On 2017-08-23 23:29:17, Tomas Kuchta <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thinkpads had bad patch around Tx40 models 2-3 years ago - they went with > plastic chassis and skipped real touchpad buttons, used single channel RAM, > only 2x USB - thankfully they walked that back. >
Some of the touchpads *without* real buttons can be swapped out for ones *with* real buttons. I bought a T440p (an updated version of the T440 (non-p) with 4 USB ports, a better screen, better CPU, dual-channel RAM, etc.) so was probably made after Lenovo decided to walk back some of the changes they made. I'm not sure if the chassis is plastic or not, but it feels solidly built enough. It came with the buttonless touchpad of the era, but I was able to swap it out with minimal difficulty. I just bought one meant for the T5XX series from a seller on ebay and swapped it out. The seller also specifically mentioned that it was compatible with the T440p too. The only hard part is that the keyboard bezel has to be removed, and rather than being held on with screws like my T60's was, it was instead held on by a bunch of miniature plastic clips. It took a long time to gently wiggle everything apart with an old credit card, and I still noticed a few tiny bits of plastic on my workbench when I'd finished. It still fit back on snugly though, so I have no major complaints. One thing I like about Thinkpads is their upgradability. If you have basic hardware skills, you can buy a slightly-used model and upgrade it to be comparable to a newer model for a great bargain. I bought mine for about $400. Added an 8 GB stick of RAM to the 4 GB that it came with for 12 GB total ($60). The new touchpad was about $20. And I upgraded the screen from a 1366 x 768 TN panel to a 1920 x 1080 IPS panel for only $80. So for only $560 and about one hour of my time, I got a laptop with specs comparable to ones that were selling for almost twice that at the time. I could still upgrade the CPU from an i5-4300M to an i7-4900MQ, and plan on doing so one day, but for my purposes, it's fast enough already. Computers (and especially laptops) are a lot like cars in how their value depreciates. It's often far more economical to buy a model a few years old and replace a few parts (and pay half the price) than it is to buy brand new. I just priced out a T570 that is comparably specced to the T440p I built above. It's $1,178 for a T570 build mostly comparable to what I have. My T440p was only $560 + one hour of time. If we assume that they depreciate 10% per year, in three years mine will have lost appx. $160 of value. The new T570 above will have lost appx. $350 of value. Same as with cars, there's little to be gained by buying new vs. <3 years old. To the OP, unless you know that you will need the latest and greatest laptop, I'd recommend buying a used model. Unless you're going to be building large software packages like LibreOffce or Firefox regularly, a T460 will still have a lot of power. A T440p like mine will also likely serve you well. If you're a student, then the $500 or so you'd save by doing so is likely to be worth it. -- Bryan _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
