughter has been given a work laptop from her employer, a HP EliteBook, so she uses that now. My daughter's T42 is currently collecting dust.

Now that I saw the specs and reviews for the X220, I couldn't help myself. Got one ordered from Cost Central.

 

Well I meant the R500 we have is still in warranty, battery is still in tact.

I wish I had the money now for an ultraportable ThinkPad but my car is dying so lol

 

I am talking about the same sort of things with warranty remaining and battery working.

 

Nice to see this thread still going

Also, good to hear of others with T61's still being used as thier everyday laptop ! Mine is still being used daily (3-4 hours a day at least), and has never let me down (knock on wood lol).

 

Man we just checked in a T60p with everything I want in a T60p...

I think destiny is taunting me haha.

 

Everything? With Flexview?

 

I bought my R400 around March/April 2010. It was replaced with a brand new unit in May (by Lenovo/IBM under warranty). And now, there is the x201 which is on its way (will take about 3 weeks or so to get to me). Till now I have replaced machines when I had to which in recent times included a Sony Vaio (dies exactly a day after warranty) and an Acer (which began to have battery problems, and which was too heavy to carry around everyday). The x201 is the first machine I am buying when I don't really NEED a machine. My justifications to buy are (1) mobility (2) I am actually not paying for it.

Edit: I am actually glad that I bought the R400! It has and continues to provide me with excellent service. And the fact that I like the looks, the keyboard and the general firmness of the machine are all pleasurable extras, which is why I mentioned in another thread that I will not be able to part with the R400 very easily. I just hope I am not going down Lead_org's way and his constantly increasing inventory of ThinkPads!

 

I am running a high Thinkpad fever, which i am slowly recovering from. The only machines that i got this year is a T410 and X200s.

 

"Only"

So, your thoughts on T410, lead_org?


To stay on topic - I bought R400 last autumn which was replaced within warranty by T410 this year. Im planning to use T410 for as long as it works and might upgrade warranty to the the maximum possible term when original 3 year warranty expires.
Whether I will buy another laptop/ThinkPad while current T410 is running well? Probably within 2-3 year period I would love to either get workstation class machine with FullHD screen and 15.6" form factor or 12" ultraportable with good screen (IPS and HD+ resolution would be nice) and real life 10+ hour battery life, basically Im talking here about W and X series, one with quad core and discrete graphics and the other one with full voltage CPU, discrete graphics wouldnt hurt either.
OR it might be both, but then T410 would probably have to go up for sale
But NOT sooner than 2 years!

 

Awesome another x200s! Absolutely love that rig!

 

well, compared to this time last two years i am actually been quite conservative with my purchasing behaviour (well i probably get another one mid year, a X220 and probably a X201t when the sales come on).

I got a T410 with the integrated GPU (was hoping to get one with the optimus graphics technology, but the company that i got it from didn't have them on special) and my CPU is a i5-520m. It is okay, nothing really that special or outstanding as compared to the T400, other than having more ports option. It is just a update on the T400, and so everything is pretty much what i expected.

I am only using the T410 as a desktop replacement, so battery life is not my concern anymore with these machines. I now hardily carry any laptop over 2 kg with me when going to work, i use my T400s as my office machine. If i have to go and see a client or business partner, i get a X200 to do the round trip with me. I wanted to take my X301, but the battery life is getting pretty shot thanks to my cousin, it won't carry more than 1 hr battery and i could not be bothered forking out 200 dollars getting a six cells right now (i have a spare one that i forgot in Beijing). So once the new battery arrives for my X301, i will probably use the X200/s, X301 and T400s as my work laptops.

Overall, i am slowly moving from the T4x0/T5x0 basic laptops and moving towards the X series and T4x0s variants more due to the portability concern.

@Sphinx, i love the 1440x900 LCD, but the one i got second hand seems to have some LCD issues (blotching and lot dead pixels), and the ETA for a new screen at depot is around 2 months. So i am waiting for a new screen now and once my LCD is replaced i will be happy.

Currently, i am spending less time on fiddling with laptops and desktops than last year, hopefully i find some time to finish off many of post purchase reviews that i have done for my T400s, X61, X61s, X200, T500, R500, etc.

P.S. I love the Lenovo community and how we are sharing our experiences in a candid way.

 

You know lead_org you could help by donating some of your collection.

I swear the first ThinkPad museum is going to be in lead_org's home.

 

Yeah...especially to places where it is difficult to easily get the range of ThinkPad configs...like where I am right now!!!

 

Thats an incredible collection! What do you do for a living that requires all those computers? Im an all around IT guy by trade and computer scientist/hacker/modder by hobby and I find the t400 and x200s fill all my needs.

Glad to hear there is another x200s running around, and Im sorry about your LCD issue. The WXGA+ LED LCD is amazing on my end (sorry not trying to rub it in). So bright that I cannot have it at full brightness all day. The computer works flawlessly and even with an abused battery like the one you have in your x301 it still lasts for a long time. I used the laptop last night on battery from 5:30pm til 12:00am and then again for 2 hours this morning before heading to work and still had power and its only at 66%!!! I plan on getting a new batter and SSD within the next few months to maximize the power of this amazing rig. I couldnt be happier with the x200s except if I was able to buy it 3 years ago when I originally wanted it. Cant wait to see my battery life and performance will be afte those 2 parts!

 

The current collection stays, this my version of stamp collection. But I did donate 5 thinkpad laptops in total for the queensland flood.

I don't work in anything IT related, I am in the property development business. To be honest i could do my work using a t60 thinkpad. Thinkpads are my passion, I also have a calculator collection that very few could match.

Depending on the usage you may get extra 30 min with a ssd. But the real appeal of a ssd is the speed.

 

That was nice of you. I too think Ill start a collection like that. My mom had my t400 for a month and I felt like crap the whole time. She used it for one trip and then the rest of the time it sat and collected dust. I trid to explain to her that it was alot more powerful then her desktop and that she could have the same multi monitor setup on the thinkpad as well as save energy and do more. She wouldnt listen, but then again im glad she didnt as it got me the t400 back permanently.