11 ms·

The X220 ThinkPad

136 points by bradley_taunt 3y ago

lproven 3y ago
Best laptop ever made. « Why Thinkpad X220 is the best laptop ever made Published on 10.05.2020 I’m rather certain that you will come to the same conclusion, esteemed reader, as I did, namely that the Thinkpad X220 is the best laptop ever made, in consideration of the following points. » https://okigiveup.net/blog/why-thinkpad-x220-is-the-best-laptop-ever-made/ https://okigiveup.net/blog/why-thinkpad-x220-is-the-best-lap... I have 2 of them, and I love them dearly.
- bradley_taunt 3y ago
  This is fantastic and actually written more clearly than my own! As for your point: > You can’t watch videos on it I don’t seem to have the same issue? Most videos on the internet stream/load fine without much struggle on my X220. Does your laptop heat up / spin up the fan?
  - throwaway81523 3y ago
    I'm using one right now, running Debian 11. The X220 is pretty near trashed but I do watch videos on it sometimes. I haven't noticed it heating up.
    - lproven 3y ago
      My i5 X220 is a battered old much-repaired much-upgraded thing, but still works fine. Currently it runs ArcaOS but before that Haiku. My i7 X220 is like new, and works like it too. It is maxed out with 16GB RAM and two SSDs and performs well. I do wish the screen were a bit higher-res, though.
  - lproven 3y ago
    Just for clarity, I was merely linking to an account I read elsewhere. It's not mine. Here is one of my several stories on ancient-vs-modern Thinkpads: https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/26/thinkpad_motherboard_mod/ https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/26/thinkpad_motherboard_... I personally detest videos as a source of information and try to avoid watching them. I prefer watching video on a bigger screen several meters away, and I don't do much of that. That being said, I have both i5 and i7 X220s, i5 and i7 T420s and an quad-core i7 W520. All play video just fine for me, and under Linux their performance is good and they don't run hot.
  - gpderetta 3y ago
    Never had a problem on YouTube or or similar, but when doing group calls on zoom I had severe overheating issues on my x220. I think the CPU was due a thermal paste replacement, but I never bothered.
- 0x6c6f6c 3y ago
  I sold one of these. Mistake. I have two T510's still but I miss the smaller form factor.
  - tibbydudeza 3y ago
    Sadly the worst ones ever - ours had NVidia onboard GPU and they got toasted after 2 years of moderate non gaming use - company then switched to Dell after that debacle.
Leimi 3y ago
I'm still in love with my x201s, the x220 predecessor. It was 16:10 and could have a super high res of… 1440x900, a rare thing in such a small format for the time. These small thinkpads were solid as hell, packed with I/O. Perfect keyboard. You could set it with a 90Wh battery. For a 12" laptop. Haha. Screen quality, speakers, touchpad were all garbage but oh well. So much other stuff was perfect. Good times.
- lproven 3y ago
  I've been looking for one of those for some years now. In $JOB-1 I had 2 colleagues who were X200 fans and one of them told me about it (and bequeathed me his docking station when he left).
- gpderetta 3y ago
  I love how the keyboard looks barely contained in the x201, with the minimal bezel needed to provide structural integrity. I have both an x220 and x201 and while the former is a better machine, the latter look nicer to me.
  - Leimi 3y ago
    totally agree :)
VK538FY 3y ago
It is a great machine but the screen resolution was already rubbish when the X220 was introduced. And crucify me if you will but the new ThinkPad keyboard can feel _great_ on the models where it is deep enough (T series mostly). I just miss the 7 rows of the old layout.
- TeddyDD 3y ago
  I agree on the keyboard. I had T470 from my employee and the keyboard felt nicer than every Dell and HP I ever used.
- jeffbee 3y ago
  The screen is garbage and most of the second-hand fleet has the TN screen. The IPS screen was a rare option. The X220 and its immediate predecessors came out during the very embarrassing (for Lenovo) period during which they claimed it was impossible to source IPS displays. A few days after the X220 came out, Apple switched to 100% IPS displays across their product line. This forced Lenovo to change their tune. IMHO the "good" laptops were from the era when Lenovo was still traveling on IBM's roadmap. The X61 Tablet had a magnificent display. As soon as Lenovo switched to widescreen designs, it was all downhill.
  - taskforcegemini 3y ago
    tablet versions usually came with IPS, I recently bought an x220t because the x220 screen is garbage. a missed a rare opportunity two weeks ago to buy an IPS panel for an x220 for 20€
tecklenburg 3y ago
I used an X200s for many many years. Loved it to death - even though it only had 1280 x 800px - and no touch pad. I now use an M1 MacBook Air. It is better in many ways, but I miss the Thinkpad keyboard!
- kotaKat 3y ago
  My travel machine is a Thinkpad X13s. I'm stuck on Windows for most of my work, but it's been an utter treat to use while on the road (especially with the onboard 5G). It's one of the first machines I've been able to use that a 10+ hour day away from a charger is finally feasible under my working conditions.
  - lproven 3y ago
    I have written about getting Linux onto them recently. Ubuntu is just about there now, and Armbian works acceptably booted from a USB key. With Windows, but you know this stuff: https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/21/lenovo_thinkpad_x13s_the_stealth/ https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/21/lenovo_thinkpad_x13s_... Update: now with added Linux: https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/08/linux_on_the_thinkpad_x13s/ https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/08/linux_on_the_thinkpad...
    - kotaKat 3y ago
      Ah, I actually got mine well before your review ;) I've had mine for a year now (Aug 2022); here in the States I took advantage of my mobile carrier's 0% financing to grab one direct from them. It was a bullet to bite for sure but it's well paid off. My only hardware gripe is the one you've pointed out - no USB-A kills me sometimes if I forget to pack a dongle. For me having the onboard 5G was the ultimate boon. Sure, hotspotting is An Thing, but it's so much nicer to just not have to think about that and let the laptop do all the work. Verizon gives me true-full-unlimited data on its Ultra Wideband 5G coverage, and it's so weirdly satisfying to have almost "wireless fiber" jammed into the thing - I've seen multi-Gbps speedtests out of this thing on the cell network.
Zetobal 3y ago
I still have an T440p and a X220 in the workshop they are workhorses. I am Linux only these days but the T440p with MacOS is the perfect laptop if someone sends you a keynote file or you need Xcode.
- ragingrobot 3y ago
  An X1 is the perfect Air wannabe.
flkiwi 3y ago
I'm sorry to be that guy, but what is a "screen lock" button? Does the X220 have a button to lock the display, or (again, I'm sorry) are you talking about ScrLock (Scroll Lock)? Writing this on a ThinkPad with great appreciation for them. And, in fact, I'm genuinely unsure what magical buttons a ThinkPad might have squirreled away.
- bradley_taunt 3y ago
  You are correct - that was an autocorrect mistake? I will update the post shortly. But yes, I do find those little extra keys useful. Print Screen is great since I have it linked with scrot via dwm.
jeffrallen 3y ago
My T43 was the best laptop I ever owned. My son still runs Raspbian on it.
javchz 3y ago
I don't know why Lenovo likes to throw money to the pit and don't go back to the IBM keyboard layout, I have a t430 with a t420 keyboard mod and despite not being mechanical it's amazing to type on.
ryukoposting 3y ago
A 10yo used eBay X220 got me through four years of college. I did Verilog synthesis on it. I learned how to use i3, and even used my own fork of Sam, an old text editor for Plan9. I wrote my first from-scratch RTOS on it. It's a tremendous laptop even today, but it's also one that holds a special place in my heart.
tibbydudeza 3y ago
X270 is my PC when I am away from my home office - wish it was a bit faster but then I look at my colleagues lugging around their HP/Dell "gaming" laptops and I am not so envious anymore.
- ja27 3y ago
  Yeah, an X270 is my newest Thinkpad. I got it as kind of a beater for a vacation that COVID cancelled. That or an X280 feel like kind of the sweet spot for usable almost modern small Thinkpads that can still be upgraded. USB-C port for charging, video out, etc. $70 FHD display panel. Can take two SSDs (one small one in the WWAN slot). It's been mostly fast enough for everything except heavier games but software builds can be slow.
SilverBirch 3y ago
I don't think it's a coincidence that author has picked a laptop whose processor came out in 2011. Intel has basically had a lost decade in terms of performance. I remember going from my 2012 Macbook Air (i7) to a 2015 Macbook Pro (13inch) to the 2014 Macbook Pro (15inch) to finally getting a Thinkpad X1 and I never felt like the 2012 Macbook Air was struggling in the way that the subsequent laptops struggled. Now my X1 doesn't have the build quality of the X220 - but it's still very good and I finally bit the bullet and did what someone well paid who relies on a tool for work should do. I bought the full 5 years support package for my X1. Any hardware issues? Send it in they'll fix it no questions asked. I need the laptop for work, I get paid good money, it's a good investment to have that business level support. The only area where the X220 is really showing it's age today though - you just gotta have USBC ports I'm afraid.
- hypercube33 3y ago
  I just grabbed a cousin of this model and have been having fun modding it and use it more than my new gaming laptop. It's a A285. I have a surface laptop 4 that's smaller and technically faster but I still enjoy typing on the Thinkpad more and other than ram everything is basically upgradable. There needs to be more 12in laptops imo.
  - kramerger 3y ago
    A285 is probably the cheapest feeling thinkpad I've every used. It looks like a thinkpad, but feels "wrong"
- icegreentea2 3y ago
  Sandy Bridge was a really really good release, but it's also not useful to ignore that Intel really did keep improving their product for a while. While their product segmentation (keeping mobile parts pinned at 2 cores, and the quad core limit on desktop) definitely was a form of 'stagnation', Intel made real improvements in their micro architecture, at least up to (and including Skylake). The real 'lost years' were post Skylake, where we got like 5 generations of Skylake refreshes while Intel couldn't manage to get their new node online. Here's a review of Skylake (6700k) from way back showing IPC improvement from Sandy Bridge to Skylake - https://www.anandtech.com/show/9483/intel-skylake-review-6700k-6600k-ddr4-ddr3-ipc-6th-generation/9 https://www.anandtech.com/show/9483/intel-skylake-review-670...
reverendjames 3y ago
I have an old X220. I also have a way older X31 and an X30. One of them has micro-XP running on it. I think it still works.
tonyedgecombe 3y ago
My x240 would crash if I picked it up with one hand and the original screen was garbage.
pengaru 3y ago
There's no good reason to limit yourself to an X220 in favor of an X230. The X230 is practically identical physically, and can have the X220 keyboard swapped in. But in the X230 you get a newer gen SoC and the iGPU is vulkan-capable.
- 5- 3y ago
  you can also get up to 2k screen: https://www.xyte.ch/mods/x230/#x230-display https://www.xyte.ch/mods/x230/#x230-display note: the author of the site has been awol for a while
- drums8787 3y ago
  I'm holding on to two x230s as backups (only need one, happen to have two). Great little machine, still enjoy it for basic hacking and writing once in a while.
formvoltron 3y ago
is there a more modern version that would have the swappable battery?
- dndvr 3y ago
  I use an x250 which has dual batteries An internal 3 cell battery and a removable 3 cell battery (a 6 cell one is also available) I don't have a spare but the main point of this set up is to allow hot swapping of batteries wit no shutdowns when AC is unavailable
  - cyril_r 3y ago
    The X270 too. And it has an USB c port as well. https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_X270/ThinkPad_X270_Spec.PDF https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_X...
    - numpad0 3y ago
      X200/201, X220/230, X240/250/260, X270/280/A275/285 are each substantially different. Between slashed groups there are limited parts interchangeability e.g. battery, X250 trackpad retrofit on X240. In case that matters.
therealmarv 3y ago
Strange. My brother was running this laptop and had to replace display twice because there is a mechanical point of failure with how the display cable is layed out within the case.
planede 3y ago
As counterpoint for the repairability I never liked how hard it is to access the fan assembly on thinkpads. You basically have to fully take the laptop apart to access it. And for the laptops from a decade ago I typically wanted to clean the fan assembly properly every year around springtime. For example for the X220 the fan assembly is removed after the system board, no way around. Before the system board can be replaced, the following components need to be removed: • “1010 Battery pack” on page 63 • “1020 Hard disk drive (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD)” on page 63 • “1030 DIMM” on page 65 • “1040 Keyboard” on page 67 • “1050 Palm rest or palm rest with a fingerprint reader” on page 69 • “1070 Backup battery” on page 73 • “1060 PCI Express Mini Card for wireless LAN/WiMAX” on page 71 • “1080 PCI Express Mini Card for wireless WAN” on page 74 • “1090 Keyboard bezel” on page 76 • “1100 LCD assembly” on page 77 • “1110 Base cover assembly and speaker assembly” on page 80 https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/0a60739_01.pdf#889359401 https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/0a60739_01.pd... T220 is not better in this regard either. There are other decade old laptops with similar quality service manuals that don't have this issue and the fan assembly can be removed without too much hassle.
- jacknews 3y ago
  T430 is a piece of cake to replace the fan.
  - planede 3y ago
    I don't know, this still looks annoying: https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_pdf/t430_t430i_hmm_en_0b48304_03.pdf#872539146 https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_pdf/t430_t430i_hmm_en_... Granted, you don't have to remove the display at least.
    - jacknews 3y ago
      No idea what that process is - I have a few t430s and have replaced each of their fans at least once. It's just a case of remove the k/b and top bezel, maybe one of the speakers (can't remember, but it's just a single screw anyway) and then the heatsink/fan. No need to remove the screen and all that other stuff in the manual. takes 15 mins max.
smlavine 3y ago
I've had X220s and X220Ts for a few years, and I agree that they're probably one of the best laptops you can get second-hand. But they aren't as cheap as they used to be on eBay and they're only getting older. I had to cycle through three X220/Ts in four years because they failed for various reasons. Screen died. Bios just decided to stop working. Finally I decided to ditch my last one by choice this summer and got a Thinkpad X13 Yoga Gen 3 and I really love it. Battery life of at least ten hours for what I'm doing. Still great Linux support. It's not too much lighter than the X220T, but it's a whole lot thinner and that's important trying to shove a whole lot of stuff in one bag. Also: USB-C charging means I no longer have to carry around a big proprietary brick and cable. I can just use the same charger as my phone. That's also important when it comes to weight and space savings. The reason I chose this model in particular is because like the X220T, it also has the digitizer pen garaged in the frame. Really hard to find laptops that met that, and USB C, and thin, and Thinkpad keyboard + mouse nub. In fact I think it's the only one. If this (fingers crossed) lasts me a while, amortized I don't think the cost up front will be that much more than what I would've had to have spent upgrading and transferring parts between eBay franken-ThinkPads over the same time.
- justsomehnguy 3y ago
  > Thinkpad X13 Yoga Gen 3 Sadly it has that shitty modern Lenovo keyboard, with Fn in the left part of the keyboard (I'm not talking about Fn/Ctrl placement), Insert on Fn+End combo (Why?! WHY?![0]) and the stupid PrtScr under the right thumb, like you are taking screenshots every minute. This alone averts me from any ThinkPad past x220 (and even x220 has elephantitis on the Del key..) [0] and now I'm talking about Fn placement on the left side - even I can't make Fn+End with one hand. Compare it to ASUS TM420 keyboard: https://i0.wp.com/techraman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Asus-Vivobook-Flip-14_keyboard.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/techraman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/A...
  - smlavine 3y ago
    To be honest I've never even noticed those problems. I don't use any of those buttons ever at all, really.
deleted 3y ago
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andrewdutton 3y ago
I've been following (and tempted by) someone on faceboock (lcdfans / Jackyzhang - http://www.cnmod.cn/ http://www.cnmod.cn/ ) who has a business of rebuilding x220 / x200 series laptops with modern hardware - the latest I've seen is a "X2100" - an x210 with I7-10710U and 13 inch 3000X2000 IPS... One day if I have and extra few $k that I'm willing to risk I may ordering one...
98Windows 3y ago
Having a VGA port is such a waste of space
jacknews 3y ago
X230 seems like a better option to me, you can replace the k/b with a 220 keyboard. But even though they're built like tanks, these 220/230s are getting old now. Given a choice of old X series thinkpads, the x270 makes more sense - still very decent build quality, modularity, etc, but pretty much better everything. The X280 has soldered ram and other undesirable changs. For T series, the T480 seems to be the sweeet spot.
- c12 3y ago
  I should look into replacing my X230 with an X270, they look to now be the same price point I paid for mine second hand three years ago.
easyThrowaway 3y ago
Still have one. Still an amazing machine. And still performing quite nicely despite being more than 10 years old by now. The only limiting factor is the iGPU, which is way too old even for 1080P playback and DX10-level features. I wish there were any expresscard-sized video cards available, even an heavily downclocked current-day mobile chip would be good enough and within the termal and power requirements of the integrated port; The x220 is fully capable of deactivating the internal video card and sending the signal from the pci-express bus to the integrated display when it detects a discrete one, I've tested it with no issues using an nvidia 750GTX ti and a pci-express adapter.
- jacknews 3y ago
  "I wish there were any expresscard-sized video cards available" That would be fantastic - should be a standard capability of newer m.2 slots too.
5- 3y ago
i currently use x2100 (x200 with 10th gen motherboard and a 3000x2000 13" ips) https://www.xyte.ch/mods/x210-x2100/ https://www.xyte.ch/mods/x210-x2100/ (note: the seller is awol) would be happy to upgrade to a similar x220 mod with e.g. amd zen 4. unfortunately, from what i understand lenovo sued the 51nb folk (motherboard designers) out of their business.
tokai 3y ago
I have really loved my x220. But I wouldn't call it the best laptop. The screen is small and bad, and the body flexes way too much.
- mmcgaha 3y ago
  Body flex is not an issue that I expected to see mentioned about an X series. I have not had an X series since the X60 but that thing had about as much flex as a brick.
  - tokai 3y ago
    Yeah I was really disappointed in the flex when I got it. Newer thinkpads seems better in this regard.
wwilim 3y ago
Dell 5451 truly feels like a piece of crap after using a T470 then some kind of IdeaPad at my previous workplace
causi 3y ago
God I miss chonky laptops. Instead of toting it around or throwing it in a bag I have to put it in a protective case first that makes it just as thick as the old one. I'll never get over the loss of the sheer convenience of being able to store a bluetooth mouse inside the laptop's ExpressCard slot.
ho_schi 3y ago
I’m using an X220 with Archlinux short before 10 years now :) The best feature is the seven row keyboard with regular size and regular key drop. The mobile form-factor in a size of A4/Letter combined with power and docking-ports. Also a small notch to lift the display and USB 3.0 port. Maintainability is great, you can upgrade the BLE 4.0 from the later L-Series, add 16 GB (unofficial) or even swap the entire WiFi/BL (requires MOD-BIOS). The weak points? The PCI-Express card slot reduces stiffness of the palmrest. The remaining flat four cell batteries from Lenovo are deep discharged and cannot be charged. The USB 3.0 tends to go into low-power state (use powertop or /sys to change). Some IPS-Displays could show “ghosting”. It will be replaced now by an X13 Gen3 AMD. It ships in Europe without an operating-system (130 EUR not for Microsoft shareholders - spend that for the FSF, GNOME or Mozilla or your fav Distribution!) and can be shipped preinstalled with Linux. I had to replace the screen by the HiDPI option myself because Lenovo is weird. Why not Gen4? I avoid the Gen4 because of the reverse notch sticking out of the chase. The reverse notch is ugly and parts sticking out of the device surface tend to break and hinder save storage. Furthermore the keyboard is hard to replace which is bad because that is the most stressed part.
volkadav 3y ago
Strictly in my opinion, the M1 mba is perhaps a tie or even slightly edges out the x2_0 series. Solidly built (would I use it as a melee weapon? no, that's what actual melee weapons -- like model m keyboards -- are for), fast, quiet, great screen, insane battery life, usable unix under the hood. I'll grant that the older IBM keyboards were top notch, but the M1's is good enough and having a modern screen to read code on is worth the trade (at least for me, I spend way more time reading and thinking when writing code than physically banging away on the keyboard). I feel kind of weird gushing about hardware to be honest, but it's just that good a machine and I guess that's in keeping with the author's love of the x220? :) If I didn't have an m1 air though, an x200-series thinkpad running linux of some form probably would be my go-to! I still eye minifree.org from time to time when the temptation for a dedicated portable linux machine has me in its grip.
- gumballindie 3y ago
  The M1 is limited to a single os and is not upgradeable though.
  - n8henrie 3y ago
    Mine dual boots MacOS and NixOS, and has also run Asahi.
    - hu3 3y ago
      But it's full of limitations last I tested. No webcam, battery drains because power management is poor/non existent, no external displays depending on the connection and good luck with the touchbar, connectivity is limited like no thunderbolt or hdmi support, no sound, no screen brightness control, and I didn't manage to pair any bluetooth devices. Things will gradually improve hopefully but I don't have time to navigate minefields at the moment. Not to mention if things go south you need another mac, faith and need to wipe all data without chance to recover any of it.
  - parker_mountain 3y ago
    The former is not true, and the latter is kinda pointless when you're comparing it to a 10+ year old computer.
samrolken 3y ago
I absolutely adore this machine. Even the little LED lamp in the lid. I use Mac computers for my day job and real life stuff. But when it comes to machines for hobby/linux/hacking around this is still my go-to. It's an amazing machine, especially when you consider the ample supply of cheap units, and replacement parts/batteries/etc. There are aftermarket upgrades including 4K display replacements and more.
davexunit 3y ago
The X220s only serious flaw was the screen resolution. If it had 1920x1080 it would have been perfect. My favorite laptop of all time. I use an X1 now.
- plg94 3y ago
  I think there are mods to replace the TFT with a FHD IPS panel, but it's not exactly easy to do without breaking something.
  - davexunit 3y ago
    I tried and failed, actually. It worked for a brief moment and it was wonderful...
c12 3y ago
I bought a second hand X230 about three years ago and was so impressed I bought a second one for my Wife. Thinkpads from that era feel so well built and for a laptop thats a decade old at this point it still holds up as a daily driver now that I have replaced its battery with a new one.
dcchambers 3y ago
Yes, but the display...cannot call it the best laptop of all time with that pitiful screen.
massysett 3y ago
I have an X230 that runs Debian. It has a newer keyboard than the X220. A lot of folks seem to prefer the old keyboard but I think the new one is an improvement and is the best laptop keyboard I’ve found. I put the modern MacBook Air keyboard second to it, and the old X220 keyboard is behind that. The X230 has a miserable screen though, and the touchpad is so bad they just shouldn’t have bothered. The Trackpoint is good. It runs Debian stable with no effort at all.
severus_snape 3y ago
Another great thing about those laptops is that Libreboot is supported (https://libreboot.org/docs/hardware/#laptops-intel-x86 https://libreboot.org/docs/hardware/#laptops-intel-x86). One can buy an X230 with Libreboot pre-installed at https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-x230/ https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-x230/.
agentultra 3y ago
I agree. I stopped buying Apple and switched to Thinkpads. Refurbished. With a decent backup system in place I can replace one on the fly as needed without breaking the bank but more importantly I can repair them. One spill was all it took to destroy my last Mac Pro: the whole machine was useless. I have kids and spills happen. As do drops, tugs, etc. My T450 suffered a spill: nothing. Disassembled, cleaned, back in business. But if it had been toast? Less than $200 to get another refurbished one.
- ubermonkey 3y ago
  It's a great option if you can stomach Windows or put up with Linux, I agree.
  - public_defender 3y ago
    Yes, correct. If you can deal with almost any operating system that runs on general purpose hardware, and if you can stomach having the choice of which one to run.
  - ksoped 3y ago
    This sounds like an Apple fanboy comment, tbh. Most people are used to windows and if they want an alternative, they'll reach for Linux. MacOS is more of a con rather than a pro since you're effectively locked in with no chance of switching.
    - ubermonkey 3y ago
      This sounds like a comment from someone who thinks of Apple hate as a personality trait. There's no lock-in in MacOS, which is easily demonstrated on any front you like. Of course, if you actually investigate such claims before making them, it'll put you in the awkward position of having to decide if you'd rather be ignorantly disingenuous our outright dishonest, so it's a tough spot for you.
    - _cenw 3y ago
      That sounds more like a lack of perspective. Most people are actually locked in to Windows on non-apple computers due to a lack of knowledge (or motivation to change up their workflow), and even more people are locked in to mobile operating systems for the same reason. Also, Asahi is a very polished distro with a lot of original work going into it, arguably one of the best Linux experiences around, so I have no idea what you mean by "no chance of switching".
__alexs 3y ago
If Lenovo hadn't ended up 10 years behind Apple in display technology I'd probably never have made the jump to Apple and would still be using one today.
josefresco 3y ago
I love this style of writing: Opinionated, togue-in-cheek and unapologetic. Such a better review that those dry, overly-diplomatic reviews on most tech sites. Give me someone who uses the device every day and has strong opinions over someone who reviews a half-dozen new laptops each week.
Astronaut3315 3y ago
I had an X220t once. It was a great machine, but I kept my W500 instead. The latter is even better built and easier to disassemble. I like its keyboard quite a bit more as well. To me, the T/Wx00 line was the last of the best the brand had to offer.
j45 3y ago
I have had a lot of think odd and almost always enjoyed them. The talk of the x220s has me looking at x270:a I’m surprised there wasn’t a mention of a 12” MacBook listed here. One of the last macs that easily dual boots to Linux, only 2lbs, and the 2017 version has the keyboard figured out (finally). Handles up to 16 gb ram and an i7 too. It’s portability like the x220 is hard to skip of.
probablyspyware 3y ago
Lenovo installs spyware. All trust for their brand is lost, in my opinion.
Mister_Snuggles 3y ago
My first exposure to a ThinkPad laptop was when work issued me a T60. It was absolutely awful in virtually every aspect. Performance was terrible, the bundled software was complete garbage (but the machine wouldn't function properly without it), the fingerprint reader was incredibly temperamental (it never worked), the ergonomics were terrible (carrying it was physically painful thanks to the sharp edges), etc. I honestly couldn't believe that a ThinkPad, which had such a stellar reputation, could be this terrible. That T60 completely ruined the ThinkPad name for me. When it was time to replace it I requested a MacBook Pro and I've never looked back.
kuschkufan 3y ago
Or you can get a framework laptop
Ann3nova 3y ago
I bet the author would be happy with a Dell Inspiron 7490, my personal candidate for the ThinkPad x220 of 2023. Sent from a Dell Inspirion 7490 purchased in 2023
seydor 3y ago
It was truly one of the best, and with a docking station i could literally have my business with me all the time. Its a mystery why other manufacturers don't iterate on this awesomeness
Pompidou 3y ago
A few years earlier I found a some quantity of this laptop just before they go to garbage. I installed Debian on it and send all of them to africa. I'm sure they are still working, somewhere on a little island in the Mozambique Channel.
dingi 3y ago
Its sad to remember how fast those things got changed to unrepairable junk. I have an X280 repurposed as a server with Debian because its display got crazy and unusable. Repairability of X series is almost non existent now. Corporate greed has no bounds I guess.
georgeoliver 3y ago
So where do folks get good x220 batteries? My x220 is still running well but mostly tethered to the power brick these days.
cyrialize 3y ago
My daily driver was a used T530 from 2012 - it was the version that had the best GPU. It was a hefty machine. I used to always tell friends - if I ever dropped it on the floor, I'm checking the floor first for damage. I used to push that machine like crazy. My greatest achievement was running Fallout New Vegas on it. I put everything as low as possible, and installed mods to remove extra things from rendering. When I would stare out at a desert I would see absolutely nothing - all the rocks and trees were removed. My other greatest achievement was getting Metro 2033 running as well. For both games it made my poor T530 sound like a jet engine. All that being said, I always wish I bought a X220. The repairs seem a lot easier. Taking apart my T530 to clean the fans was much, much more difficult than doing the same for an MBP Unibody 2012. I've since purchased an M1 MBP off of a college kid. He bought the MBP so that he wouldn't game, and then he sold it to me because he wanted to game. I miss Linux and my thinkpad though. This post is really getting me thinking of buying a thinkpad again.
squarefoot 3y ago
Never used a X220 but am extremely happy with both my X240 and later the X270, which I'm using right now to write this post. I chose those models because for years I used my motorcycle and scooter most of the time and needed something with more beer than the usual netbook, yet very compact, and after adding a bigger external battery I could reach 10+ hours easily. Linux support also is complete, which is common with Thinkpads. I would be interested in upgrading them one day, but the lack of external batteries in newer models worries me; I want something with serious battery life and would happily add one centimeter thickness for a few hours more.
numpad0 3y ago
What's ThinkPad purists' opinion on X1 Nano? It felt almost as good as an X61 from my brief interactions.

136 points by bradley_taunt 3y ago

Best laptop ever made. « Why Thinkpad X220 is the best laptop ever made Published on 10.05.2020 I’m rather certain that you will come to the same conclusion, esteemed reader, as I did, namely that the Thinkpad X220 is the best laptop ever made, in consideration of the following points. » https://okigiveup.net/blog/why-thinkpad-x220-is-the-best-laptop-ever-made/ https://okigiveup.net/blog/why-thinkpad-x220-is-the-best-lap... I have 2 of them, and I love them dearly.

bradley_taunt 3y ago
This is fantastic and actually written more clearly than my own! As for your point: > You can’t watch videos on it I don’t seem to have the same issue? Most videos on the internet stream/load fine without much struggle on my X220. Does your laptop heat up / spin up the fan?
- throwaway81523 3y ago
  I'm using one right now, running Debian 11. The X220 is pretty near trashed but I do watch videos on it sometimes. I haven't noticed it heating up.
  - lproven 3y ago
    My i5 X220 is a battered old much-repaired much-upgraded thing, but still works fine. Currently it runs ArcaOS but before that Haiku. My i7 X220 is like new, and works like it too. It is maxed out with 16GB RAM and two SSDs and performs well. I do wish the screen were a bit higher-res, though.
- lproven 3y ago
  Just for clarity, I was merely linking to an account I read elsewhere. It's not mine. Here is one of my several stories on ancient-vs-modern Thinkpads: https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/26/thinkpad_motherboard_mod/ https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/26/thinkpad_motherboard_... I personally detest videos as a source of information and try to avoid watching them. I prefer watching video on a bigger screen several meters away, and I don't do much of that. That being said, I have both i5 and i7 X220s, i5 and i7 T420s and an quad-core i7 W520. All play video just fine for me, and under Linux their performance is good and they don't run hot.
- gpderetta 3y ago
  Never had a problem on YouTube or or similar, but when doing group calls on zoom I had severe overheating issues on my x220. I think the CPU was due a thermal paste replacement, but I never bothered.
0x6c6f6c 3y ago
I sold one of these. Mistake. I have two T510's still but I miss the smaller form factor.
- tibbydudeza 3y ago
  Sadly the worst ones ever - ours had NVidia onboard GPU and they got toasted after 2 years of moderate non gaming use - company then switched to Dell after that debacle.

Leimi 3y ago

I'm still in love with my x201s, the x220 predecessor. It was 16:10 and could have a super high res of… 1440x900, a rare thing in such a small format for the time. These small thinkpads were solid as hell, packed with I/O. Perfect keyboard. You could set it with a 90Wh battery. For a 12" laptop. Haha. Screen quality, speakers, touchpad were all garbage but oh well. So much other stuff was perfect. Good times.

lproven 3y ago
I've been looking for one of those for some years now. In $JOB-1 I had 2 colleagues who were X200 fans and one of them told me about it (and bequeathed me his docking station when he left).
gpderetta 3y ago
I love how the keyboard looks barely contained in the x201, with the minimal bezel needed to provide structural integrity. I have both an x220 and x201 and while the former is a better machine, the latter look nicer to me.
- Leimi 3y ago
  totally agree :)

VK538FY 3y ago

It is a great machine but the screen resolution was already rubbish when the X220 was introduced. And crucify me if you will but the new ThinkPad keyboard can feel _great_ on the models where it is deep enough (T series mostly). I just miss the 7 rows of the old layout.

TeddyDD 3y ago
I agree on the keyboard. I had T470 from my employee and the keyboard felt nicer than every Dell and HP I ever used.
jeffbee 3y ago
The screen is garbage and most of the second-hand fleet has the TN screen. The IPS screen was a rare option. The X220 and its immediate predecessors came out during the very embarrassing (for Lenovo) period during which they claimed it was impossible to source IPS displays. A few days after the X220 came out, Apple switched to 100% IPS displays across their product line. This forced Lenovo to change their tune. IMHO the "good" laptops were from the era when Lenovo was still traveling on IBM's roadmap. The X61 Tablet had a magnificent display. As soon as Lenovo switched to widescreen designs, it was all downhill.
- taskforcegemini 3y ago
  tablet versions usually came with IPS, I recently bought an x220t because the x220 screen is garbage. a missed a rare opportunity two weeks ago to buy an IPS panel for an x220 for 20€

tecklenburg 3y ago

I used an X200s for many many years. Loved it to death - even though it only had 1280 x 800px - and no touch pad. I now use an M1 MacBook Air. It is better in many ways, but I miss the Thinkpad keyboard!

kotaKat 3y ago
My travel machine is a Thinkpad X13s. I'm stuck on Windows for most of my work, but it's been an utter treat to use while on the road (especially with the onboard 5G). It's one of the first machines I've been able to use that a 10+ hour day away from a charger is finally feasible under my working conditions.
- lproven 3y ago
  I have written about getting Linux onto them recently. Ubuntu is just about there now, and Armbian works acceptably booted from a USB key. With Windows, but you know this stuff: https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/21/lenovo_thinkpad_x13s_the_stealth/ https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/21/lenovo_thinkpad_x13s_... Update: now with added Linux: https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/08/linux_on_the_thinkpad_x13s/ https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/08/linux_on_the_thinkpad...
  - kotaKat 3y ago
    Ah, I actually got mine well before your review ;) I've had mine for a year now (Aug 2022); here in the States I took advantage of my mobile carrier's 0% financing to grab one direct from them. It was a bullet to bite for sure but it's well paid off. My only hardware gripe is the one you've pointed out - no USB-A kills me sometimes if I forget to pack a dongle. For me having the onboard 5G was the ultimate boon. Sure, hotspotting is An Thing, but it's so much nicer to just not have to think about that and let the laptop do all the work. Verizon gives me true-full-unlimited data on its Ultra Wideband 5G coverage, and it's so weirdly satisfying to have almost "wireless fiber" jammed into the thing - I've seen multi-Gbps speedtests out of this thing on the cell network.

Zetobal 3y ago

I still have an T440p and a X220 in the workshop they are workhorses. I am Linux only these days but the T440p with MacOS is the perfect laptop if someone sends you a keynote file or you need Xcode.

ragingrobot 3y ago
An X1 is the perfect Air wannabe.

flkiwi 3y ago

I'm sorry to be that guy, but what is a "screen lock" button? Does the X220 have a button to lock the display, or (again, I'm sorry) are you talking about ScrLock (Scroll Lock)? Writing this on a ThinkPad with great appreciation for them. And, in fact, I'm genuinely unsure what magical buttons a ThinkPad might have squirreled away.

bradley_taunt 3y ago
You are correct - that was an autocorrect mistake? I will update the post shortly. But yes, I do find those little extra keys useful. Print Screen is great since I have it linked with scrot via dwm.

jeffrallen 3y ago

My T43 was the best laptop I ever owned. My son still runs Raspbian on it.

javchz 3y ago

I don't know why Lenovo likes to throw money to the pit and don't go back to the IBM keyboard layout, I have a t430 with a t420 keyboard mod and despite not being mechanical it's amazing to type on.

ryukoposting 3y ago

A 10yo used eBay X220 got me through four years of college. I did Verilog synthesis on it. I learned how to use i3, and even used my own fork of Sam, an old text editor for Plan9. I wrote my first from-scratch RTOS on it. It's a tremendous laptop even today, but it's also one that holds a special place in my heart.

tibbydudeza 3y ago

X270 is my PC when I am away from my home office - wish it was a bit faster but then I look at my colleagues lugging around their HP/Dell "gaming" laptops and I am not so envious anymore.

ja27 3y ago
Yeah, an X270 is my newest Thinkpad. I got it as kind of a beater for a vacation that COVID cancelled. That or an X280 feel like kind of the sweet spot for usable almost modern small Thinkpads that can still be upgraded. USB-C port for charging, video out, etc. $70 FHD display panel. Can take two SSDs (one small one in the WWAN slot). It's been mostly fast enough for everything except heavier games but software builds can be slow.

SilverBirch 3y ago

I don't think it's a coincidence that author has picked a laptop whose processor came out in 2011. Intel has basically had a lost decade in terms of performance. I remember going from my 2012 Macbook Air (i7) to a 2015 Macbook Pro (13inch) to the 2014 Macbook Pro (15inch) to finally getting a Thinkpad X1 and I never felt like the 2012 Macbook Air was struggling in the way that the subsequent laptops struggled. Now my X1 doesn't have the build quality of the X220 - but it's still very good and I finally bit the bullet and did what someone well paid who relies on a tool for work should do. I bought the full 5 years support package for my X1. Any hardware issues? Send it in they'll fix it no questions asked. I need the laptop for work, I get paid good money, it's a good investment to have that business level support. The only area where the X220 is really showing it's age today though - you just gotta have USBC ports I'm afraid.

hypercube33 3y ago
I just grabbed a cousin of this model and have been having fun modding it and use it more than my new gaming laptop. It's a A285. I have a surface laptop 4 that's smaller and technically faster but I still enjoy typing on the Thinkpad more and other than ram everything is basically upgradable. There needs to be more 12in laptops imo.
- kramerger 3y ago
  A285 is probably the cheapest feeling thinkpad I've every used. It looks like a thinkpad, but feels "wrong"
icegreentea2 3y ago
Sandy Bridge was a really really good release, but it's also not useful to ignore that Intel really did keep improving their product for a while. While their product segmentation (keeping mobile parts pinned at 2 cores, and the quad core limit on desktop) definitely was a form of 'stagnation', Intel made real improvements in their micro architecture, at least up to (and including Skylake). The real 'lost years' were post Skylake, where we got like 5 generations of Skylake refreshes while Intel couldn't manage to get their new node online. Here's a review of Skylake (6700k) from way back showing IPC improvement from Sandy Bridge to Skylake - https://www.anandtech.com/show/9483/intel-skylake-review-6700k-6600k-ddr4-ddr3-ipc-6th-generation/9 https://www.anandtech.com/show/9483/intel-skylake-review-670...

reverendjames 3y ago

I have an old X220. I also have a way older X31 and an X30. One of them has micro-XP running on it. I think it still works.

tonyedgecombe 3y ago

My x240 would crash if I picked it up with one hand and the original screen was garbage.

pengaru 3y ago

There's no good reason to limit yourself to an X220 in favor of an X230. The X230 is practically identical physically, and can have the X220 keyboard swapped in. But in the X230 you get a newer gen SoC and the iGPU is vulkan-capable.

5- 3y ago
you can also get up to 2k screen: https://www.xyte.ch/mods/x230/#x230-display https://www.xyte.ch/mods/x230/#x230-display note: the author of the site has been awol for a while
drums8787 3y ago
I'm holding on to two x230s as backups (only need one, happen to have two). Great little machine, still enjoy it for basic hacking and writing once in a while.

formvoltron 3y ago

is there a more modern version that would have the swappable battery?

dndvr 3y ago
I use an x250 which has dual batteries An internal 3 cell battery and a removable 3 cell battery (a 6 cell one is also available) I don't have a spare but the main point of this set up is to allow hot swapping of batteries wit no shutdowns when AC is unavailable
- cyril_r 3y ago
  The X270 too. And it has an USB c port as well. https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_X270/ThinkPad_X270_Spec.PDF https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_X...
  - numpad0 3y ago
    X200/201, X220/230, X240/250/260, X270/280/A275/285 are each substantially different. Between slashed groups there are limited parts interchangeability e.g. battery, X250 trackpad retrofit on X240. In case that matters.

therealmarv 3y ago

Strange. My brother was running this laptop and had to replace display twice because there is a mechanical point of failure with how the display cable is layed out within the case.

planede 3y ago

As counterpoint for the repairability I never liked how hard it is to access the fan assembly on thinkpads. You basically have to fully take the laptop apart to access it. And for the laptops from a decade ago I typically wanted to clean the fan assembly properly every year around springtime. For example for the X220 the fan assembly is removed after the system board, no way around. Before the system board can be replaced, the following components need to be removed: • “1010 Battery pack” on page 63 • “1020 Hard disk drive (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD)” on page 63 • “1030 DIMM” on page 65 • “1040 Keyboard” on page 67 • “1050 Palm rest or palm rest with a fingerprint reader” on page 69 • “1070 Backup battery” on page 73 • “1060 PCI Express Mini Card for wireless LAN/WiMAX” on page 71 • “1080 PCI Express Mini Card for wireless WAN” on page 74 • “1090 Keyboard bezel” on page 76 • “1100 LCD assembly” on page 77 • “1110 Base cover assembly and speaker assembly” on page 80 https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/0a60739_01.pdf#889359401 https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/0a60739_01.pd... T220 is not better in this regard either. There are other decade old laptops with similar quality service manuals that don't have this issue and the fan assembly can be removed without too much hassle.

jacknews 3y ago
T430 is a piece of cake to replace the fan.
- planede 3y ago
  I don't know, this still looks annoying: https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_pdf/t430_t430i_hmm_en_0b48304_03.pdf#872539146 https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_pdf/t430_t430i_hmm_en_... Granted, you don't have to remove the display at least.
  - jacknews 3y ago
    No idea what that process is - I have a few t430s and have replaced each of their fans at least once. It's just a case of remove the k/b and top bezel, maybe one of the speakers (can't remember, but it's just a single screw anyway) and then the heatsink/fan. No need to remove the screen and all that other stuff in the manual. takes 15 mins max.

smlavine 3y ago

I've had X220s and X220Ts for a few years, and I agree that they're probably one of the best laptops you can get second-hand. But they aren't as cheap as they used to be on eBay and they're only getting older. I had to cycle through three X220/Ts in four years because they failed for various reasons. Screen died. Bios just decided to stop working. Finally I decided to ditch my last one by choice this summer and got a Thinkpad X13 Yoga Gen 3 and I really love it. Battery life of at least ten hours for what I'm doing. Still great Linux support. It's not too much lighter than the X220T, but it's a whole lot thinner and that's important trying to shove a whole lot of stuff in one bag. Also: USB-C charging means I no longer have to carry around a big proprietary brick and cable. I can just use the same charger as my phone. That's also important when it comes to weight and space savings. The reason I chose this model in particular is because like the X220T, it also has the digitizer pen garaged in the frame. Really hard to find laptops that met that, and USB C, and thin, and Thinkpad keyboard + mouse nub. In fact I think it's the only one. If this (fingers crossed) lasts me a while, amortized I don't think the cost up front will be that much more than what I would've had to have spent upgrading and transferring parts between eBay franken-ThinkPads over the same time.

justsomehnguy 3y ago
> Thinkpad X13 Yoga Gen 3 Sadly it has that shitty modern Lenovo keyboard, with Fn in the left part of the keyboard (I'm not talking about Fn/Ctrl placement), Insert on Fn+End combo (Why?! WHY?![0]) and the stupid PrtScr under the right thumb, like you are taking screenshots every minute. This alone averts me from any ThinkPad past x220 (and even x220 has elephantitis on the Del key..) [0] and now I'm talking about Fn placement on the left side - even I can't make Fn+End with one hand. Compare it to ASUS TM420 keyboard: https://i0.wp.com/techraman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Asus-Vivobook-Flip-14_keyboard.jpg?w=1080&ssl=1 https://i0.wp.com/techraman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/A...
- smlavine 3y ago
  To be honest I've never even noticed those problems. I don't use any of those buttons ever at all, really.

deleted 3y ago

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andrewdutton 3y ago

I've been following (and tempted by) someone on faceboock (lcdfans / Jackyzhang - http://www.cnmod.cn/ http://www.cnmod.cn/ ) who has a business of rebuilding x220 / x200 series laptops with modern hardware - the latest I've seen is a "X2100" - an x210 with I7-10710U and 13 inch 3000X2000 IPS... One day if I have and extra few $k that I'm willing to risk I may ordering one...

98Windows 3y ago

Having a VGA port is such a waste of space

jacknews 3y ago

X230 seems like a better option to me, you can replace the k/b with a 220 keyboard. But even though they're built like tanks, these 220/230s are getting old now. Given a choice of old X series thinkpads, the x270 makes more sense - still very decent build quality, modularity, etc, but pretty much better everything. The X280 has soldered ram and other undesirable changs. For T series, the T480 seems to be the sweeet spot.

c12 3y ago
I should look into replacing my X230 with an X270, they look to now be the same price point I paid for mine second hand three years ago.

easyThrowaway 3y ago

Still have one. Still an amazing machine. And still performing quite nicely despite being more than 10 years old by now. The only limiting factor is the iGPU, which is way too old even for 1080P playback and DX10-level features. I wish there were any expresscard-sized video cards available, even an heavily downclocked current-day mobile chip would be good enough and within the termal and power requirements of the integrated port; The x220 is fully capable of deactivating the internal video card and sending the signal from the pci-express bus to the integrated display when it detects a discrete one, I've tested it with no issues using an nvidia 750GTX ti and a pci-express adapter.

jacknews 3y ago
"I wish there were any expresscard-sized video cards available" That would be fantastic - should be a standard capability of newer m.2 slots too.

5- 3y ago

i currently use x2100 (x200 with 10th gen motherboard and a 3000x2000 13" ips) https://www.xyte.ch/mods/x210-x2100/ https://www.xyte.ch/mods/x210-x2100/ (note: the seller is awol) would be happy to upgrade to a similar x220 mod with e.g. amd zen 4. unfortunately, from what i understand lenovo sued the 51nb folk (motherboard designers) out of their business.

tokai 3y ago

I have really loved my x220. But I wouldn't call it the best laptop. The screen is small and bad, and the body flexes way too much.

mmcgaha 3y ago
Body flex is not an issue that I expected to see mentioned about an X series. I have not had an X series since the X60 but that thing had about as much flex as a brick.
- tokai 3y ago
  Yeah I was really disappointed in the flex when I got it. Newer thinkpads seems better in this regard.

wwilim 3y ago

Dell 5451 truly feels like a piece of crap after using a T470 then some kind of IdeaPad at my previous workplace

causi 3y ago

God I miss chonky laptops. Instead of toting it around or throwing it in a bag I have to put it in a protective case first that makes it just as thick as the old one. I'll never get over the loss of the sheer convenience of being able to store a bluetooth mouse inside the laptop's ExpressCard slot.

ho_schi 3y ago

I’m using an X220 with Archlinux short before 10 years now :) The best feature is the seven row keyboard with regular size and regular key drop. The mobile form-factor in a size of A4/Letter combined with power and docking-ports. Also a small notch to lift the display and USB 3.0 port. Maintainability is great, you can upgrade the BLE 4.0 from the later L-Series, add 16 GB (unofficial) or even swap the entire WiFi/BL (requires MOD-BIOS). The weak points? The PCI-Express card slot reduces stiffness of the palmrest. The remaining flat four cell batteries from Lenovo are deep discharged and cannot be charged. The USB 3.0 tends to go into low-power state (use powertop or /sys to change). Some IPS-Displays could show “ghosting”. It will be replaced now by an X13 Gen3 AMD. It ships in Europe without an operating-system (130 EUR not for Microsoft shareholders - spend that for the FSF, GNOME or Mozilla or your fav Distribution!) and can be shipped preinstalled with Linux. I had to replace the screen by the HiDPI option myself because Lenovo is weird. Why not Gen4? I avoid the Gen4 because of the reverse notch sticking out of the chase. The reverse notch is ugly and parts sticking out of the device surface tend to break and hinder save storage. Furthermore the keyboard is hard to replace which is bad because that is the most stressed part.

volkadav 3y ago

Strictly in my opinion, the M1 mba is perhaps a tie or even slightly edges out the x2_0 series. Solidly built (would I use it as a melee weapon? no, that's what actual melee weapons -- like model m keyboards -- are for), fast, quiet, great screen, insane battery life, usable unix under the hood. I'll grant that the older IBM keyboards were top notch, but the M1's is good enough and having a modern screen to read code on is worth the trade (at least for me, I spend way more time reading and thinking when writing code than physically banging away on the keyboard). I feel kind of weird gushing about hardware to be honest, but it's just that good a machine and I guess that's in keeping with the author's love of the x220? :) If I didn't have an m1 air though, an x200-series thinkpad running linux of some form probably would be my go-to! I still eye minifree.org from time to time when the temptation for a dedicated portable linux machine has me in its grip.

gumballindie 3y ago
The M1 is limited to a single os and is not upgradeable though.
- n8henrie 3y ago
  Mine dual boots MacOS and NixOS, and has also run Asahi.
  - hu3 3y ago
    But it's full of limitations last I tested. No webcam, battery drains because power management is poor/non existent, no external displays depending on the connection and good luck with the touchbar, connectivity is limited like no thunderbolt or hdmi support, no sound, no screen brightness control, and I didn't manage to pair any bluetooth devices. Things will gradually improve hopefully but I don't have time to navigate minefields at the moment. Not to mention if things go south you need another mac, faith and need to wipe all data without chance to recover any of it.
- parker_mountain 3y ago
  The former is not true, and the latter is kinda pointless when you're comparing it to a 10+ year old computer.

samrolken 3y ago

I absolutely adore this machine. Even the little LED lamp in the lid. I use Mac computers for my day job and real life stuff. But when it comes to machines for hobby/linux/hacking around this is still my go-to. It's an amazing machine, especially when you consider the ample supply of cheap units, and replacement parts/batteries/etc. There are aftermarket upgrades including 4K display replacements and more.

davexunit 3y ago

The X220s only serious flaw was the screen resolution. If it had 1920x1080 it would have been perfect. My favorite laptop of all time. I use an X1 now.

plg94 3y ago
I think there are mods to replace the TFT with a FHD IPS panel, but it's not exactly easy to do without breaking something.
- davexunit 3y ago
  I tried and failed, actually. It worked for a brief moment and it was wonderful...

c12 3y ago

I bought a second hand X230 about three years ago and was so impressed I bought a second one for my Wife. Thinkpads from that era feel so well built and for a laptop thats a decade old at this point it still holds up as a daily driver now that I have replaced its battery with a new one.

dcchambers 3y ago

Yes, but the display...cannot call it the best laptop of all time with that pitiful screen.

massysett 3y ago

I have an X230 that runs Debian. It has a newer keyboard than the X220. A lot of folks seem to prefer the old keyboard but I think the new one is an improvement and is the best laptop keyboard I’ve found. I put the modern MacBook Air keyboard second to it, and the old X220 keyboard is behind that. The X230 has a miserable screen though, and the touchpad is so bad they just shouldn’t have bothered. The Trackpoint is good. It runs Debian stable with no effort at all.

severus_snape 3y ago

Another great thing about those laptops is that Libreboot is supported (https://libreboot.org/docs/hardware/#laptops-intel-x86 https://libreboot.org/docs/hardware/#laptops-intel-x86). One can buy an X230 with Libreboot pre-installed at https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-x230/ https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-x230/.

agentultra 3y ago

I agree. I stopped buying Apple and switched to Thinkpads. Refurbished. With a decent backup system in place I can replace one on the fly as needed without breaking the bank but more importantly I can repair them. One spill was all it took to destroy my last Mac Pro: the whole machine was useless. I have kids and spills happen. As do drops, tugs, etc. My T450 suffered a spill: nothing. Disassembled, cleaned, back in business. But if it had been toast? Less than $200 to get another refurbished one.

ubermonkey 3y ago
It's a great option if you can stomach Windows or put up with Linux, I agree.
- public_defender 3y ago
  Yes, correct. If you can deal with almost any operating system that runs on general purpose hardware, and if you can stomach having the choice of which one to run.
- ksoped 3y ago
  This sounds like an Apple fanboy comment, tbh. Most people are used to windows and if they want an alternative, they'll reach for Linux. MacOS is more of a con rather than a pro since you're effectively locked in with no chance of switching.
  - ubermonkey 3y ago
    This sounds like a comment from someone who thinks of Apple hate as a personality trait. There's no lock-in in MacOS, which is easily demonstrated on any front you like. Of course, if you actually investigate such claims before making them, it'll put you in the awkward position of having to decide if you'd rather be ignorantly disingenuous our outright dishonest, so it's a tough spot for you.
  - _cenw 3y ago
    That sounds more like a lack of perspective. Most people are actually locked in to Windows on non-apple computers due to a lack of knowledge (or motivation to change up their workflow), and even more people are locked in to mobile operating systems for the same reason. Also, Asahi is a very polished distro with a lot of original work going into it, arguably one of the best Linux experiences around, so I have no idea what you mean by "no chance of switching".

__alexs 3y ago

If Lenovo hadn't ended up 10 years behind Apple in display technology I'd probably never have made the jump to Apple and would still be using one today.

josefresco 3y ago

I love this style of writing: Opinionated, togue-in-cheek and unapologetic. Such a better review that those dry, overly-diplomatic reviews on most tech sites. Give me someone who uses the device every day and has strong opinions over someone who reviews a half-dozen new laptops each week.

Astronaut3315 3y ago

I had an X220t once. It was a great machine, but I kept my W500 instead. The latter is even better built and easier to disassemble. I like its keyboard quite a bit more as well. To me, the T/Wx00 line was the last of the best the brand had to offer.

j45 3y ago

I have had a lot of think odd and almost always enjoyed them. The talk of the x220s has me looking at x270:a I’m surprised there wasn’t a mention of a 12” MacBook listed here. One of the last macs that easily dual boots to Linux, only 2lbs, and the 2017 version has the keyboard figured out (finally). Handles up to 16 gb ram and an i7 too. It’s portability like the x220 is hard to skip of.

probablyspyware 3y ago

Lenovo installs spyware. All trust for their brand is lost, in my opinion.

Mister_Snuggles 3y ago

My first exposure to a ThinkPad laptop was when work issued me a T60. It was absolutely awful in virtually every aspect. Performance was terrible, the bundled software was complete garbage (but the machine wouldn't function properly without it), the fingerprint reader was incredibly temperamental (it never worked), the ergonomics were terrible (carrying it was physically painful thanks to the sharp edges), etc. I honestly couldn't believe that a ThinkPad, which had such a stellar reputation, could be this terrible. That T60 completely ruined the ThinkPad name for me. When it was time to replace it I requested a MacBook Pro and I've never looked back.

kuschkufan 3y ago

Or you can get a framework laptop

Ann3nova 3y ago

I bet the author would be happy with a Dell Inspiron 7490, my personal candidate for the ThinkPad x220 of 2023. Sent from a Dell Inspirion 7490 purchased in 2023

seydor 3y ago

It was truly one of the best, and with a docking station i could literally have my business with me all the time. Its a mystery why other manufacturers don't iterate on this awesomeness

Pompidou 3y ago

A few years earlier I found a some quantity of this laptop just before they go to garbage. I installed Debian on it and send all of them to africa. I'm sure they are still working, somewhere on a little island in the Mozambique Channel.

dingi 3y ago

Its sad to remember how fast those things got changed to unrepairable junk. I have an X280 repurposed as a server with Debian because its display got crazy and unusable. Repairability of X series is almost non existent now. Corporate greed has no bounds I guess.

georgeoliver 3y ago

So where do folks get good x220 batteries? My x220 is still running well but mostly tethered to the power brick these days.

cyrialize 3y ago

My daily driver was a used T530 from 2012 - it was the version that had the best GPU. It was a hefty machine. I used to always tell friends - if I ever dropped it on the floor, I'm checking the floor first for damage. I used to push that machine like crazy. My greatest achievement was running Fallout New Vegas on it. I put everything as low as possible, and installed mods to remove extra things from rendering. When I would stare out at a desert I would see absolutely nothing - all the rocks and trees were removed. My other greatest achievement was getting Metro 2033 running as well. For both games it made my poor T530 sound like a jet engine. All that being said, I always wish I bought a X220. The repairs seem a lot easier. Taking apart my T530 to clean the fans was much, much more difficult than doing the same for an MBP Unibody 2012. I've since purchased an M1 MBP off of a college kid. He bought the MBP so that he wouldn't game, and then he sold it to me because he wanted to game. I miss Linux and my thinkpad though. This post is really getting me thinking of buying a thinkpad again.

squarefoot 3y ago

Never used a X220 but am extremely happy with both my X240 and later the X270, which I'm using right now to write this post. I chose those models because for years I used my motorcycle and scooter most of the time and needed something with more beer than the usual netbook, yet very compact, and after adding a bigger external battery I could reach 10+ hours easily. Linux support also is complete, which is common with Thinkpads. I would be interested in upgrading them one day, but the lack of external batteries in newer models worries me; I want something with serious battery life and would happily add one centimeter thickness for a few hours more.

numpad0 3y ago

What's ThinkPad purists' opinion on X1 Nano? It felt almost as good as an X61 from my brief interactions.