Sebi's Random Tech
Sebi's Random Tech
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Are new "budget" laptops worth it?
Any time I go into a big-box store in my area like Walmart, Target, or Best Buy, I often see budget oriented laptops from companies like Acer, HP, and Asus on display. As someone who has made a UA-cam channel from buying, repairing, and upgrading older laptops on a tighter budget than buying new, it often made me wonder - are these new "budget" laptops worth it compared to a decent used machine like a ThinkPad? I see people all the time buy these sub-$300 machines with Celerons and Pentiums to have a cheap laptop or an affordable present for a loved one, so I decided to find out for myself. Stay tuned to hear my thoughts and feel free to share your own experiences in the comments! As always thanks for watching!
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:25 Hardware tour
02:56 Display/specifications
03:38 Performance
05:50 Battery life
06:03 Repairability/upgrades
07:05 Comparison to used laptops
09:16 Conclusion
10:19 Outro
Переглядів: 30 981

Відео

Using a 15-year-old laptop in 2022
Переглядів 148 тис.Рік тому
Hello everyone! Back with another video, this time taking a look at the Lenovo ThinkPad T61, which this year turned 15 years old! Released in 2007, this laptop utilizes Core 2 Duo processors and was shipped at a time when Windows XP was still the norm, UA-cam was still in its infancy, and 2 GB of RAM was considered "more than enough". As someone who frequently uses older machines and has a soft...
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon, 10 years later
Переглядів 51 тис.Рік тому
Hello everyone! Excited to be back at it after a long hiatus, this time taking a look at the original X1 Carbon from 2012. This was one of the first ThinkPads to feature a radically different design from the classic formula and was more or less Lenovo's first ultrabook. Nearly all modern ThinkPads today have taken inspiration from the X1 Carbon for their design, and this specific product line h...
The ThinkPad X1 Nano: A return to form
Переглядів 89 тис.2 роки тому
Hello everyone! After many delays I'm finally back with a video about one of Lenovo's newest flagship ThinkPads: the X1 Nano. Doing things a little differently from most laptop reviews on UA-cam, I wanted to use this machine for a long time before giving my final thoughts about it. Hope you all enjoy the video! Thanks to Laptop Retrospective for helping contribute to this video! You can check o...
End of the Line for Pennant Station
Переглядів 5 тис.3 роки тому
What a terrible Valentine's Day gift... A very different video from my usual content, but one I felt was important to document during this station's last weekend of operation. Technically this can be considered tech, right? I wanted to highlight the importance of maintaining our transportation (road, highway, bridge, tunnel, rail, bus, etc) networks and keeping them safe, especially in a time w...
How I spend less on used laptops.
Переглядів 856 тис.3 роки тому
Many have asked me how I can afford to have so many laptops to show off in my videos, and have asked where I get them from. Unlimited funds or magic portals aren't the answer - so in this video I talk about the main ways I can purchase used laptops for less than what they're typically worth. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 2:06 - Repairing a T470s 5:57 - Other easy repairs 7:11 - Locked BIOS 8:...
Best Value "Ultraportable" ThinkPads in 2020
Переглядів 291 тис.3 роки тому
After the "Best Value ThinkPads in 2020" video I released back in February, many were curious what my thoughts were on some of the newer, thinner ThinkPads. I already did an entire video about the T480, but I felt now would be a good time to fill in the gap between the T440p and the T480, with what I think are the best value ThinkPads in the "ultraportable" range. Don't fret if your favorite mo...
Replacing switches on mechanical keyboards
Переглядів 188 тис.3 роки тому
Hello guys! Today I have a very quick video that I made documenting a recent "weekend project" of mine, replacing three broken switches on my Gigabyte K83 mechanical keyboard. It was a good learning process for me to work on my soldering skills and I wanted to share the results with everyone! I'll be working on my next ThinkPad video here soon! Thanks for watching!
Installing the classic keyboard in Ivy Bridge ThinkPads
Переглядів 63 тис.3 роки тому
Hello everyone! Back again with the first of a series of videos involving major upgrades to my ThinkPad T430. In this video I run through the process of replacing the original and somewhat controversial "island-style" keyboard with a classic keyboard from the previous generation. I'm very pleased with the results and hope this helps some of you! Stay tuned for the next upgrade video! Embedded c...
A look at the ThinkPad T480
Переглядів 834 тис.3 роки тому
Hello everyone! Here is my long-awaited video about the ThinkPad T480, a laptop that to many represents the end of an era for ThinkPads. In this video I'll be giving some of my thoughts about it, discussing some of the biggest pros and cons of the machine, and seeing how it stacks up against one of my favorite classic ThinkPads. Hope you guys enjoy, and thanks for watching!
Replacing screens on newer ThinkPads.
Переглядів 47 тис.4 роки тому
Hello all! Here's a shorter video about replacing the displays in newer ThinkPads (generally xx40 and newer) that I have put together for you. Hopefully it can be of use for some of you! Enjoy and thanks for watching! Models this process applies for (to my knowledge, I will update if needed): *DOES NOT* apply for any of the glass touch screen versions (T440s touch, etc) X230s X240s* T440 T440s ...
Unlocking the ThinkPad T61 with Middleton's BIOS
Переглядів 106 тис.4 роки тому
EDIT: Turns out the Middleton’s BIOS is not needed to use 8 GB of RAM. Whoops! Hello everyone! Today we're back with another ThinkPad video, this time I'm using the Middleton's BIOS to unlock my FrankenPad T601 - and upgrade it to be much more powerful! Middleton's BIOS is a special patched BIOS that unlocks some additional features in older ThinkPads, and in this video you can see how to insta...
The laptop with 2 screens: The ThinkPad W700ds
Переглядів 226 тис.4 роки тому
The original W700 video for those who want to watch: ua-cam.com/video/QU8SHdR8qCI/v-deo.html Hello everyone! Back again with another ThinkPad video! This time we're taking a look at the W700ds, a rather unique laptop that has two screens built in! These machines are extraordinarily rare, so I'm going to find out if the high asking price and t h i c c ness of these laptops make them worthwhile. ...
Best Value ThinkPads in 2020
Переглядів 437 тис.4 роки тому
Best Value ThinkPads in 2020
Detouring rail cars on the Pittsburgh Allentown T line.
Переглядів 3,3 тис.4 роки тому
Detouring rail cars on the Pittsburgh Allentown T line.
ThinkPad T440p Touchpad Swap: Installing Correct Drivers
Переглядів 24 тис.4 роки тому
ThinkPad T440p Touchpad Swap: Installing Correct Drivers
The $5 ThinkPad.
Переглядів 135 тис.4 роки тому
The $5 ThinkPad.
Building the Ultimate Retro ThinkPad - Part 2
Переглядів 23 тис.4 роки тому
Building the Ultimate Retro ThinkPad - Part 2
Removing a Supervisor Password from a ThinkPad.
Переглядів 224 тис.4 роки тому
Removing a Supervisor Password from a ThinkPad.
Kennywood's The Steel Curtain Grand Opening - July 13, 2019
Переглядів 3,4 тис.4 роки тому
Kennywood's The Steel Curtain Grand Opening - July 13, 2019
Building the Ultimate Retro ThinkPad - Part 1
Переглядів 40 тис.4 роки тому
Building the Ultimate Retro ThinkPad - Part 1
Using an 11-year-old Mobile Workstation in 2019 (ThinkPad W700)
Переглядів 131 тис.5 років тому
Using an 11-year-old Mobile Workstation in 2019 (ThinkPad W700)
Why I don't play Fortnite
Переглядів 3,9 тис.5 років тому
Why I don't play Fortnite
Transplanting a ThinkPad X230 Tablet screen into an X230.
Переглядів 20 тис.5 років тому
Transplanting a ThinkPad X230 Tablet screen into an X230.
Diagnosing and repairing laptop display flickering (Featuring the Lenovo ThinkPad T440p)
Переглядів 226 тис.5 років тому
Diagnosing and repairing laptop display flickering (Featuring the Lenovo ThinkPad T440p)
Using a 13-year-old Laptop in 2018
Переглядів 59 тис.5 років тому
Using a 13-year-old Laptop in 2018
Lenovo ThinkPad X240: Screen, Battery, and Palmrest Upgrades
Переглядів 37 тис.5 років тому
Lenovo ThinkPad X240: Screen, Battery, and Palmrest Upgrades
Lenovo ThinkPad T440p: CPU and storage upgrade
Переглядів 77 тис.5 років тому
Lenovo ThinkPad T440p: CPU and storage upgrade
Lenovo ThinkPad T440p: T450 trackpad + FHD IPS display
Переглядів 95 тис.5 років тому
Lenovo ThinkPad T440p: T450 trackpad FHD IPS display
Lenovo ThinkPad X201: AFFS Screen Upgrade
Переглядів 30 тис.5 років тому
Lenovo ThinkPad X201: AFFS Screen Upgrade

КОМЕНТАРІ

  • @IvanJankovic-lo1bt
    @IvanJankovic-lo1bt 8 годин тому

    Could you please perform this adjustment for Windows 10 (if it is possible)? I have Lenovo M5400 Touch and when I tried to put third party replacement battery the message, you mentioned at the beginning of your video, appeared - not charging.

  • @collapsingruins
    @collapsingruins 21 годину тому

    Can you give an update, to the Problem with the thunderbold Fix?

  • @Leprechaun_of_Maryland
    @Leprechaun_of_Maryland День тому

    I have a T430 with the Bios 2.81 and EC 1.13. No matter what I do and I've spent 10 hours on this, it won't flash the EC. Doesn't matter if it's on a usb drive or if I burn it on a cd/dvd. My computer refuses to run the software

  • @gautamsaikia6094
    @gautamsaikia6094 2 дні тому

    Is X260 good currently?

  • @brad8122
    @brad8122 3 дні тому

    5:50 wth is that abomination of a solder work? 100% cold solder right there. You need to heat both active surfaces and THEN apply the solder and let it flow on both surfaces by itself

  • @syekitthel5584
    @syekitthel5584 3 дні тому

    hey my x230 doesnt come with fingerprint can you make a tutorial how to add the fingerprint scanner?

  • @lord1lein_
    @lord1lein_ 4 дні тому

    Cities Skylines ran on my i5-2520M Elitebook with 10-15 fps on lowest Settings. (My loaded because of 8GB RAM)

  • @rasberryreacts263
    @rasberryreacts263 4 дні тому

    Can you install a t420 keyboard into this?

  • @ThePhenomenumz
    @ThePhenomenumz 4 дні тому

    I've been using my T480S a lot since 2017 and still love it - it's simply a great laptop. I'll soon be treating it to a new battery, as it's very easy to change.

  • @ni6ha
    @ni6ha 5 днів тому

    soon

  • @CatsandHotdogs
    @CatsandHotdogs 5 днів тому

    Words of a sage. Unfortunately on the other side of the spectra there are still lots of people buying a 1500$ new macbook when a 300$ well refurbished PC would have been more than enough.

  • @keptleroymg6877
    @keptleroymg6877 5 днів тому

    Windows on thinkpad makes me cringe

  • @asitabhpaul
    @asitabhpaul 6 днів тому

    Charging port is great..

  • @RoofusRoof19
    @RoofusRoof19 7 днів тому

    bro come baaackk

  • @DeletedContent
    @DeletedContent 7 днів тому

    I got one but the Buttons at the top don't work right. Like the Power Key has to be pressed many times and the Volume keys and mute don't work most times. Same with the Mic Mute. Don't know how to fix it.

  • @SpectrumIntruder
    @SpectrumIntruder 8 днів тому

    Keeping stuff out of the landfill is always a great goal

  • @MrBobWareham
    @MrBobWareham 8 днів тому

    I still have my T480 with aI5 and 8GB plus a 250gb SSD that runs very well W10, nice to know it's a good computer.

  • @ClacKeyTech
    @ClacKeyTech 8 днів тому

    1:28 i ve also done that to one of my t60s

  • @Kenzo9063
    @Kenzo9063 9 днів тому

    Saw this vid again. Lenovo kind of revived this by brining in the thinkbook plus 17

  • @MartinAhlman
    @MartinAhlman 10 днів тому

    Does the fingerprint sensor work on Linux, or is it "windows only"+

  • @hufficag
    @hufficag 10 днів тому

    I'm using X230 T430, good model. 440 is unusable. So now I know, next if I need to run AI models that need 64GB RAM, I'll buy the T480 laptops. Love the hot swappable battery.

  • @sebifilip6990
    @sebifilip6990 11 днів тому

    shit name

  • @RedVRCC
    @RedVRCC 11 днів тому

    Ah yes, old thinkpads, perfect for rescuing from ebay or craigslist snd then load up linux mint on them. Yeah... I wont do in person, I'll just pay the shipping cost. My social anxiety is too much. I wouldn't be able to negotiate in person especially.

  • @azizinanc
    @azizinanc 11 днів тому

    does it work on X13 gen 1 ryzen? or X390?

  • @D.Gmeiner
    @D.Gmeiner 12 днів тому

    I attempted the upgrade. Unfortunately it powers on for a split second then shuts down. I put the old processor (an i7-3520M) and everything is fine again. Does anyone know why my upgrade failed?

  • @iswhatheis
    @iswhatheis 12 днів тому

    Just got a refurbished one, I didnt know t480 was the last of the 'greats' I also didnt know it had an SIM chip, that's really interesting! It did run the FL Studio demosong without any lag, so I am looking forward to using the t480! Thanks for the video

  • @pillow7306
    @pillow7306 12 днів тому

    I had the B590 and the T520. The B590 was pretty ass, low spec laptop and didn’t have many features but I ended up upgrading the T520 and used it for most of high school. Then I made the mistake of buying an Acer 😂 worse battery than that of a 13 year old laptop 💀

  • @rappar9673
    @rappar9673 12 днів тому

    17" is massive? Pathetic

  • @Different_Letter9835
    @Different_Letter9835 12 днів тому

    These laptops do have a place (imo): portability. In addition to the ludicrously lengthy battery life, they have small footprints, are extremely lightweight, and don't need a hard surface for ventilation. So if you are going to be carrying your laptop around in a backpack or other bag throughout the day and/or are using it in unconventional places, plus you don't need to do anything performance-heavy, these are perfect for that. You don't have to lend a single thought to whether the battery will last and they barely take up any space and weight, making transport basically a non-issue. However, as an actual daily driver or for literally any other usecase, I agree that a used Thinkpad or similar is going to be the far better option. So these cheapie laptops do have a use, but it's clear that manufacturers aren't selling exclusively to this demographic and are disappointing a lot of people expecting a more typical experience.

  • @malsanasjunal
    @malsanasjunal 12 днів тому

    Hello, thank you very much, it helped me. But for some strange reason, only the battery charges in Windows, not in GNU/Linux. Thank you again.

  • @RonnieRedd
    @RonnieRedd 13 днів тому

    Run Linux or some form of BSD ,especially on old thinkpad will extend the life over 20 years😮

  • @cbtillery135
    @cbtillery135 13 днів тому

    Damn, and I just bought a T470s

  • @Stev417
    @Stev417 14 днів тому

    My grandpa gave me his old laptop and it was a T61 that had windows 7 on it

  • @frostmafia1380
    @frostmafia1380 14 днів тому

    Oh yeah. Untested is my specialty. Thats how you get stuff for cheap. Most of the time a quick clean will work wonders, other times, you just salvage the working parts off one and use to fix another. I will buy bulk untested and even if some of its just plain junk ill still make a good profit, no matter what it is. Best deal i got was a mini pc for $65, sold it for $500

  • @sentragrafikakompumedia
    @sentragrafikakompumedia 15 днів тому

    Spent the best $300 investment on Lenovo P50 mobile workstation with Quadro M2000M and 48GB of RAM, alongside 500GB SSD under mint condition. It also carries monitor calibration device as well 😊

  • @Woljap007
    @Woljap007 15 днів тому

    What about Lenovo desktop’s supervisor password clearing ?

  • @Dontkillkenny69
    @Dontkillkenny69 15 днів тому

    Found a decent condition (some cracks and not the best battery health) dell inspiron 15 3567 (core 15 7200U 8 gbs ram 256 gb ssd) for 20 bucks at a local church sale so although probably not the most common theyre still a good way to get a very good bargain if you do some research on the laptop first

  • @Junior-iw6ye
    @Junior-iw6ye 15 днів тому

    Bios

  • @Junior-iw6ye
    @Junior-iw6ye 15 днів тому

    what is the backdoor password to the IBM ThinkPad T480s laptop computer?

  • @user-nh7qv9rr2g
    @user-nh7qv9rr2g 16 днів тому

    what about the X1 carbon?

  • @James01709
    @James01709 18 днів тому

    i got a fully working t460 for £65

  • @poopcat3196
    @poopcat3196 18 днів тому

    worked on t410i thinkpad. had to wait 1000-4500 milliseconds before shorting the circuit when the boot screen appears to time the crash. i need to reset a e11 5th gen non yoga, same supervisor password problem.

  • @christhefirst
    @christhefirst 19 днів тому

    the ACTUAL way to get less for laptops: lowball every posting on fb marketplace for a month straight

    • @frostmafia1380
      @frostmafia1380 14 днів тому

      Low ball listings that have been up for a while, people are usually more depserate to sell then

  • @peter_verduin
    @peter_verduin 20 днів тому

    Bought a used T480 for $82 (70+12 shipping) It was missing a charger (which the listing made clear) and warned that the batteries might be bad Both the batteries were in absolutely horrendous condition chemically but are physically undamaged so not a fire hazard I'll have to replace both of them for about $70-80 this summer but to get an identical device would be like $250 given the spec I found so I really can't complain My plan is to replace the batteries and then nuke windows and make it a Linux machine for fun

  • @Junior-iw6ye
    @Junior-iw6ye 20 днів тому

    how to take off the supervisor password off of a thinkpad T480s laptop please? its for the bios.

  • @XXx_DOGDAYTHEAVIATOR_xXX
    @XXx_DOGDAYTHEAVIATOR_xXX 20 днів тому

    My neighbour gave me a Toshiba laptop from 2009 and my neighbour told me "i bought it on ebay"

  • @yardleybottles6025
    @yardleybottles6025 21 день тому

    I have one. The reception on mine is outstanding.

  • @shaiksaddam8116
    @shaiksaddam8116 21 день тому

    Bios lock remove for Lenovo G500 please 😢

  • @xmlthegreat
    @xmlthegreat 21 день тому

    My only problem with modern trackpoints is that I can't see the sensitivity to as high as I want. Even going up to the highest feels sluggish. These old travkpoints are just so much better.

  • @hapticshift8209
    @hapticshift8209 22 дні тому

    I love the B Roll of the thinkpad just sitting in the forest