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Comment by captain_coffee | Hacker News Reader

Has any of the newer ThinkPad models been upgraded to use a metal case or they are still made out of plastic? Asking as that is the main deal-breaker for me

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I read somewhere that in Shenzhen you can get metal thinkpad clones with any modern hardware you like, made to order, one at a time for a resonable price.

Not sure if it still exists

51NB. There was a blog post about it: https://geoff.greer.fm/2019/03/04/thinkpad-x210/

I've been a ThinkPad user forever, and I wouldn't buy another one if they "upgraded" to metal like everyone else. If I were to guess, most serious ThinkPad users would want the current shell, the dated appearance, and the keyboard to not change much or at all.

Any particular reason for avoiding the metal cases? I was under the impression that a metal case - making the laptops more durable and resistant to potential damage - would be a desirable thing.

Personally I think hard plastic (like on ThinkPads) is more resistant to damage than metal cases. Also, the textured surface is less slippery. And - ThinkPad repair (especially old models) is usually cheaper because businesses by so many of them.

It’s common that the right plastic can be more durable and resistant to damage (up to a point) than metal - the right plastic doesn’t show small marks as clearly as metal, and for larger impacts (again, within reason) plastic flexes, absorbs energy, and returns to its original shape, while metal dents and bends.

The internal structure has been metal since a long time afaik

The outside is a very durable rubber material. Certainly more durable than my Macbook Pro

Imagine you drop your laptop from a standing height onto a hard surface.

Metal will bend and deform. Dent.

Plastic will yield, then crack.

You can then replace the cracked component, because the plastic took the vast majority of the force so the metal frame on the inside that holds everything together is fine. Same way you have squishy muscle to absorb impacts that might break your bones. Same way cars have crumple zones.

I've been a Mac user primarily for 20 years. I've had or used extensively every generation of PowerBook and MacBook since the G4. I have two Thinkpads (T420, A485) and they both feel as solid as anything I've had from Apple, except when my MacBook Air slid off my couch onto its back corner, it misaligned the lid permanently, and my Thinkpads bounced.

My aluminum X13 has taken that sort of fall, all that happened was it got a small abrasion on the corner it landed on. I know of a T14 which took a similar fall and did not survive. I think with either plastic or metal, that sort of accident is a matter of luck, exactly how it hits the ground, and if it was open or closed.

I've never had a shell/case break. Why would I want to spend more?

I have had generations of ThinkPad, since the x30 series. And the older older all had a very stiff metal (magnesium) frame as a core and usually a metal lid. Nowadays they went to very stiff plastic and carbon to save weight and thickness I guess. But they are much more portable because of this. I think Apple patented the "unibody design" at the time btw. The current company macbook pro I use for work is very heavy compared to other devices, because of all the metal and glass. It is quite a lot to carry around.

They have some metal cased models, I am currently on an aluminum cased X13. There are a few others (or atleast were) but don't recall which.

6th gen X1 Yoga user here. My laptop has a full aluminum chassis (and I bought it three years ago).

Me too, don't like it though. The x1 carbon felt sturdier. The keyboard is average and I already had to replace the touchscreen twice on warranty. Just went out while sitting on the desk.. Battery is OK even after 5 years of almost daily use (I keep it at 80%). The flip feature is cool but I honestly haven't used it as much as I thought I would. Probably used the pen more to sign stuff. As a coder, the x series is probably the better choice. I've owned X and T series laptops over the years and one HP that was somewhere in the middle of the X range happiness wise.

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