which Thinkpad to replace dead T440s

[PRAGUEGUY]

Dear fellow Thinkpadders,

My T440s has died unfortunately... broken input port for power cord. The repar technician said he thinks there is a shortcut, so repair of motherboard is needed, this is not economical.

I looked at T series newer models, second hand, cleaned refurbished NBs from corporations.

Unfortunately a lot has happened with model numbers, so I am disoriented...Can anybody comment, in very general terms, about the bellow list of models? what is their "taste, feel", what is their relative positive or negative, any issues not visible through the specs (ergonomy, keyboard, etc.)

I am not sure if I should go for 14 or 15,6 inch, my eyesight has gone down, I do some translation work, so a big screen is a plus. But, I can of course connext an external monitor,and a 14 inch is a good all round size.
I am pushed for budget due to hard times...

The models are as follows:
T440s
t450
t460
t470
t480
L460

t570
E570
I have no idea what E and L lines stand for...thanks a lot. I would also welcome info about the year when these models were made... I have no idea if something is eight or two years old.

Some examples
T570 https://www.gigacomputer.cz/zbozi/13391 ... -t570.html
some 14 inch models
https://www.gigacomputer.cz/zbozi/13500 ... t480s.html
https://www.gigacomputer.cz/zbozi/11742 ... -t460.html
For my old t440 I have a docking station...can it be used in some of the newer models? thanks

[Ibthink]

Model year corresponds pretty well with model number:

- T450 = 2015

- T460 = 2016

- T470 = 2017

and so forth

E and L series are cheaper model lines, like the ThinkPad R series of old. They may lack certain features and are more cheaply made in terms of construction and material quality.

The docks introduced for the T440s in 2013 were used until 2017, so the T470 gen models are the last ones to support them.

Note that the 15 inch models will generally have a numpad and the keyboard shifted to the left.

If I had to choose a model with the old docking connector, I would take either a T470 or a T470s. The T470s uses similar materials to the T440s, while the T470 offers the expandable battery feature, like the T440s. If you are willing to sacrifice the dock, T480 and T480s have Quad Core CPUs, which offer a nice boost in speed.

[PRAGUEGUY]

Now I am stuck between the T 480 and T480s...I found out the T480s may not have an ethernet cable...but apparently I can use com kind of USB hub. Is the hub a reliable solution?
I found lots of negative info on the display panels used by the 480... my seller has mostly the lowest resolution 1366 x 768 .
so, how could you advise re the difference between these two? thanks.
If, in the s version, parts are more squeezed close together, do I risk more errors, due to overheating of the motherboard over the years of use? thanks

[ZaZ]

I think the T480(s) or T580 are better choices because they come with the low watt quad cores that offer significant performance advantages over the older dual core models. The 1366x768 are presumably TN panels that have poor color and narrow viewing angles. I would stick to the FHD screens, which are IP screens that have better contrast and colors won't shift as you go off angle. Much will depend on the particular machine and a lot of longevity comes down to dumb luck more than anything else, but the most likely outcome for anything ThinkPad you buy is it will give you years of faithful service.

[PRAGUEGUY]

Thanks I am now only choosing between 480 and 480s. Often 480s does not have an Ethernet cable connector...is that a big problem? Is the use of a convertor USB Ethernet hub safe as an option? I sometimes do interpreting over the Zoom, and then I should make sure the web is as good as possible... I do not want a flimsy hub to fall out during a session... thanks.

[dr_st]

Although I have an Ethernet jack on all my laptops, I almost never use them, except when docked, and even then - not always. WiFi is everywhere. But yes, a USB-to-Ethernet adapter is a good solution too.

[PRAGUEGUY]

bloody nightmare...I bought a normal ssd disk 1 tera 2.5, and I found out that this nb only seems to take M2 disks...omg I hope the shop will replace it. What a waste of money... I bought a samsung EVO 1 tera SSD.

[Ibthink]

Yeah, 2.5 inch drives are a dead form factor. It has been replaced by M.2 on all models in recent generations.

If the shop doesn't take it back, maybe you can buy an enclosure to use it as an external SSD.

[deancalvert]

I"m glad someone ELSE is confused by all these X's C's etc.

I've been using NOTHING but Thinkpads for about 20 years. I stopped at the T420S, because I like the full keyboard. But the processor is now being overwhelmed whenever I need to zoom call conference call etc. Just won't hack it.

...and I am equally confused by all the successor laptops.

What's the next move UP from a T420S?

I'm just a heavy business user..although I do like to use it to watch movies when I'm away from home. I like the weight of the T420S...generally attach a 1 Terrabyte hard drive for plenty of space. I use this exclusively..no desktops etc. Whichever office I am in..this is my main computer.

Suggestions would be MUCH appreciated. Let's say I want to spend something under $2000.

[axur-delmeria]

@deancalvert
Start with the T480-- similar weight class, but with a quad-core processor.

[RealBlackStuff]

Thanks I am now only choosing between 480 and 480s. Often 480s does not have an Ethernet cable connector...is that a big problem? Is the use of a convertor USB Ethernet hub safe as an option? I sometimes do interpreting over the Zoom, and then I should make sure the web is as good as possible... I do not want a flimsy hub to fall out during a session... thanks.

This is a USB-C to Ethernet adapter, not plain USB!
Originally it was P/N 4X90S91831, which has been replaced by P/N 4X90Q84427
Looks like this.

[dr_st]

This is a USB-C to Ethernet adapter, not plain USB!
Originally it was P/N 4X90S91831, which has been replaced by P/N 4X90Q84427
Looks like this.

That's not USB-C either. It's Lenovo's proprietary connector that goes directly to the integrated Intel LAN chip on the motherboard.

[RealBlackStuff]

I think there is some misunderstanding here.
According to the T480 and T480s HMM, both still have a proper ethernet port, T480 on the right side, T480s on the left side.
It's the X280 that needs such an adapter.

[deancalvert]

@Axur

Thank you!!!

As I look at the T480's (I keep getting forwarded to the T14 and T15.

Are the T14 and T15 basically newer versions of the T480?

[dr_st]

T14 is the successor of T480/490 series.
T15 is the successor of T580/590 series.

[deancalvert]

@deancalvert
Start with the T480-- similar weight class, but with a quad-core processor.

OK...i just got the T480S delivered from Ebay.

Very nice little unit.

The only thing I'm wondering about (and not a deal breaker)....do any of these newer Thinkpads have a full size keyboard?

I've never used one of these slimmed down keyboards before...a little disorienting.

thanks in advance!

[axur-delmeria]

The only thing I'm wondering about (and not a deal breaker)....do any of these newer Thinkpads have a full size keyboard?

I've never used one of these slimmed down keyboards before...a little disorienting.

thanks in advance!

By "full size keyboard", do you mean one with the numeric pad? Many 15 inch models (like the T580) have it.

[TPFanatic]

Put an eye on the three keys (alt, prtsc, cntrl) to the right of the spacebar, between spacebar and arrow keys. If the keys are narrow, then it is a shrunk keyboard AKA not a full-size.

Alternatively on US keyboard see if the pipe/backslash key above Return is wide or not. If not wide, it's a shrunk keyboard.

It appears almost* all contemporary ThinkPads have these shrunken keys, including 15" and 16" with numpads eg. T16, L15, P16. Even last year's P17 had shrunken keyboard, probably done to standardize the keyboard and keycaps from more popular Ultrabooks to almost* all models and save $$ and lower prices for the consumer and businesses, which we can appreciate.

*Exceptions appear to be P1 Gen 4 and X1 Extreme Gen 4, these still have full-size keyboard.

[Ibthink]

*Exceptions appear to be P1 Gen 4 and X1 Extreme Gen 4, these still have full-size keyboard.

Also Z16. Z13 technically has a full-width keyboard with vertically smaller sixth row keys so not quite full-size - however, it is the only full width keyboard on a ThinkPad below 16 inch - except for the E14 G4, funnily enough because that uses an old design.

There are three different tiers in terms of keyboard width right now:

- 29.5 cm wide (full width) - Z16, Z13, X1 Extreme G5, P1 G5, E14 G4

- 28.5 cm wide - all 14 inch models (except E14 G4) and 15/16 inch with numpad (T14 G3, L14 G3, T16, P16 etc.)

- 27.5 cm wide - all 13.3 inch models except Z13 (so X1 Nano, X13, L13, X13 Yoga etc.)

[deancalvert]

No...i don't need a numeric keyboard.

Let me try to be more clear:

The T480S has what I can only call a "slimmed down" keyboard. No full delete button, no full "esc" button.

the entire top register of keys (ESC button, function keys, DELETE HOME etc keys) is compressed on the T480S. the only way i know how to describe it.

One of the reasons I have stuck with my T420S for so long was that it was the LAST full keyboard (non chiclet) made - full keyboard with REAL keys.

I was prepared for the new "chiclet" keyboard, but surprised that at the compression of the keyboard.

Is the T480 closer to what I am used to?

THANK YOU!!!!



The only thing I'm wondering about (and not a deal breaker)....do any of these newer Thinkpads have a full size keyboard?

I've never used one of these slimmed down keyboards before...a little disorienting.

thanks in advance!
[/quote]

By "full size keyboard", do you mean one with the numeric pad? Many 15 inch models (like the T580) have it.
[/quote]

[dr_st]

One of the reasons I have stuck with my T420S for so long was that it was the LAST full keyboard (non chiclet) made - full keyboard with REAL keys.

I was prepared for the new "chiclet" keyboard, but surprised that at the compression of the keyboard.

Is the T480 closer to what I am used to?

T480 keyboard is exactly the same as T480s. Most keyboards after T420 series are the same... With the exception of the rare "special edition" Thinkpad 25th Anniversary model, there are no more Thinkpads with such "7-row" keyboards - as Lenovo does not consider this feature important.

The Thinkpad 25 is 5 years old. It is old technology at this point. Through a fairly complicated mod, the internals of a Thinkpad T480 (not T480s) can be transplanted into a Thinkpad 25 shell, giving you a more modern laptop (quad core CPU and better GPU), with the "classic" keyboard - but this mod is very expensive, since it requires access to the Thinkpad 25 parts (or a full Thinkpad 25 system), which are rare, since it was a very limited production run.

[TPFanatic]

If you have want to stick with T420s form you can try modding a T430s with 7 row, it's a little more powerful than T420s. Or go up to W530 and mod with 7 row. But for any substantial performance and efficiency upgrade, T480 is inexpensive and blows away everything prior.

Fwiw I go through this same struggle of classic form vs modern function and I am looking into the W530.