IBM ThinkPad Users' Group

[NoHomoBro]

Anyone keen to join ThinkPad user whatsapp group sg?

we can share thinkpad deals and even go for mass order of parts.

 

[NoHomoBro]

X1 Carbons from Jap to US KB

 

[ipaq4444]

Anyone seen before T480 selling outside? My workplace has them, though a little heavy, but I find them not bad

Sent from Xiaomi POCOPHONE F1 using GAGT

Interested but have no see any yet

 

[wahlaueh888]

Power Banks for Thinkpads

Hi,
Anyone knows which power banks can power our Thinkpads?

i have a T480 and a X240 to power and the sockets are not easy to find.. so the best alternative i can think of is a power bank. I read abt the baseus 65w 30K Mah powerbanks but they listed only can power surface pro and mac book pros, not laptops.. so dare not pull trigger on these.. Hope can have your kind advice.. Thanks!

 

[weeguy]

https://www.lenovo.com/sg/en/laptops.../p/22TP2X1X1N1
X1 Nano SG product page is up. No models available for now but hopefully Lenovo starts selling them soon!

X1 Nano is now available for customisation! Base model with i5/8GB/256GB going for S$2189 after FRONTLINER coupon code.

 

[kakaBoBo]

where to get x270 battery at a good price?
for both internal and ext pack.
thanks.

 

[kazuki666]

where to get x270 battery at a good price?
for both internal and ext pack.
thanks.

I am curious. Where you managed to find the laptop ah? They are usually corporate sets???

Sent from Xiaomi POCOPHONE F1 using GAGT

 

[Calvin.Lee]

Sorry for the off topic here;

Anyone knows where I can get a ThinkPad T470 with i7 7th gen, GTX940MX gpu, FHD?

The important one is the cpu and gpu in T470.

Sorry to post here because I feel I may be able to get some advice from you all.

Thank you.

 

[o2atom]

X1 Nano is now available for customisation! Base model with i5/8GB/256GB going for S$2189 after FRONTLINER coupon code.

Another model with ventilation window on the right. Is Lenovo aware that most people use mouse?

 

[Calvin.Lee]

Hi,

If I need to add a fingerprint scanner for a T470, the laptop casing doesn't have the "hold/area - usually a square" for fingerprint, so I need to 1) change the thinkpad laptop front case to one with the scan area (square area besides keyboard)? 2) get a fingerprint scanner module to plug in to the laptop motherboard?

If yes, where can I get help and pay their services and parts to do that? Thanks

 

[firesong]

Hi,

If I need to add a fingerprint scanner for a T470, the laptop casing doesn't have the "hold/area - usually a square" for fingerprint, so I need to 1) change the thinkpad laptop front case to one with the scan area (square area besides keyboard)? 2) get a fingerprint scanner module to plug in to the laptop motherboard?

If yes, where can I get help and pay their services and parts to do that? Thanks

You'll have to replace the top case to do that, along with buying the extra parts.

It's cheaper to get a fingerprint reader and sacrifice one of your USB ports, so I'd recommend you use a FIDO authenticator. Try this one: https://www.amazon.sg/Kensington-VeriMark-Fingerprint-Reader-Anti-Spoofing/dp/B01NAVWPOJ

 

[Calvin.Lee]

Thank you firesong,

I need to full-fill a security requirement if I am going to get my own laptop to the company to use, only the fingerprint (2FA) is in the way now.

Does the USB fingerprint scanner able to use together with the company security boot software that requires user to scan their fingerprint before laptop boots to Windows and of course use the fingerprint scanner to login with a OTP code? I am not sure about that. But the laptop internal fingerprint scanner works. Also external USB can be misplaced while traveling too.

Regards

You'll have to replace the top case to do that, along with buying the extra parts.

It's cheaper to get a fingerprint reader and sacrifice one of your USB ports, so I'd recommend you use a FIDO authenticator. Try this one: https://www.amazon.sg/Kensington-VeriMark-Fingerprint-Reader-Anti-Spoofing/dp/B01NAVWPOJ

 

[firesong]

Thank you firesong,

I need to full-fill a security requirement if I am going to get my own laptop to the company to use, only the fingerprint (2FA) is in the way now.

Does the USB fingerprint scanner able to use together with the company security boot software that requires user to scan their fingerprint before laptop boots to Windows and of course use the fingerprint scanner to login with a OTP code? I am not sure about that. But the laptop internal fingerprint scanner works. Also external USB can be misplaced while traveling too.

Regards

Check with them. You could also look at FIDO2 keys from Yubikey. Those should more than adequately fulfil security requirements. Unless the company security is so backward that it won't accept hardware authentication tokens. Though I think the Verimark IT I linked above should do the trick, and it was $61 yesterday at time of linking.

Caveat is that you'll have to unplug/plug in a key (if you go with the non-biometric Yubikeys) to authenticate each time. But I understand if they would rather a more permanent solution than a removeable USB key.

Personally, I wouldn't spend so much - you have to replace the entire top case to get one with the FP reader cutout, transplant the parts, and then install the extra hardware. Might actually be cheaper (both in financial cost as well as time and frustration) for you to source for another T470/s or newer on Carousell and sell your current.

 

[Calvin.Lee]

Thanks again firesong, I have decided to give the external USB FP reader a try.

After checking with the company, they will do a bitlocker encryption for my hard disk for me.

If I lose my laptop, without the keys, they cannot retrieve data. I will have to make a police report and pay for the cost of the laptop of course.

Thanks.

Check with them. You could also look at FIDO2 keys from Yubikey. Those should more than adequately fulfil security requirements. Unless the company security is so backward that it won't accept hardware authentication tokens. Though I think the Verimark IT I linked above should do the trick, and it was $61 yesterday at time of linking.

Caveat is that you'll have to unplug/plug in a key (if you go with the non-biometric Yubikeys) to authenticate each time. But I understand if they would rather a more permanent solution than a removeable USB key.

Personally, I wouldn't spend so much - you have to replace the entire top case to get one with the FP reader cutout, transplant the parts, and then install the extra hardware. Might actually be cheaper (both in financial cost as well as time and frustration) for you to source for another T470/s or newer on Carousell and sell your current.

 

[limpingsim98]

Thanks again firesong, I have decided to give the external USB FP reader a try.

After checking with the company, they will do a bitlocker encryption for my hard disk for me.

If I lose my laptop, without the keys, they cannot retrieve data. I will have to make a police report and pay for the cost of the laptop of course.

Thanks.

There is utility in the market that can decrypt it locker disk. Is not that impossible, just more difficult.

 

[Calvin.Lee]

Brought the external fingerprint reader USB. It's fast and good as it can integrate with Windows 10, will try it on Windows 7 soon see if it can be used.

By the way, anyone has a ThinkPad T480 to let go? I will be looking in the market to get one end of the month when my budget is approved.

It's to replace my old ThinkPad W540 and it's the last T series laptop that can goes up to 64GB RAM.

If you have lobang or has one or know someone selling, please help let me know.

Thank you.

 

[Calvin.Lee]

Found out that the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen1 is a very good alternative to the T480.

It's much lighter and bigger screen.
It's has much more powerful CPU and GPU too.
It can too upgrade RAM to 64GB.

Brought the external fingerprint reader USB. It's fast and good as it can integrate with Windows 10, will try it on Windows 7 soon see if it can be used.

By the way, anyone has a ThinkPad T480 to let go? I will be looking in the market to get one end of the month when my budget is approved.

It's to replace my old ThinkPad W540 and it's the last T series laptop that can goes up to 64GB RAM.

If you have lobang or has one or know someone selling, please help let me know.

Thank you.

 

[firesong]

There is utility in the market that can decrypt it locker disk. Is not that impossible, just more difficult.

This is true, which is why HD Password locking at UEFI level is still more secure, and is a thing for some laptops. I noticed this particular feature to be absent on my sis' Dell Latitude 7400, but present on the Thinkpads I've used.

However, if the machine is Intel vPro capable and managed, it can be set to remote wipe over wireless. I don't recall this nuanced feature for AMD's Pro and I have a Ryzen Pro laptop on hand.

Brought the external fingerprint reader USB. It's fast and good as it can integrate with Windows 10, will try it on Windows 7 soon see if it can be used.

By the way, anyone has a ThinkPad T480 to let go? I will be looking in the market to get one end of the month when my budget is approved.

It's to replace my old ThinkPad W540 and it's the last T series laptop that can goes up to 64GB RAM.

If you have lobang or has one or know someone selling, please help let me know.

Thank you.

Found out that the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen1 is a very good alternative to the T480.

It's much lighter and bigger screen.
It's has much more powerful CPU and GPU too.
It can too upgrade RAM to 64GB.

Looks like it's time to camp on Carousell/eBay and hope to get what you want.

64GB of RAM is a lot though - what are you actually doing with your machine? I'm guessing CAD/Architectural work with an external GPU over Thunderbolt? If so, wouldn't it be more preferable to just go with something more suited to the task, like the Thinkpad P series?

 

[Calvin.Lee]

Looks like it's time to camp on Carousell/eBay and hope to get what you want.

64GB of RAM is a lot though - what are you actually doing with your machine? I'm guessing CAD/Architectural work with an external GPU over Thunderbolt? If so, wouldn't it be more preferable to just go with something more suited to the task, like the Thinkpad P series?

Hi firesong,

No, I do not need to run CAD/Architecture works on my laptop.

But I do need to setup 4 X virtual server 2016 servers each with 8GB of RAM, 4 X virtual Windows OS (each of WinXP, Win7, Win8, Win10) with 1 or 2GB of RAM, 4 X virtual Firewall/Switch/Router depending on what I need to show, it can reach a total of 50GB of RAM set aside for running these VMs.

I use to buy Workstation class laptops to run these VMs as they provide better CPU power (4cores/8threads like QM or HQ class cpu) and also can add much more RAMs (usually 4 X RAM slots) and can have much more choices of storage, but the big drawback is the weight of these workstation class laptops. A W540 weights about 3KG.

For a 3D virtual reality demo, we even have to get a ASUS ROG 15/17 or Alienware gaming class laptop because of needing high GPU bandwidth. Same these weight over 3KG too. Imagine carrying these around for a few days from place to place.

Luckily, we have stop 3D virtual reality development awhile back so now it's just needing a laptop that can have decent CPU and GPU performance with as much RAMs as possible.

Because these laptops are for "proof of concept", budget is low, therefore newer or better laptops are out of my reach. Also there is no economical value in buying newer or better besides weight. I work in a small SME, so budgeting is super restrictive.

In office, I build systems with Xeon with 256GB RAMs that has VMWare running to support a lot more VMs to develop and perform more tests.

 

[Calvin.Lee]

But now I am not part of the team that does development and setup proof of concept for clients to evaluate anymore but my former colleagues still rely on me to help them build systems or buy laptops for their needs.

Due to COVID, they cannot hire a new IT guy just to build systems or support their hardware for these purposes. So I am helping out my friends so they get better laptops for their work. They still taking out the W520, W530, W540 to do their work.