Looking for older Thinkpad and need advice

I am looking to buy an old Thinkpad just for email, and web browsing. I already have a new laptop, and this one would just be to take on the road with me to keep in touch. Anything from a 400mhz and up would work. Something like the one HERE

What I'm not sure about, is which models have the docking station, so I could remove the station to save weight when traveling, or do all Thinkpads have a docking station? I just want to keep the weight down as much as possible. I also need to be able to add a wireless card as well.

 

Not all older ThinkPads have the docking station. If you want to keep the weight down, an older x21/22 might be a good choice. They sell older ThinkPads right on Leveno's site, but you have to pay tax. They come with 90 day warranties.

 

The "docking station" that you refer to is the UltraBase.

If you only need 400MHz, here's what you want to look at, for under $500:

ThinkPad 570E (with the XGA display)
ThinkPad X20 (with the XGA display)
ThinkPad X21 (with the XGA display)
ThinkPad X22

All of these use an UltraBase, so you don't need to take an optical drive with you when you don't need one. The 570E weighs about 4.5lbs w/o base, IIRC, and the X20-22 weigh about 3.5lbs w/o base.

Maximum RAM on the 570E, and some X20-21s is 320MB. Maximum RAM on some X20-21s is 384MB. Maximum RAM on the X22 is 640MB.

 

Thanks for the replies guy's, I'll keep an eye out for those models on eBay.

Where could I find this site?

 

Right here: http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...1&catalogId=-840&langId=-1&categoryId=2576396

Unfortunately, they're all T series with the exception of one G series. You don't want the G series, and the T series is larger than the X series (because it doesn't have the removable base).

 

If you haven't found anything in a week or two, ping me. My replacement for my X20 is due in tomorrow, and I may sell it. P3 600Mhz, 384MB RAM, Ultrabase, CDRW Drive, DVD ROM Drive, Extra HD (fits Ultrabase), and a couple of other accessories. The only thing is the battery is completely shot.

 

I will say that a lot of the weight advantage of an X series is negated when you're tethered to a wall, when your battery isn't good enough. I should know...

New batteries can be found for $80-90 (for IBM brand, IIRC, not the cheap generic crap) on eBay, though.

That's pretty much the best spec X20 there is, BTW. The way to beat it is to get a CD-RW/DVD combo drive in it ($50 used, and it'll mean you won't need two drives to burn CDs and watch DVDs). (Of course, lmychajluk, does it have built-in Ethernet? That'd be a concern for a web laptop.)

 

It's got the built-in modem and ethernet, but not wireless (well, I DO have the Bluetooth thing that clips on top of the screen, if you count that). If I end up selling it, I'd toss in a 802.11b PC card that I use.

My only hesitation in selling it is that I have one app that uses a serial cable to connect to the OBDII connector in my car, and my new laptop doesn't have a serial port. I've read the app doesn't work with a USB>Serial adapter, and the new USB cable doesn't work with my version of the software, so I'd have to basically buy the updated software and cable. I may just as economical for me to keep the old laptop in the garage just as a diagnostic tool for the car.

-Lee