ThinkPad G series

ThinkPad G series

ThinkPad G40
Also known as	ThickPad
Developer	IBM (2003–2005) Lenovo (2005–2006)
Product family	ThinkPad
Release date	2003
Discontinued	2006
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
CPU	Intel Pentium 4
Marketing target	Business purpose
Successor	ThinkPad R series
Related	ThinkPad A series

The ThinkPad G series is a series of desktop replacement ThinkPad laptops made by IBM. The short-lived series is the only ThinkPad series to use a desktop CPU (except G50), being produced from 2003 to 2006 with three generations released.

G40 and G41

The G40 and G41 were based on an Intel Pentium 4 ^{[1] [2] [3]} and were released as low-end, affordable and massive successors ^[4] of Pentium 4-M-equipped 15" ThinkPad A31 and 14" ThinkPad T30.

In a review by CNET in 2004, ^[2] the G40 was given a 7.3 stating that while the laptop was big and heavy with a mediocre screen, the ThinkPad G40 "proves you can get a capable desktop replacement at an affordable price without sacrificing battery life and performance."

In another review by ZDNet in 2003, ^[1] recommending the G40 to people who want the capabilities of a desktop but not the clutter, the author stated that the G40's "keyboard is comfortable, the screen easy to read, and the specifications, features and performance about right for a typical home/home office PC."

In their review of the G40 in 2003, ^[4] The Register commented on the laptops 3.5kg weight contradicting "IBMs talk of the mobile worker, and not sacrificing power for portability." They also expressed concerns of the Access IBM button being a "scarily Big Brother single button access to Big Blue" but did ease the concern by explaining the actual reason as making the G40 easier to deploy in a corporate environment. The Register concluded that the G40's ideal user was the "migrant": "Working in a flexible office environment, and occasionally from home."

As a sign of their low cost placement, the G40 and G41 did not include a ThinkLight, docking connector, nor stereo speakers. Though they have both a floppy drive and an optical drive, both do not have eject mechanisms and the optical drive bay is not an Ultrabay. They also were not optionable with IPS screens nor trackpad. While they both use desktop CPUs, they also used anemic Intel integrated graphics with only some G41's optioned with NVIDIA Geforce FX Go5200 graphics. ^{[5] [6]}

Both models have the option of either 15" or 14.1" screens with same case. ^[2] For the 14.1" screen option, the both the G40 and the G41 were offered with XGA(1024x768). For the 15" screen option, both models were offered with either XGA(1024x768) or SXGA+(1400x1050) displays. ^{[5] [6]}

G50

The G50 was released in 2006. It retained the overall design of G40 and G41 but was based on the new Intel Core architecture which consumes less power than previous Pentium 4 processors. With the shift to the new architecture, the G50 now used SATA instead of IDE hard drives and used DDR2 instead of DDR SDRAM. ^[7]

The G50 is only available in 15" screen size with either XGA(1024x768) or SXGA+(1400x1050) resolutions and was only sold in Japan. ^[8]

Battery configuration

Main	M(x)	Main hot-swappable (max.cells)	Secondary	U	Ultrabay removable
				u	Ultrabay unremovable
	M(x)	Main removable (max.cells)		m(x)	internal (max.cells) "PowerBridge"
	m(x)	Main internal (max.cells)		S	Slice battery

Laptop color codes

Processor   Socketed desktop processor   Socketed mobile processor   Soldered high power processor   Soldered standard power processor   Soldered low power processor   Soldered ultra low power processor Weight 0.9 kg (2.0 lb) Up to 0.91 kg 1.0 kg (2.2 lb) 0.92–1.0 kg 1.1 kg (2.4 lb) 1.01–1.1 kg 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) 1.11–1.2 kg 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) 1.21–1.3 kg 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) 1.31–1.4 kg 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) 1.41–1.5 kg 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) 1.51–1.6 kg 1.7 kg (3.7 lb) 1.61–1.7 kg 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) 1.71–1.81 kg 1.9 kg (4.2 lb) 1.81–1.91 kg 2.0 kg (4.4 lb) 1.91–2.03 kg 2.1 kg (4.6 lb) 2.04–2.14 kg 2.3 kg (5.1 lb) 2.15–2.4 kg 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) 2.41–2.75 kg 2.8 kg (6.2 lb) 2.76–3.05 kg 3.1 kg (6.8 lb) 3.06–3.42 kg 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) 3.43–3.99 kg 4.0 kg (8.8 lb) 4.0–4.99 kg 5.5 kg (12 lb) 5.0–6.49 kg 7.2 kg (16 lb) 6.5–7.99 kg 9.1 kg (20 lb) 8.0–9.99 kg 10.7 kg (24 lb) 10–11.99 kg 12.7 kg (28 lb) 12–14.49 kg 14.5 kg (32 lb) 14.5–17.99 kg 18.1 kg (40 lb) 18–20.99 kg 21.7 kg (48 lb) 21–23.99 kg 24 kg (53 lb) 24–28.99 kg 29.5 kg (65 lb) 29 kg and above Screen resolution   4K or higher   1440p+ (WQHD,QXGA)   1080p+ (Full HD,UXGA)   Better than 768p (SXGA,SXGA+)   600p+ (SVGA,HD,XGA,HD+)   Up to 600p (VGA) Graphics   Dual standard socket graphics option   Dual proprietary socket graphics option   Standard socket graphics option   Proprietary socket graphics option   Soldered performance graphics option   Soldered midrange graphics option   Soldered mainstream graphics option   Soldered entry graphics option   Integrated entry graphics   Integrated basic graphics Laptop storage combinations (excluding WWAN slot) Level PCIe 4.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x2 M.2 SATA mSATA 1.8" SATA 2.5" SATA 1.8" IDE 2.5" IDE 2019 Not yet (laptops) 2013 2013 2013 2009 2003 2003 1991 1988 3 2 4 3 1 2 2 3 2 3 2 1 4 3 1 2 2 2 1 1 3 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 4 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 1 1 Laptop memory Amount LPDDR5X LPDDR5 DDR5 LPDDR4X LPDDR4 DDR4 LPDDR3 DDR4 DDR3L DDR3 DDR2 DDR SDR EDO FPM dual channel < dual channel dual channel < dual channel dual channel < dual channel dual channel < dual channel 2022 (laptops) 2019 (laptops) 2020 2017 2014 2014 2012 2014 2010 2007 2003 1998 1993 1993 1987 max memory = 512 GB N/A N/A 512 GB N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A max memory = 256 GB N/A 256 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A max memory = 128 GB 128 GB 128 GB N/A N/A 128 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 64 GB ≤ max memory < 128 GB 64 GB N/A N/A 64 GB N/A 64 GB (2 slots) 64 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 32 GB ≤ max memory < 64 GB 32 GB 32 GB 32 GB N/A 32 GB 32 GB (2 slots) 32 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 16 GB ≤ max memory < 32 GB 16 GB 16 GB 16 GB 16 GB 16 GB (2 slots) 16 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 8 GB ≤ max memory < 16 GB 8 GB 8 GB 8 GB 8 GB 8 GB (2 slots) 8 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A 4 GB ≤ max memory < 8 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB (4 slots) 4 GB (4 slots) N/A 2 GB ≤ max memory < 4 GB 2 GB (8 chips) 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB N/A 1 GB ≤ max memory < 2 GB 1 GB (1 chip) dual channel min dual channel min N/A single channel min 1 GB 1 GB 1 GB 1 GB (4 slots) 512 MB ≤ max memory < 1 GB N/A N/A N/A single channel min single channel min N/A dual channel min half channel min 512 MB (8 chips) 512 MB (8 chips) 512 MB 512 MB 256 MB ≤ max memory < 512 MB N/A N/A N/A 256 MB (1 chip) 256 MB (1 chip) N/A single channel min 256 MB (1 chip) N/A single channel min N/A single channel min 256 MB 128 MB ≤ max memory < 256 MB N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 128 MB (1 chip) N/A N/A half channel min N/A half channel min 64 MB ≤ max memory < 128 MB N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 64 MB (1 chip) N/A 64 MB (1 chip) max memory < 64 MB N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Specifications ^{[5] [6]}

Model	Release (US)	Dimensions (w, d, h)	Weight (min)	CPU	Chipset	Memory (max)	Graphics	Storage	Networking	Screen	Battery	Other
G40	Apr 2003	329mm x 282.5mm x 50.9mm (12.9" x 11.1" x 2.0")	3.47 kg (7.7 lb)	Intel Celeron or Pentium 4 (Northwood) FSB: 400MT/s	Intel 852GM	1GB (2x DDR-266 SO-DIMM)	Intel Extreme Graphics (8-64MB [a] ) shared	One 2.5" IDE	Broadcom BCM5901 10/100 Ethernet Agere 56K Modem in CDC slot Optional 802.11b or g WLAN in mPCI slot	CCFL backlit XGA(1024x768) 14" or 15" or SXGA+(1400x1050) 15" TN TFT LCD	M(12)	One 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy drive (Unremovable) One Slimline Optical drive bay (Unremovable) ThinkPad ComfortSlant keyboard
G41	Oct 2004	329mm x 282.5mm x 50.9mm (12.9" x 11.1" x 2.0")	3.5 kg (7.7 lb)	Intel Celeron or Mobile Pentium 4 HT (Prescott) FSB: 533MT/s	Intel 852GME	2GB (2x DDR-333 SO-DIMM)	NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 (64 or 128MB) or Intel Extreme Graphics 2 (64MB) shared	One 2.5" IDE	Broadcom BCM5901 10/100 Ethernet or Broadcom BCM5705M Gigabit Ethernet Conexant 56K Modem in CDC slot Optional 802.11b or g WLAN in mPCI slot	CCFL backlit XGA(1024x768) 14" or 15" or SXGA+(1400x1050) 15" TN TFT LCD	M(12)	One 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy drive (Unremovable) One Slimline Optical drive bay (Unremovable) ThinkPad ComfortSlant keyboard
G50 [9]	Jul 2006 [10]	329mm x 282.5mm x 50.9mm (12.9" x 11.1" x 2.0")	3.3 kg (7.3 lb)	Intel Celeron M or Core Duo (Yonah) FSB: 533 or 667MT/s	Intel 945GM	3GB (2x DDR2-667 SO-DIMM)	Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (128MB) shared	One 2.5" IDE	Broadcom BCM5751M Gigabit Ethernet Conexant 56K Modem in CDC slot Optional 802.11g WLAN in mPCI slot	CCFL backlit XGA(1024x768) or SXGA+(1400x1050) 15" TN TFT LCD	M(12)	One 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy drive (Unremovable) One Slimline Optical drive bay (Unremovable) ThinkPad ComfortSlant keyboard
Notes	When system memory is 128MB or less, only up to 32MB will be used

References

1. "IBM ThinkPad G40 Review". ZDNet . Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
2. Littman, Dan. "ThinkPad G series review: ThinkPad G series". CNET. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
3. "New IBM ThinkPad G40 notebook model for education delivers power and flexibility". IBM . 2004-01-20. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
4. IT-Analysis. "On the IBM ThinkPad G40". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
5. "Personal Systems Reference IBM ThinkPad Notebooks A, T, X, and G Series 2000 to 2005 - withdrawn" (PDF). psref.lenovo. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
6. "Product Specifications Reference Lenovo® ThinkPad® Notebooks 2005 to 2013 - withdrawn" (PDF). psref.lenovo. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
7. "ThinkPad G50 0639-A14 0639-A14". Inversenet. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
8. "Lenovo's floppy-equipped ThinkPad G50 for Japan". Engadget. 2006-07-15. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
9. "Category:G50". ThinkWiki. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
10. "ThinkPad G50 0640-A2J 0640-A2J". Inversenet. Retrieved 12 February 2025.

External links

• Hardware maintenance manual of the G40 and G41 on the Wayback Machine
• Japanese Hardware maintenance manual of the G50
• Inversenet Lenovo laptop lookup
• German Thinkwiki - G40
• German Thinkwiki - G41
• German Thinkwiki - G50