On Monday 28 December 2009 04:27:40 Johan M:son Lindman wrote: > On Tuesday 22 December 2009 04:57:55 STeve Andre' wrote: > > On Monday 21 December 2009 22:48:45 James Hozier wrote: > > > This will be my first purchase that is focused primarily on having only > > > OpenBSD on it and nothing else to be used as a main workstation. The > > > budget is around $900 or so. I'm looking for something with quality parts > > > and probably have everything supported and compatible with OpenBSD > > > straight out of the box (like the graphics/sound, wireless card, etc.) > > > > > > I've heard that most developers use Thinkpads. Which model would be a > > > good suggestion? > > > > A problem is that $900 isn't going to get you a thinkpad and a multi-year > > warranty. If you stay away from nvidia video, just about all the thinkpads > > are going to work with the ooccaisonal exception of the wireless card, and > > I'm not sure that hasn't shrunk a bunch, the ones that don't work. My W500 > > runs OpenBSD wonderfully. > > > > Looking at the Lenovo site I see a T500 with a 15" screen with *led* back > > light, 160G disk 2.4G core two something, intel wifi and intel graphics > > for $849. I don't know the status of the Intel graphics card, but you > > could get that, except it has a 1 year warranty. There are discounts > > if you can get it through an educational organization, etc. > > > > --STeve Andre' > > If you get a Thinkpad stay clear of the SL300. > It's cheap crap.
I suppose I should add to this. In order to compete with HP/Dell/Toshiba/Sony Lenovo had to come out with a low end series, the SL. Having used one for a few days I will say that the SL is better than its competitors, but still not as good as the W or T series Thinkpads. Note that you can increase the price of an SL by 50% and get a 3 year on site warranty, so Lenovo will back it up. The T, W and X series are the reliable units, with the X series being a little weaker in the physical ruggedness department. The R series seems to be best for desktop usage, somewhere between the SL and T/W in terms of reliability. --STeve Andre'
