Recommendation for a Productivity / Development Laptop

Well with that budget most likely another refurbished/used Thinkpad X series will do ? I think X250/x260 from circa 2015/2016 might suit your budget. The T-series aint too bad either if you go for their "S" Variant. I'd say Thinkpads are still one of the more sturdy laptops out there. Everything is being " more cheaply built" anyways. Check out Bauer systems for their list of refurbs. They have a decent selection. Link : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... l=en#gid=0

coilz wrote: ↑ Well with that budget most likely another refurbished/used Thinkpad X series will do ? I think X250/x260 from circa 2015/2016 might suit your budget. The T-series aint too bad either if you go for their "S" Variant. I'd say Thinkpads are still one of the more sturdy laptops out there. Everything is being " more cheaply built" anyways. Check out Bauer systems for their list of refurbs. They have a decent selection. Link : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... l=en#gid=0

X260 with 1080p feels like a good fit for me. It's also still quite chonky which I actually like.

Gentoo wrote: ↑ My original Thinkpad was bought used for around $230 CAD (this was 2015 or so). so I don't think I want to stray too far from that (maybe up to $350/$400)

Get another refurbished Thinkpad. Given pandemic price gouging, you may have to push the budget to $500.

Note that if you want to upgrade to Windows 11, you will need a system with at least an eighth generation processor. This will be well out of your budget as systems with 8xxx series CPUs are still being produced.

XPS is Dell's status symbol product line. They're intended for people who need to look like they do actual work on their computers but don't really do actual work on their computers. Think salespeople, 'creatives,' and the inherited wealth class. Latitude and Precision are Dell's product lines for workers.

I second getting another refurb thinkpad, just stick with the X P and T series. Quality and keyboards are still great, though like most manufacturers they've gone to internal batteries and soldered CPUs and ram (do your research, some have upgradeable ram, the thinner models unlikely so. Also, lenovo still configures models with crappy screens, so if color accuracy and brightness are important you need to look very carefully at the configuration.

Might have to expand your budget or be extremely patient for a good deal to come along (like the P14s last February), though there are great deals popping up on facebook and kijiji at random.

M1K3Z0R wrote: ↑ I second getting another refurb thinkpad, just stick with the X P and T series. Quality and keyboards are still great, though like most manufacturers they've gone to internal batteries and soldered CPUs and ram (do your research, some have upgradeable ram, the thinner models unlikely so. Also, lenovo still configures models with crappy screens, so if color accuracy and brightness are important you need to look very carefully at the configuration.

Might have to expand your budget or be extremely patient for a good deal to come along (like the P14s last February), though there are great deals popping up on facebook and kijiji at random.

Thanks, I think I'm going to go down the used Thinkpad line. I've looked through a few and short listed my options:

X260, FHD
X270, FHD
Both of these are similar price, with X270 also having USB C. The FHD version is set to 300 nits of screen brightness. Removable battery is a plus.

T460s
T470s
Same situation like the X-series, though unless I find a 1440p version the brightness is only 250 nits, which doesn't sound great. However I do appreciate the increase of physical screen size over the X series (the one gripe I have with my current X220).

T450S FHD
Similar to the above, but with a removable battery but no HDMI port. FHD is the 300nits IPS version as well.

I'm also considering the non-S line, but all the listings I've found usually have them at 1366x768 or much more expensive.

Gentoo wrote: ↑
T450S FHD
Similar to the above, but with a removable battery but no HDMI port. FHD is the 300nits IPS version as well.

Don't be too afraid of the lack of HDMI, a Display port to HDMI adapter/cable solves that issue easily, with audio and all. I use one for my T420 when I hook it up to my TV.

coilz wrote: ↑ Don't be too afraid of the lack of HDMI, a Display port to HDMI adapter/cable solves that issue easily, with audio and all. I use one for my T420 when I hook it up to my TV.

I actually do have some dongles I used from my X220, its not a major deal, just less dongles the better. Also it won't be my primary use case to have this hooked up to a monitor so its a less of a problem.

After some retrospective, I find I may lean towards the *70 series more due to USB C power. Originally it didn't click too much with me, then I realize I could pack one less charger around when travelling and the ability to use a power bank to temporarily boost battery life. The ability to use my existing mobile charging accessories and cables seem like a big win.

(EDIT) I've found some slim tip to USB-C adapters on Amazon that look like it might solve this issue, but I'm not sure on the risk of using such an adapter
https://www.amazon.ca/CERRXIAN-Charging ... B08GLDQC5C

Conversely, the T450S can be used with hot swapable battery for increased operation time, though this will still require me to bring a charger for longer duration trips.

Back to screen resolution, right now I'm sporting 1366x768 on a 12.5" device, which is a perfect screen density ratio, but I feel a 1080p 12.5" device might feel too small, same with a 1440p 14" device. Will I need to scale up UI elements to use these devices comfortably at those resolutions?

Some values I extracted from https://pixensity.com/:

• 768p at 12.5" is 125ppi
• 1080p at 12.5" is 176ppi
• 1080p at 14" is 157ppi
• 1440p at 14" is 209ppi

Combining all this information my best bets might be:

T450S + FHD + USB C to Slim Tip Adapter ~$350 + $20ish
- Lowest Cost
- Replaceable Hot Swap Battery
- 14", 300 nits screen
- Good PPI (157)
- Support for 2.5" drives

X270 FHD ~$450
- 300 nits screen but still 12.5", smallest screen
- Decent PPI (can always scale things up)
- No need for any dongles (Has both USB C and HDMI out)
- Smallest Footprint

T460S WQHD + USB C Slim Tip Adapter ~$450 + $20ish
- Biggest screen and resolution (1440p), if I can squint well thats a lot of screen real estate
- 300 nits but really high PPI, things will look small unless scaled
- Dongle city

Just an update for this thread, I took a gamble on eBay and scored a T470 for $160 USD (Ended up $280 CAD shipped and imported), there is a chip on the chassis, it looks like something that can be patched (maybe with epoxy?)

https://imgur.com/a/LeBRyWW
https://imgur.com/a/geiROty
https://imgur.com/a/pOhuhcv

The screen looks like its a 250 nits 1920x1080

Other Specs:
Intel Core i7-6600u-2.6GHz, Intel HD graphics 520
8GB RAM, 128GB SSD

Looks like no whitelist on panels so I can potentially swap a 1080p 300 nits screen later if I want and both RAM slots should be upgradable (I probably want it at 16GB, not sure if its 2x 4GB right now or 1x8GB though)

I've used plumber's epoxy putty to fix the bottom case corner of a unit, but not the palm rest. If you have something lying around, it wouldn't hurt to try, but if not, then maybe just buy one of these Chinese specials for $35:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001209896578.html

I recommend an AU Optronics AUO B140HAN01.3 panel or one of its revisions (eg. 1.2, 1.4). They used them in the T440s/T450s and also X1 Yoga 1st Gen.
https://www.panelook.com/B140HAN01.3_AU ... 23640.html

Gentoo wrote: ↑ Just an update for this thread, I took a gamble on eBay and scored a T470 for $160 USD (Ended up $280 CAD shipped and imported), there is a chip on the chassis, it looks like something that can be patched (maybe with epoxy?)

https://imgur.com/a/LeBRyWW
https://imgur.com/a/geiROty
https://imgur.com/a/pOhuhcv

The screen looks like its a 250 nits 1920x1080

Other Specs:
Intel Core i7-6600u-2.6GHz, Intel HD graphics 520
8GB RAM, 128GB SSD

Looks like no whitelist on panels so I can potentially swap a 1080p 300 nits screen later if I want and both RAM slots should be upgradable (I probably want it at 16GB, not sure if its 2x 4GB right now or 1x8GB though)

That's a great find, apart from the chip looks to be in great shape! You can check the ram slots and specs by looking at the bios, IIRC its F10 for the diagnostics and select system information, should be there without opening up the laptop. It will also tell you part numbers for your LCD and ssd etc.

Honestly I wouldn't bother replacing the screen for 50 nits, unless perhaps you got the crappy low color gamut panel or a TN panel.

Tou may be able to get an entire new top palm rest area, but YMMV for pricing. I'd just sand it down so theres no sharp edges and live with it