Hi, want to buy some used hardware to run with Linux (Gnome DE ON Mint, Debian OR ElementaryOS). Mainly Office use, transcoding, but also for casual gaming Half-life 2 and maybe some more modern games.
Are Thinkpads with integrated GPUs sufficient for that? Any nice alternatives which are sturdy and can be upgraded?
TIA!
EDIT: thank you for all the helpful input. Will check AMD options!
Which ThinkPad? It can either run things wonderfully or not at all depending on the specs…
Stay away from the Thinkpad T580 with the Geforce MX150. It’s horribly throttled and can’t even run Quake 3 properly although it should actually be capable of running Doom 2016.
Might be the same with the T480.
Depends on the GPU and how current you want to get with the titles, but yeah, should be fine. Just search around with the specific model name to double check it’s Linux compatibility.
Depends on the specs and the games. Possibly/probably.
I have an X220 with an i5-2520M, I don’t use it for gaming but I have briefly played Half-Life 2 with it and it was comfortably playable.
So I would say mid-2000s titles and before will be fine. It really depends on the age the Thinkpad you want is, and the age of the games you want to play.
I’ve been enjoying my Thinkpad E16 that I got brand new from Best Buy. https://startrek.website/post/13283869
I don’t know about other games, but it wasn’t too terrible playing Civ 6.
AMD cpu yes, intel no. Some AMD cpus have a good enough integrated GPU for light gaming
Modern games are not going to run well. Look for a Thinkpad with a Thunderbolt 3 port (make sure it actually has 4 PCIe lanes, some only have 2) and use an eGPU. Retro games will run fine on integrated graphics though.
Will do, thanks!
I can reliably play wii on an x230. I am pretty sure you can go ahead and play unless it is ps2 or xbox og or anything newer (wii/gamecube excluded)
I’ve got a 2015 T540p with integrated graphics. It’s fine for low-spec gaming. I only run Linux-native games and haven’t managed to get any Windows games running in compatibility mode yet. Here are the games that have “just worked” for me so far.
Dwarf Fortress
Cataclysm: Dark Day Ahead
Darkest Dungeon
Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2
Caves of Qud
Unity of Command
Stardew Valley
Planescape: Torment
Shovel Knight
If that’s the kind of retro gaming that floats your boat, an old Thinkpad is just fine.
I can tell E14 is not a good PC for gaming. Buy one with a good GPU
If you have good Internet then GeForce Now or maybe another game streaming service may be adequate for outlier games. I play a bunch of older games decently on my T450 with no graphics card, but if a modern game pops up I can still stream it. That way I don’t have to spend another few hundred bucks on a better laptop just for the occasional game.
I use a T440p and it works amazing for lightweight gaming (tested so far: Fallout NV, BTD6, Minecraft, and Enter the Gungeon)
Yes it’s fine stay away from the discrete gpus there’s not adequate cooling for their extended use.
Geforce Now on my thinkpad is what makes modern games work.
