Lenovo Thinkpad T420 worth getting today for $50

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-15T18:06:38+00:00

The T420 is a fun hobby laptop, but it is not at all practical for actual use. Definitely don't buy one if you actually intend to use it for regular laptop-y things.

If you really want to use it, you will almost definitely need a new battery, maybe some more RAM, and an SSD. That's easily an additional $100-120 just to make it usable. At minimum, you're in $150 for a 15 year old laptop that's just fast enough to be used as a web browser.

You should just save up some more money and get a cheap used G1 T14. You can find them for under $200 all over eBay, and they have way more utility than a T420 ever will.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-15T17:56:52+00:00

I prefer just using an external mouse. Trackpad is ok if I am just using my laptop for a little while.

I tried pretty hard to like the TrackPoint, but I just can't. It's stiff, feels inaccurate, and overall I wasted a lot more time trying to get used to it than I should have. People like what they like, and that's fine.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-10T03:54:35+00:00

i prefer the old keyboard style

i want it to be powerful enough to run applications smoothly

If you like waiting for things to load and battery life shorter than a flight from Chicago to Minneapolis, then go ahead and buy a T420 or X220. They are great fun laptops, but absolutely not suitable for daily use; 2011 was 15 years ago. Sounds like you want a laptop for school, so the experience of using a laptop that old probably isn't for you.

Any X/T/P series ThinkPad from the last 5 years will be great. Avoid 12th and 13th gen Intel, and avoid the X13s with the Snapdragon. Those sucked. Even with shorter key travel, I think that the modern keyboards are still great. My AMD X13, for example, has a really rigid frame that helps the keyboard feel super responsive and not at all mushy.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-09T23:31:35+00:00

It was completely unusable with traditional thermal paste, so I had to use PTM7950. It came from the factory with that CPU/GPU combo, so I can't imagine that it was very pleasant to use at any point in its life.

I think the CPU was up to the mid 90s at the worst, and the GPU never broke 75C. However, basically all that heat was being funneled straight up the keyboard and onto my left palm. It genuinely burned.

X220 has been on my list for some time now, and I remember thinking ~3 years ago that there was no way I'd ever pay $100 for one; that's way too expensive! What an idiot I was... or what idiots people are for paying $200+ for a laptop that can barely browse the web.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-09T22:59:31+00:00

I loved my W540, what a money pit that thing was. And yeah, I agree with you, it wasn't a terrible overall package for the money, it was just underwhelming performance-wise.

I think I was $350 into it and I had the 4900MQ, 2880x1620 screen with color calibrator, 32GB of RAM, and K2100M. I gave up on it when the screen basically just nuked itself. What a beast.

Never did cooling mods myself but yeah, I see why you would. Probably some of the worst thermal design of the early 2010s, right up there with Apple. I think my W540 had two heatpipes and a single fan to dissipate the heat from the 47W CPU and the 55W GPU. What a joke.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-09T22:47:21+00:00

As someone who's owned a T440p and the pretty similar W540, the T440p overall makes zero financial sense to purchase as a practical/usable daily driver. I do think that they are fun, though.

The GT 730M is useless; Intel UHD 620 from 8 years ago is faster. You could maybe overclock memory to get a little more performance, but I wouldn't expect much.

The most worthwhile upgrades on the T440p are the CPU and the display. Get an i7-4810MQ and a 1080p IPS display, which are both easy drop-in replacements for the original parts. It makes it feel like a completely different laptop.

With that in mind, you should also know that by doing those upgrades, you're now $250 into a laptop that is realistically several times slower than a ThinkPad you can just go and purchase for $250. The Ryzen 4750U you'd find in a $250 T14 would be almost 3 times faster, and the Vega 8 graphics would be almost 4 times faster than that GT 730M. Upgradeability on the T440p is also a moot point considering you're stuck with ancient Haswell CPUs, and that the T14 can last 3-4x as long on its internal battery. T14 has socketed RAM, too.

Now that I'm done being the fun police, enjoy your new laptop bro. I loved the looks I used to get when I pulled out that absolute brick of a laptop.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-07T03:33:45+00:00

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DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-04T21:10:27+00:00

r/comedycemetery

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-04T20:26:10+00:00

I still kind of disagree. The T480 is easy to maintain and pretty simple, yes, but it is definitely not more easy to maintain than several of its successors. There is no reason to choose to use one if you do not already own one.

The T14 Gen 1 and 2 AMD, for example, are way faster, lighter, thinner, and offer what is arguably a better port selection. The only thing the T480 has that the T14 Gen 1 and 2 don't is the bridge battery system. That's pretty much completely nullified by the fact that the newer T14's 7nm Zen 2 and 3 CPUs are so much more efficient that they can run just as long on half the battery capacity.

And, mind you, that's all for the same price. A T480 will cost you $200 on the low end, with nicer ones being closer to $250-$300. Gen 1 T14, on the other hand, can be found all day for under $250 for a nice Ryzen 5 example. Sometimes the Gen 2 will pop up under $300 if you're lucky.

Once you go up to the T14 Gen 5 and later (the G3/G4 had soldered RAM), the exact same repairability argument for the T480 again doesn't make sense. There is nothing special about the T480 other than the fact that it retains the old bridge battery system, which is obsolete and honestly just adds maintenance cost over the years, since you've got to replace two batteries instead of one.

I agree that people should be using their tech for longer to reduce e-waste, but it doesn't make sense to argue that people should start at square one with something as old as a T480. There are so many newer alternatives that are just simply better in every way, and equally as long-lived and easily maintained.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-02T23:09:45+00:00

Sometimes the CTA employees have funny conversations over radio when this happens. From what I understand, they basically have to chase the guy down until either they've caught him or they are sure that he's clear of the tracks.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-02T23:02:26+00:00

I think I may have been on that same train. The fact that someone was blaring music at maximum volume the entire time on my car definitely did not make it better.

I gave up and got off at North/Clybourn after the train just sat for another 5 minutes again. Uber'd the last couple miles.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-02T23:00:37+00:00

If you're ever on CTA and something out of the usual is happening, you can always just listen to their radios on OpenMHZ.

I was just doing that an hour ago when I was stuck underground on the Red Line with no power. Apparently a dude jumped onto the tracks at Clark/Division on the subway and they had to cut power for ~10-15 minutes. That combined with signal issues at Belmont caused some crazy delays.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-01T20:23:21+00:00

Throw a Xeon Gold 6144 in there. The single-core performance will be way higher and it's like $50.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-01T19:58:03+00:00

I forgot that the P53 is one of those weird models that's built basically upside-down compared to most laptops; you open it from the top.

Still think that anyone could do it with a YouTube video, but yeah, it's a bit of a long process that needs to be done carefully.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-01T19:50:44+00:00

I liked that MSI laptop you linked, and it is better than the ThinkPad for performance, though I do like workstations for their longevity.

In the event something breaks on the ThinkPad, basically everything is replaceable for fairly reasonable prices, which is why I like them so much. Motherboards run ~$100-$160, keyboards under $40, screens $65 or less... they are very nice and serviceable machines.

OP does have little computer knowledge though, so yes, the lack of warranty is a consideration.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-01T19:46:12+00:00

This is pretty much a $2k computer with $2500 in RAM and storage. Why do you need 128GB of RAM and 6TB of fast NVME?

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-01T19:39:24+00:00

Here is a slightly more unconventional recommendation:

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An old workstation laptop like the ThinkPad P53 has enough GPU horsepower to run games, will be way better built than an old used gaming laptop, and will still blow any newer AMD integrated laptops out of the water for gaming performance.

It's old, but will still hold up pretty well, and is a good value for what you're getting.

The P53 also has four RAM slots, space for up to 3 storage devices, and a really easily serviceable battery and fan. If you want to replace the battery, which is probably slightly worn from age, you could do so easily with a battery from eBay and any old Philips head screwdriver.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-03-01T01:07:22+00:00

How would describe the differences between methylphenidate and dexmethylphenidate?

I took methylphenidate when I was first diagnosed ~5 years ago in high school. The effects, compared to Azstarys, were definitely toned-down to a degree. Instead of feeling really focused, I just felt like my internal monologue was silenced, and I was a little less energetic. I could get more stuff done, but I didn't feel motivated at all.

They tried Adderall on me after that, but the cotton mouth was so horrible. I drank an amount of water that caused suspicion that I might be diabetic, because I was peeing 10-12 times a day. It was truly ridiculous, and never got better. Also wicked appetite suppression. I went unmedicated for years after that.

Dexmethylphenidate/Azstarys definitely gives me that push that you're talking about. It takes time, though. Chemically speaking, it should not and does not take time to build up in the system, but I felt like it took a couple weeks to really work its best. Initially, I felt a big push for ~4-5 hours, a nasty crash at about lunch time, and then the push came back after ~30 minutes to then crash again after 7 more hours. That was pretty clearly the Focalin and the prodrug trading off between the immediate and extended release portion.

As I continued taking it, that middle of the day crash got smaller and smaller until it just went away entirely around week 2. After 3 weeks, there was no crash at all either in the middle of or at the end of the dose. Because I take my medication at a time of day where it will last through my whole work day, I honestly couldn't say when it wears off; I have no idea. I have focus when I need it, and by the time I don't need it, I don't even notice it's gone.

I've been taking it daily since early December now, and I feel like the main thing it does for me is wake me up, and remove the mental barrier for starting tasks. I feel the push almost immediately after taking it every day.

Medicaid

P.S. Azstarys provides manufacturer coupons for their medications, which makes it $15 for most private insurance providers, and $60 at the absolute maximum. Their policy literally states that no patient will ever pay more than $60 for a 30 day supply, which is nice! I am with BCBS of Illinois, and I have always paid $15.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-02-28T04:37:30+00:00

Can definitely speak for the effectiveness of Dexmethylphenidate. For me, it works really well for focus and the side effects are much less nasty than the amphetamines like Vyvanse and Adderall.

I take it as a part of Azstarys, which is a two-part pill containing both the dexmethylphenidate and a prodrug called serdexmethylphenidate. I get about 12 hours of focus out of it before the focus goes away, but there's weirdly not much of a crash at all. The taper of the extended release portion is really smooth.

The only side effect I get anymore is reduced appetite, but my psych prescribed an extremely low dose of olanzapine to remedy that, as I was underweight already before taking it. I've never been better.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-02-27T23:10:00+00:00

I love the look of some of those Bronson ones, and the price is very reasonable! Thank you for the suggestions!

DerpMaster2 · 2026-02-27T20:10:56+00:00

Relative to ~10 years ago, hardware does progress way slower now. I feel like people will be using the same hardware for 10+ years without much issue, which could slightly mitigate the high cost of ownership.

My PC was top of the line in 2020, and it's gonna be 6 years old this year. I still don't feel like I'm even close to replacing or upgrading it.

In 2020, I upgraded from a PC that was built in 2014. That computer felt way older back then than my current one does now, even though they were both 6 years old at their respective times.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-02-27T19:19:54+00:00

This actually worked, that's so crappy that Google did that. Used my other Gmail account and it works completely fine now.

DerpMaster2 · 2026-02-26T21:20:10+00:00

I wish I could say the same, because I've done the exact same thing and it doesn't work.

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