Are Thinkpads still that tough? Stand on yours to prove it!

Since about 1999 I have replaced / upgraded my laptop every 1.5 - 2 years, and I always bought Dell Latitudes. By the time I upgraded, the screen hinges would always feel a little shakey and the keyboards a little squishy.

My most recent laptop, however, was a Thinkpad W510 that I got almost 3 years ago. It still looks and feels like the day I got it, with the exception of the middle of trackpad where the textured surface is worn smooth. I upgraded the HD to a SSD about 1.5 years ago which made it feel like I got a new machine performance-wise. I tend to be very rough with my hardware, and I carry this thing on an NYC subway every day. It's fantastic... most well made laptop I've ever owned.

Cheers,
Chris

 

Well I still read some great stories everyday. Some even survive appartment fires.

 

Will the t440 be more rugged then previous version of the thinkpad? how does the thinkpad compare with the macbook in terms of durability?

 

From what I've read in the forums the macbook pro gets scratches easily, however its very drop resistant.

 

The macbook pro is not drop resistant. If you drop it, it will dent slighty, but macbooks are very prone to hardware failure from drops. A Thinkpad however is very likely to have cracked plastic, but the protection systems save the hardware.

 

Macbook Pro is drop resistant? LOL. Try dropping one and see how resistant it is to drops. The corners will get dented so much, you wouldn't even able to close the LCD properly. Don't believe what the Apple fan boys tell you. I have dropped enough Macbook Pro to know how bad they are if you drop them.

 

Don't kid yourself: LCD will be the first thing to go on a ThinkPad, if dropped from a serious height. Given that the new ones are LED-lit, it will blow a fuse on the board in the process.

 

Post a video of me standing on my main work computer in order to impress/prove something to random people on the Internet? WHAT A BRILLIANT IDEA!!!!

 

Between myself, my daughter (from age 18 to age 30), and my husband, we have had about 8 Thinkpads. They ALL still work and the replacements came about because of needs for faster processors, more memory etc.

I dropped one of mine out of its case when I thought the case was zipped onto a concrete floor in a hotel lobby. There was a chip in the plastic that holds the case closed and that was all. Even with the chip, I used it until I started falling asleep because it was so slow.

My daughter took hers on a bike every day for over 4 years in college and then a newer one again on a bike for 2 years in grad school. I don't know whether she ever dropped it (those are things she doesn't usually tell me about), but I do know that at the very least both of them got bounced around plenty.

My husband kept his in the office more so it was less subject to physical mishaps but was used every day for many hours for many years.

I don't think the real issue is whether you can stand on them - I think the issue is the build and the choice of parts used. Very little has ever just quit working on any of these. And when something has broken, the company (when it was technically IBM and now that it is Lenovo), was very responsible about getting it repaired properly in a short period of time.

I have a W520 at this point and my only complaint is that the built in speakers are not very good. These are built to be "work" computers and sometimes the pleasure and fun part isn't taken quite as seriously. This is the only vaguely negative thing I can think of to say

 

newer thinkpads i guess are less built to be work computers, more tailored for consumer, something you can look forward to. i am pretty impressed with the speakers on my t430 though.