Lenovo Thinkpad notebook for productions

Ok! Thank you for that tip! Some years ago I had to try three different pci adapters to get it working… it’s not easy with this lovly beast of interface… :smile:

buut I think about your idea! :+1:

Win10 is a great OS, I agree.

Yesterday I have read about an USB-C / Thunderbold 3 Adaptor to firewire… this could be a solution

This would be way more informative with a link :wink:

USB-C is a confusing thing because on some systems it includes Thunderbolt3 over the same connector and on others not, only USB. So it’s really not a USB-Firewire adapter but a TB3-Firewire adapter that uses the USB-C connector. I am not aware of such adapter but it would indeed solve the problem.

You should really get a ssd. Once you go ssd you never, ehhh, want a hdd…

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I’m a fan of old-style keyboards so still rolling with my old W520. It’s fully upgraded, built like a tank and still handles everything I throw at it, but is pretty bulky and heavy. No idea what I’ll get after this though.

Thinkpads are great. I’ve been using only Thinkpads for a long time, my first one was the X60 back in 2006 and it is still my favorite keyboard and form factor. The new keyboards are great compared to most laptops, but the old ones were better IMO. I’ve been considering getting again an X60 from taobao for like 40 usd… it’s an old CPU but might be enough for what I need, I don’t want to run a full DAW, I just want a small laptop running linux with some standalone synths like dexed and fluidsynth to sequence with the DT MIDI tracks.

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My mobile studio is a Lenovo t460s, and a old Focusrite Saffire USB soundcard, if i need to record something. Works really nice, and no problems with Ableton 10 or Overbridge ect.
Recommended!

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Yesterday I have ordered a Thinkpad X1 Extreme… in love :slight_smile:

I´ve bought an used Lenovo Thinkpad P1 from a shop here
in Germany.

Had a big smile on my face when I unboxed that computer,
looks like brandnew, nice quality !

Smile immediately disappeared when setting up windows and
the fan started the first time. Didn´t expect that it gets that loud.
There was also a high pitched noise i couldn´t reproduce so far.

Unfortunately the fan is not the only noise source.
Didn´t know that a ssd can introduce noise too, well, now
i know it.

Anyway, I´ve set up ableton to test if I could live with it.
Gave up. Can get the fan under control by changing settings,
but i´m not convinced at all, because i hear the computer operating all the time when loading instruments, copying stuff, …

Checking the internet at the moment to solve that problems, but
I pretty much decided already to send it back.
That´s sad because I really like everything else on that laptop.

I’ve bought a T440 for 100 euros to see what the fuss was about

No fan noise - extremely pleased with the performance (except the terrible trackpad which is replaceable)

Installed Mac OS on it - it runs so smoothly i gave my old macbook away

Bought a second Thinkpad just because it’s so well made

Now i’m a thinkpad fanboy

This thread has quite useful information

You should definitely try another unit

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I have an X1 Extreme that I’ve tuned using ThrottleStop and TPFanControl 0.63. TS to undervolt the CPU so it runs cooler. TP to set my own fan profiles. Fan behavior is now drastically better than as configured by Lenovo.


https://thinkwiki.de/TPFanControl

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was about to ask, if the x1 does behave the same way.
does yours make other noises too ?

My P1 makes noises that do not sound like a fan, more
like a harddisc. I googled it and it says the SSD causes this.

I´ve got a 6 years old lenovo flex (not used for music) and the loudest noise it can make is still much more quiet than anything
the P1 produces.

Maybe i should get a computer with less power.

I have a W520 that is still pretty good but will probably be looking to upgrade sometime soon. Which newer thinkpad will give me the most bang for buck? I hate the new keyboard layouts but guess I’ll just have to hold my nose.

My X1 Extreme before tuning would often rev up the fans while I’m just doing office work, or sitting idle (probably win10 scanning for viruses/malware). Not very loud but enough to annoy me. With my tweaking it never revs up anymore while doing office work. Completely silent.

Of course when taxed with games or other intensive load it will start blowing harder. Can get pretty loud but there s just no way around that. Fast hardware + thin laptops = loud fans.

It doesn’t make any other noises. I ‘d search the net for other users’ reports (and perhaps tech blog reviews). That can help you work out whether your unit is weird or whether it’s “normal”.

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Can anyone comment on how the newer Thinkpads are for DPC latency? My W520 has huge spikes unless you disable the wifi adapter. I’ve heard the P53 is very good for it but it’s a lot of coin - perhaps someone has had good DPC results with one of the newer T or X series machines?

How do you test for this? I ll run it through my X1 Extreme.

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https://www.thesycon.de/eng/latency_check.shtml

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everything runs fine on my t480.
pro tip: buy one with the right cpu and screen for you, upgrade the ssd and ram yourself. will be cheaper in most cases.

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My X1 Extreme (gen 1 I think) with i7-8750H 6-core, 16GB RAM and GTX1050Ti registers steady in the yellow zone, which the app says should yield no drop-outs. With either ethernet or wifi network.

I only got a short red spike when changing networks adapters, plugging a USB or ethernet cable, starting software like Ableton or OB engine and control panel.

I tested with Ableton running with 6 stereo inputs from my Xone:96 soundcard plus 14 inputs from AR2 Overbridge. Both running at 64 sample buffer and 48kHz. Stays neatly in the yellows.

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