(Part 2) Best products from r/thinkpad

Hello,

As ArthurRemington noted, the system as originally sold was configured to use the 16GB M.2 SATA SSD as a cache to offset the slow 1TB 5400RPM HDD using either Lenovo's [ExpressCache] (http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/downloads/ds104444)† software or Intel's Smart Response Technology software. If you did not install one of those after setting up the system then that the reason the computer is slow. It is loading everything off the hard disk drive and not taking advantage of the cache drive at all.

From looking at the ThinkPad Yoga 460 FRU-BOM, the ThinkPad Yoga 460 is only offered with a M.2 2242 SSD, which means SATA and not NVMe as LocalHostRulez noted. Since M.2 2242 SSDs use single- or dual-chip NAND flash memory solutions, they are going to be slower than SSDs which use physically larger boards, like M.2 2280, because those contain morec hips across which the reads and writes can be spread. For this reason, I'd recommend against going with a 128GB M.2 2242 SSD, which are probably going to operate in the lower-300-400 MB/s speed range and instead go with a 256GB part, which should get you into the 400-500 MB/s speed range. Here some compatible replacements:

Manufacturer|Model|Capacity|Amazon.Com Link

---|:---|:---|:---|
MyDigitalSSD|MDM242-SB2-0256|256GB|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXMQQ7Z/
Transcend|TS256GMTS400|256GB|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KLTPUG4/
ZTC|ZTC-SM201-256G|256GB|https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YDHKIMG/

Transcend also has a 512GB model, but you are paying a premium. ZTC had a 512GB model as well, but I didn't see a listing for it on Amazon. If you can find one at a decent price, though, you might want to consider that.

Any good quality 2.5" SATA SSD (Samsung, Intel, etc.) would be even faster, though. However, that would mean giving up the 2.5" 1TB HDD.

When you're ready to perform the upgrade, download the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 460 Hardware Maintenance Manual, which explains how to disassemble and reassemble the unit. I also found a YouTube video here of someone doing the same thing.

In the meantime, probably the best thing you can do to increase performance is to wipe both the SSD and HDD drives inside the ThinkPad Yoga 460 and reload the Windows 10 operating system using the Lenovo factory recovery media, which you should be able to download from the Lenovo Digital Download Recovery Service. Check to verify eligibility before you erase the drives, though. You will need a 16GB USB flash drive to create the recovery media.

With the recovery media, you will be able to get the system back to the way it was running when it first arrived. Ever since the SuperFish incident, Lenovo pretty much gave up on installing any third-party software on their systems (aka bloatware). You can read the announcement from their company here about that. By the way, it was never installed on any ThinkPads, just their consumer offerings. Lenovo still does load some non-Microsoft software, but it's for things which aren't natively-supported by the operating system (For example, if you bought a Lenovo computer with an Intel RealSense 3-D camera, it would have the Intel RealSense 3-D software on it, since Microsoft doesn't provide that software as part of Windows 10.), maybe a trial version of anti-malware software. You'll also see a couple of pre-loaded programs like Lenovo Settings (for managing the computer's hardware) and Lenovo Companion (for customer support), but those are Windows Apps from Lenovo, and can be easily removed. Oh, and maybe some Lenovo wallpaper. Traditionally, ThinkPads have not had much in the way of bloatware, anyways, since they are sold to enterprises for corporate use.

In the words of the Immortal Bard‡, you kind of played yourself by loading a vanilla version of the operating system instead of sticking with the factory pre-load, which was relatively bloat-free (maybe just uninstalling any third-party security program if you wanted to use Windows Defender).

Even if you do not plan on reinstalling the Lenovo pre-load of Windows 10 to the existing 16GB SSD + 1TB HDD, I would strongly suggest making the recovery media. That way when your replacement M.2 2242 SSD arrives, you can use that to perform a clean install of the factory pre-load, and get any Lenovo drivers or software needed for the machine to operate at full potential.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky


^†I ^believe ^Lenovo ^actually ^licenses ^it ^from ^Condusiv
^Technologies^.
^‡DJ ^Khaled.

Found this sub while looking for a new laptop to replace my surface pro 3. I'm a Psychiatry Fellow and spend most of my day typing notes while people speak, so a T series keyboard sounded like a good priority. I also do photography and graphic design on the side, utilizing several Adobe CC products, so 8th Gen processor, upgradeable drive/ram, and color accurate screen were essential. Almost went with X1C6, but ultimately, longevity and value (still just a fellow) were more important than portability and brightness. So in the end, the T480 seemed like the best fit (though I really miss having a touch screen).

Below is my custom config ordered during the Black Friday in July sale, followed by my mods:

Ordered specs:

• 14.0" WQHD (2560 x 1440) 300 nits, IPS anti-glare (non-touch)
  
• Intel Core i5-8350U Processor (vPro)
  
• 4 GB DDR4 2400MHz ram
  
• NVIDIA GeForce MX150 2GB GDDR5
  
• IR & 720p HD Camera with microphone (mandatory with WQHD screen)
  
• Backlit Keyboard - US English (accidentally ordered without, but realized it and adjusted thanks to you guys!)
  
• Fingerprint Reader
  
• 128 GB 2.5" SATA3 Solid State Drive
  
• Smart Card Reader (for literally zero reason, my only regret)
  
• 3 cell Li-Ion 24Wh external battery
  
• Intel Dual Band 8265 Wireless AC (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 4.1 with vPro
  
• Fibocom L850-GL 4G LTE-A cat 9 WWAN
  
  Upgrades on arrival:
  
• RAM: HyperX Kingston Technology Impact 32GB Kit (2x16GB) 2400MHz DDR4 SODIMM HX424S14IBK2/32
  
• SSD: addlink S70 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 SSD R/W 3500/3000MB/s
  
• Lenovo internal m.2 Drive Enclosure (ordered as add-on through Lenovo; necessary to install m.2 SSD)
  
• Copper NVMe heatsink with thermal pads (ultimately, unnecessary because enclosure came with an attached thermal pad, but doubled up anyway and yes it was a tight fit)
  
• Extra battery: 6 Cell 72Wh Battery 61++
  
• Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 5.0 card: Intel Wireless-AC 9260, 2230, 2x2 AC+BT, Gigabit, vPro
  
• [Wallpaper] (https://www.wallpaperup.com/118293/psychedelic_humor_monster_creature_cartoon_dark_fantasy.html)
  
  The screen is beautiful and I'm digging the anti-glare matte, though my SP3 glossy screen made colors pop more. I installed the calibrated color profile from the notebookcheck.com review of the T480s with what I assume was the same WQHD screen. Here are the instructions I used from notebookcheck.
  
  Replacing the internal components was a breeze, though unfortunately, I watched the Lenovo disassembly video that showed front clips being disengaged with spudger, so now I have a front gap. Also broke a battery compartment clip but whatever.
  
  I installed windows fresh using a recovery flash drive made before swapping in the NVMe drive. I'm fully updated through both vantage and windows update, which took a few hours.
  
  Ultimately, I'm ridiculously happy with this build. The keyboard is a DREAM except for the annoying fn button placement (who thought this was a good idea?). I threw in a Logitech MX Master 2S for desk work, but honestly, this trackpoint is a game changer when I'm working on my lap.
  
  Any other mod suggestions??? Questions??? Comments???

I don't have that charger, but the first thing that I noticed was that the prongs were fixed. I carry my T480 in a rugged slipcase, and that would not fit well in the outer pocket. While there's nothing wrong with that charger and the few reviews it has are positive, you can get a better charger for a little bit more money.

I use RavPower's 45W USB C charger (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H9WMW6N/) with a Volta XL cable (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MCBH5GW/). The charger has a nice matte finish, not a glossy finish like it looks in the pictures. The Volta XL cables aren't perfect, but they're the best magnetic USB C PD cable's I've found.

If the size isn't a problem, RavPower also has a 61W charger that has a USB A port in addition to the USB C PD port: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PLR7T1M/. They also make a 45W cube charger if the you don't like the design of the above 45W unit (blocks outlets next to it): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TC53ZYD/

Note that you'll need a USB C PD cable since none of these chargers have a cable included. Anker's Powerline II USB C PD cable supports up to 60W PD: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071WNXY1R.

Alright so I guess we are making a bit of confusion here. Both the SSD you just showed me are m.2 type.
The differences are that one is NVMe and the other one is SATA (One is very fast e.g. 1600mb/s, while the SATA one is max 500mb/s).

You can only put 1 of those inside the E490.

The other bay you have, is a SATA type slot.

It means it can support an HDD/SSD such as this model for example:

https://www.amazon.ca/Samsung-Internal-MZ-76E500B-AM-Version/dp/B0781Z7Y3S/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?keywords=ssd+500gb&qid=1559066437&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app

Obviously the speed will be limited (due to SATA port limitation), that’s why in my case I just put inside this slot a simple 2TB HDD. I decided to go with hard disk because if you want a 2tb SDD will be like super expensive:

https://www.amazon.ca/Seagate-Firecuda-2-5-Inch-Internal-ST2000LX001/dp/B01M1NHCZT/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=2tb+hdd+2.5&qid=1559066976&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Summarised:

You can only put one of the SSD you posted inside the m.2 slot, the other slot is only for SDD/HDD in the 2.5”
size.

M.2 SSD can also be: PCIe - NVMe (SUPER fast technology but expensive, speed between 1600/3000 mb/s)

2.5” SATA models SSD/HDD: can only be SATA type, and the max speed for HDD is 6mb/s while for the SSD can be something like max 500 mb/s.

In my case: I have a 512gb PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD (1600mb/s speed, expensive)!
And a 2TB 2.5” SATA HDD, (fairly inexpensive), slow but with a lot of memory to store stuff.

I hope I’m clear enough, feel free to ask more!

I have tracked down the service manual: https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/p40_yoga14_mt20fy_yoga460_hmm_en_sp40j47499_01.pdf
The information relevant to the existence of M.2 is pages 88-91 . The summary is that the laptop supports either an M.2 SSD OR an M.2 WWAN card (Although I have not seen a laptop with that configuration offered...) -- Since apparently the model shipping from Best Buy is using the 2.5" slot, it remains to be seen if the M.2 SSD slot is actually enabled.
I am closely investigating this laptop, and I will probably buy it. If I do, the first thing that I will have to do is upgrade the storage, and no point throwing out a perfectly good 256GB SSD when there is a perfectly better 512GB 42mm M.2 SSD for $190 (http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B016W1PP5K), so (if I remember...) I will post back and say what there is to say.

>Regarding the HDD, I usually put an msata SSD in and then a large storage drive in the regular slot. The msata port is marginally slower than the regular hard drive slot (sata 2 vs sata 3), but in practice the difference between an SSD and HDD is so great that the msata SSD is more than fast enough.

Yeah, do you think you could actually explain this to me a little further? I'm a bit confused about all the different SSD/HDD bays and options for this device. Honestly, I've never even heard of mSATA or seen these little chips before.

So my laptop has a normal 320GB HDD. Am I correct in understanding that I can also put an additional SSD/HDD in the optical drive bay (with an adapter?) And an optional mSATA device is an additional option to all of those? I know one of the drives needs to be 7mm and not 9.5 mm. Is that the main drive the 7mm one? Or does the additional optical drive need to be 7mm? Or both?

Assuming I'm correct and I could put an SSD in the main bay and a storage HDD in the optical bay, what is the benefit of using an mSATA drive? Is that only because you want to keep your optical drive intact?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, but you seem to be a lot more knowledgeable than I am about this laptop.

>Concerning the touchpad, it's definitely possible to set up two-finger scrolling and right click, as I did it for my sister (X220 running Win10Pro). I believe that when you go into mouse and touchpad settings there's an option to enable two-finger scrolling and right click, but I'm not certain of the exact location (I don't use Windows myself).

I should have mentioned in OP that two-finger scrolling definitely works. I can't find anything in the touchpad settings about two-finger tap to right-click at all, I'm pretty I've looked under every setting in there. Although, two-finger right-click isn't a big deal to me, since I already have 2 separate right-click buttons above and below the touchpad. I'm much more concerned about two/three-finger middle-click. As of now the only way I can see to middle-click is with CTRL+left-click, which is pretty annoying and unintuitive.

Hi, I was able to get this config on the lenovo site right now (10/8/19) for $2,306.20 using the 'THINKPADSALE' coupon.

Processor : Intel® Core™ i7-9850H with vPro™ (2.60GHz, up to 4.60GHz with Turbo Boost, 6 Cores, 12MB Cache)

Operating System : Windows 10 Pro 64

Memory : 16GB (8GB + 8GB) DDR4 2666MHz

Hard Drive : 512GB Solid State Drive, M.2 PCIe-NVMe, Opal

Display : 15.6" UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) OLED, 350 nits, multi-touch, AR/AS with Dolby Vision™ HDR 500

Graphic Card : NVIDIA Quadro RTX5000 16GB

Factory Color Calibration : X-Rite Pantone Factory Color Calibration

Pen : Lenovo Pen Pro

Wireless : Intel AX200 Wi-Fi 6 802.11AX (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 5.0

Warranty : 1 Year Depot or Carry-in with 1Y Accidental Damage Protection Add On


This the configuration that I purchased (still waiting on shipping - Oct 15). My out the door price was $2,357 (with military discount & eCoupon). My usage also includes ML agents with Tensorflow, Visual Studio 2017/2019, Unity, Blender 2.8, virtual machines (need a MAC OSX VM for uploading to Apple's app store), Docker, and various other software.

I understand the need for a decent CPU. I decided to get the 6 core 9850h because of the RTX5000. I chose not to go for the Xeon because ECC memory isn't necessary for the projects I work on in my off time. The price different between the Xeon and the 9850h is quite large, and the performance gap is quite small (outside of ECC).


The OLED screen is supposed to have 100% DCI-P3 coverage, 100% SRGB coverage, and 100% AdobeRGB coverage (though some reviews have shown the numbers to be slightly lower, but with delta E for less than 2 all around).


I personally believe it is a better value proposition to get the 16GB (8GB + 8GB) configuration with the 512GB storage, then upgrade from another vendor such as Amazon or Newegg. 32GB kits (16GB + 16GB) are currently going for around $130 Amazon Link. A 1TB Samsung NVMe SSD goes for around $170 Amazon link


It should be noted that the RTX5000 that comes in the P53 is reported to be the full non max-q version. NotebookCheck Link


Lastly if you are fine with repasting the CPU & GPU it might lead to better thermal results. I haven't seen anything on the P53 yet, but I did find this for the previous model the P52 Youtube Link. While temps didn't really improve a lot, the CPU was running at a higher clock speed.

Edited to improve readability and add links.

> Is the RAM it ships with replaceable?

Yes. I'm rocking these chips from Amazon.

> Is it a true thunderbolt 3?

Not sure what you mean there.

> Also does the laptop charge using the thunderbolt 3 port?

Yes - just tested this with my macbook pro (late 2016) charger and it worked fine.

> Does the 72 wh cylindrical battery push the back of the laptop up?

Yes.

> Is it possible to get both the 72wh and 48wh batteries and switch in between them?

Yes

)

My original order got changed to shipping date 09/30 and expected arrival 10/04. I saw they released a pre-built model with better processor but the memory is 16GB instead of 8GB comparing to what I ordered for $1,700. I ended up place an order (this morning) of the pre-built with the intention to cancel the other one. Long story short, the order I placed is going to ship out on Monday and arrive on Wednesday. $110 more expensive with better processor, and I am going to sell the 16GB RAM (probably going to get for like $100 for it) and replace with OWC memory card (32GB * 2 = 64GB). That will breakeven at the end thankfully.

ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 2 Price: $1,747.53 Part No: 20QV000GUS Configuration Details

●  Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-9850H with vPro (2.60GHz, up to 4.60GHz with Turbo Boost, 6 Cores, 12MB Cache) ●  Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64 ●  Display Type: 15.6” UHD (3840 x 2160) 500 nits, IPS, anti-glare, Dolby Vision HDR 400 ●  Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz ●  Hard Drive: 512GB Solid State Drive M.2 PCIe-NVME ●  Warranty: 1 Year Depot or Carry-in ●  Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 Max-Q 4GB ●  Camera: IR & 720p HD Camera with microphone ●  Fingerprint Reader: Fingerprint Reader ●  Keyboard: Backlit Keyboard - US English ●  Wireless: Intel® AX200 Wi-Fi 6 802.11AX (2 x 2) & Bluetooth® 5.0

Awesome choice!

... but now you should resubmit your order. :) You mention that the cost was prohibitive, but you could save a lot of money by upgrading the RAM and SSD yourself.

When it comes to SSDs, you could get the (faster than whatever Lenovo's shipping) [Samsung 970 Pro] (https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-PRO-512GB-MZ-V7P512BW/dp/B07C8Y31G2) for way less than the $200+ US price increase for the 512GB SSD option on Lenovo's site. Or you could get the [970 Evo Plus] (https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-EVO-Plus-MZ-V7S1T0B/dp/B07M7Q21N7) for a lot less, the [WD Black SN750] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MH2P5ZD) for even less, etc.

You could also get more for your money. For instance, for less than the price of upgrading from 8GB to 16GB of RAM on the Lenovo site, you could buy an extra 16GB, install it yourself and wind up with 24GB.

(Prices checked are in USD, but the same generally holds on other global sites.)

Woa! What happened with hard drives! haha. I've never even heard these terms before: WWAN, m.2 2242 sata card (???), NVME. Sheesh. Things have changed while I've been hiding under the covers from migraines.

Unless Win 10 is crazy hard drive hungry, a 256GB drive is just fine. All the files would go on the larger drive, which I'd want to be at least 2TB.

So I'd buy something like this little chip and pop open the laptop to find the WWAN slot, put in the chip and just install the OS on it? Is there any easy way to migrate the OS they give me onto this chip? Or extract the license or something to apply it to a fresh install?

Would I have to worry about the primary harddrive slot having partition size limits? Should 2TB be OK?

Does this link show the X270 I configured? Saved cart I think that has the 2.5" sata hard drives.

Thanks for your help! That was a lot to unpack from your comment, but extreeeemely helpful!

I have a similar adapter, but it requires Thunderbolt 3. Although yours appears not to require Thunderbolt 3, have you tried plugging it into your Thunderbolt 3 port (not the standard USB-C port).

Your adapter appears to operate off of DisplayPort splitting tech. That may not work very well with Linux.

This is the adapter I have which uses Thunderbolt 3. It works perfectly on Ubuntu 16.04 and 17.10 (all I've tested):

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Thunderbolt-DisplayPort-Supports-Monitors/dp/B075B1GQFP/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1523893818&sr=1-4&keywords=thunderbolt+to+dual+displayport+plugable

EDIT: Was just reading through and realized your link says Thunderbolt 3 as well. In this case, make sure you're plugging it into the Thunderbolt port, not the USB-C only port.

How do you calculate the price difference of $474?

$280 (RAM) + $350 (SSD) = $630

$630-$300 (new RAM/SSD) = $330


Anyway, it does seem that RAM and SSD are more expensive in Japan. Are there any recommendations for these parts that I could get from https://www.amazon.co.jp?

In another thread I saw these recommended:

SSD

Amazon USA

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-EVO-2-5-Inch-MZ-75E500B/dp/B00OBRE5UE

$160

Searching for the same model (MZ-75E500B/AM) on Amazon Japan only shows much more expensive results though ($540??).

https://www.amazon.co.jp/Samsung-500GB-2-5-Inch-SATA-Internal/dp/B00OBRE5UE/

https://www.amazon.co.jp/Samsung-500GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E500B/dp/B016PU8R4O/

https://www.amazon.co.jp/Samsung-850-EVO-2-5-Inch-MZ-75E500B/

https://www.amazon.co.jp/Samsung-500GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E500B/dp/B019THF414/

RAM

Amazon USA:

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-16GBx2-PC4-17000-SODIMM-260-Pin/dp/B015YPB8ME

$130

Amazon Japan:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/Crucial-ノート用メモリー-PC4-17000-Unbuffered-CT2K16G4SFD8213/dp/B015YPB8ME/

$150



If I select the RAM and SSD from the Lenovo shop, I get the following:

$1,574.55

ThinkPad T460p

Part number: 20FWCTO1WW

• Intel Core i7-6820HQ processor (8MB Cache, Up to 3.6 Ghz)
  
  
• Windows 10 Pro 64
  
  
• Windows 10 Pro 64 English
  
  
• 14.0 WQHD(2560 x 1440) IPS Non-Touch
  
• NVIDIA GeForce 940MX 2GB
  
• 32GB(16+16) DDR4 2133MHz SoDIMM
  
• 720p HD Camera
  
• Keyboard Backlit - English
  
• UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
  
• Software TPM Enabled
  
• 512 GB Solid State Drive, SATA3
  
• Smart Card Reader
  
• ThinkPad Battery 6 cell Li-Ion (72Wh) Cyl HC Rear
  
• 135W 2pin US
  
• Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC(2x2) 8260, Bluetooth Version 4.1 vPro
  
• Integrated Mobile Broadband upgradable
  
• T460p WQHD IPS AG WW PAINT
  
• Publication - English
  
• 1 Year Depot or Carry-in
  
• 3YR Depot
  

Just to make sure, what you installed is a NVMe M.2 like this one: https://www.amazon.ca/Samsung-970-EVO-Plus-MZ-V7S500B/dp/B07M7Q21N7/ref=sr_1_7?__mk_fr_CA=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=m.2+ssd+500gb&qid=1559065867&s=gateway&sr=8-7

​

or a SATA ssd like https://www.amazon.ca/Blue-NAND-500GB-SSD-WDS500G2B0B/dp/B073SBX6TY/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_fr_CA=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=m.2+ssd+500gb&qid=1559066187&s=gateway&sr=8-1

​

Thank you!

The CPU is good (don't go for the vPro option), and so is the amount of RAM. Don't be surprised when you find out that you're using up a lot more RAM than before though, since Windows gives a percentage of your RAM to Superfetch to speed up application launches. If you're fine with replacing RAM on your own, however, I would go with this set. As for the SSD, since it has 2 slots you can keep the one that comes preconfigured and get an aftermarket one (the 970 Evo Plus from Samsung is better overall).

On another note, since it doesn't look like you'll be gaming, it might be worthwhile to check out the P1 Gen 2, which is the workstation equivalent of the X1E Gen 2. They are pretty much the same, with the only major differences being the graphics card (Quadro instead of GeForce) and the (albeit crazy expensive) factory calibrated 4K panel.

Lovely setup. I was about to get the Lenovo dock, then read some reviews from people about a firmware update knocking out some ports. At the same moment, Caldigit released their newer no-driver-required Thunderbolt 3 / dual displayport dock. I've been using it for a week now and totally loving it. I own a Lenovo P1 Gen 2 with 64 GB ram. Dock as follows:

1. USA: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VL675DT
   
2. Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07VL675DT

Dual channel memory is obviously nice to have but the performance advantage is mostly only noticeable in synthetic benchmarks. So I wouldn't base my decision on that alone. It mostly depends on how many VM's you are running at once and how much memory you need to assign to each one of them. I'm a software developer too and I upgraded my X1E to 2 x 16GB. With that I can comfortably run 3 or 4 (mostly linux) VMs at once and the host (Windows 10 Pro) still has ~16GB to work with. More VMs than that and I'd recommend 64GB.

The touch pad isn't really all that bad, especially if you use the touch functions.

As for the battery, mine came with that battery but they are pretty easy to find. Amazon has it for sale but it's a little pricey. https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Genuine-Extended-Thinkpad-0C52862/dp/B00KOHS6UK

​

Literally any Thinkpad with Core I processor will be fine, including the X series.

> easy to swap out a HD for SSD?

Yes, if you are half way careful.

> how much are the 250 gb ssds?

Exactly $139.99

thank you! i only didnt link it because it looks like this

https://www.amazon.com/AU-B140HAN01-1-B140HAN01-2-B140HAN01-3-Compatible/dp/B00GIRSHEA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522016606&sr=8-2&keywords=B140HAN01.1

and since im not on mobile idk how to shorten it, i dont really care about the colors im not photo editing and stuff, just dont want a blurry screen yah know? thanks again!

I would like to get another stick of memory in there so I can dual boot Linux

Never upgraded a laptop before let alone build a computer so I am a complete noob as to how to go about this. Any guide would be appreciated. I am looking at this one from amazon currently

EDIT: This one seems to be a better deal

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KOHS6UK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1496607426&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=t450s+battery&dpPl=1&dpID=51-iHdfxAJL&ref=plSrch

This is what I would buy. Not as cheap as any of us would like, but not as expensive as Lenovo either. Also, I've bought batteries on Amazon before (for around the same price) and they were pretty legit.

You'll either need a bulky one that has an actual AC power socket output that you can plug your AC adapter into, like this one, or one that has the specific DC output and plug your laptop needs. It looks like the T420/30/40 line has a funky DC input port, so I doubt you'll find one specifically for it, but it might be possible to find a DC to DC adapter which would allow you to use something like this which outputs DC to a standard DC port. The AC power socket bank would be your safest bet.

• Why did you choose the Samsung 970 EVO 1Tb and not the Samsung 970 EVO PLUS 1TB SSD?
  
  
• Did you take the internal SSD completely out of the laptop then or use it as a second drive?
  
  
• Do you use Lightroom? And if Yes, how smooth does it ran?
  
  
• Is it this RAM you have ordered?
  
  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01NAL3TYY/ref=asc_df_B07BGLBZBK1566298800000/
  
  
• Or do you have a Link to the RAM you chose? :)

You only get 2 drive bays in a T480 (assuming that it is the same as the T470). You get one 2.5 inch SATA Express bay, that is PCIe Capable (might be 2X or 4X, I'm not sure). And you get one 2242 M.2 slot that is mutually exclusive with WWAN (no cell service if you put a drive here). The WWAN slot is also PCIe 2X capable, and there is one NVMe drive out there.

You can use something like this to convert that 2.5" drive to Two m.2 slots.

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Adapter-Converter-Support-25S22M2NGFFR/dp/B018AOZ9QM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1519865090&sr=1-1&keywords=2.5+inch+to+m.2+adaptor


The cheapest m.2 SSD is also 2 TB. So you could buy two of these for $1000, and then put something in the 2244 slot.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CXvbt6/western-digital-blue-2tb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-wds200t2b0b


I think this is the largest 2242 M.2 drive, at 512 GB.

https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-512GB-MTS400-Solid-TS512GMTS400/dp/B016W1PP5K

So with those 3 you could get to 4.5 TB of NAND flash, which is just a little short of your goal.


Otherwise, you are stuck at 2 TB HDDs. Those are all that are offered in the 7mm 2.5 inch variety. Offering you a max of 2.5 TB total.

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-2-5-Inch-Internal-ST2000LM015/dp/B01LX13P71?th=1

Your other option is to buy a P51 or P52, which has room for up to 4 drives. One 2.5" SATA III slot. One combo, 2.5" SATA III or 2 2280 M.2 dirves, and one 2242 M.2 drive.

Yes, ssds are much faster due to not needing to use a spinning disk instead using a flash drive. Additionally, they are also less prone to breaking due to this. Often, SSDs are often on average up to 5 - 20 times faster. It's worth watching youtube videos on this to see.

FYI: Here is a suggestion of an SSD https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-500GB-Internal-MZ-76E500B-AM/dp/B0781Z7Y3S/ref=sxin_3_ac_d_pm?ac_md=3-1-QmV0d2VlbiAkNTAgYW5kICQxMDA%3D-ac_d_pm&crid=N134YXRJODG9&keywords=500gb+ssd&pd_rd_i=B0781Z7Y3S&pd_rd_r=5d28fca2-6efa-4aca-be4d-bced799c4ac0&pd_rd_w=PAj84&pd_rd_wg=98h0k&pf_rd_p=02e79b16-eab7-4369-852f-d04a58a4d9b5&pf_rd_r=ZN4YEZV0R1FTF1Z1MQYT&psc=1&qid=1574896862&sprefix=500%2Caps%2C229

Thanks for your response! I don't know much about screen so I'm wondering what is the difference between your screen and this cheaper screen
https://www.amazon.com/AU-OPTRONICS-B140HAN01-2-SUBSTITUTE-REPLACEMENT/dp/B00GIRSHEA

From what I can tell they are both B140HAN01.2. Thanks!

Make sure the P73 can take double sided NVMe drives, the P1 for example is best used with single sided drives.

I bought this for my P1: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QNRP9HK/

I was having issues with my drive controller overheating/throttling, and this thing did the trick. It brought down my load temps by about 10-15c. I ended up following the same method that one of the reviewers on there used and opted for Kapton tape instead of using the rubber bands.

I have a T440p and upgraded it to a M.2 SSD. I have a MyDigitalSSD SuperBoot 2, this one 256GB, formats to 240GB, https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXMQQ7Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I put Linux Mint on it and it works great.

I also have two Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SSD's. One in the drive bay, the other in a caddy. They all work fine also.

Yes, it's the M.2 2242 (42mm) form factor.

I bought the Toshiba OCZ RC100 240gb NVMe SSD.

I read it on the forums and the crowd said it's compatible with T580 WWAN slot.

I bought it on amazon for under 60€

https://www.amazon.de/Toshiba-RC100-M22242-240G-Speicherkarte-240GB-PCIe-t%C3%BCrkis/dp/B07DD4FWRL/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=2YH1XGM4COZAG&keywords=toshiba+ocz+rc100&qid=1571763631&sprefix=Toshiba+OCZ+RC%2Caps%2C290&sr=8-1

The installation was literally plug & play.

Edit: Sata m2 drives will NOT work in wwan slot, only NVME

not as far as i know. your best off just replacing the battery.

if you want a powerbank that will charge your laptop there is this one but it is huge

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00YP823NA/?coliid=I2AM07L73NMJW2&colid=XE3QAEEQJCRZ&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Amazon has it right now for $70, which is one of the best prices I've seen.

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPad-Manufacturer-0C52862-Extended/dp/B00KOHS6UK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1539184214&sr=8-3&keywords=lenovo+68%2B

I bought this one when I got my W520 in 2011 and it's worked great ever since then:

https://www.newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=388

I think this is the same one on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-T420-T430-T510-Newmodeus/dp/B00A2AWBKU

There's also this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TC53ZYD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which seems tiny enough, and should supply 61W which is enough juice for the X1C.

Haven't tried it but I think Ravpower are usually pretty decent in terms of quality/price (and it costs half as much as the Innergie adapter).

Here's the link I used at Amazon https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B072BD98CM/ to buy it. I will be buying a second one for international travel as well as this 60W charger (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0712252ZQ/) for recharging the things (right now I only have 18W chargers. I'd like to be able to recharge one quickly while at the airport or whatever.

Thanks for the tip but this is what the listing for the 1.2 looks like on Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/AU-OPTRONICS-B140HAN01-2-SUBSTITUTE-REPLACEMENT/dp/B00GIRSHEA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491100133&sr=8-1&keywords=B140HAN01.2 ($150+S&H).

Yes it will work.

What won't work are those labelled NVMe, like this one

I got a Nekteck charger for my T480, and it works great.

You don't need the same brand of ram, just make sure that the sticks fit.

Try these sticks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015YPB8ME/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481239241&sr=8-1&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=crucial+ram+ddr4+32

Depends which you buy but I think most fit 7mm

https://www.amazon.com/Caddy-Lenovo-ThinkPad-genuine-Newmodeus/dp/B00A2AWBKU

The adapter and bracket assembly went up in price...

Found the cable.

Purchased the Samsung 970 EVO Plus Series - 1TB

​

Thanks all!

There are a few choices for 256gb, especially https://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/mydigitalssd-256gb-super-boot-2-sb2-42mm-2242-sata-iii-6g-m.2-ngff-ssd-solid-state-drive-mdm242-sb2-0256/

But for 512gb there's the Transcend MTS 400 and nothing else. It's quite expensive https://camelcamelcamel.com/Transcend-512GB-MTS400-Solid-TS512GMTS400/product/B016W1PP5K especially now that it's temporarily out of stock from Amazon so only third party buyers above 420 USD (!) are showing. Even so, 343 USD for a half tera SATA drive is not nice.

> Thanks for the response! Would this work?
> https://www.amazon.com/AU-OPTRONICS-B140HAN01-2-SUBSTITUTE-REPLACEMENT/dp/B00GIRSHEA

The one I purchased that was a pos was this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008MH9DFG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 its a clone of almost all the other cheap ones, when I purchased this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A2AWBKU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 it was just a world above in quality. the former came with a bezel that did not match the t420 and it was very flimsy, the newmodeus is almost entirely metal, and the case it comes with is nice to keep your optical drive in for when you need it.

Something like this if you want lightweight and 1-1.5 recharges:
http://www.amazon.com/Poweradd-23000mAh-Multi-Voltage-Portable-Notebooks/dp/B015OAJFOC/ref=sr_1_42?ie=UTF8&qid=1457760566&sr=8-42&keywords=External+battery+pack+laptop

Or this if you're looking to get closer to 24-30 hours (3-4 recharges) and can carry a little extra:

http://www.amazon.com/MAXOAK-50000mAh-Portable-External-Notebook-Most/dp/B00YP823NA/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1457760443&sr=8-18&keywords=External+battery+pack+laptop

An example of compatible memory: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CT8G4SFS824A-PC4-19200-Single-260-Pin/dp/B019FREJOQ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=pc4-19200%2Bsodimm%2B8gb&qid=1565742023&s=computers&sr=1-3&th=1 (just bought one of these myself)

The SSD will be an M.2 NVMe type. I'm assuming it's currently plugged into what otherwise would be your T480's WWAN slot, in which case it needs to be in the 2242 format, and PCIe based, not SATA, for example something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/OCZ-Toshiba-RC100-NVMe-M-2-240GB/dp/B07DD4FWRL (it even has a review from another T480 owner!)

AFAIK there aren't that many SSD models out there at the moment that are 2242 sized

Depending on your budget there are mobile battery banks that can provide AC outlets and ports for laptops or smart phones/tablets. Quick search I found these:


https://www.amazon.com/ChargeTech-Portable-27000mAh-Approved-External/dp/B0116BX968?th=1

https://www.amazon.com/MAXOAK-50000mAh-Portable-External-Notebook-Most/dp/B00YP823NA

https://www.amazon.com/ChargeTech-Portable-Supply-Battery-Outlets/dp/B06XJ31XZR

Was that what you were asking about?

Oh :(.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GIRSHEA/

What about this seller? Amazon offers Prime which would be nice :D.

Yes, m.2 2242 42mm is what you need.

https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-256GB-MTS400-Solid-TS256GMTS400/dp/B016W1PP5K/ref=sr_1_3_m?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1473744344&sr=1-3&keywords=m.2%2B2242

Plugs into the WWAN slot.

But it is so much faster and better with an SSD, seriously-night and day difference in speed. Besides, what do you need the much storage for? You should install a smaller SSD main drive ($60 for a 240gb) and convert the DVD drive into a 2nd hard drive bay for the slower larger storage.
https://www.amazon.com/Caddy-Lenovo-ThinkPad-genuine-Newmodeus/dp/B00A2AWBKU

Something like this should work. That's the one I plan to get.

I believe this is the panel you're looking for. This is what I found for my T440p at least which I would assume would take the same screen. Obviously don't just take my word for it though! I don't quite have time to dig into it properly right now. FRU: B140HAN01.2

http://www.amazon.com/AU-OPTRONICS-B140HAN01-2-SUBSTITUTE-REPLACEMENT/dp/B00GIRSHEA/ref=cm_cd_ql_qh_dp_t

As for the battery on my T440p, I get 3-4 hours with the 6 cell battery and aggressive power saving if I'm just sitting in class looking at powerpoints and checking email/reading PDFs. Just FYI.

The laptop has to have the right M.2 port to support it, then you need to find the right NVMe drive.

This is the one I have that works with my X1C6 but it may not work with other laptops.

Toshiba Memory America THN-RC10Z2400G8(TS OCZ RC100 Series NVMe M.2 2242 Internal SSD 240GB https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DD4FWRL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ngS4CbFKTVS98

Here's a couple examples:

https://amazon.com/MAXOAK-50000mAh-Portable-External-Notebook-Most/dp/B00YP823NA

https://amazon.com/RAVPower-23000mAh-Portable-External-Smartphones/dp/B00HFMUBYG

I've charged similar devices with the lenovo 90W Slim power adapter since it can use multiple tips. I don't know of any that accept the regular lenovo jacks for input.

I can confirm the Amazon sold only by "Liquid Power" is the real deal

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KOHS6UK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

I bought a 72WH 68+ Notebook Battery 0C52862 from Amazon. The seller was price master jay.

Amazon 60 to 65$ OEM battery
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KOHS6UK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A 500GB 860 EVO is $87 right now. The reasonably equivalent Crucial MX500 is $85 for 500GB or $55 for 250GB, and it can fit in an M.2 slot if you have one.

The idea isn't "throw away all your hard drives and use SSDs exclusively" unless you are made of money. You just put your OS and your most used applications on a small SSD and store everything else on a hard drive.

$120. Looks like it's slightly lower now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015YPB8ME

Unfortunately, 72wh is plastered all over the description.

http://amzn.com/B00KOHS6UK

Thanks for the help...I requested a return.

I am using a Coosa 72W USB-C charger with my T480s. This model ("PDS75-4UTO1") is sold under different brandings for around €30-€40, e.g. this Nekteck charger on US Amazon. It can charge at 20V and 2A, i.e. 40W.

I also bought a RAVPower 26800mAh Powerbank which can charge the laptop at 15V/2A, i.e. 30W without any problems.

I have one i bought from Liquid U.S.A on amazon with a mid 2018 production date. While it has performed as expected i'm not completely sure it is a genuine lenovo battery.

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPad-Manufacturer-0C52862-Extended/dp/B00KOHS6UK/

​

You could also simply buy one directly from lenovo.

bet about what?
Here's the battery
https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPad-Ultrabay-Battery-0A36310/dp/B0085MPJ3S
And here's caddy for ssd
https://www.amazon.com/Caddy-Lenovo-ThinkPad-genuine-Newmodeus/dp/B00A2AWBKU

1. Barebones T440p: 180 shipped (I bought the 4GB variant, the one linked has a year of onsite warranty left).
   
   
2. AUO B140HAN01.3: 45 shipped
   
   
3. Crucial MX 300: 90 shipped
   
   
4. Genuine 9 cell battery (new): 75 shipped
   
   Total: ~385
   
   The battery I got along with it was barely used at 21 cycles, but I wanted the 9-cell for college, so there's that. I also added in a quad core i7, but I don't think that's necessary.

Right here

Was $50 when I bought it, however.

That's correct. This is the battery that I upgraded to.

I am running this one in my T470

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YDHKIMG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For $20 extra double the size: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YDHKIMG/ref=psdc_1292116011_t2_B075P1LD28

They make them as consumer products, take a look at this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YP823NA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.EcbBb5GBNCTW

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016W1PP5K/ - Transcend 512GB SSD

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015YPB8ME/ - Crucial 32GB RAM

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-16GBx2-PC4-17000-SODIMM-260-Pin/dp/B015YPB8ME/ref=sr_1_37?ie=UTF8&qid=1468374275&sr=8-37&keywords=16Gb+DDR4 This one seems to be compatible, by specification only.

Similar setup here.

This is my SSD: https://www.amazon.com/Transcend-512GB-MTS400-Solid-TS512GMTS400/dp/B016W1PP5K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473760542&sr=8-1&keywords=transcend+m2+512gb

Right on - in a T460p you can install a 42 mm M.2 SSD. I have this going these days:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016W1PP5K

Try this https://www.amazon.com/MyDigitalSSD-Super-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B01MXMQQ7Z

I use this brand in mine.

You can add a second internal drive (a 2242 sata Drive m.2), and even a third beneath the battery (with right connectors from Lenovo) (although third one must be single sided 2242)

my digital ssd card

https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Technology-HyperX-HX426S15IB2K2-32/dp/B01NAL3TYY/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=hyperx+32gb+ddr4+2666&qid=1570160098&sr=8-2

Bout to test these on the x1e2. CL 15.
Fastest ones I could find.

It's this one, correct?

2x16 memory: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F6N8L3S/ref=psdc_172500_t1_B07N124XDS

500gb drive: https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-Plus-MZ-V7S1T0B-AM/dp/B07M7Q21N7/ref=dp_ob_title_ce?th=1

I bought my panel from "East Coast LCD" seller on Amazon. Great panel at good price.

As for "compatible", yeah, you don't want that. You want exact part number, East Coast LCD can do that, as well as other sellers.

As for 3-5 dead pixels...this is what you'll get from Lenovo with a new screen/laptop (I think their allowance might actually be 2-3 or 3-4 pixels), but it's now an industry standard with brand new screens. The panel I bought from East Coast LCD also said allowance of 3-5 dead pixels, but I cannot find any using any of the standard solid color backgrounds. My two cents is that on 1920x1080 and higher res screens, it's going to be come harder and harder to actually see a single dead pixel here or there in a sea of millions.

Here's another listing of the same panel you linked for much cheaper...they actually do offer no dead pixel guarantee. Seller by default is Vtek Screen, I don't know them and would ask if they are shipping exact or compatible, East Coast LCDs is also a seller (for cheaper) and I assume they ship exact model for this one, but I would ask them to be sure. East Coast LCDs don't offer no dead pixels, but do allow returns with a 15% restocking fee. ECL also shipped very fast, packaged very well. Like I said, I didn't get any dead pixels from the panel (B156HAN01.2) I ordered from them.

No? Lenovo lists the 68+ as $139.99 USD on their webstore.
Here, have an amazon link for $71.10 (time of post) http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Thinkpad-Extended-Battery-0c52862/dp/B00KOHS6UK

> 512GB models have been announced and should be appearing soon

Not quite true, 512GB models are already available:

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z8BYOWG

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Information-512GB-MTS400-TS512GMTS400/dp/B016W1PP5K

The Toshiba [link to amazon](toshiba memory america thn-rc10z2400g8(ts ocz rc100 series nvme m.2 2242 internal ssd 240gb https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DD4FWRL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_yDKRBbVFVCSYC) just works. You open the bottom, unscrew the screw on the 2242 slot. Plug in the drive. Screw in one screw to hold it and your done.

I just upgraded my T440p from 1366x768 to 1920x1080. It seems like a lot of what ends up happening with panel sellers is you order one thing and you don't get the exact right one. I orded a B140HAN01.2 from Amazon and ended up with a B140HAN01.1. Ordered glossy (because it was less expensive and I didn't really care ) but ended up with matte. I'm very happy with the screen, no dead pixels, installation was of course a matter of a couple of minutes. The only hiccup is that there is a tiny amount of light leakage from the backlight off the middle of the left side of the bezel. It was only $50, here's the link I used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GIRSHEA