5 ms·

Entry level Thinkpads are not particularly impressive. I have an E585 (bought it with the 2700U and 1080p screen upgrades, but added my own SSD and extra RAM b

by hakfoo 3y ago

Entry level Thinkpads are not particularly impressive. I have an E585 (bought it with the 2700U and 1080p screen upgrades, but added my own SSD and extra RAM because Lenovo charged the moon) and it replaced an X230 Tablet. Even though it's the "upgraded" screen, it's still dim and disappointing. I understand very few Thinkpads have excellent screens; while the X230T's was brighter, it managed to burn the browser chrome after a few years of using it for lap-surfing. The X230 had a slide-off-the-back-side battery. The E585's is inside the case. You could slide open little hatches to access the storage and memory on the X230. The E585 was a single-piece cover with 8 or 9 captive screws and then has to be pried apart with snaps. The E585 has a rubber foot to prop it to provide clearance for the vents; the tape holding it on gave out a couple months ago, so I've stuck little white adhesive rubber furniture feet on it.

ToniCipriani 3y ago
Entry level ThinkPads aren't really ThinkPads, the E-series in particular. Those ones were previously known as ThinkPad Edge, which were designed by a different team.
- jtwaleson 3y ago
  Exactly. Buy T, X or P series. For non-demanding users L series might be OK, but I prefer to buy second-hand / refurbished T series instead. Avoid E series, or at least don't expect any "ThinkPad-ness" from it.
  - hakfoo 3y ago
    TBH, if anyone else brought a remotely competent eraser pointer to market, I'd probably consider them. Even the hyperconfigurable Framework doesn't offer one. Sometimes you can find a random business-line HP or Dell with one, but the Dell one I tried (some 7th generation Core i5 I rode for five years at work) was so terrible, especially on scrolling, that I just plugged in an external mouse, and it's a feature that appears on random models intermittently when it does appear, so it might not meet any of my other (admittedly limited) requirements.

by hakfoo 3y ago

ToniCipriani 3y ago

Entry level ThinkPads aren't really ThinkPads, the E-series in particular. Those ones were previously known as ThinkPad Edge, which were designed by a different team.

jtwaleson 3y ago
Exactly. Buy T, X or P series. For non-demanding users L series might be OK, but I prefer to buy second-hand / refurbished T series instead. Avoid E series, or at least don't expect any "ThinkPad-ness" from it.
- hakfoo 3y ago
  TBH, if anyone else brought a remotely competent eraser pointer to market, I'd probably consider them. Even the hyperconfigurable Framework doesn't offer one. Sometimes you can find a random business-line HP or Dell with one, but the Dell one I tried (some 7th generation Core i5 I rode for five years at work) was so terrible, especially on scrolling, that I just plugged in an external mouse, and it's a feature that appears on random models intermittently when it does appear, so it might not meet any of my other (admittedly limited) requirements.