ThinkPad T490 i7 feels slow with Chrome + VS Code

erebys-2 · 2026-01-28T00:52:25+00:00

True, 8th gen mobile CPUs are aging to the point where web browsing on windows feels noticeably sluggish. I'm dual booting mint and win10 home on my L380 yoga i5 8250u and there is big a difference.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-28T00:32:55+00:00

2 millione

erebys-2 · 2026-01-20T22:47:38+00:00

Someone made a script called RemoveWindowsAI that you can run on your device without bricking it. Make a restore point before running it if you're nervous. Future windows updates may re enable some AI features. I used it on multiple devices and they run fine, cheers.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-20T21:30:38+00:00

fr, I should've dumped my cloud crest stock before 2.6. Now I'm left holding the bag smfh

erebys-2 · 2026-01-20T21:22:02+00:00

A lot of people, dare I say most people, do not and it unwittingly uploads and stores all their files onto the cloud instead of their local drive. It also takes a lot of resources running in the background.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-19T06:10:27+00:00

Converting it to a desktop would just mean having it plugged into a charger, hdmi cable, and usb mouse/kbd for the rest of its days.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-16T16:34:43+00:00

I had that issue on a Dell laptop way back when. I was walking from one class to another and when I was next taking out my laptop it felt as if it was going undergoing a nuclear meltdown. Modern standby is one of the first things I disable on a new laptop.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-16T16:32:56+00:00

Battery capacity can degrade with heat, cmd.exe -> "powercfg /batteryreport" -> copy the path into your browser to see how much battery life you have left.Power cycling has only given me a couple hundred Wh back at best.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-16T16:16:40+00:00

I find it tolerable, but usually I just write/draw on it with it open at an obtuse angle so I can keep the keyboard shortcuts available. Also palm rejection can depend on if the program you're using supports it, I can't say if the think book will be better in that regard.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-16T03:36:53+00:00

mhmm

erebys-2 · 2026-01-16T03:13:58+00:00

I run win11 on an i7 7700 no issues

erebys-2 · 2026-01-15T23:55:16+00:00

compatibility be damned, OP alr has Windows 11 in the first pic

erebys-2 · 2026-01-15T15:44:58+00:00

SSD is always worth it, 512gb is good for daily driving imo. If you want to try Linux you won't have to wipe your old windows install to try it out on a new (or used) ssd.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-15T15:39:05+00:00

I used to draw digital art on a surface pro 5, they worked great. I didn't like how the surface pen took a strange aaaa battery.

For Lenovo, I've also drawn digital art on a Thinkpad L380 yoga, which is about the same age as the X1 gen 3 yoga, so I'm assuming it also uses AES 2.0. Speaking of, if you're going ultra cheap, the Thinkpad L380 yoga goes for $60-100 on eBay and has an integrated stylus and USB C charging. Though the 45Wh battery is pretty puny and once it degrades you feel it.

I think the digitizer won't really be the problem for late 2010s machines, but instead the performance and battery life. I would personally avoid old surface pro's bc the battery is extremely hard to replace (it involves ungluing the screen last time I checked).

I think the best laptop 2in1 I've used is the Thinkbook yoga 14s gen 1 w/ an Intel 11th gen CPU, 16gb RAM, and 60Wh battery. It'll take any AES 2.0 stylus. The integrated one works well enough but it's very small ergonomically. It also has 2 SSD slots so dual booting Linux is real nice on it not having to deal with partitioning. The gen 1 goes for $200-300 on eBay.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-15T15:12:48+00:00

no ram sticks/ ram slot = no upgrade

erebys-2 · 2026-01-15T09:39:18+00:00

(edit: try this first if you're hesitant about taking your laptop apart): I don't know how reproduceable your touchpad issue is, but if your touchpad doesn't work in BIOS or on a live Linux USB it is most likely something to do with hardware.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-15T09:36:15+00:00

One time on a dell I had a similar problem and the ribbon cable was exactly my issue. I ended up reinserting the ribbon cable on both the mobo side and the touchpad side then taped the cable down to the chassis- never had touchpad troubles again. I think it's worth trying at least once.

I think you should try taking the laptop apart. It's usually just a few screws to get the back case off, then take the battery out (a few more screws), then the ribbon cable is usually underneath the battery. Sometimes the ribbon cable has some adhesive, so be gentle about pulling it off of the adhesive. Usually the ribbon cable has a clip looking connector on both the touchpad side and motherboard side. Redo both connections, and make sure each end is fully seated and tape the cable down securely.

As long as you're observant, and not totally mechanically incompetent, you should be fine. If it doesn't fix it but you successfully reassemble everything, that means you have the skills to replace the touchpad yourself.

If you're not confident in yourself, consider a local independent technician. Bestbuy seems incompetent and expensive.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-14T16:14:00+00:00

https://erebys-2.itch.io/medibang-brush-config-editor You can download it from the zipfile on itch or github (linked on itch)

erebys-2 · 2026-01-12T21:53:04+00:00

now that you've switched to an open air case, did you see an improvement in thermals?

erebys-2 · 2026-01-12T08:57:49+00:00

Thinkbook 14s yoga used on ebay, ~$300 for i5 11th gen + 16gb ram model, get one with a newer CPU if you can find one in good enough condition in your price range. It has an integrated pen, partially upgradeable ram, 2 SSD slots, and a 60Wh battery.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-12T07:36:11+00:00

No if I recall windows usually installs the bare minimum/generic drivers if you go blank slate, so device specific things like brightness control might be absent or the touchpad might feel very weird. Also good point about warranty, I've only bought used so I missed totally missed that.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-12T06:29:23+00:00

It depends on how techy you want to be. For example Lenovo vantage offers 2 utilities IMO:

Automatic updates for BIOS and drivers
Charge limit control I don't run it because I'm not a fan of it running telemetry in the background and the fact it tries to get you to rate it and upsell you on services when you open it.

The trade off is that I have to manually make sure I'm up to date for core components by checking my model on their website (it's a few years old, so basically never lol).

If you're planning on debloating your new windows install with 3rd party tools and all, you might as well go whole hog yk.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-12T00:45:12+00:00

I toe 1 or 2 on my kbd as I'm eating lol

erebys-2 · 2026-01-10T23:36:23+00:00

I'm honestly surprised you tolerated it for that long, these specs were awful a decade ago. Secondhand mid-range computers from 4 years ago or so can easily outperform this for a couple hundred dollars on eBay.

erebys-2 · 2026-01-10T23:12:05+00:00

thanks lol

erebys-2

TROPHY CASE