this post was submitted on 15 Mar 2025
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What is the best path forward from a T420? (lemm.ee)
submitted 1 day ago by gvalia@lemm.ee to c/thinkpad@lemmy.ml
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My beloved T420's bezels are coming apart at the hinge. This has already happened once---I glued the plastic back together---but now is a very inconvenient time for it to happen again. So I'm thinking of upgrading.

For me, the most important factors are:

  1. Portability - I have to carry my laptop with me on a nearly daily basis.
  2. Linux support.
  3. A good keyboard, preferably without the numpad.
  4. An HDMI port.
  5. Good battery life (~5 hours with active use should be plenty but more is welcome).

I'm thinking of going with the 8th generation X1 carbon but I'd like to hear your opinion.

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[–] dingdongitsabear@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

first off, the bezel is like $10 wherever you are, so if that's the only reason to upgrade that's easily fixed. if it's just a final push, then look no further than T480/T490/T495/T14, whichever you can get the cheapest. excellent linux support (spotty fingerprint support though; shouldn't use that anyway), infinitely ugradeable and repairable and absolute stellar performance compared to what you got. make sure you get a good, original battery as aftermarket ones are hit/miss.

I made the same upgrade years ago. skip the carbons and the S-suffix models as they're only marginally slimmer but way more limited in terms of upgrade and repair.

[–] dirtycrow@programming.dev 1 points 22 hours ago

The T14/P14s is so flimsy in build quality that I would skip the entire line. I would rather go through the annoying repair process to replace the keyboard on a T14s than actually own a T14 which flexes in your lap and in your hands.

X13/T14s are actually decent options due to choice of material. They’re hard to find because you have to find a configuration with a good display and 32GB. I still love my T480 though. I just can’t see why they chose such a light build with plastic to appeal to anyone besides their business customers.