3 ms·
Thinkpads definitely get over-recommended on the internet, but I have been really pleased with my X220. I bought a corporate refurb on ebay a year ago for about
by extr 10y ago
Thinkpads definitely get over-recommended on the internet, but I have been really pleased with my X220. I bought a corporate refurb on ebay a year ago for about $200. It has sailed along since then. Any problems I have I am confident I can repair and parts are cheap and plentiful. At one point I replaced the DC jack and WiFI card in an hour or two with a screwdriver and a youtube video (total cost: $25). It runs linux flawlessly with plenty of horsepower despite the 2012 era CPU. RAM is easily upgradeable and it has a 2nd drive bay.
If you are comfortable with putting together your own PC (which I suspect most of the HN audience is), you will get way more mileage out of it than buying a newish chromebook for a similar price. I've heard rumors of a "thinkpad classic" machine in the same form factor with an upgraded CPU, USB 3.0, and high res screen, which I would love.
- post_break 10y agoI have an X201 sitting next to me. It could heat my office or dry my hair when idling. I wish I could just plop in a better cpu and keep the chassis.
- btgeekboy 10y agoI have a similar story with my T430. Ivy Bridge CPU, 8GB, and two internal SSDs (one msata). It's a tank, and worth the $300 or so I paid. Upgraded it to add the msata ssd and add a backlit keyboard, and it's a great beater laptop for when I don't need portability.