(Part 2) Best products from r/Lenovo

I have the Asus MB168B and the MB169B+ and I've been eyeing the MB16AC but I've been waiting to see if the touch model ever releases. I would wholeheartedly recommend them, especially with something like this depending on the size of the bezels on your laptop. The included case/stand is absolutely fine on it's own but there are times when I need less desk footprint.

They're not huge but in my mind that's a bonus, I can usually fit it and the laptop I use in the same pocket of a backpack, and they can basically double your available screen real estate.

As to drawbacks, the two models I have are USB-A to a proprietary connector only which means they don't have the greatest refresh rate etc (although they are powered over that same USB connection which is nice), but the MB16AC fixes that with a USB-C to USB-C connection and I think there's a model with a battery as well to avoid drawing from laptop power, great if you're away from an outlet for a while.

I bought the 15" 1TB version from Lenovo back in May. I have had no issues with the machine. I've been drawing on it a lot. Haven't played much in terms of games, but it can do Planet Coaster. I normally use an Antec Notebook Cooler S https://www.amazon.com/Antec-Notebook-Cooler-To-Go/dp/B000I5L4DE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499708116&sr=8-2&keywords=antec+laptop+cooler when gaming. Blender sculpting does work well too btw.

If you intend to draw on the machine and use it as a tablet then the 720 is great -- I love mine! (Windows 10 Home Premium does have issues) If you don't need to draw then consider a more gamer-oriented laptop to save some money.

I absolutely love my VG neoprene sleeve. It fits the laptop perfectly.

Note: I purchased the sleeve sized for the X230 (as indicated in the link below), and it was a perfect fit. If you get the size indicated for the X1C, it'll be too big by nearly an inch.


Available on Amazon

I agree about 1366x768. There's still that $349 1366x768 Lenovo IdeaPad 310 going around, and I always recommend the identically-priced 1920x1080 Acer Aspire E instead.

I do sing the praises of Lenovo, because they actually do seem to be at least a little bit more display-progressive than others. The IdeaPad 510 and 700 use IPS not TN for their 1920x1080 (Lenovo and HP are the best at this), the 700 is only available with 1920x1080, and they use real 3840x2160 displays now where that spec is listed (meaing they stopped using pentile to claim that spec).

But I do think they need to work on the following improvements:

• All the T460/T560/P50/P50s 1920x1080 IPS displays should be 90%+ sRGB gamut. Seriously, I can't even recommend a T/W Series to a photo editor without telling them they need to get the QHD/3K/4K display if they don't need it. What's up with that? And prospective W510/W520/W530 FHD -> P50 FHD upgraders may not be aware of the significant downgrade in color they're about to experience.
  
• No 1366x768 on Thinkpad E/T/P series. Or if you must, then don't include them in any $400+ or heaven forbid $1000+ pre-builts.
  
• Offer a $300-$400 budget laptop with IPS 1920x1080 (or a good quality TN, but none of today's 15.6" TN 1080p panels seem to be near the level of the old ones). At the very minimum, this would net tons of recommendations on /r/SuggestALaptop, assuming they don't absolutely botch the build quality or something crazy.
  
• Really, no poor quality TN 1920x1080 panels anywhere. Make them 1920x1080 and make them IPS, or like I said decent TN if that's an option. Don't i3->i5, 4GB->8GB RAM, until you have a decent quality display factored into the budget. Users will be able to notice that more. If you think people won't buy it because they're more focused on things that matter less (CPU, RAM), tell them why it's better on you features page!
  
• For the love of god, stop BIOS-whitelisting your LCD panels. This mess is getting old.
  
• And ideally, set the ball rolling to get 16:10 or 3:2 screens in Thinkpads.

Great timing!

I actually just found a dock that works well for what I need (2 1080p Monitors, speakers, and 3 USB Peripherals). Only possible downside is that it doesn't use a USB-C connector, but it does everything I need it to so it shouldn't really matter anyways.

WavLink USB3.0 Docking Station

If you wanted to take advantage of the Thunderbolt 3 port you'll have to do a bit of testing. I actually went through 2 of them from Amazon and their support was iffy (USB Peripherals worked sometimes, but monitors wouldn't receive signal).

If you're looking for a one plug solution that charges the laptop and connects to your peripheral, it doesn't exist since the laptop needs 230W to charge whereas Thunderbolt 3 only supports up to 100W.

A screen protector is nice if you want to diffuse reflections. Since I'm so bad at applying screen protectors I didn't even bother trying with such a huge display. Photodon makes some nice ones with a little texture to make the pen friction more like pen-on-paper. If you have the 4K display but still diffused reflections you better get the MXH or things might get too blurry.

Since I don't have a screen protector I regularly clean the glass with a microfiber cloth.

No case but my travel bag is lined with fuzzy fabric that's supposed to protect the device.

Because the SSD drive is physically smaller than a regular HD you'll need to put it into the bracket which then gets installed in your computer's HD slot.

SSD drives are getting cheaper and cheaper.
This one is 480GB for $60 with many happy purchasers.

This one is 960GB for $125

The original one (a great deal) I posted has expired.

Order one now, the largest you can afford that is the best value and has plenty of positive reviews from Amazon customers.
Hopefully you have important files/data backup up somewhere, but if not plug in an external drive or flash drive and back up your essential files now if you can.

Follow _Noah271's instructions to install Windows 10.

I purchased the 17" Legion Armored Backpack and it has been working great for me. It has a bit of hard plastic on the front and the pocket for the laptop itself is very well protected with lots of padding on both sides.
It's pretty roomy, I keep the laptop, charger, controller, mouse & even a nintendo switch inside a skull and co case. I've also had my Plantronics Rig 800 headset in there without any issue.
https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Armored-Backpack-Laptops-GX40L16533/dp/B01MSIEQGG/

I bought this because I upgraded to an SSD and wanted some extra permanent storage. After searching a lot for the Y50 and turning up with nothing (in terms of what will sit flush), I measured myself and found this product. It's short enough to fit flush with the laptop and also able to get out with my fingernail.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CCJ63Z2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


If you are interested in the measurement, a 23mm card seems to fit the best.

I had one of these come with a Headset, worked perfectly for this purpose in my situation: http://gamerfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/g3304.jpg

If you don't want to deal with another USB device, you'll need this sort of adapter: https://www.amazon.ca/StarTech-com-MUYHSMFFADW-Position-Headset-Splitter/dp/B00CPEZ4J6/ref=pd_sim_23_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BVM77682PHMWK3YM4PCS

Honestly, I want to use pro audio equipment(including phantom power) so I'm currently considering buying a "real" audio interface like this: https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-U-PHORIA-UM2-BEHRINGER/dp/B00EK1OTZC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1485372037&sr=8-4&keywords=usb+audio+interface

I would absolutely just rock that keyboard. I have been a collector somewhat of rare and unique keyboards. I have one with a delete key where the backspace normally is, and to hit backspace you have to hold Fn+Delete. It's absolutely sinister.

I have another one where all of the keys are perfectly blank. Muahahahaha.

There is something awesome about retraining your brain on something we take so for granted. It takes a bit of masochism (not to mention unique keyboards can run 200$ a pop yikes!) https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Hacking-Keyboard-Professional2-Keytop/dp/B000F8OECM

But yeah, I would totally be thrilled if that arrived at my house haha

That's some amazing advise!

OK, so I need to find an M2 2280 SSD that I can get in the UK.
In terms of cloning the current 128GB, I could clone the current drive on to the D drive, plug in the new 1TB drive and clone back?

Not sure how the cloning part would work without an operating system?

Would this one work:

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/1tb-samsung-960-evo-v-nand-m2-pcie-gen-30-x4-nvme-11-3200mb-s-read-1900mb-s-write-380k-360k-iops

very expensive !! Vs something like:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0194MV300/ref=psdc_430505031_t5_B01G844PC0

Seems like a pretty big square. I feel like it would look ugly. Something ideal i found is this:
https://www.amazon.com/FRTMA-Magnetic-Silicone-Midnight-Included/dp/B01LY38TGQ
Its made for an apple pencil which is a bit thinner than the active pen 2, so I'm afraid to try in case it doesn't stretch enough.