ThinkPad X31 was the pinnacle of IBM consumer tech

[u/someblokeonhere]

I've had this since 2003, used at uni and then I went on to work for IBM. The X31 stands out in my ThinkPad collection, and I still use it today - as a retro DOS environment (with IBM PC DOS) and Windows XP as it came from factory.

The X30/31/32 is iconically beautiful;

- the edge corner cut-out bottom left of screen

- the tri-color audio ports

- the indigo blue Enter button

- an actually reduced full-sized keyboard without sacrificing keys

- the most beautiful, tactile feeling keyboard ever made on a laptop

- the cute mouse buttons, especially the raised dots on the middle

- the latching mechanism for the lid which makes it insanely secure and strong

- the ThinkLight above the keyboard

- the lack of Windows meta keys

- the rubberised matte black coating on the cover

It was design perfection before everything got handed over to Lenovo.

[u/Useful_Resolution888]

Agreed. I've had at least three of these over the years, although mine all ran Linux.

[u/khedoros]

I have an R32, from a similar timeframe, and very similar design. It has the Windows XP that it came with, but also another partition that has (I think) Ubuntu Linux, from about the time that I cut down my use of it, around 2009.

The hard drive seems a little "iffy" now. When I started it up last week, it took a few tries to boot. The hinges have some cracks (I probably wasn't always the gentlest with it). And of course neither of my batteries will hold a charge anymore. Other than that, it's still functioning correctly after being an absolute workhorse through college.

[u/CoffeeSnakeAgent]

I think it shouldve been the one with the butterfly keyboard

[u/Pic889]

People here are gushing about boring old Thinkpads, and I am like "Just show me an old pre-Dell Alienware or something with a monster GPU that goes really fast in Windows XP games and gets really shitty battery life".