Lenovo ThinkPad 14.1" Core i5 Laptop
$499.99 + $5 Standard Shipping
Condition: Refurbished
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Curse you woot!, this is just about exactly what I am looking for in a laptop, but I can’t justify $500 currently to my wife.
This looks so similar to my old T40P that I could probably switch them out and she wouldn’t notice except for the credit card bill, oh, and the screaming difference in speed.
Do this same machine again in six months, and you’d have me at “Hello.”
1st Gen i5 (3 years ago).
3 years old SSD.
See the pictures, the LCD screen has been replaced because the screws are shown.
I can find similar model T series on ebay around $300 plus $50 square trade warranty.
I had this laptop at my last consulting company and it was great. If I needed one, I’d definitely consider it. In fact, I am considering it. 
Get 'em while they’re hot. This is one of the last ThinkPads before they buggered the keyboards.
Oh-ho, the M1 Abrams of laptops. At least from a couple years ago.
I’d be slightly concerned about the life of the SSD but it is not as if replacing that is hard, and assessing the life of many of them is easy.
Since this lists the WLAN as b/g/n and not a/b/g/n I’m thinking this is the Centrino and not the Lenovo adapter but is there a way to confirm this?
Not true! My w520 still has the great non-chiclet style keyboard.
Does this model allow me to replace the optical drive with a standard 2.5" HDD?
If not, which laptops will allow for dual HDD?
Yes you can buy a caddy or slice battery for the ultrabay.
I’ve owned several Thinkpads and they’ve all been fantastic machines.
The “best” series of Thinkpads are the X, T, & W series – notice that this one is a T410 and therefore included.
This is a good deal imo. Yes, you can get newer laptops with more recent CPUs for $500, but the T410 is a solid machine that comes with a 160gb SSD and 8gb of RAM as well. If I needed a laptop I’d seriously consider it.
But it’s not an auto-buy for me. The CPU is 1st gen i5 and we’re on 3rd gen at present in new machines, with another set probably coming out in a few months.
At $400 it would be a steal no matter how you looked at it. At $500? Depends on your needs.
Gaaaaah! This is my work computer. Really, woot? Did you have to post this on my Friday evening?
I will say that the thing is indeed a tank. It has been super dependable.
These are wonderful machines but as someone pointed out, this is VERY dated hardware. This is a 3 year old CPU. It’d be a snail by modern standards.
The T-series are very reliable series of business laptops. I have the T400s.
The T4xx series runs T400, T410, T420 and the current model, T430. The “s” models: T400s, T410s, T420s, and the current T430s are the slimmer lighter weight models coming in at about 4lbs or so while the non-“s” model around 5lbs and not as slim… but the regular T4xx series are less expensive.
My T400s is now 4 generations old but still working fine (using it as I type). I upgrade it to 8GB. Its running an Intel Core 2 Duo P9400 2.4Ghz and it runs fine. I can have my Chrome browser with 8 tabs active, Excel, Word and MS-Publisher all running without any slow down.
When you compare this to other T410 on e-bay be sure to compare apples to apples. Some are equipped with only a 1280x800 display. I would ‘assume’ that the battery is a new one or its cells have be replaced.
You can replace/swap out the CD/DVD and put in another 2.5" HDD (or SSD) using an ultra-bay HDD caddy for more space. Or replace the current SSD with a higher capacity SSD or HDD.
I have friends who are still using older T-series laptops (older than T400 or T500) and if they replace their laptop it will be with another Thinkpad.
Is it worth $500… since other units don’t have the exact same config its hard to say. Its close. Definitely worth it at $400 as someone else said. Probably so at $500 since it does have 8GB and the 160GB SSD which many of the other ones don’t.
Most laptops come with dated hardware. Laptops are usually ~3 years behind the desktop technology curve.
I agree. It is frustrating when people arbitrarily say they can find some magical deal but do not provide any links.
Sure, this laptop is not top of the line. It is a ruggedly durable Thinkpad for $500. I think it is a heck of a deal for what you’re getting but of course it may not be suitable for everyone. Different tools for different jobs.
That being said, this will meet most users needs and last through many beatings.
I bought a T520 about a year ago because I got tired of my laptops dying after a couple of years even after being babied. The Compaq whose hard drive crashed and power connector went intermittent; the Dell whose motherboard power circuitry went south. The Dell was after being revived once after its CPU cooling filled up with dust.
I wanted a machine that would last for awhile with my old software. Could see that Windows 8 was going to be interesting so I staked a claim on Windows 7 for the rest of the decade (XP worked fine for the last one). Figure my next computer will be a tablet.
This T410 should last. Yes the CPU is a little old but we’re talking an i5 here. I was continually amazed how well the Pentium 4 on my last notebook would claw its way back to the surface. This should do multiple normal tasks fine and stream media without problem. You probably won’t be happy if you throw a recent hard core game at it.
Note that it has a Express Card/32 external expansion slot. Here’s where you can add USB 3, etc. to keep up with the Jonses. It’s also idioot-proofed (hummm, censorship!). Hooked two USB hubs with lots of loads to the T520 - it refused to boot. Bought a couple of wall warts for the hubs - now everybody is happy. This probably was what killed the previous Dell.
You know if you’re a candidate for this machine.
I bought had the same laptop from woot a month back. I bought it then and pretty happy with it. It’s more of a workhorse and not a gaming laptop. Things to consider:1.rugged look some don’t like. 2. Low volume 3.no hdmi
My only complaint. . One usb was not working and I wanted a replacement. They didn’t have any so I kept it. Now I see the same laptop on sale. . Hmm… probably they didn’t have then. .Any chance of replacing now? Woot you listening