op:
1. Some are, some models are shit.
2.Generally, some models have quirks/common problems.
3. Depends on the model
4. See above.
Some models are great. Typically the business models that schools/hospitals use are decent and are bought and replaced in bulk every few years so used machines/parts are common, and usually cheap (depending on model). Most models of thinkpads are designed to be repaired instead of being replaced. that being said some models are a bitch to get into or just tedious.
I cant remember which generation, but one of the x1 carbons had an LCD bezel was essentially a fucking sticker over a plastic ring around the lcd panel. so in addition to the plastic bezel that holds the lcd in place you also had to get a fucking sticker unless you just wanted it to look like ass.
either the t61p or t60p, one of the t6x series with a p (meaning dedicated gpu) required a replacement fan about every 2 years, and gpu bga failures were common
Any of the thinkpads with the center lcd hinges that rotated around 180 degrees for so you could use it as a tablet is a pain in the ass to get apart, and reroute the lcd/antenna cables if you ever had to redo any of that shit.
there are a few newer thinkpads that have this annoying bezel around the keys on the keyboard that has to be slid up and you have to go in between the keys with a tiny screwdriver to remove the keyboard, its a lot more annoying than swapping a keyboard on most of the older style thinkpads where 2-3 screws on the bottom, keyboard slides up and pops right out.
Lenovo/ThinkPad white lists devices in the BIOS. Want to replace the WLAN card? Better make sure you get one that is whitelisted or it won't work. That is reason enough to tell them to go fuck themselves.
Thats not just a lenovo thing. HP, Dell, ASUS,etc, pretty much anyone who sells in the us. They don't want to pay for FCC certification & testing for every wireless card on the planet, so they whitelist the one or two models they have tested.
Just get a System76 laptop, major OEMs are all shit
I'm interested in System76, like what they're doing, but aren't most of their laptops just rebranded sager/clevo hardware?
not a thinkpad, but the lenovo yoga series is shit .
I've had around four come through just dead after a year, and another five or six that have that stupid ass efi bug where the system goes to sleep and will not wake so you think your motherboard is fucked, but if you disconnect/reconnect the battery it magically works again until you look at it wrong a month or to later and it does the shit again.
