bargain ThinkPad t530i (fwd)

[Nick Krause]

Hey all  Optimus is supported very well under Linux of late.
Nick 

> Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 01:19:57 -0400
> From: hugh-pmF8o41NoarQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org
> To: tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org
> Subject: Re: [TLUG]: bargain ThinkPad t530i (fwd)
> 
> resending again after 4 more days.
> 
> ---------- 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: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 03:08:02 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Re: [TLUG]: bargain ThinkPad t530i (fwd)
> 
> resending again because neither of previous ones showed up after another 
> 16 hours.
> 
> ---------- 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: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 11:01:56 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Re: [TLUG]: bargain ThinkPad t530i (fwd)
> 
> Resending because this didn't show up after 12 hours.
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: D. Hugh Redelmeier <hugh-pmF8o41NoarQT0dZR+AlfA at public.gmane.org>
> To: tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org
> Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 22:16:41 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Re: [TLUG]: bargain ThinkPad t530i (fwd)
> 
> | From: Lennart Sorensen <lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org>
> 
> | On Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 01:17:42PM -0400, D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:
> 
> | The t530 could be ordered without nvidia graphics.
> 
> Oh.
> 
> The official box says T530i.  On the other hand, online lists don't
> seem to include my model.  And Lenovo support could not find an
> official set of specs for it (that's abnormal).
> 
> |> - a little old (as indicated by bundled Win 7)
> | 
> | Better than coming with windows 8.  And it is win7pro 64bit.
> 
> I don't think that I care.  We'll see.
> 
> (In a different context, I am jealous of the fact that Win8.1 handles
> touchscreens much better than desktop Linux distros.  Another boat
> missed.)
> 
> |> 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.
> 
> And the 3 year warranty.
> 
> I think that the correct word in this case is "inexpensive".
> 
> | Of course the redflagdeals forum seems to indicate the screen spec is
> | wrong and should be 1600x900 which is a lot less impressive.
> 
> Those posters are wrong.  But you cannot look up type 2394 bk4 to find
> out for sure.
> 
> |  Some do
> | seem to say they bought one from CC and it was 1920x1080.
> 
> I posted that.  I don't remember if others did too.
> 
> | 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).
> 
> You are right.
> 
> I was surprised by the mini-DisplayPort since the T520 and W520 came
> with full-sized DisplayPort.  Mind you, there are a lot more mini
> cables available because that's what Apple uses.  (Mini-DP things
> usually come in white and non-mini usually come in black.)
> 
> | Like it so far?
> 
> Yes.  I haven't used it a lot yet.
> 
> I had thought that the keyboard was supposed to have been downgraded
> in the transition between *20 and the *30, but it seems good (one
> change: no keys are blue).  I guess the keyboard changed in the *40.
> 
> The 1920x1080 resolution seems quite nice at 15.6".  More is nicer but
> beyond that point it is not so much for packing more text on the
> screen but for making the same text look better.
> 
> I really like the way you can get at the guts.  I sure wish there were
> no whitelist in the "BIOS".
> 
> | I like my W530 but that's a different level of machine.
> 
> I think that the framework is the same.  But I imagine you have a quad
> core i7 and thus 4 memory slots (32G!).  You also have nVidia Optimus
> graphics.  Not yet well supported by Linux, as far as I know, but with
> "manual transmission", you can choose between a fair bit of GPU power
> or energy efficiency.
> 
> I think of these ThinkPads as the ultimate serious Linux notebooks.
> Not always the best choice, but wonders none-the-less.
> 
> The large and serious Linux userbase is valuable too.
> --
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