Hey everyone, i finally updated the ThinkPad Timeline, I added a lot of models, I lost count, but because my price guide has 300 ThinkPads from 2004 to 2021, im assuming I probably have about 500 or so computers in total. It isn’t a complete list, there are plenty of other laptops or mobile devices that I just didn’t find, and there’s those PS/55 notebook that, I will not be able to find info about due to not knowing Japanese and having tech-lingo of it…
Version 5 will be more… better. I will probably group ThinkPad models in a certain way & so it’ll be a nice little image to download to.
My spreadsheet links
Google Spreadsheet V4
HTML Version *ugly*
PDF version w/ gridlines
There’s no PNG version of this because it is too fucking big.
Misc Links
Thinkwki’s ThinkPad History
Steven Nikkel’s ThinkPad Specs – Mirror link
Unlike the ThinkWiki timeline, I wanted to show until how late the models were produced or withdrawn from marketing. This is not 100% accurate, as I am only looking at the PSREF from Lenovo or IBM, or misc online sites. I am using resources from mostly US models, there are a few EMEA machines as well, whichever the Lenovo PSREF site has for me to see.
I don’t have much info for Japan specific machines. The 700C was bascially the PS/55 Note 5523-S but for Westerners. Interestingly enough, there’s a few MTMs that are the same or have numbers similar to ThinkPads which implied to me those are precursors, clones or successors of certain ThinkPads.
But I can only be so accurate, on machines I really do not know when they got made, I would put a question mark (?) at the beginning or at the end of it. Unfortunately Lenovo stopped putting “Models withdrawn on” after 2012 PSREFs…. I had to look at most PSREF books to see on updates if models have been withdrawn. However I cannot guarantee that is the case, in later years, the same laptop will be withdrawn or they’ll have specs for it… which wouldn’t be the case if it wasnt for sale.
Also strangely I can’t really find PSREFs between October 2014 to September 2016, it’s just missing from Lenovo’s site. On my google spreadsheet, I tried documenting each thing if you check the spreadsheet tabs. Currently at this time, I do not have a table template for ThinkPad production dates & MTMs…. it seriously skipped my mind when I was making the spreadsheet timelines…. yes now I should of just fucking wrote that info, as it would of taken me a few seconds to do, but now it’ll take me probably months when I actually start fucking doing it. argh
Pre-ThinkPads 1987 – 1992
V – unknown
SX – lower powered version of the DX
SL – upgraded version of the SX, variable clock rate for suspend/resume
SLC – IBM’s SL cpu w/ 486 instructions & 8KB cache
BentoBox Suffixes 1992 – 2000
None – Mono display until 1995, base model 1996 & onward
C – TFT Color Screen
Cs – DSTN color display
D – Disc Drive (CD or DVD depending on model)
E – Enhanced CPU – 1st time
P – Pen Enabled / Convertible (flippy screen)
T – Slate tablet (no keyboard)
L – Enhanced model w/o Sound card
V – Removable LCD lid for overhead projector
X – Enhanced CPU – 2nd time
Z – Enhanced CPU – 3rd time (final?)
The suffixes here are just generalizations, not always do they mean the same thing, esp the CPU upgrading.
T/X/A/R/W Suffixes 2000 to 2012
None – Standard model
e – Economy
m – Multimedia
p – Performance
i – Economy
u – University/School Model and Economy
c – Economy
s – Slim (T, W Series) or Slim & low power (X series)
T – short for Tablet (i think i do that only idk)
Performance actually stood for something in this era. Land Rover has an acronym for their SUVs, you’ll see HSE, which stands for High Standard Equipment, basically it’s a lot of options you can get on the standard Rover. Although it’s not everying like the SV/SVO or Autobiography versions (seriously idk why its like that), but for IBM’s case, P meant that you got a fucking fast CPU, GPU and higher res screen. For awhile they were not available on non-p versions of the laptop. p suffix for this era was notable for having IPS displays on 15″ 4:3 machines… though there are non IPS screens on the 14″ 4:3 & any widescreen p version… IBM/Lenovo would of fucking kicked ass if they had IPS widescreens since 2006.
2012 & later Suffixes
p – non-soldered CPU on T series…
p – full powered quadcore CPU
s – slim or higher standard equipment (T Series only)
Yoga – Tablet flip screen
v – economy workstation
C – my shortening for Carbon on the X1 series.
Its pretty early to tell but for the most part, that is what the suffixes mean. the s T Series went all iGPU from T480s and onward I believe.