Rescued an x201 from the scrap heap. Bought a new battery for it and it plays nice. They do have a distinct smell when they get warm.
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The replacement battery holds a charge and so far it is a very usable computer. 4GB is not quite enough for a desktop environment & browser, which is profoundly daft but the main bottleneck remains storage. One forgets how glacially slow 5200 rpm drives are.
It will do for now. i may pop a cheap 2.5" ssd in there, it is just one screw and it slides out which seems like a dream nowadays.