Model Recommendation For A ThinkPad Newbie

[onetr]

Hi! I'm looking for a used ThinkPad for my studies and could use model advice. My current laptop's battery is dead and I can't get a replacement battery. So I'm open for your recommendations.

1- 8th gen Intel or better. I'm also open for AMD if hibernation/suspend is solid. If there are some older models that fit my criteria, feel free to recommend. I'll definitely consider them since they will be probably cheaper.

2- Since battery is my main reason, I'm looking for at least 80% battery health or more, with less than 150 charging cycles. If it's more viable to get an older model and a replacement battery, I'm open to that.

3- I'll run Arch Linux and MATLAB. I'll be using it for programming and stuff - in addition I'd prefer a model that secure boot can be turned off.

4- Hibernation is not essential. But if it has good hibernation support, that's a huge plus. (Yes, I'm very well aware that hibernation eats up SSD writes, but it's not going to be my main laptop.) Also, if you insist that using suspend is better than hibernation, I'm open for your arguments.
--- Some AMD ThinkPads reportedly have Linux power management quirks, happy to hear which models are actually fine. I've also seen that T490 models use modern standby, which may be problematic on Linux. Is it true? I'm really confused at this point.

5- Easy to replace with US-QWERTY (I’m in Germany—QWERTZ is common). It is nice to have. So if there are better models fitting the above, I can give up on this.

6- Anything else I should check or ask when buying second-hand?

7- And finally, my budget is under €200 ideally, up to €250 if it ticks all boxes.

I've seen bunch of T470's, T480's, T490's, as well as L and P series, and even a few T14's and X1 Carbon 1st gens within the range of my budget. But I really don't know which model fits better for all my criteria. If you say that there is a model that fits everything but it's a bit higher than your budget, I would like to hear that too, I might like it enough to consider it. This is going to be my first ThinkPad so I don't know what should I be aware of. I'd appreciate your help.

[ZaZ]

In my opinion the AMD ThinkPads with the Zen2 core are the sweet spot for a used ThinkPad in terms of the cost benefit ratio, unless you need top performance. The E, L, T and P series all offer an iteration of it. The performance will be the same, but spending more money will get you better durability, but all are well built.

Since I'm running 11 on mine, I can't help with Linux. The 400 nit 1080p low power LCD, L series or better, is the best screen available if you care and can find one. I was able to get my L14 for less than €200 back in 2023. I presume the price has not increased, but during my time here I've heard prices are higher across the pond. If you could put you locale in your profile so it shows up on screen, it would be appreciated. Good luck my friend and welcome.

[onetr]

Thanks for the reply. I added my location to my profile.

I am thinking about getting a T480. It has both an internal and external battery, it's pretty upgradable and the keyboard is easy to swap. What do you think about it's daily performance? Also does anybody know how it performs on Linux? Does hibernation/suspend work without issues?

[ZaZ]

My L14 gets four to five hours of battery life and that's with the screen on a higher brightness setting. Integrating the battery into the chassis allows notebook makers to get them ever thinner and lighter, therefore more portable, so it does offer benefits. I would say only if you need long battery life does getting a removeable battery make sense. At some point you'll have to swap the internal battery anyways and if you're willing to swap the keyboard, the battery doesn't seem that far afield.

An AMD with the Zen2 core offers roughly twice the CPU performance of the T480. In day to day usage I don't see much of difference in practical terms between my HP and L14 as the SSD is more likely to make your system feel faster, but down the road, the AMD may be usable longer.

I don't know if T480 has any quirks, but my ProBook which has the same innards as the T480, hibernation in Mint works great

[Bionicman]

Linux has excellent support for most Thinkpad models, so you can boldly jump right into any popular distro.