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I have the same machine (but in 16", Z16) and it's been nothing but trouble/drama with BIOS updates. USB-C ports to docking stations and second displays were b

I have the same machine (but in 16", Z16) and it's been nothing but trouble/drama with BIOS updates. USB-C ports to docking stations and second displays were broken for two months, with no ability to rollback the BIOS version. https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-Z-series-Laptops/External-USB-C-display-stopped-working-1-57-BIOS-Update-Z16-AMD-Gen-1/m-p/5228342 https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-Z-series-Laptops/Exter... Recently it's just started freezing up for no reason. Last fall they pushed some update with f'd up the fan (didn't run enough, overheated). Then another that made it run too often. At some point in there something got pushed that messed up the TPM config or something so my whole Windows partition install had to be redone. For the first 5-6 months power mgmt generally was a nightmare. Especially in Linux. Much improved lately though. Not recommended. Maybe the Gen2 is better.

javitury 3y ago
I don't understand why modern thinkpads are so hyped. Recently I bought a L14 AMD and it doesn't even come with a decent keyboard or touchpad. The touchpad feels laggy and clunky, there are many of such reports for L14 and T14 models. The built-in keyboard ocassionally gets stuck pressing a key, and the I need to suspend-and-resume to unstuck it. As you said, usb-c dock problems are a nightmare. Better get a good usb 4 cable with 40 gbps and 100 watts, or else you will spend countless hours doubting if problems are because of the cable. Spoiler: it's not any particular cable, it's the laptop. For comparison, we use dell latitutes (intel) at work and they just work fine. I wonder if problems are common to all modern thinkpads, or if it only affects AMD models.
- cmrdporcupine 3y ago
  From what I can tell from the two Lenovo products we have in the house -- an all-in-one machine with a stylus (for my daughter for art) and this Z16 ... Lenovo (esp AMD Lenovo) has a serious software quality problem. Everything from BIOS & drivers up to their awful custom packaging of Windows. I'm a Linux guy but I keep a Windows partition around and on both machines life got a lot better after I removed the stock Lenovo Windows install and got a fresh install on it. But firmware has been a total nightmare. Just one quality problem after another. But hardware seems good. Never used to be like this. Had older thinkpads and they were great. Still I should say I prefer working on my Z16 vs the HP laptop provided by work. It has a different bag of problems, and a terrible keyboard and trackpad.

javitury 3y ago

I don't understand why modern thinkpads are so hyped. Recently I bought a L14 AMD and it doesn't even come with a decent keyboard or touchpad. The touchpad feels laggy and clunky, there are many of such reports for L14 and T14 models. The built-in keyboard ocassionally gets stuck pressing a key, and the I need to suspend-and-resume to unstuck it. As you said, usb-c dock problems are a nightmare. Better get a good usb 4 cable with 40 gbps and 100 watts, or else you will spend countless hours doubting if problems are because of the cable. Spoiler: it's not any particular cable, it's the laptop. For comparison, we use dell latitutes (intel) at work and they just work fine. I wonder if problems are common to all modern thinkpads, or if it only affects AMD models.

cmrdporcupine 3y ago
From what I can tell from the two Lenovo products we have in the house -- an all-in-one machine with a stylus (for my daughter for art) and this Z16 ... Lenovo (esp AMD Lenovo) has a serious software quality problem. Everything from BIOS & drivers up to their awful custom packaging of Windows. I'm a Linux guy but I keep a Windows partition around and on both machines life got a lot better after I removed the stock Lenovo Windows install and got a fresh install on it. But firmware has been a total nightmare. Just one quality problem after another. But hardware seems good. Never used to be like this. Had older thinkpads and they were great. Still I should say I prefer working on my Z16 vs the HP laptop provided by work. It has a different bag of problems, and a terrible keyboard and trackpad.