Recommendation for a T4xx from the last 3-4 years

[garnet]

Hi all,

I have a t430, nice machine, but alful screen.

Now I am in search what t4xx machine to buy.

Second hand is OK.
What I need:

The best possible screen: bright and at least 1920x1080. Best possible colour reproduction.

Around 2021-2022 model. Not sure what generation processors that is.

8 or 16 GB ram, with option to add at least one ram board.

Intel or AMD, no preference there unless you know specific reason in either way.

Any recommendations?

[mikemex]

T14 of course. Sometimes you can find a P14s (the "workstation" variant) cheaper just because people tend to know that model less. They are basically the same.

If you go intel, I recommend you G2. All displays of that generation are IPS and even the basic one (250 nits) will look good coming from a T430. Depending on your budget, you can get an 8GB or 16GB model (the 8GB variant will probably be cheaper). Any of them will have an open DIMM slot and it supports up to 32GB modules. If you do the math, that's up to 40GB of RAM even with the "basic" 8GB version. Should be enough for the life of the laptop. The only downside to the 8GB version is that you'll get less RAM to work in dual channel mode. I don't think you'll notice the difference (any DIMM larger than 8GB will have 16GB running in dual channel).

Problem with T14 Gen 1 and earlier is that they come with the UHD graphics and that's way slower than Iris Xe (not that Iris Xe is fast...). I don't remember if they have 16 or 24 EUs but they are in a different league compared to even the basic Iris Xe (80 EUs) found on i3/i5 from 11th and up. The i7 has 96 EUs and remains the same up to the 13th generation intel CPUs.

That's if you want intel. With AMD you can get a T14 Gen 1 and even the "basic" 4560U will be faster in every way compared to even newer intel generations. AMD really mopped the floor with intel in those generations... There are only two downsides to getting an AMD. 1) The battery life sucks. 2) You don't get Thunderbolt.

No matter what choice you make, both are available with UHD screens (3840x2160) with much better color accuracy and brightness compared to baseline screens. But be warned: that's a lot more pixels to render, and given that the integrated graphics in laptops suck in general, the overall system performance will probably be lower. You also get considerably less battery life. Myself, I'd get a machine with the 400 nit low power screen. It offers quite decent color accuracy and brightness, plus good battery life. And above all, it's usually much easier to find (and cheaper) than machines with the UHD.

OR, if all you care about is the screen, just get an old X1 Carbon. I've got a bunch of 4th gen with WQHD+ (2560x1440) and they are beautiful, much better than the basic panels in even much newer machines. They can usually be picked up for very little. 6600U, 16GB of RAM and an NVMe SSD of your choice offers about the same performance as your current T430, but with all the benefits of a more modern design, such as great portability and long battery life. 4th generation is special because it still uses the square tip traditional charger port and supports a docking station. Those accessories can be found quite cheap this days.

You can tell I'm not a fan of USB-C chargers. I wasn't a fan of those tiny ports on phones; you can imagine how inadequate they seem to me in laptops!

[garnet]

Thanks a lot.
Something like that:

Code: Select all

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/315182790139

How can I see the full specs by the model number on the back?
I think this one uses usb c for charging, is that so?

[mikemex]

That's a T14s, thinner, with soldered RAM (better get it with 32GB of RAM). Pretty good deal.

The picture in the ad says 20UHS05Y00. Lenovo site says it's got a B140HAK03.2.
It's FHD 300 nit. Nothing special but also pretty decent.

Gen 1 and 2 can use the side mechanical dock. They all have USB-C charging ports.

[ZaZ]

You can get the ThinkPad L14, which offers the low power LCD as well, though I don't know how difficult is to find, but has two upgradeable memory slots. There won't be much of a practical difference between the L14 and T14 in my opinion.