bargain ThinkPad t530i (fwd)

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 01:17:42PM -0400, D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:
> I sent this 12 hours ago and it hasn't shown up.
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: D. Hugh Redelmeier <hugh-pmF8o41NoarQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org>
> To: Toronto Linux Users Group <tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org>
> Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 01:22:40 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: bargain ThinkPad t530i
> 
> Canada Computers is selling these what I think is a great price
> <http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_577_664_665&item_id=070096>
> 
> Good points:
> 
> - $449.88 (went down from $500 a few days ago)
> 
> - serious ThinkPad line (heavy, solid, Linux supported on it, possible to 
>   service guts, trackpoint, nice keyboard)
> 
> - 1920 x 1080 display

So the good screen but a super low end cpu and no wifi.  How odd.

> - 3 year warranty
> 
> - room for mSATA (or WLAN) card inside.
> 
> Not quite so good:
> 
> - no WiFi, Bluetooth, or webcam

Very odd.

Adding an intel 6300 should be quite nice.

> - only i3-3110M processor (not Haswell); no extra video hardware
>   unlike real t530 models

The t530 could be ordered without nvidia graphics.

> - only a small slow HDD
> 
> - a little old (as indicated by bundled Win 7)

Better than coming with windows 8.  And it is win7pro 64bit.

> My fanciful guess: these were originally built for spooks, thus the lack 
> of leaky peripherals.

Looks like it was made to be cheap except for the high res screen.

Of course the redflagdeals forum seems to indicate the screen spec is
wrong and should be 1600x900 which is a lot less impressive.  Some do
seem to say they bought one from CC and it was 1920x1080.

Certainly some of the specs are wrong.  It says it has HDMI, which
is wrong.  The T530 has VGA and mini displayport (an adapter to HDMI
isn't very expensive though).  Consumer models have HDMI, business models
have displayport (which is much more powerful but less convinient for
a home user perhaps).

> I bought one of these (a few weeks ago, at the Grand Opening of the CC on 
> Yonge near Eglinton ($400).  I have ordered WiFi and Bluetooth bits from 
> China (~$50 total).  Note: the BIOS whitelists these cards so you've got 
> to get ones designed for the ThinkPad.
> 
> More discussion here:
> <http://forums.redflagdeals.com/lenovo-thinkpad-t530-2394-bk4-1503911/>

Like it so far?

I like my W530 but that's a different level of machine.

-- 
Len Sorensen
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