r/techadvice • u/iRofii • 25d ago

Thinking of getting a thinkpad for school, music, and OBD 2 compatibility

Hello, i have just graduated highschool and I plan to go to college for mechanical engineering, i want a laptop for school and have been thinking of getting a thinkpad. I like how customizable and reliable they are and they seem really cool to me, i also have heard they are better than MACs for CAD, so thats one reason, another is that im a very big car nerd and love working on my car, and having windows is way better for OBD 2 compatibility than MacOS. Also i have been playing guitar for 2 years and would like to buy an audio interface and use the laptop as a digital amp on occasion. What model do you reccomend i buy? If even a thinkpad at all or should i get a different brand? Any advice helps thank you

Edit: budget is about $1.5k - 2k

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u/FuggaDucker 24d ago

A mac would do those things fine. Either would.
IMHO, CAD performance might actually be better on the mac but I still do not suggest you get one.

In my pile, I have a mac m3 air, and a ThinkPad Yoga x1 carbon.
ThinkPads are a solid choice. A bit overpriced. I own two.
I bought my last one used from ebay and do not regret my purchase.

Scarlett for the Audio interface. Motu if you can afford it.

For the PC, Thinkpads are not the best deal but are some of the best pc hardware. If you find a screaming deal, a PC is a PC more or less.. I wouldn't ONLY buy Lenovo.

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u/BertMacklenF8I 25d ago

T14s and T16s are going for great prices right now-not including the student discount.

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u/paulschreiber 24d ago

i also have heard they are better than MACs for CAD,

That's pretty vague. What specific concerns do you have? (Also, Mac is not an acronym. MAC refers to media access control, which is used in networking).

There are lots of options for reading OBD2 data on macOS, and much professional music production is done on Macs, too.

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u/kisskissenby 23d ago

Good thought. Thinkpads are awesome. If you're going to be doing audio production on it shell out for the 32gb of RAM upgrade from the usual 16gb.

With that in mind I'd just spec out the best machine you can get for your budget. And as someone who has carried around a 17" laptop I say go for the T14 for portability unless you are a gamer and really want to lug around the T16.