For new users installing Linux (specifically Linux Mint), or those who just want a recommendation for a solid laptop for Linux. Admittedly, I might be biased since this gentleman is installing Linux Mint on a Lenovo ThinkPad T480, the exact laptop I own. And it's pretty snappy.
he only thing is that the presenter needs to find a better way of showing the install then using a camera aimed at the screen. But it's mostly readable during the install demo, at least on a 24" monitor. I wish he went into more detail. But I mainly wanted to share with you details about the laptop in question. So if you're curious about the specs of this laptop, read on.
The processor is an Intel Core i5-8350U CPU @ 1.70GHz (4 cores, 8 threads), turbo boost to 3.6 GHz and 256 GB NVMe drive (upgraded by the previous owner to 512 GB), and by me to Windows 11 Pro and Zorin OS. It only has 16 GB of RAM on it, but I'm not doing anything that requires a lot of RAM. My main machine has 16 GB of RAM, and it handles anything I throw at it. But I don't do video editing or the like.
Like all Lenovo ThinkPads, it comes with a TrackPoint pointing stick as well as a touchpad with 3 buttons. It also has 2 batteries, an internal and external one, but not entirely sure that's standard. The presenter mentions it in the video so it likely is.
What surprised me was that it has a multi-touch screen. I often switch between using the touch screen and the trackpad or pointer stick. I don't know what condition most of these are in but mine came "like new". The primary battery is at 95% capacity and the secondary is at 100%! I haven't tested how long the batteries last, but I used it once for about 3 hours and I think the primary battery was in the 20% range. I really need to use it all day and see how far it gets.
While it has a fingerprint reader, it doesn't work in Linux. I think that SUSE Workstation has a fingerprint reader utility but haven't heard of anyone else. Anyone know? There are more details in the attached image for the specs and just how new these batteries are, cuz, I gotta' brag about something! Click on the images to see them full-size. Note that the specs list the ORIGINAL unit. I upgraded the drive and it has and meets the requirements for Windows 11 without any hacks. I'm going to be using Linux on it mostly, though. But I have to have Windows for doing online proctored exams. They have you use a special anti-cheat browser that's only available for Bill's OS (not you, Bill, Bill G.).
I haven't used this laptop a lot though I got it last year, but it works great with Linux otherwise. It runs a little hot but what laptop nowadays doesn't? They're definitely not ultrabooks; however, they're not too heavy.
I wasn't lucky enough to get it $150, but I bought it a couple of years ago. I paid between around $250 over ebay , probably because it was virtually new and had only reached End of Service 2 years ago. If you have any other questions about the laptop, please ask. I'll bring it to the next MUG if anyone wants to play with it.
ThinkPads have served me well in the past. There was one that was a dud, but mostly I've had good luck with them. We used to use them when I was the Data manager for a couple of local NDP campaigns.
How about you guys? Have you used ThinkPads? What has your experience been? Have you used this one specifically? Do you have other laptop model recommendations for Linux or do you find that most work well nowadays? Let us know your experiences.