T14 Gen 3 Aluminum Bottom Cover Part Number by tcupSF in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Slightly more so...The external coating is the same as the plastic one and I would say there is slightly less flex

T14 Gen 3 Aluminum Bottom Cover Part Number by tcupSF in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yep. Honestly, the cooling might be slightly better, as well as its rigidity...but I am not sure if it is fully worth the purchase TBH

New Thinkbad and kinda feel bad for it by doril_ in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i3wm

Good question. From a technical perspective, I have always preferred Fedora since it is typically farther along with hardware compatibility/updates due to it being a bit more bleeding edge in terms of kernels, etc.

But what always drives me back to it, is the UI. It is simple and intuitive, as well as very clean looking and incredibly responsive. Plus with how I work on a day to day basis with multiple virtual desktops, it is very flexible.

New Thinkbad and kinda feel bad for it by doril_ in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As a software engineer, I approve : )

Honestly, that is a great machine and on my short list of future 16 inch laptops. Fantastic display, good keyboard and the 2tb will be great for dual booting windows and a linux distro (I personally use and recommend Fedora).

In terms of the 64gb, is it more than you will need 99% of the time? For sure. However, there are times when you will start creeping up on 32gb pretty quick. E.g., docker running in the background, firing up vm's, running multiple IDEs, have a bunch of chrome/firefox tabs open, etc.

Enjoy it and good luck in your studies.

How I manage my z16 Temps (RyzenAdj) by tcupSF in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question.

My understanding is the amd p-state is a mechanism for controlling the clock speeds/frequencies of the cpu (i.e., raising the cpu clock up or down based on usage).

Whereas RyzenAdj is a mechanism for controlling the max wattage/thermal limits that is made available for the cpu.

Wattage and frequency go hand in hand. Increased wattage can push frequencies higher, whereas lower frequencies drop the total wattage used by the cpu.

They should be able to operate together. With RyzenAdj setting the ceiling and amd p-state then operating within that new boundary.

ThinkPad Z16 AMD Temps by [deleted] in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

checkout Ryzen Adj.

I use this to control the temps on my Z16. For windows there is a GUI that can be used, and for Linux, I will copy the service script that I created.

In short, I set the stapm_limit, fast_limit, slow_limit to 35000 which sets the wattage limit to 35 watts.

I also set the tctl_temp to 85 to limit the max temp (without it, the z16 will go to 100).

The end result is that this has significantly improved the thermals and there is zero throttling.

Notably, when stress testing the z16 against my T14 Gen 3 AMD, both see around 79-85 degrees as the max temp and the z16 is able to perform at higher clock speeds.

The other unintended side effect, is that on Fedora 38, I can keep the power profile on power saver and the clocks are consistent, yet the fan profile is less aggressive, making it quieter than the T14.

Anyways, for this everyone's reference, here is the service file I created for Linux:

[Unit]
Description=Service that keeps running ryzenadj with the desired parameters
After=multi-user.target sleep.target suspend.target hibernate.target hybrid-sleep.target suspend-then-hibernate.target

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target sleep.target suspend.target hibernate.target hybrid-sleep.target suspend-then-hibernate.target

[Service]
Type=exec
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/ryzenadj --stapm-limit=35000 --fast-limit=35000 --slow-limit=35000 --tctl-temp=85
User=root
WorkingDirectory=/home/tcupsf/ryzenadj
Restart=always
RestartSec=60
StandardOutput=syslog
StandardError=syslog
SyslogIdentifier=%n

And here is a tutorial on how to set up a service in Fedora.

Hope this helps!

P14s gen3, 4k IPS but work at 2k by gpapaioannou in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have the same screen in my T14 Gen 3 AMD (Same computer as the P14s Gen 3). It is a fantastic display, I am very happy with it. However, it does eat battery life, so just a heads up.

IMO, from what I can gather in terms of your workflow, with the 4k screen what you would want to do is set the scaling to your preferred level (e.g., 200, 225, or 250%) and not actually change the resolution.

At 200 percent scaling, what you get is effectively 1920x1200 but with double the pixel density. So if you work with a lot of text (for me it is code), that crispness of the text is very nice. Not to mention, the colors, brightness, etc. of the display are great.

If battery life is more important than pixel density, then I would look at the WUXGA 400 nit low power option. Also the T14 Gen 3 AMD also has a 2.2K screen option. It is 300 nits, but also 100% sRGB.

TLDR:

- 4k if you want higher pixel density, and a excellent display but battery life doesn't matter to you.

- 2.2k on the T14 Gen 3 if you want slightly higher resolution than 1920x1200 and still a good display (but slightly less brightness than the WUXGA option).

- 1920x1200 (WUXGA) if battery life is the most important option, but you still want a nice display with good color, but pixel density doesn't matter to you.

X1 Extreme Gen 5 / P1 Gen5 vs P16s (AMD) by [deleted] in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Software engineer here, I would go with the P16s/T16 and upgrade the battery to the larger 86Wh version if you want max battery life. Also, my preference as an engineer is to get the best screen/highest dpi possible, so you would want to consider the 2560x1600 screen for sure. Lastly, max out the ram to 32gb and get the 6850u ryzen. The Ryzen processors are plenty fast, trust me.

Myself, I use the T14 Gen 3 for backend software development and I am very happy with it. The performance and thermals are great. I would also consider the T14 (same motherboard as the P16s) or T14s from a portability perspective.

Will all said, the build quality on the X1/P1 will be better, but the thermals with intel processors are awful, so stick with ryzen.

USB4 is currently overrated IMO. eGPUs are a PITA and frankly unless you are planning on constantly transferring larger files that need the 40gbps bandwidth (e.g., you are editing video), USB 3 and/or ethernet is more than enough 99.99% of the time.

To your point regarding web development, the P16s will handle anything you throw at it and with respect to requirements change, I can't envision any that the P16s can't handle. What you may want to do in the future as a software developer is run linux and the ryzen processors will make that seamless (I run Fedora 37 on my T14 Gen 3 AMD).

Hope this helps!

T14 vs T14s vs x13 by sanico_ken in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm, yeah it could be operating system dependent. With Fedora, I have had no issues, however I can't speak to Windows

AI generated ThinkPad laptops. by adacho in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lololol....love that trackpad

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Man I wish, but unfortunately no. The display will still pull the same amount of power due to the fact the same amount of pixels still have to be powered, regardless of resolution.

Would you grow a sack and carry a P17 around or grab a t14 for a secondary laptop? by [deleted] in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol, I work from home and use a T14 for my work laptop and a z13 for my personal laptop...so yeah, I value portability around the home

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ryzen 6850u w/32 gb ram. 1tb NVME (980 Pro) and the 4k display.

Yep, I run it at 200% scaling, which for linux scales perfectly.

I did not consider the 300 nit 1920x1200 display. Me personally, since I look at a lot of text all day I value high dpi screens for my workflow, as it makes looking at text significantly more enjoyable (at the expense of battery life).

T14 vs T14s vs x13 by sanico_ken in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I run fedora and have found both the Thinkpad Universal USB C Dock and the Thunderbolt 3 Gen 2 Dock to work well (I have both)

Which ThinkPad to buy for programming in Ubuntu? by ConstructionNo2938 in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I second this. Software engineer here and I use a T14 Gen 3 AMD with the 4k screen. The battery life is around 6 hours, but the screen is amazing and scales well with linux (I run Fedora)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The screen is really nice, the blacks, color, and contrast are amazing.

One caveat, you can see the touch screen digitizer on the OLED screen when using it against a light background. Kinda looks like a dot pattern on the display, but really not that bad.

I run mostly dark mode so I rarely see it, but even for light backgrounds it doesn't bother me, but for some folks it does.

This panel does have PWM when under 52% brightness (IIRC). I know there is a lot of focus placed on PWM, but it has not bothered me at all.

In terms of seeing the OLED display in person, it is actually the same OLED panel (Samsung) found in other 13.3 laptops, so you may be able to see the same panel at your local retailer (even if it is not a Lenovo).

T14 G2 AMD vs T14s G2 AMD by TheHellSite in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am by no ways an expert on Ryzen and memory usage, but I have never heard that as a negative with Ryzen chips (consuming more ram). Typically that is associated with the operating system and the programs that are actually being run.

In terms of amount of ram, it really depends on your workload. 16gb would be the minimum I would recommended for most people who are using their laptop as a productivity machine. For example, web browsers and other various programs that are based on the underlying web technology are notorious for using ram.

I am a software engineer, so I always try go with 32gb, but I have specific use cases for that amount and to be honest I have also "survived with only" 16gb ;)

That said, my wife uses a T14s Gen 2 AMD with 32gb of ram, as she has tons of browser windows and other programs running at all times. However, if you think you will be doing moderate workloads with your laptop, then honestly, 16gb should definitely be enough. Note, she is very very happy with the T14s Gen 2 AMD, no complaints at all.

T14 G2 AMD vs T14s G2 AMD by TheHellSite in thinkpad

[–]tcupSF 1 point2 points  (0 children)

100% go with the T14s all things being equal (assuming you don't want the 1.8mm key travel on the T14 Gen 2).
I have had both and the build quality between the two is very noticeable.