[keldaris]

A bunch of old X220 machines are still my only laptops to this day because I simply haven't found anything better since. Every modern laptop I've seen is vastly inferior in some aspect I care about - terrible keyboards, fragile cases, zero maintainability, no Linux support, etc., the list goes on and on. Apart from better CPUs and displays, most laptops have objectively regressed in the metrics I actually care about. Luckily, picking up refurbished X220s is cheap and with current hardware trends being what they are these machines should satisfy my needs for another half a decade at least.

[wilsonnb3]

I really don't know how you deal with the awful screens. Even the nicer IPS screen is low resolution and has bad viewing angles.

That alone would be enough to make me upgrade, even if it meant sacrificing everything else on your list.

[Retr0spectrum]

With a bit of modding, you can replace the panel with something much better.

I have an x230, and I'm planning to upgrade to a 13.3 inch 1080p IPS panel.

[keldaris]

I have pretty terrible eyesight, so the IPS screen is okay by my standards. Probably not the case for most people, admittedly.

[lorenzhs]

I used my T420 until last year, and it's a wonderful machine. But the new keyboards aren't as bad as they were in the beginning any more. They're actually good keyboards now. I just wish they had seven rows. But if that doesn't convince you, maybe have a look at the so-called X210. It's an X201 mod with up-to-date hardware, the laptop equivalent of a sleeper car.

[keldaris]

They're good keyboards by modern standards, but they're still worse than the keyboards on classic Thinkpads (up to X220/T420/T520), both in terms of feedback (both tactile and sound) and the layout. The X210 looks marvelous, though, I'll see if I can get my hands on one. Thanks!

[lorenzhs]

Yeah I kinda have to agree. I got one of the old ThinkPad USB keyboards when someone was careless enough to list it for 25€ on eBay. It was like new! Best purchase I’ve made in a while.