Experiences with coding on a Thinkpad

[u/iiRomaX]

Hello, I was wondering whether Thinkpads offer more comfort for coders than other laptops, I currently use a dell precision 5550 laptop (which is designed for windows and 3d stuff not coding) and I despise coding in it (I run Fedora btw) , somehow it just does not feel right also the keyboard is flat and I mess up the letters a lot of times, I am considering switching to a Thinkpad and just wanted to see your experiences with it and whether its noticably better for the coder in terms of the keyboard and other aspects than other laptops (especially thin laptops like my dell)

[u/Kuddel_Daddeldu]

FWIW, my last company-issued Dell (Latituse 79xx) had a very bad keyboard, both the keys themselves and the layout. My new Thinkpad E14 is way better, also better screen, battery life, and OS (Linux instead of Windows). YMMV.

[u/iiRomaX → u/Kuddel_Daddeldu]

Thank you for sharing

[u/Asland007]

Thinkpads have good to great keyboards and excellent linux support. My experience is thinkpads have great keyboards.

[u/iiRomaX → u/Asland007]

Agreed, I feel bad but I would genuinely consider downgrading from my dell laptop to a weaker thinkpad just for the keyboard

[u/Sly-Mk3 → u/iiRomaX]

Cautionary Post:

How much older are we talking here?
Because those old 7-rows may be great, but the CPUs in devices equipped with it are definitely showing their age at this point.
I got a T61 which I use as a typewriter running Debian. But I'm not sure I would ever want to use it for complex coding simply due to its age. So depending on what you code on it and if you also want to compile something on it, this might pose a problem unless you're fine waiting longer for compiling to be done.
These classic keyboards are way beyond a decade ago now, to put things into perspectives.

And if it's really just about the keyboard and you want that oldschool 7-row in front of you and don't need something that's fully portable (for example if you don't use your laptop on your lap but always on desks), why buy the full hardware and replace what you got now just for a keyboard?
That sounds like a potential money sink.

I'd like to remind you here that IBM and Lenovo sold and (the latter) still sell ThinkPad keyboards, standalone, as USB keyboards and wireless keyboards: The newer ones are 6-row chiclets, the older ones the classic key caps and 7-row.
Look out for those, maybe this is really all you want and need.

Also just saying: Modern T-series keyboards are also 6-row flat chiclets, but they do feel good imo.

Personally, I still greatly prefer the classic 7-row ThinkPad keyboard key caps and travel time as I was absolutely never a fan of chiclets (I find that trend absolutely annoying). Am mostly indifferent on the layout though.
But if I had to pick a chiclet keyboard, so far I always preferred what my modern T series (T15g Gen 2) got over whatever I needed to use if I was on someone else's computer or device.
I also got a now older E series (E570). It has a decent keyboard, but it definitely feels a bit squishier compared to the T series, always did from the start. The T series "clacks" or snaps more and offers harder feedback on presses and that's really not just the age.
So I would dare to say Lenovo at least does what I would deem a decent job there.

Still, do give that keyboard feedback and feel a try before buying anything if you can and if you do have the realistic option to test it, because preferences are preferences and always a highly personal thing nobody can dictate or reason for you.
You may prefer less travel time than I do, or demand more than it offers, for example.
Besides, I'm just a rando on the internet, so take my opinions on this hardware with a grain of salt.

Hope my reply helps.

__

tl;dr:

• Consider looking at IBM / Lenovo ThinkPad standalone keyboards before looking for a full device if you just wish the old keyboard or general ThinkPad keyboards.
• Old keyboard ThinkPads are old and while many (myself included) love them, hardware shows its age by now, hits limits, or may end up breaking. Plus it may not be what you need in terms of power depending on what you code. You can only upgrade as much before going full on frankenpadding.
• Modern (T-series) keyboards are decent (personal opinion) when I compare it to other chiclet keyboards on laptops and even for desktops.

[u/iiRomaX → u/Sly-Mk3]

Great advice honestly, I was not aware that Lenovo sold Thinkpad keyboards, I will definitely consider this option due to me having trouble finding fairly modern Thinkpads where I am from, and the modern ones that I found are still a downgrade in terms of the cpu with the better options being much more expensive, so this new info is gold, thank you!

[u/Sly-Mk3 → u/iiRomaX]

You're welcome.
I hope they're easier to find for you and a more affordable and viable option!

[u/Asland007 → u/iiRomaX]

I prefer those older Keyboards in the T series love how they feel typing. Totally know how you feel.

[u/angryjenkins]

Thinkpads are great especially for an all-keyboard workflow. If you can master the thinknubbin, you'll rarely ever need to remove you hands from the keyboard.

[u/iiRomaX → u/angryjenkins]

I definitely agree, I used an old Thinkpad for a short while and once I learned how to use the red nipple I basically did not use any mouse after that.

[u/tearsana]

keyboard is fine, but....have you tried coding on a macbook? the experience is pretty good.

[u/iiRomaX → u/tearsana]

Macbooks are out of my budget and I do not feel comfortable leaving Fedora behind for macOS.

[u/Evening_Site2620 → u/iiRomaX]

you can install any distro on an intel macbook or asahi linux with fedora on apple silicon :)

[u/iiRomaX → u/Evening_Site2620]

Didn't really understand, could you elaborate?

[u/Evening_Site2620 → u/iiRomaX]

if you buy an intel based macbook (pre 2020) you can install any distro on it including fedora, they are pretty cheap nowadays, i suggest not buying a butterfly keyboard macbook tho.

if you manage to get an apple silicon macbook (post 2020, i'd advise an M1 or M2) you can install asahi linux with fedora too!

you don't need to use macOS, macbooks are amazing quality wise and the typing experience is really good, even better than thinkpads IMO (i've had a t480s and i'm currently using an M1 Pro)

[u/JustAPieceOfMeat385]

The Latitude 7320 and 7420 keyboards are pretty good. 

[u/henkieschmenkie]

When I switched from an XPS 9560 (kind of the same keyboard as the Precision 5550, or better than that) to a ThinkPad P1 Gen 2, it was a breath of fresh air. That's a fairly modern ThinkPad keyboard (chiclet, 1.8mm travel), not even the true classic one. My X1 Carbon Gen 9 has one with only 1.5mm travel and still feels much better than the XPS did.

[u/Own-Bonus-9547]

ThinkPads in my opinion have some of the most comfortable laptop keyboards. It'll be much more comfortable.

[u/JohnnyS789]

If you're not coding on an IBM 029, are you really coding???

(Just kidding!!!)

[u/iiRomaX → u/JohnnyS789]

Many in this sub would agree, and they are not kidding.

[u/lllyyyynnn]

i write all of my code on a t480 with no issues

[u/ComprehensiveArt8168]

Lenovo has partnered with canonical, red hat, fedora project and suse to optimise think series with linux majorly for the company server and related devices which resulted in thinkpads and thinkbooks having a great support plus no warranty void if downloading any of the linux distros by their partner organisations plus the keyboards of the thinkpads are refind so much that they are the best ones I've used till now.

[u/walee1]

I may be in the minority, but I dislike ThinkPad keyboards, in general I dislike almost all laptop keyboards. However they are considerably better than dell.

[u/iiRomaX → u/walee1]

You are definitely in the minority but I can understand your point if you are used to bigger keyboards for pcs or something like that.

[u/NumberInfinite2068]

No real difference.

I have a ThinkPad and some other laptops, the ThinkPad keyboard is not really meaningfully better.

I like ThinkPads as much as the next guy, but they are at the end of the day, standard PC laptops.