[GTALUG] Thinkpad T420 as a VM host

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: William Park <opengeometry at yahoo.ca>

| If T420 can do 16GB, then I can replace my desktop with it, which has
| 16GB (DDR3-1333) right now.  But, I have question about T420 keyboard.

Most notebooks don't have the performance of desktops because the
tradeoffs are different.

- Most notebook CPUs are weaker than desktop CPUs.  Fewer cores and
  lower clock rates, for a start.  There are exceptions but they are
  outliers.

- Ditto for GPUs.  But GPUs may not matter much for what you hope to
  do.

- adding disks and RAM is more constrained.  May well be OK anyway

- desktop displays can and should be better than notebook displays
  (but I seem to care more than most folks)

- in a fixed installation, notebooks are a bit awkward (but you can
  fix that by using an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse).

Many new notebooks don't let you replace batteries, RAM, or disks.
Beware.  Of course this is not the case with ThinkPad T420 notebooks.

If you want portability, the T420 is too old: more modern Intel CPUs take 
a lot less power for the same performance and thus the battery lasts 
longer.

If you don't want portability, a W-series ThinkPad may be more powerful 
and expandable (may depend on the generation).  My son's W520 will accept 
up to 32G of RAM, I think.  Lennart has a similar one.  And it comes with 
a larger screen.

Here's an example of a very powerful non-portable notebook:
<http://www.nmicrovip.ca/rog-core-i7-4710hq-16gb-ram-1tb-hdd-17-3-gtx860m-2gb-1920x1080-dvdrw-windows-8-1-bilingual-kb-g751jm-sh71-cb-refurbished/>
- quad core i7-4710hq
- 1920x1080 17" IPS screen
- 16G of RAM (that may well be the limit)
- NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX860M Graphics with 2GB GDDR5 VRAM
Beware: bilingual keyboard


| I currently have T43, and its keyboard is difficult to type on, at least
| for me.

Many people love ThinkPad keyboards, especially the ones on older 
ThinkPads.  One of the main complaints about newer ThinkPad keyboards is 
"they aren't as good as the old ones".

How can this square with your observations?

- keyboards are at least partially a matter of personal taste

- your T43 might have a dud keyboard.

In any case, the only way you'll really know if you'll like a keyboard is 
to try it.

Me? Lots of keyboards seem bad, some seem elegant but not to my taste,
many seem fine / good enough.  None has captured me.

|     - it's stiff, so you need to "push" rather than "tap", 
|     - it doesn't spring back, fast enough or "crispy" enough, so you
|       actually notice and become aware of the keypresses.  And, that
|       interferes with my typing.

Many typists like being sure when they press a key.

Significant key travel is considered desirable by many (but not all).  
And rare in modern notebooks because of the quest for thin.

A tactile signal of a keypress registering is considered a Good Thing
(except by many gamers).  Something sort of lost with most modern
key structures.

There has been a renaissance of mechanical keyboards.  They cost
several times as much as regular keyboards.  And a great deal has been
written about the characteristics of each.  I thought that I'd like
Cherry blue, brown, or clear keys.
<http://www.keyboardco.com/blog/index.php/2012/12/an-introduction-to-cherry-mx-mechanical-switches/>

I'm using a mechanical keyboard to type this (Rosewill RK-6000;
imitation Alps keys, somewhat like Cherry Blue).  It is fine, but not
a revelation.  I have the same reaction to my wife's keyboard with
Cherry brown switches.  I find it especially disappointing that a key
can register on my keyboard without a click and a click can happen
without a registration (these problems don't seem to happen with the
way I type).

In ThinkPads, I like my x61's keyboard better than my T530's.