So I bought a Lenovo Thinkpad

[nonstatic]

i use a thinkpad t61 for DJ'ing. it's been all over the world during the past 2 years. it's been to hell and back...an 18" PA monitor fell right on top of the screen during a set and the music didn't even stutter. no marks, no dead pixels, no hinge problems, no nothing. i've had loads of alcohol spilled on it. drain holes in the keyboard, so again no problem!
thinkpads are the most durable mainstream laptops you can buy.

[esaias]

Yes!

ThinkPads simply rule!

And the support is the no. 1 reason why corporate world loves ThinkPads.

Those drainholes are a lifesaver, I don't see any in my "pro" MacBook Pro.
(it was btween T61 and MBP for me, I went MBP 'cos I thought Logic was cool. I'm back to Win XP and Sonar after that trip btw :P)

And oh, isn't it sweet how you can dismantle the Thinkpads quite easily and actually service it yourself if you can locate what has been broken?

I could continue this to eternity :P

and oh, isn't the keyboardlight just adorable?

-Tomi

[csl]

Been playing live with a R40 for years -- never let me down (though it's getting short of cycles these days for what I'd like to do).

Shame a couple of bits failed so early, but three cheers for Lenovo's support.

[analog-cabin]

Yup. I'm still puffin' on my X31 with Ableton.... as a field recorder no less.

Love Thinkpads. And I'm a Mac guy.
Best thing since the Pismo G3.

[Dysanfel]

One of the reasons I like Apple so much is that their are 4 Apple stores in my area. If I have a problem I just take my MBP to the mall and talk to a real person!







Note: This is not a MAC/PC debate! This is about computer manufacturer availability! Don't turn it into anything else but that PLEASE!

[Gordon]

Believe it or not, HPs corporate support is really good as well. Which is needed as their laptop are junk and break way more than the IBM/Lenovos we use in the office.

My T400 has been okay for audio so far.

[Ladia - Audeum]

Hi Guys !
It's true that IBM and now Lenovo deliver a good product and they stand behind it. The fingerprint reader and the optical drive are both separate components made by third party company.
So it really isn't IBM's fault. I know some old IBMs that still running and they are ridiculously old.
I also reloaded many Thinkpads with XP and audio optimize the whole thing for performance for many customers who needed reliable portable solution.
Believe me you have better chance of reliability from a company that stands behind their name and product than buying re-branded barebone "audio" laptop based on chap chinese components with low factory quality check.
SONY, Toshiba, IBM... they know what they're doing. Always buy their top of the line products though. The budget systems usualy exhibit more problems later on.
Have a great day !

[skepticjohn]

Hi Stephen,

could you tell us what software you're running? I've been contemplating taking the plunge on one of these for cubase & and some VSTi's.

Do you use the firewire port, and if so, what interface are you using?

I appreciate that you took the time to talk about your good experience, as so often people only go to the effort of posting if things went badly (or if they want to brag about their dodeca-core, terabyte of ram, monster truck of a computer, which I could not either afford or probably lift).

I really need a new machine, but have held off mostly out of fear of committment, and because of all the horror stories around laptops these days.

Thanks again,
john

[Elsteve9]

John:
That's an excellent question, but I'm afraid my answer probably won't answer what you really want to know.


I haven't really stressed the firewire port, though I did use a little 2-input presonus unit a friend has once (without a hitch, but really, who cares?). I also regularly use battery, cubase sx 3, reason 2.5, and for awhile was running a demo of Ableton Live 7. Unfortunately, I'm sure I wasn't actually pushing any of the hardware.

Sorry, that's not a very good answer. I suppose I could load a simple project up in Cubase SX and then a bajillion instances of some certain reverb...I have access to RVerb, SIR Impulse Reverb, and Ambience, along with whatever's built in to Cubase. I'm thinking Reverb is best, right?

Further, I've kept this system a somewhat optimized school system. I have audio software on here, but since I also need it to be a school computer, I don't really expect to eek out every last ounce of performance. I might use it to perform live after shutting down lots of stuff, or to do location recording (which will then be exported to the studio PC), but that's not too demanding, really.

Aaaaand the Firewire thing...I honestly don't know the answer to that since I've not stressed it out. I read somewhere on a forum (very much in passing) that someone thought there might be an issue with the firewire implementation with this device. You might look it up at forums.lenovo.com That's a pretty great board.

On the other hand, in case it hasn't been clear to you, I think the hardware design is incredible for location stuff. The notebook is built around a roll cage, the keyboard is designed to drain fluid out instead of letting it damage stuff, the HD has a shock detector, etc. etc. etc. Further, the whole thing is designed to be user repairable, as sort of mentioned above . The hinges are monsters, and the external...case feels very sturdy, though I can't remember off the top of my head what it's made out of.

You want a thinkpad, though. That starts with the R series, and there are some significant advantages to upgrading (the next step) to the T series. You might see if you think the differences are worth it to you.


My .02, anyway.

-Stephen

[analogtodd]

I'm at a development company where we have maybe 25-30 Lenovo laptops. I'm on a T500 right now. In the past six months, we've had 2 MB failures, at least 3 keyboard failures, bad RAM.. etc etc etc Mostly just sitting in the office, not even traveling.

At my old job I had nothing but Dell's, we had at least 100 laptops out in some of the CRAZIEST places (seriously it was a heavy equipment dealersihp) In 5 years, I had exactly 1 bad hard drive and a couple of power supplies fail.

[NorseHorse]

I've got a Lenova/IBM Lenova Thinkpad T42. Going on fours years running now and in great shape. I've added some RAM, but that's it. I use it daily, transport it all over the place, and mix all my audio on it. It even broke my fall in a bicycle accident a year ago.

[intolerance]

I was a network engineer for IBM, and used a TON of their Thinkpads, and am typing this from a T43. I received them free, so I beat the living hell out of them. I've dropped them 6 feet to concrete while programing Cisco switches OFTEN. One time, the case popped open exposing the logic board, I banged it shut, and kept on programing without a hiccup. These things are built for work, and proper battle.

Highly recommended machines.

I will say however, I've noticed the build quality go down hill slightly since the leveno stuff started to dominate. I may be wrong, but still worth noting.

[Brian!]

I have a T42 and a T400. The T42 has been drunkenly kicked off my bed several times and also had beer and water spilled on it. Beyond the fans being kinda loud (it's four years old now), it runs well. I just got a T400 and I love it so far. This LED LCD is incredible compared to my T42's screen.

[HipBonanza]

hi all posted this in a couple of places because i think it will be usefull to some peeps it's an account of what i did to find the perfect audio production system for me.

Dell make awfull laptops for audio my D630 was by far the worst
laptop for this purpose, and all the other dells i have used have not been much better.
They are about the noiseist you will find when plugged into AC. and they always always have crap dpc latency no matter what you do to try and
rectify the problem avoid like cancer.

Macbooks don't really do it for me, i like being able to upgrade my machine
for a reasonable price, somthing sadly lacking in the mac camp, no doubt
they are great machines but the stupidly high price point is a joke and they dont last the consumer cycle long enough i.e time before you need a new mac.

I Now have a T61 when i got it needed a lot of prep work to get it to a suitable
state for audio production, however this was definatly the best route to go
for me! the first thing is to upgrade it.
Get a ssd intel X25 gen 2 and use that Only for audio do not intall any
of the thinkpad software on it unless vital for system operation
only use this drive for your audio. If you need to use your laptop for other
things install another drive in the optical bay.

Upgrade to 8gb of ram for high end audio and lots of reverbs, pro eqs,dynamics and track counts this is essential really

Take out the old cpu and buy a T9300 replace.

Spend time sourcing the right drivers - install the 64bit version of windows7. always do a clean install! reinstall every couple of months
don't intall anything you don't need for audio unless its vital for system
operation turn of wi fi web cams all that shit you really don't need for
live/production work.

Buy a T.I-PCMCIA Firewire card 2 port fw400 Only!. Do not use a dual 800/400 make sure its the right card! sigg are the best here

I have no doubt this setup will last me the next 5 years for what i need it
for i do not have any issues its as fast as i will ever need it to be and its already technically a 3 year old machine despite the fact i have ripped out
some of the older components.

if you need more power for video etc buy a decent desktop.

one more thing at present i3s i5s and i7s are not great for audio,on laptops (macs are fine)
besides you don't need that much cpu power any way, a t9300 will do ample. My projects can handle 60 tracks in ableton with out that much struggle, using my multiface and adat in i can record 16 tracks with out any lag whatsoever if i had more ins it would handle more no doubt.

If your not computer confident buy a mac (least amount of hassle and they do just work)
if you are, you won't find better then the methods outlined here
don't take my word for it though research and find out for your self...

my two cents worth...

[rmx16]

Originally Posted by NorseHorse

I've got a Lenova/IBM Lenova Thinkpad T42. Going on fours years running now and in great shape. I've added some RAM, but that's it. I use it daily, transport it all over the place, and mix all my audio on it. It even broke my fall in a bicycle accident a year ago.

+1 on T42 Reaper runs great on it And that's coming from a Mac guy

Peace

[troggg]

Originally Posted by HipBonanza

Upgrade to 8gb of ram for high end audio and lots of reverbs, pro eqs,dynamics and track counts this is essential really

Take out the old cpu and buy a T9300 replace.

Ummm, never heard of anyone putting 8GBs in one. If there is no theoretical limit, if there was just a 4GB limit because of XP's limitations, why does every online specificiation say 4GB limit? btw I hope you're right and I'm wrong, because I like the machines very much - I'm not trying to be offensive.

Also never heard of anyone just dropping a T9300 in one. Thought the 7000 series was as far as it went.

Enlighten me/us please!

Also, what track counts are you getting in what software using what interface? Thanks.

[cinealta]

I have a T61 which is awesome!

[troggg]

Upon further research I have discovered the T9300 can be dropped in and sometimes 8 GBs RAMs too. I see that you did list your interface and DAW.

Though I'm still confused about the Intel SSD for audio; does that mean you run one hard drive all together, or you have a regular 7200 for OS and use an Intel SSD for audio - something else I haven't heard of before?

But the $64,000 question: is anyone using a hotrodded Thinkpad T61 with Pro Tools 9???

[teksama]

I have been using a new T420 for about a month now. Amazing machine!

T420 specs:
i5 2520 CPU
2GBs RAM (will be upgrading to the system limit of 8 GB whenever I get around to ordering from newegg)
Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics (ATI discreet graphics killed my old T60)
14.1" screen
250GB 5400 rpm (the 5400 rpm is silent)
Firewire/USB/ESATA
Display port and VGA

The new Intel core processors are way more efficient and give you crazy battery life. I have the 9 cell battery and I get 12hours just browsing and 8 hours doing heavy lifting(music production, MS Office work, programming etc..) Also they do not boil the family jewels while in your lap, they run very cool.

TROGGG - RAM limits are a result of 2 things, 32 bit OS and the physical hardware limitations. A 32 bit OS can only address 4GB of RAM. This includes video card memory and other assorted memories as well. Also you install all your main programs/OS to the SSD and everything else to the standard HDD.

Lenovo has lessened the quality of thinkpads to a certain extent to make them more affordable. Still meets military spec in a variety of areas. I think the new line passed 7 milspec tests. Support is the best of any PC maker I have dealt with I have been doing IT/IS for 15 years.

[murian]

As a recent buyer of a Lenovo Thinkpad T400 it's good to find out that it's well appreciated here.

But. I chose this laptop planning to use it with a UAD-2 solo card. Until now I have only heard of people being very frustrated when trying to use a UAD card with thinkpads. More exactly it just won't work.

My question is. Has anyone successfully used these two devices? I don't want to buy the UAD card and then pull may hair out trying to use it.

So I would love to hear from thinkpad owners using the UAD-2 solo/laptop card.

[muziksculp]

Thanks for sharing your Lenovo experience.

I'm considering to buy the Lenovo W520. I currently have no laptop, and never owned a laptop, so this might be my first laptop, but I have not made my final decision yet. They get good marks in various laptop reviews, and are built very solid.

Lenovo - Laptops - ThinkPad - W Series - W520

Cheers,
Muziksculp

[trashman]

T60 here and it runs extremely well. Using uad2 and duende classic no problems

[Pohaku]

Thinkpads are great. We are on our third generation of them at my law firm. We've tried Dell and Compaq/HP, but the Thinkpads have held up the best. My original T40 (which has been retired to my home) still works just fine. Added more RAM and replaced the hard drive with a new larger and faster drive and it cruises right along. It got my daughter through high school and then was replaced with a new T410 for college. Currently have a T410 with the i7 processor at work and it runs just great. My daughter's hard drive (Hitachi) died after about 4 months and they shipped a replacement right out to me. Support continues to be great. I've taken two retired T60s home as well, added RAM and a 500G 7200 rpm hard drive to them, and my wife and younger daughter now happily use them.

Not all Thinkpads are created equal. Some, like the T line, are more robust than others. Certainly more robust than other non-Thinkpad Lenovo models, so shop carefully.

[rksguit]

Hey Although Im a newb, My Dell XPS 15 L502x 8Gb RAM [came with 4,just slipped another 4Gb $65 in my self,too ezy!]Windoze7x64 runs really great. I had an absolute nightmare with a new TASCAM US600[would not work at all with SONAR X1]I was only able to swap it for a cakewalk UA-25EX[dickhead salesman insisted the UA was USB 2.0 its only USB 1.1!Anyhow thesycon Latyency checker reads max 98us now with ACPI battery,Intel N 1030 Wireless temporarily disabled.I also have a HD TV as a second monitor with these results.This is using the miniport with a mini/HDMI adaptor,,if I use the dedicated HDMI to a second TV[3montors,GREAT for ladeling a sh@#load of reverbs/comps/eq`s across the extra sreen space]The DPC spikes to 1048!?,but using the mini display port only,its never more than 98! Id like to know why this is so?Some times I run the TV with SONAR using the Nvidea GT540 as play back at 24/96Khz when I need the UA for Amplitube[I just RCA the TV direct to my KRK G2 5s and the UA to a TASCAM2488neo to the KRKs like mixer.So even though I knew NOTHING about computers/digital recording, the gear Ive got has cost less than a BASE MODEL MacBookPro 15"![which in Australia only has a 5400 rpm HDD and $200 extra for Logic!!]

[George Necola]

Avoid Dell.
HP feels kinda cheap.
Samsung ok (depends on the modell)
Asus usually got bad production runs.
Fujitsu has been the most reliable and driver friendly company so far.
The new lenovo x220 looks great!.

Sent from my Desire HD using Gearslutz.com App

[sergioelectro]

the Thinkpad W520 looks hot

Any experience for music applications ?

[j8stringer]

T400, with f/w Ultra lite, & external Glyph (internal 7200 OS drive). Rock steady for years, no problems. Easy to fix. My desktop (quad) crashes using Tracktion 3 (I know, I know, but I like it), my T400 never has, just keeps crankin out the tracks. I do use a Mac also, by, man, I love my T400.

[HipBonanza]

T61's kinda on the way out now despite 5 years of loyal service it's hanging
in there but not much life left in it

prob go for T420/520 next ddr3, i5 etc...

Get a Samsung 830 or crucial M4 ssd, the best for the money and have far surpassed intels efforts

Side note: if your still looking at T61's if you want to fit a T9300 in there make sure you get the
right FRU as some motherboards won't except anything higher then a T7600

They will all take 8gb of ddr2 800mhz...

[HipBonanza]

Also you can buy a lenovo slim bay hd adapter to run 2 HD's, that
way you can run the ssd as system only in the primary
and whack a mechanical in the ultra bay adapter. Only buy
a genuine lenovo slim bay adapter there are usually problems with all third party
drive bay adapters!!! Trust me i found out the hard way

Originally Posted by HipBonanza

T61's kinda on the way out now despite 5 years of loyal service it's hanging
in there but not much life left in it

prob go for T420/520 next ddr3, i5 etc...

Get a Samsung 830 or crucial M4 ssd, the best for the money and have far surpassed intels efforts

Side note: if your still looking at T61's if you want to fit a T9300 in there make sure you get the
right FRU as some motherboards won't except anything higher then a T7600

They will all take 8gb of ddr2 800mhz...