ThinkPad T480

It was a insanely great machine when it first came out. It's still serviceable. But it is very old for 2026. The prices people sell them for online are competing with much newer ThinkPads that have better processors (the one part you can't swap on the T480. So unless you find one for around 100$, it

Depends on your needs. I'd go for the one with the bigger battery and upgrade the SSD by myself. If you want to do AI stuff on the ThinkPad itself: don't. Just offload that to your desktop. Just SSH into it. For frontend development you don't need much. You need VScode, a browser and some CLI tools

As a student, you might as well come back to MacBook - brand-new Neo is 850 CAD with education discount, or you should be able to find older M chip Air models under 1000 CAD second hand. You get Microsoft Office IIRC, good battery life, good bright screen (some ThinkPads model configs still somewhat

Get a recent one. X1 Carbon Gen 13has fabulous speakers. In comparison older ones (2018 Carbon Gen 6) are way worse to even crappy (X200 from like 2008). The X13 Gen 2 (2021???) has okay-ish (compared to 2015 13.3 MBP and 2015 12 MB). Edit: well, since you have a Mac and you're thinking about a new

If this is your first ThinkPad, go newer. The T480 is great for tinkering, but the T14 Gen 2 is the better daily driver for most people, faster RAM too. What you do gain is a massive generational leap in performance over any 8-10th gen Intel chip and you’ll feel it in every single task. Just open so

T14 is newer and I'd go that direction if you can afford it. The T480 is on the inner edge of 9 years old and T490 is barely any better at the inner edge of 8 years old. (Although as mentioned they're arguably probably fine for office usage and light video work. my primary personal computer is a Lat

I think it's down to influencer video content. There's loads of people out there claiming the T480 is legendarily good and even explicitly that it's outright better than successors. Almost all of the T480's actual benefits as a computer exist solely in 2017 and in people's memories. The batteries wi

T480: My first ThinkPad. Started life in a tuning garage running ECU software before being converted into a fun Linux hobby machine. Eventually died due to a fried VRM. X1C6: Dedicated media machine for the bed. Undervolted, repasted, and fitted with a "new" original LG battery. It’s the cheapest wa

If your running windows plss at least get a t480 people pls stop glazing the dual core ancient think pads that die the moment its unplugged

If you're on a tight budget, I'd go with a ThinkPad - spare parts can be found easily and are cheap. I would try to pick non-S model (T480) 8th gen Intel - it can have bridge battery and is a sturdy beater laptop that should still perform decently for basic tasks and has official Win 11 support.