From e362200d1a61e3d858b69c2448928e799912db5e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Cara Salter Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2021 11:49:20 -0500 Subject: posts: Add legacy posts --- blog/best-laptop.md | 63 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 63 insertions(+) create mode 100644 blog/best-laptop.md (limited to 'blog/best-laptop.md') diff --git a/blog/best-laptop.md b/blog/best-laptop.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..99dd34f --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/best-laptop.md @@ -0,0 +1,63 @@ +--- +title: "Best Laptop - Lenovo T430" +date: 2021-10-11 +draft: false +--- + +Some of you may not know this, but my daily driver for the past six years has +been a refurbished Thinkpad T430 that I bought for $200 when I was in middle +school. It's lasted through two school changes, countless road trips, and it's +soldiered through with only minor damage. Today, I want to go over why I +absolutely love this laptop, and why it's sold me on Thinkpads. + +First things first, the design. Like most Thinkpads, the majority of the laptop +is flat black. The particular T430 that I have still has the older keyboard, so +it's extremely satisfying to type code or blog posts. The chassis feels very +sturdy, even though the screen likes to flop down if you shake it too much. + +With enough equipment, I can fit three full hard drives in this laptop without +expanding the chassis. First, there's the standard drive bay behind the left USB +ports and the mini-DisplayPort. This is held in by one screw[^1], and I've +upgraded this drive twice while I've owned this laptop. Then, there's a slot for +an mSATA SSD beneath the RAM inside the chassis. Finally, and this is the most +wild thing I've ever seen on a laptop, the whole CDROM drive can be removed and +replaced with a whole number of things - but most importantly, a full 2.5" SSD +bay can be inserted. + +This really cuts to the core of why I love this laptop so much. It's so easy to +pull it apart and fix or upgrade things. For example, even a laptop as durable +as this can get damaged after six years of heavy use. First, the screen started +to show lines down the left. I could work around this with clever tiling and +resizing windows. Then, the battery wouldn't last longer than half an hour. That +worked out fine, I just sat next to an outlet all the time. Finally, the battery +and charger completely stopped working, and I caved and bought an X1 Carbon. + +While that laptop was sleek and modern, it lacks the repairability of the T430. +When I arrived at WPI and started earning money of my own, the first thing I +bought was a new battery and charger for the T430 off of Amazon for ~$30. +Swapped out the battery and plugged it in, and everything worked perfectly. The +screen I held off on for a while, because I wanted to make sure it wasn't just a +loose connector, but eventually I had to cave and I just ordered a newer LCD +panel with a better resolution off of eBay. It arrives on Friday, and I'll +update this post then with the outcome of the screen upgrade. + +Try doing an LCD replacement on an X1, or any modern laptop. The laptop itself +will cost upwards of $1k each, and if anything breaks, you're straight out of +luck unless you still have a warranty. Every pain point that I've ever encountered +with this laptop is something that I can fix. When it arrived, it had a 128GB SSD. I +upgraded that without taking apart the whole chassis. Lenovo has published a +whole [guide][cruguide] on how to upgrade and replace components, and many of +them can still be found on eBay for good prices. + + +In short, the Thinkpad T430 is one of if not the best laptop ever made. Even +though it's seven (7!) years old, it can run any bit of software I throw at it +(including "modern" games like KSP, and video editing suites), and if anything +breaks there's enough documentation and materials for me to repair it myself. +You won't find anything else like that for this price point. A cursory Amazon +search shows that you can find refurbished T430s for around $300. For a laptop +that lasts, and you can repair yourself, that's the deal of a lifetime. + +[^1]: More on that later + +[cruguide]: https://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/t430_t430i_hmm_en_0b48304_04.pdf -- cgit v1.2.3