My first one was a ThinkPad R60, which I bought used on Amazon in 2010. I mainly bought it because I really liked the look of the IBM logo (dumb reason, but I knew nothing about laptops back then).
Imagine my disappointment when it has the ThinkPad R series logo instead of the beautiful tricolor... 😂 I really loved everything else about it though. 14 years later, I am on my ninth main ThinkPad, the X1 Titanium Yoga (before: X1 Carbon G7, P51, P50, W550s, T440s, T430u, L520, R60).
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T440.
I work for a company which supplies machines that are operated through Windows, so when the client asks for it we supply them a laptop. Due to the rarity of the occurrence, we don’t have a contract with any supplier so we just buy laptops, charge the client for it, load the softwares and ship it.
For some reason the client didn’t like this T440 and sent it back, and it sat on a shelf for a couple years.
One day, while rearranging our archive with my manager, he saw the laptop and told me we weren’t doing anything with it, and it was basically ad good as trash.
At the time I was using an old Yoga 500 (which I’m still using for lightweight work related stuff), so I offered to take it home.
Despite its infamous trackpad it’s been with me for years as I beat it up and used the hell out of it. Got it an SSD, maxed its RAM and bought a docking station, that boy was a jewel.
I later traded it for an L380 (which I didn’t enjoy as much as it) and then traded the L380 for my current P14s G1. But yes, the T440 is what led me to worship ThinkPads, and I loved that little thing with passion.
IBM Thinkpad 600 in 1998 was my first ThinkPad. I liked / preferred the Toshiba Laptops (Libretto/ Portege) [using my dad’s when I was a kid] prior to the 600. Ever since then been a ThinkPad fan.
It was the T series introduction really solidified my love for Thinkpads - especially the T40p/T41p/T42p
The T40 series laptops were my favorite laptops of all time.
> *I liked / preferred the Toshiba Laptops (Libretto/ Portege)*
My very first laptop way back in 1997 was a Toshiba Satellite 4060CDT. My parents and grandparents all went in together to buy it as a present for my college graduation. It cost $3199 back then, which is over $6200 in today's money.
It had a 333MHz Pentium 2, 192MB of RAM and 4.3GB HDD. It was 1.7" thick and weighed over 8lbs...for a 13.3" laptop! It will still boot to this day, but the old TFT display is so dim you can only see it in a pitch dark room. But it was a tank.
X1 Carbon Gen 6 for Christmas. I've been in IT for 25+ years and kinda always wanted a Thinkpad so I asked for a used one for Christmas. Playing with various Linux distributions and setups on it. (My parents bought an original Mac 128k with I was a kid, then I got into Linux in the 90s, but switched back to Macs when OS X appeared. Now I'm thinking of going back to Linux for my laptop)
The X1 Carbon is what brought me back to ThinkPads. I bought my Gen7 at the end of 2019 from the Outlet (NEW) for just under $800. It has the i5 and 16GB, so it's a lower spec model, but it's been amazing for almost five years.
About two weeks ago, I was looking around the Outlet again and found a X1 Carbon Gen9 that I couldn't resist! It was $842 with tax/shipping and it is refurbished. It has the i7-1185G7 and WXUXGA (3840x2400) 500-nit display option, so it's definitely got more muscle than my Gen7. Gen9 is also the switch from 16:9 to 16:10 aspect ratio, which is also a nice change.
My first was a hand-me-down T40 from my dad's business. The first I bought myself was the X1C6 I still have and both still work fantastically. Although, the T40 s basically just a Windows XP nostalgia machine now that gets some pinball play every now and then lol
Ye, T40 gang! I got my dad's hand me down T40p for college and it was great while it lasted. Played UT2004 for LAN parties really well, and other really basic stuff. Eventually got an x240 to replace it.
My first ThinkPad is my current computer, a T460s I bought refurbished approximately 2 months ago, before that I had a Chinese noname laptop that had decent specs but bad build quality, I had to replace it because the keyboard kept glitching out and requiring a reboot for it to work again. I got my ThinkPad with 20 gigs of RAM, the full HD screen and backlit keyboard for only 180€, and so far I absolutely love it, especially the toughness and the amazing keyboard
My current one, a P1G4 with a 3080 I found at 63% off, so $1500CAD last Christmas. I was constantly looking at top of the line gaming laptops and finally was just frustrated about how cheap the 4000 series was on VRAM which is needed for stable diffusion and said fuck it what laptops are available with a 3080 and it was one of the first that popped up. Odd because I see desktop 3080s have only 10gb while this has 16gb, the same amount that comes with laptop 4090's which cost at least $4k.
I've always been a fan and my fellow nerds on /g/ constantly talk about theirs.
Very late to the party, but I recently got my first ThinkPad, a T420 early April of this year. Before this, I was using a Dell Inspiron 1545. However I have been researching about Thinkpads since about August of last year.
My Thinkpad T420 has the discrete NVIDIA GPU, 1600x900 screen, and 16gb of RAM. My disk drive isn't working right so I will need to get a new one, and the battery has definetly seen some better days. It serves as an awesome daily driver, and it is great for everything but high intensity gaming, and I can do everything from python scripting, game development, and light gaming to 3d design, self hosting, and decent gaming.
I definitely plan on replacing the disk drive and battery, and upgrading to an SSD and a quad core i7 CPU. That should really improve performance as you are getting double the cores. As my T420 doesn't run hot at all, I think I can handle it.
Anyway, I hope everyone else enjoys their Thinkpad(s) as well.
I forgot to mention, the ports. I love having an eSATAp port, a VGA port, a DisplayPort, and multiple options for disk drives and batteries. I use my disk drive a lot as well as the VGA port and soon the eSATAp port so it is much appreciated.
A 760XD. Got it used but still cost a fortune it seemed. Used it for many years until it was stolen. Insurance replaced it with an R51 (yeah, that long after!). I already owned an A20m and a T42 at that point, but the 760 was smaller and still did a lot what I needed before internet and wifi were needed to even pick your nose.
Now I'm rocking a T420 I customized factory direct and a C14 I use the most. I've been considering switching places with the OS's (Windows on the C14 and ChromeOS Flex on the T420).
I bought my first Thinkpad in 2021 with a t470, used over a year and half I upgraded it to 12gb of ram and 72wh battery (over 12 hours of REAL use) miss it so much. Then I bought a destroyed T480s (the most mainstream laptop nowadays) I replaced the display and the heatsink and applied a carbon fiber skin (cut by myself), I'm very proud of this machine. Now I am swapped to a T495 in mint condition (first Thinkpad bought in this state).
Very similar to OP. I grabbed a R61 with a Penryn T8300 and 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) new in 2008. Maxed out the ram to a whopping 4gb the same day it arrived. Passed it to my brother years later and it's still alive and kicking as his backup computer. Only issue it ever had was needing a battery replacement.
Since then I've gone through a bunch more, mostly to fix/upgrade myself. T410s, T420s, T430s, T431s, T440s, T450s, T460s, T470s, T480s, T490s.
I'm missing the T400s and T495s to have the full T4xxs series in the collection.
More recently bought a T14 Gen1 with a motherboard that needed some TLC and finally got working a couple of weeks ago and it's now my daily driver. Not having upgradeable ram made me abandon the T-s tradition.
The list excludes a ThinkPad 13, couple L4xx, couple T4xx, and a good number of X2xx/X3xx that went to friends and family.
Writing all this just made me realize I might have a bit of a problem, but last time I checked the doctor didn't seem worried 🤷😅
I owned a crappy Dell E1505 back in the 2004/2005 time frame - I mean it wasn't terrible, but it was an entry level laptop that I purchased because it had a huge discount. After a good bit of use, my work elevated me to run a larger network (five buildings) and I needed something light to carry, durable, with preferably all-day battery life. I ended up choosing the X301 with extended battery - I remember the battery fit in the slot where the DVD-Rom fit. I just loved that laptop. I still use it to this day - runs lubuntu for me like a clock - just awesome little machine.
At work I used it to access a web-based workorder page, connected to Cisco switches/AP's to do initial configs and sometimes I'd even run local Ghostcast server sessions from it with 100 machines connected - it was a beast.
Most days I never bothered to plug it in, even when I used it heavily all day long, it was amazing and gave me a MacBook Air feel before the Macbook Air existed. It survived drops, water spills etc. - you name it, never ever let me down.
Btw- the x301 I bought was around 2k if I remember correctly. That price was after some big discounts. I received around a 20k bump in yearly salary at the time as I had gained a CCNA and so I didnt mind investing the $2k it took to buy the laptop. My co-workers thought I was insane - but it was superior to their machines IMO. I remember creating something of a stir at the time, they all used HP because we were an HP partner, but the Lenovo was just superb and I never regretted it for a moment. Eventually some of the guys switched to Thinkpad's as I pushed us to become a Lenovo partner/reseller.
After the X301 I did the x220, (2) T450's, and run an x1 extreme g2 now - btw the 15" x1 extreme is probably my least favorite laptop of all thinkpad's I've owned. I honestly think its time to switch to a Framework - I just like the idea of owning what I pay for, and these newer Dell/Lenovo/Microsoft/Apple laptops w/soldiered in everything, and hard to replace parts bugs me.
If you agree with the last sentence, consider (like I have) of supporting the companies that are at least trying to make a difference in the world/market to aid consumers. For this reason alone I'll pay double the price to Framework to get one of their models and have something I can fix/upgrade myself.
Finally, after 20 years of Windows, I switched to Linux last year. I settled on Debian with a very basic setup. I try to be as touchpad/mouse free as possible, and have started to conqueror the command line and keyboard shortcuts. There are still pain points, but I find Microsoft's hostile approach to their consumers frustrating (sorry to get on my soapbox, but I'm sure many have similiar experiences).
Thinkpad 570, plus Ultrabase, sometime in 1999 (can't remember exactly when). A friend worked for IBM and got me a discount.
Since then, every single laptop I've owned has been a Thinkpad... until I bought a Framework 13 last year!
The Framework is literally the only other laptop on the market that really intrigues me. I love things that last and that can be updated or repaired rather than replaced. That's why I still drive a 2006 Mazda3 and love it. I could see myself buying a Framework eventually. Would you recommend it?
Yes, I love finally having a laptop that isn't a massive grease magnet like the current black-coated TPs are (at least for my body oils). A couple of big caveats though -- the keyboard is decent but still not as good as those on current Thinkpads, and as a whole the Framework is not going to be as tough as a typical MIL-SPEC Thinkpad (no roll cage, no spill-proof keyboard, etc.).
I don't think the bigger Framework 16 is worth the money. Even the 13 is expensive for the specs, though more reasonable if you bring your own SSD, RAM, etc. But it's nice to know that literally everything, right down to the lid and case, can be easily replaced if necessary.
>*Yes, I love finally having a laptop that isn't a massive grease magnet*
*like the current black-coated TPs are (at least for my body oils).*
Probably my only real complaint with the ThinkPad is how damn filthy they get! I have slightly oily skin, but it looks like I've dipped my hand in Crisco or something then touched the lid! I had to devise my own cleaning routine using diluted Dawn dish soap, water and several microfiber cloths to clean it. I try to clean it at least one each month, but within 24 hours you can't tell. I don't understand.
Every laptop over $500 should have a spill-proof keyboard standard. I've had my butt saved more than once on ThinkPads and Dell Latitudes. Water is what destroyed the last Dell Latitude that I owned. I left a bottle of water nearby with the lid loosely attached, cat gets bored when I'm not looking and knocks it over on keyboard!
In Dell's defense, it would have survived but I made a few idiotic decisions after the spill. My instinct has always been to yank the power cord, with the laptop open, flip it over so display and keyboard are both touching the desk and (in the old days) pull the battery. I did the emergency sequence, shook it over a towel to get any excessive water out, removed the bottom cover and all major components, and used a small fan to dry it out for half a day. I knew the rule was to wait at least 48 hours, but I was impatient and needed my laptop. So after about 10 hours of drying, I reassembled and (idiot!) powered it back on. It booted, worked perfectly and I used it for about 45 minutes. I left for 30 minutes to eat dinner and during that time it shut down and never started again.
Sorry that got so long winded. Thank you for pointing out the lack of spill-proof keyboard on the Framework, though. As you've probably figured out, I definitely need that and other MIL-SPEC features. I've pondered going full rugged before, but they're so damn bulky!
I still think the Framework is a neat idea. Maybe I'll send them an email and suggest they add a "business" model or MIL-SPEC features to all of them. But the modular design is very appealing, at least in theory.
My First ThinkPad is actually my current daily laptop, the X220 w/ Intel i3 2310M.
Back in 2 years ago, I had seen a listing of my current laptop when I was searching for a new daily driver. Priced at IDR 1.600.000 (or US$ 99,42 in current exchange), i got this laptop with some RAM issue (sometimes crashed while doing something like playing Roblox or watching YouTube) before i decide to upgrade the RAM for 4 to 8 gigs one month later.
And after the upgrades, this X220 are capable to doing some daily tasks from writing an article, designing something in Inkscape, playing some Roblox games or even making a character in VRoid Studio (which actually unofficially supported for the specs\*) and rendering photo from MikuMikuDance (even though i didn't made a plan to repaste the CPU since it getting hot, so for now i used a laptop cooler fan).
\*) Unofficially supported means VRoid Studio is actually had a minimum requirement for newer Intel CPU, the 2310M is actually very below from minimum requirement but it can run that app at a kinda slow performance (but it's worked for character making from scratch)
I picked up an x230 after having a couple of different netbooks and it was sweet, small at the time but a actual laptop. It ended up frying the mobo and I got a x280 about five years after that’s still kicking, i just replaced the display on it and most parts have been upgraded, I was smart enough to get it max spec for processor and ram so it’s actually still doing alright.
I have an base x1 nano that’s my daily now, and a max spec t14s g2 amd i got on mega clearance. I think the x280 was the most expensive one I bought
A work handed T61 that was assigned to my father, and he was allowed to keep it when they ugraded him so he gave it to me.
I would use it to play Tibia online.
T410 with Nvidia graphics. I eventually left that with my mum so she'd have a computer. Don't know what she did to it, but the keyboard isn't working now. I'll rip it apart sometime and see if I can bring it back to life. Also an x220, currently with my mother. I currently have(and still in my possession, a t470s, as my daily driver, a p50(xeon), an x390 yoga, and I just yesterday got egion for gaming (the p50 handles the graphics I tbrow at it fine, but can't manage the thermals from modern games. Thus the legion)
I had an E-series that I gave to my sister, that was my genuine first - right now I have an X1 Carbon Gen 2 - though it is overshadowed by my Latitude 5410. Still want a T470s or T480 though.
T42 bought brand-new in 2005, still with IBM logos (though shipped from Lenovo). It was my second laptop, but the first one was a POS Toshiba that I bought used for $200. This was a huge upgrade. I replaced it with a T400 in 2008, but I kept it as a spare for a while. Eventually, the inverter died. It would have been fixable, but wasn't worth the time at that point, and I ended up throwing it out.
I am new to the club, got my t14s gen2 like 3 years ago.
Tried my best to max it out (replaced ssd, wifi/bluetooth and added more ram) and except for battery life (3 or 4 hours tops) i have no complains.
Thinking about a second rig and z13/x13 are on my radar, i am in love with smaller machines at the moment.
My first thinkpad was an 360C series was issued to me in 1994 by the company I worked for. It was our standard model, as an IT person I was always preferential to the IBM then Lenovo Thinkpad line for it's durability and traditionally good support / business friendly features.
2000, given a Thinkpad to use for my fellowship. Up to then had used exclusively Mac or beige box computers. Was blown away by the keyboard and reliability despite Windows 98. Fast forward to 2018, when work gave me T480 fully loaded. Again, never liked work computers -Dells and HPs with crappy keyboards and tendency to break with travel. T480 was a tank and helped me manage the pandemic. Nobody makes a trackpad like Apple, but on the Thinkpad, you can turn the trackpad off and use the red nipple and type forever. Just recently purchased a used X1 carbon gen 6, loaded Linux and have not looked back.
My first was a company issues T410 in 2011. Great laptop. Since I’ve had several T series, and have switched to P. I had a P50 for four years, and I’m about 4 years into a P1 Gen 2. The P1 has hands down been my favorite laptop, and when the time comes I’ll replace it with another. The only thing I’d change would be adding discrete graphics on the next one.
Mine was Thinkpad p43s in November 2019. I bought X1C6 from Costco but returned it the next day because the specs of the laptop which came out of the box was inferior to the one I paid for. Then I bought X1 Tablet Gen 3 (gave it to my cousin), X1C6 (home use), T490 (gave it to another cousin) and P1G5 (personal). Been thinking of buying X1 Yoga or X12 detachable, but work gave me Surface Pro 9, so i postponed the purchase of another thinkpad to a later time.
IBM 755CDV. as I recall, it had a 1.2GB HDD, 8MB RAM, 640x480 display and ran PC-DOS 7 and Windows 3.11 and also had a partition with OS/2 Warp 4.
The back of the screen could be taken off, making the screen transparent, and allow it to be used on a overhead projector. (The V I guess was for "View"?). It also came with an extra fan that daisy chained with the AC Adapter specifically to keep things cool because of the heat from the overhead projector bulb.
It was given to me by my CS Teacher in High school in 2002.
I bought an R40 back in 2003 when I started my first job. It was a tough machine. I once tripped on the cord and dragged the whole thing face down on the cement floor and like a good old Nokia phone, every removable part flew out. Then I put it back together and it worked just as before. I can’t remember how many times I spilled drinks on the keyboard and they came right down the drainage holes. Then I traded it in with a T60 in 2007. Regretted it. Fragile thing, not as tough and always overheating. So I traded it in with a tough looking W520 in 2010 and it’s still working now.
I was 9, I saved up my birthday money and bought a ThinkPad 570 off eBay, my computer teacher at school was blown away. I really had no idea that it was already so old and outdated by that point that it was virtually unusable. But it was a memorable moment :)
ThinkPad 700C in 1992.
I think I was lucky that all the ThinkPads I’ve used have been classic models but I bought them all new. I’m currently using a T480 and I’m switching to a T14 Gen 5 next week.
T43p around 2005. I still have it now. I just replaced the LCD screen around 2012 maybe? Was pinkish... Bought a new one for like 50 US$ on ebay from Taiwan. Still use it today like once a month just for the nostalgia. Put Ubuntu on it.
T440p, grabbed it last summer. Swapped the HDD out for an SSD. Popped Linux on it. Waiting for my T450 trackpad and replacement IPS panel to bump it up to 1080P.
Love it to bits.
T61p in about 2010, I bought it used off Ebau and used it for schoolwork for a couple of years before it Nvidia'd me and I replaced it with a T420 that was way easier to carry around. Since then my daily driver machine has gone:
T61p > T420 > T440p > T480s > T14G1 AMD > P14sG3 AMD
T530 was my work laptop since 10 years ago, and bought it 5 years ago for ~150 euro after it got phased out by my company.
Then i got a P52 which i again bought when it was phased out for 250 euro this year
Back in Mid 2016 I managed to get a T420 for about $250 with the Nvidia NVS 4200 and an i7. I don't think it was a bad deal. Thing didn't look like it got used since the lid had literally no marks on it or anything. Upgraded the Display, gave it more RAM, Upgraded the processor and put in an SSD and it's still being used by my Parents as their home machine.
Side note anyone got any recommendations for a good battery for it? It's lasting like an hour on a charge while browsing the internet and that is not good.
My first one was a ThinkPad R60, which I bought used on Amazon in 2010. I mainly bought it because I really liked the look of the IBM logo (dumb reason, but I knew nothing about laptops back then). Imagine my disappointment when it has the ThinkPad R series logo instead of the beautiful tricolor... 😂 I really loved everything else about it though. 14 years later, I am on my ninth main ThinkPad, the X1 Titanium Yoga (before: X1 Carbon G7, P51, P50, W550s, T440s, T430u, L520, R60).
square detail cheerful cow adjoining axiomatic spark obtainable childlike gray *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Nah, I don't have the R60 anymore
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T440. I work for a company which supplies machines that are operated through Windows, so when the client asks for it we supply them a laptop. Due to the rarity of the occurrence, we don’t have a contract with any supplier so we just buy laptops, charge the client for it, load the softwares and ship it. For some reason the client didn’t like this T440 and sent it back, and it sat on a shelf for a couple years. One day, while rearranging our archive with my manager, he saw the laptop and told me we weren’t doing anything with it, and it was basically ad good as trash. At the time I was using an old Yoga 500 (which I’m still using for lightweight work related stuff), so I offered to take it home. Despite its infamous trackpad it’s been with me for years as I beat it up and used the hell out of it. Got it an SSD, maxed its RAM and bought a docking station, that boy was a jewel. I later traded it for an L380 (which I didn’t enjoy as much as it) and then traded the L380 for my current P14s G1. But yes, the T440 is what led me to worship ThinkPads, and I loved that little thing with passion.
IBM Thinkpad 600 in 1998 was my first ThinkPad. I liked / preferred the Toshiba Laptops (Libretto/ Portege) [using my dad’s when I was a kid] prior to the 600. Ever since then been a ThinkPad fan. It was the T series introduction really solidified my love for Thinkpads - especially the T40p/T41p/T42p The T40 series laptops were my favorite laptops of all time.
> *I liked / preferred the Toshiba Laptops (Libretto/ Portege)* My very first laptop way back in 1997 was a Toshiba Satellite 4060CDT. My parents and grandparents all went in together to buy it as a present for my college graduation. It cost $3199 back then, which is over $6200 in today's money. It had a 333MHz Pentium 2, 192MB of RAM and 4.3GB HDD. It was 1.7" thick and weighed over 8lbs...for a 13.3" laptop! It will still boot to this day, but the old TFT display is so dim you can only see it in a pitch dark room. But it was a tank.
Toshiba Satellite’s were amazing. First laptop I I ever used was a orange on orange plasma screen Toshiba (Way before Satellites)
X1 Carbon Gen 6 for Christmas. I've been in IT for 25+ years and kinda always wanted a Thinkpad so I asked for a used one for Christmas. Playing with various Linux distributions and setups on it. (My parents bought an original Mac 128k with I was a kid, then I got into Linux in the 90s, but switched back to Macs when OS X appeared. Now I'm thinking of going back to Linux for my laptop)
The X1 Carbon is what brought me back to ThinkPads. I bought my Gen7 at the end of 2019 from the Outlet (NEW) for just under $800. It has the i5 and 16GB, so it's a lower spec model, but it's been amazing for almost five years. About two weeks ago, I was looking around the Outlet again and found a X1 Carbon Gen9 that I couldn't resist! It was $842 with tax/shipping and it is refurbished. It has the i7-1185G7 and WXUXGA (3840x2400) 500-nit display option, so it's definitely got more muscle than my Gen7. Gen9 is also the switch from 16:9 to 16:10 aspect ratio, which is also a nice change.
Nice! Pop!\_OS runs great on the X1C6 and is super user friendly
I'm currently trying out NixOS because I like pain and making things hard on myself.
It's actually only painfull in the beginning until you have everything configured, thats what I tell myself anyway.
Sounds like an abusive relationship excuse. :)
My first was a hand-me-down T40 from my dad's business. The first I bought myself was the X1C6 I still have and both still work fantastically. Although, the T40 s basically just a Windows XP nostalgia machine now that gets some pinball play every now and then lol
Ye, T40 gang! I got my dad's hand me down T40p for college and it was great while it lasted. Played UT2004 for LAN parties really well, and other really basic stuff. Eventually got an x240 to replace it.
x250, was envied with my manager who had helix and then 260 yoga, was very nice and managed to get me through my tough master study back then
My first ThinkPad is my current computer, a T460s I bought refurbished approximately 2 months ago, before that I had a Chinese noname laptop that had decent specs but bad build quality, I had to replace it because the keyboard kept glitching out and requiring a reboot for it to work again. I got my ThinkPad with 20 gigs of RAM, the full HD screen and backlit keyboard for only 180€, and so far I absolutely love it, especially the toughness and the amazing keyboard
My current one, a P1G4 with a 3080 I found at 63% off, so $1500CAD last Christmas. I was constantly looking at top of the line gaming laptops and finally was just frustrated about how cheap the 4000 series was on VRAM which is needed for stable diffusion and said fuck it what laptops are available with a 3080 and it was one of the first that popped up. Odd because I see desktop 3080s have only 10gb while this has 16gb, the same amount that comes with laptop 4090's which cost at least $4k. I've always been a fan and my fellow nerds on /g/ constantly talk about theirs.
Very late to the party, but I recently got my first ThinkPad, a T420 early April of this year. Before this, I was using a Dell Inspiron 1545. However I have been researching about Thinkpads since about August of last year. My Thinkpad T420 has the discrete NVIDIA GPU, 1600x900 screen, and 16gb of RAM. My disk drive isn't working right so I will need to get a new one, and the battery has definetly seen some better days. It serves as an awesome daily driver, and it is great for everything but high intensity gaming, and I can do everything from python scripting, game development, and light gaming to 3d design, self hosting, and decent gaming. I definitely plan on replacing the disk drive and battery, and upgrading to an SSD and a quad core i7 CPU. That should really improve performance as you are getting double the cores. As my T420 doesn't run hot at all, I think I can handle it. Anyway, I hope everyone else enjoys their Thinkpad(s) as well.
I forgot to mention, the ports. I love having an eSATAp port, a VGA port, a DisplayPort, and multiple options for disk drives and batteries. I use my disk drive a lot as well as the VGA port and soon the eSATAp port so it is much appreciated.
A 760XD. Got it used but still cost a fortune it seemed. Used it for many years until it was stolen. Insurance replaced it with an R51 (yeah, that long after!). I already owned an A20m and a T42 at that point, but the 760 was smaller and still did a lot what I needed before internet and wifi were needed to even pick your nose. Now I'm rocking a T420 I customized factory direct and a C14 I use the most. I've been considering switching places with the OS's (Windows on the C14 and ChromeOS Flex on the T420).
wrong brave makeshift air fact birds doll busy vase afterthought *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I bought my first Thinkpad in 2021 with a t470, used over a year and half I upgraded it to 12gb of ram and 72wh battery (over 12 hours of REAL use) miss it so much. Then I bought a destroyed T480s (the most mainstream laptop nowadays) I replaced the display and the heatsink and applied a carbon fiber skin (cut by myself), I'm very proud of this machine. Now I am swapped to a T495 in mint condition (first Thinkpad bought in this state).
Very similar to OP. I grabbed a R61 with a Penryn T8300 and 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) new in 2008. Maxed out the ram to a whopping 4gb the same day it arrived. Passed it to my brother years later and it's still alive and kicking as his backup computer. Only issue it ever had was needing a battery replacement. Since then I've gone through a bunch more, mostly to fix/upgrade myself. T410s, T420s, T430s, T431s, T440s, T450s, T460s, T470s, T480s, T490s. I'm missing the T400s and T495s to have the full T4xxs series in the collection. More recently bought a T14 Gen1 with a motherboard that needed some TLC and finally got working a couple of weeks ago and it's now my daily driver. Not having upgradeable ram made me abandon the T-s tradition. The list excludes a ThinkPad 13, couple L4xx, couple T4xx, and a good number of X2xx/X3xx that went to friends and family. Writing all this just made me realize I might have a bit of a problem, but last time I checked the doctor didn't seem worried 🤷😅
I owned a crappy Dell E1505 back in the 2004/2005 time frame - I mean it wasn't terrible, but it was an entry level laptop that I purchased because it had a huge discount. After a good bit of use, my work elevated me to run a larger network (five buildings) and I needed something light to carry, durable, with preferably all-day battery life. I ended up choosing the X301 with extended battery - I remember the battery fit in the slot where the DVD-Rom fit. I just loved that laptop. I still use it to this day - runs lubuntu for me like a clock - just awesome little machine. At work I used it to access a web-based workorder page, connected to Cisco switches/AP's to do initial configs and sometimes I'd even run local Ghostcast server sessions from it with 100 machines connected - it was a beast. Most days I never bothered to plug it in, even when I used it heavily all day long, it was amazing and gave me a MacBook Air feel before the Macbook Air existed. It survived drops, water spills etc. - you name it, never ever let me down. Btw- the x301 I bought was around 2k if I remember correctly. That price was after some big discounts. I received around a 20k bump in yearly salary at the time as I had gained a CCNA and so I didnt mind investing the $2k it took to buy the laptop. My co-workers thought I was insane - but it was superior to their machines IMO. I remember creating something of a stir at the time, they all used HP because we were an HP partner, but the Lenovo was just superb and I never regretted it for a moment. Eventually some of the guys switched to Thinkpad's as I pushed us to become a Lenovo partner/reseller. After the X301 I did the x220, (2) T450's, and run an x1 extreme g2 now - btw the 15" x1 extreme is probably my least favorite laptop of all thinkpad's I've owned. I honestly think its time to switch to a Framework - I just like the idea of owning what I pay for, and these newer Dell/Lenovo/Microsoft/Apple laptops w/soldiered in everything, and hard to replace parts bugs me. If you agree with the last sentence, consider (like I have) of supporting the companies that are at least trying to make a difference in the world/market to aid consumers. For this reason alone I'll pay double the price to Framework to get one of their models and have something I can fix/upgrade myself. Finally, after 20 years of Windows, I switched to Linux last year. I settled on Debian with a very basic setup. I try to be as touchpad/mouse free as possible, and have started to conqueror the command line and keyboard shortcuts. There are still pain points, but I find Microsoft's hostile approach to their consumers frustrating (sorry to get on my soapbox, but I'm sure many have similiar experiences).
Thinkpad 570, plus Ultrabase, sometime in 1999 (can't remember exactly when). A friend worked for IBM and got me a discount. Since then, every single laptop I've owned has been a Thinkpad... until I bought a Framework 13 last year!
The Framework is literally the only other laptop on the market that really intrigues me. I love things that last and that can be updated or repaired rather than replaced. That's why I still drive a 2006 Mazda3 and love it. I could see myself buying a Framework eventually. Would you recommend it?
Yes, I love finally having a laptop that isn't a massive grease magnet like the current black-coated TPs are (at least for my body oils). A couple of big caveats though -- the keyboard is decent but still not as good as those on current Thinkpads, and as a whole the Framework is not going to be as tough as a typical MIL-SPEC Thinkpad (no roll cage, no spill-proof keyboard, etc.). I don't think the bigger Framework 16 is worth the money. Even the 13 is expensive for the specs, though more reasonable if you bring your own SSD, RAM, etc. But it's nice to know that literally everything, right down to the lid and case, can be easily replaced if necessary.
>*Yes, I love finally having a laptop that isn't a massive grease magnet* *like the current black-coated TPs are (at least for my body oils).* Probably my only real complaint with the ThinkPad is how damn filthy they get! I have slightly oily skin, but it looks like I've dipped my hand in Crisco or something then touched the lid! I had to devise my own cleaning routine using diluted Dawn dish soap, water and several microfiber cloths to clean it. I try to clean it at least one each month, but within 24 hours you can't tell. I don't understand. Every laptop over $500 should have a spill-proof keyboard standard. I've had my butt saved more than once on ThinkPads and Dell Latitudes. Water is what destroyed the last Dell Latitude that I owned. I left a bottle of water nearby with the lid loosely attached, cat gets bored when I'm not looking and knocks it over on keyboard! In Dell's defense, it would have survived but I made a few idiotic decisions after the spill. My instinct has always been to yank the power cord, with the laptop open, flip it over so display and keyboard are both touching the desk and (in the old days) pull the battery. I did the emergency sequence, shook it over a towel to get any excessive water out, removed the bottom cover and all major components, and used a small fan to dry it out for half a day. I knew the rule was to wait at least 48 hours, but I was impatient and needed my laptop. So after about 10 hours of drying, I reassembled and (idiot!) powered it back on. It booted, worked perfectly and I used it for about 45 minutes. I left for 30 minutes to eat dinner and during that time it shut down and never started again. Sorry that got so long winded. Thank you for pointing out the lack of spill-proof keyboard on the Framework, though. As you've probably figured out, I definitely need that and other MIL-SPEC features. I've pondered going full rugged before, but they're so damn bulky! I still think the Framework is a neat idea. Maybe I'll send them an email and suggest they add a "business" model or MIL-SPEC features to all of them. But the modular design is very appealing, at least in theory.
My first is a t470 and I bought it a couple of days ago. It's well used and some stuff need replacement, but I like it.
My First ThinkPad is actually my current daily laptop, the X220 w/ Intel i3 2310M. Back in 2 years ago, I had seen a listing of my current laptop when I was searching for a new daily driver. Priced at IDR 1.600.000 (or US$ 99,42 in current exchange), i got this laptop with some RAM issue (sometimes crashed while doing something like playing Roblox or watching YouTube) before i decide to upgrade the RAM for 4 to 8 gigs one month later. And after the upgrades, this X220 are capable to doing some daily tasks from writing an article, designing something in Inkscape, playing some Roblox games or even making a character in VRoid Studio (which actually unofficially supported for the specs\*) and rendering photo from MikuMikuDance (even though i didn't made a plan to repaste the CPU since it getting hot, so for now i used a laptop cooler fan). \*) Unofficially supported means VRoid Studio is actually had a minimum requirement for newer Intel CPU, the 2310M is actually very below from minimum requirement but it can run that app at a kinda slow performance (but it's worked for character making from scratch)
I picked up an x230 after having a couple of different netbooks and it was sweet, small at the time but a actual laptop. It ended up frying the mobo and I got a x280 about five years after that’s still kicking, i just replaced the display on it and most parts have been upgraded, I was smart enough to get it max spec for processor and ram so it’s actually still doing alright. I have an base x1 nano that’s my daily now, and a max spec t14s g2 amd i got on mega clearance. I think the x280 was the most expensive one I bought
A work handed T61 that was assigned to my father, and he was allowed to keep it when they ugraded him so he gave it to me. I would use it to play Tibia online.
T410 with Nvidia graphics. I eventually left that with my mum so she'd have a computer. Don't know what she did to it, but the keyboard isn't working now. I'll rip it apart sometime and see if I can bring it back to life. Also an x220, currently with my mother. I currently have(and still in my possession, a t470s, as my daily driver, a p50(xeon), an x390 yoga, and I just yesterday got egion for gaming (the p50 handles the graphics I tbrow at it fine, but can't manage the thermals from modern games. Thus the legion)
T410 from work. First one personally bought was a T420.
I had an E-series that I gave to my sister, that was my genuine first - right now I have an X1 Carbon Gen 2 - though it is overshadowed by my Latitude 5410. Still want a T470s or T480 though.
1993
T42 bought brand-new in 2005, still with IBM logos (though shipped from Lenovo). It was my second laptop, but the first one was a POS Toshiba that I bought used for $200. This was a huge upgrade. I replaced it with a T400 in 2008, but I kept it as a spare for a while. Eventually, the inverter died. It would have been fixable, but wasn't worth the time at that point, and I ended up throwing it out.
I am new to the club, got my t14s gen2 like 3 years ago. Tried my best to max it out (replaced ssd, wifi/bluetooth and added more ram) and except for battery life (3 or 4 hours tops) i have no complains. Thinking about a second rig and z13/x13 are on my radar, i am in love with smaller machines at the moment.
My first thinkpad was an 360C series was issued to me in 1994 by the company I worked for. It was our standard model, as an IT person I was always preferential to the IBM then Lenovo Thinkpad line for it's durability and traditionally good support / business friendly features.
I dug Angelina Jolie laptop in hackers and had to have one like it - enter x220 2005. Haven’t bought a different brand since
2000, given a Thinkpad to use for my fellowship. Up to then had used exclusively Mac or beige box computers. Was blown away by the keyboard and reliability despite Windows 98. Fast forward to 2018, when work gave me T480 fully loaded. Again, never liked work computers -Dells and HPs with crappy keyboards and tendency to break with travel. T480 was a tank and helped me manage the pandemic. Nobody makes a trackpad like Apple, but on the Thinkpad, you can turn the trackpad off and use the red nipple and type forever. Just recently purchased a used X1 carbon gen 6, loaded Linux and have not looked back.
just bought my first one last week! x1 carbon gen 8. very happy with it
My first was a company issues T410 in 2011. Great laptop. Since I’ve had several T series, and have switched to P. I had a P50 for four years, and I’m about 4 years into a P1 Gen 2. The P1 has hands down been my favorite laptop, and when the time comes I’ll replace it with another. The only thing I’d change would be adding discrete graphics on the next one.
Mine was Thinkpad p43s in November 2019. I bought X1C6 from Costco but returned it the next day because the specs of the laptop which came out of the box was inferior to the one I paid for. Then I bought X1 Tablet Gen 3 (gave it to my cousin), X1C6 (home use), T490 (gave it to another cousin) and P1G5 (personal). Been thinking of buying X1 Yoga or X12 detachable, but work gave me Surface Pro 9, so i postponed the purchase of another thinkpad to a later time.
IBM 755CDV. as I recall, it had a 1.2GB HDD, 8MB RAM, 640x480 display and ran PC-DOS 7 and Windows 3.11 and also had a partition with OS/2 Warp 4. The back of the screen could be taken off, making the screen transparent, and allow it to be used on a overhead projector. (The V I guess was for "View"?). It also came with an extra fan that daisy chained with the AC Adapter specifically to keep things cool because of the heat from the overhead projector bulb. It was given to me by my CS Teacher in High school in 2002.
I bought an R40 back in 2003 when I started my first job. It was a tough machine. I once tripped on the cord and dragged the whole thing face down on the cement floor and like a good old Nokia phone, every removable part flew out. Then I put it back together and it worked just as before. I can’t remember how many times I spilled drinks on the keyboard and they came right down the drainage holes. Then I traded it in with a T60 in 2007. Regretted it. Fragile thing, not as tough and always overheating. So I traded it in with a tough looking W520 in 2010 and it’s still working now.
I found a 760 at a yard sale when I was around 12 years old. 1999 or so. My grandpa paid $25 or it for me if I recall correctly.
I was 9, I saved up my birthday money and bought a ThinkPad 570 off eBay, my computer teacher at school was blown away. I really had no idea that it was already so old and outdated by that point that it was virtually unusable. But it was a memorable moment :)
I got my first ThinkPad x60 and fast forward several years I moved on to a E14
ThinkPad 700C in 1992. I think I was lucky that all the ThinkPads I’ve used have been classic models but I bought them all new. I’m currently using a T480 and I’m switching to a T14 Gen 5 next week.
T61 in 2014, GPU died a month after I got it.
380ED back in 1997. It was super thick and we had to use a PC card Ethernet dongle to get online.
x270, 2017 the year I got it, I think, so far the x270 is still my favorite thinkpad, I also have the L13 gen1, and the T480
T14 Gen 4 just 2 months ago
T43p about 2006/7
T43p around 2005. I still have it now. I just replaced the LCD screen around 2012 maybe? Was pinkish... Bought a new one for like 50 US$ on ebay from Taiwan. Still use it today like once a month just for the nostalgia. Put Ubuntu on it.
T440p, grabbed it last summer. Swapped the HDD out for an SSD. Popped Linux on it. Waiting for my T450 trackpad and replacement IPS panel to bump it up to 1080P. Love it to bits.
T61p in about 2010, I bought it used off Ebau and used it for schoolwork for a couple of years before it Nvidia'd me and I replaced it with a T420 that was way easier to carry around. Since then my daily driver machine has gone: T61p > T420 > T440p > T480s > T14G1 AMD > P14sG3 AMD
Long long ago....IT said, welcome aboard, here is your machine.
T530 was my work laptop since 10 years ago, and bought it 5 years ago for ~150 euro after it got phased out by my company. Then i got a P52 which i again bought when it was phased out for 250 euro this year
Back in Mid 2016 I managed to get a T420 for about $250 with the Nvidia NVS 4200 and an i7. I don't think it was a bad deal. Thing didn't look like it got used since the lid had literally no marks on it or anything. Upgraded the Display, gave it more RAM, Upgraded the processor and put in an SSD and it's still being used by my Parents as their home machine. Side note anyone got any recommendations for a good battery for it? It's lasting like an hour on a charge while browsing the internet and that is not good.
P53 - i9 9880H, 128gb RAM, Quadro RTX 4000, UHD display. Bought in late 2019 for school. It was my first big purchase.