ThinkFamily

[TPFanatic]

My daily driver / home workhorse is a T500 with the specs in my signature and no laptop can serve me better; still the collection of newer models ensnared me.

Full size album link: https://postimg.org/gallery/21omo8blo/



Clockwise from bottom right: T410s, T420, T520, T500, T410



Clockwise from bottom right: T410, T410s, T420, T520, T500



The 14 inchers. T410s is surely the best for slipping in a backpack but a depreciated Panasonic 6 cell is only enough for one class.



T520 and T500
15.6" and 15.4"
FHD and WUXGA

Touchpad sticker removed on T520.

Both my 15 inchers have aftermarket screens.

The T520 has an Innolux N156HGE-L11 from a Dell Something rated 300 nits and 600:1 contrast ratio.

The T500 has an LG Philips LP154WU1-TLC1 from a Dell Alienware Area 51 M15X rated 210 nits and 500:1 contrast ratio, but 60hz only... confounded gaming specs.






Complete stack.



Classic ThinkSpiral.


Of these laptops the T520 has the greatest screen for sure followed by T500 then T410, T410s, T420. Despite 1280x800 and the low contrast ratio the T410's AUO B141EW05 has better viewing angles and color accuracy than the T410s' Toshiba 1440x900, and they all have better vertical viewing angles than the T420's LG 1600x900.

The T420 is built from a liquid damaged motherboard+base built up with a dead T420's palmrest, lid, and screen, and a keyboard from a laptop that didn't need it. The liquid damaged board died the day after I tested it with my EGPU but it was working reliably before. A new motherboard later and it's running again.

The T520 came to me needing a new keyboard and a screen. The Samsung 1366x768 had pressure marks. I already had the Chi Mei and needed only the T520 so I could install it. Keyboard is a minimally used NMB that clattered in the T410s but fits snug in the T520.

The T410s now has a Chicony I had in my T410.

The T410 gets the spare parts keyboard with a dysfunctioning delete key. It's a spare laptop at this point, light, reliable, takes a 9 cell, but the value is too low to profitably sell. I'm stuck with it and it's stuck with me.

[MikalE]

Nice collection. I don't have any 14" Thinkpads. I want as much visible screen acreage as possible.

I'm still debating the purchase of a W701. I just don't know if it is cost effective as it relates to screen size vs. horsepower.

[dr_st]

Great collection and quite a large sample size from a narrow span of years. The last classic Thinkpads!

Quite an impressive record of modifications and fixups. It's a great feeling to keep these soon-to-be-oldies runnning.

Historically, 15" Thinkpad screens have always been better than 14" ones, but to me, unless they were IPS, they were not good enough to justify the extra bulk and weight. That's why I never owned any 15" Thinkpads after T60.

Some strange layout choices on the T500 I didn't like. Was it really impossible to keep the modem port next to the LAN port, and keep the two USB ports where they were on the back right side (instead of putting the modem there)? This way you could have better distribution of USB ports and not all of them would be vertical.

[Tasurinchi]

Nice pics!

I have a question to the screens, for the T520 you said that you have an Innolux one, which I though were generally not so good, have you had the chance to compare it against the AUO B156HW01 v4 panel? (Which is still regarded as the best available for this generation).

[TPFanatic]

Nice pics!

I have a question to the screens, for the T520 you said that you have an Innolux one, which I though were generally not so good, have you had the chance to compare it against the AUO B156HW01 v4 panel? (Which is still regarded as the best available for this generation).

I have unfortunately not seen the AUO (or a W520) in person. Specs-wise the Innolux is better than the AUO in nits and contrast. It's definitely a great screen, it's got more colors than my T500 at least.

Some strange layout choices on the T500 I didn't like. Was it really impossible to keep the modem port next to the LAN port, and keep the two USB ports where they were on the back right side (instead of putting the modem there)? This way you could have better distribution of USB ports and not all of them would be vertical.

I dreamed of a mod where the vertically arranged USB ports are removed and a horizontally stacked module is soldered in, and the divider is removed. It would allow plugging in thicker devices without lifting the laptop.

Maybe the layout changes were incorporated to prevent the use of T500 boards in Frankenpads! /conspiracy

[TPFanatic]

[UMPC2024]

I dreamed of a mod where the vertically arranged USB ports are removed and a horizontally stacked module is soldered in, and the divider is removed. It would allow plugging in thicker devices without lifting the laptop.

Like the ones on the left side of a T410?

[KeatonR]

That's quite the collection. I thought I had a lot, with a T23 (inoperable), T410, T520 and an X61s.

So, question about your screen upgrade to the T520: Was that hard to swap out? And you've been happy with the upgrade?

[TPFanatic]

That's quite the collection. I thought I had a lot, with a T23 (inoperable), T410, T520 and an X61s.

So, question about your screen upgrade to the T520: Was that hard to swap out? And you've been happy with the upgrade?

LCD replacement required a bit extensive disassembly, removal of the palmrest (beware of brittle corners, I cracked the plastic in 3 places). Then the LCD cable was glued to the old LCD and peeling it off was nerveracking.

The Innolux is a fantastic panel. It's VERY bright, colors and contrast are fantastic, viewing angles are good - pleasurable to look at. No PWM either! A great panel for sure. Screen real estate feels endless, it feels like there is more screen than my T500's 1920x1200 which is by all counts WRONG. The illusion is because the T520 screen is wider. I highly recommend the Innolux.