T40/41 tips/notes from users needed please.

Hello.

I am looking to get a laptop for my uncle - he has not used computers, at all as far as I know. The intended usage would probably be internet/DVDs/ some other core things - a few basic 3D games too maybe. Something of the order of Carmageddon and similar.

The T40/41 laptops caught my eye on Ebay - they go for about 150 GBP.

There is one for about 200 GBP with a 1.6Ghz CPu, 160GB HD and 1GB of RAM the latter two I think might have been added on alter, but in numbers at least it does look better than the 40GB/60Gb and 512MB RAM that you get for most other ones.

What I am trying to ask is that - would say a T40/41 with 1.6Ghz CPU, 40/60GB HD and 5120MB of RAM be alright for internet/DVD/maybe a few quite basic 3D games? Would you say the screen is alright for movies and such?

Any help/tips/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Please HELP!!!!

(in a rush - gotta have it by Monday )

 

DVDs are good. Games, if you get the dedicated card, are fine. Internet browsing is good. For sites like Hulu or YouTube, which use flash video, the Pentium M may struggle a bit.

The screens on the T40/T41 are fair, nothing great.

The GPU flex issue is of concern with older ThinkPads. I'd suggest the Intel GPU if you don't mind a XGA screen, but that will probably have some effect on the gaming.

 

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewforum.php?f=2&start=0

Don't scream and post in red over there.

 

I still own a T43, one in my sig. It works fine for Flash videos, HD quality is a struggle, but i suggest getting the final T43 because it was more refined than the previous T4x's, and had some basic improvements. Platform was updated (though questionable performance benefits), heat and fan noise is admittedly more so on this model than the previous T4x's, screen is 4:3, mine is 1400x1050 SXGA, so resolution is not bad at all. Mine uses the X300M ATI GPU, which surprised me in the games it could play. For example, i can OC it and play CoD-2 at almost max settings under DX9 rendering, which looks very good. I bought it off eBay for about $350CAN, which is alot lower than that in GBP, i think, not sure what the GBP is at right now.

 

I see, thanks for the replies. All I seem to find as far as resolution goes is 1024x768.
Can someone tell me which one of these would be the better option?
This, this or this?
The latte version has a 60GB HD, but the GPU is not specified - I asked the seller a question about that. Otherwise the other two seem to only have different GPUs - X300/915GM and the other one has Ati 7500, though the CPU is at 2Ghz vs 1.86. The two Ghz CPU is an Intel M and the 1.86 one is a Ccentrino and such - I do not know if they the M and Centrino are the same things.

Jane - what are you talking about?

 

Centrino is a Intel marketing term. If it has a Pentium M CPU, Chipset and WiFi card, it's a Centrino Machine. If it has the ThinkPad WiFi card it's not Centrino. Not really a big deal.

I'd rule out one. The T43 never had the 7500 GPU, which make me wonder. I'm guessing the third one, if it doesn't say, probably has the Intel card. You could ask the seller. There's three available in the second one, which means some have the X300 and some have the Intel card. I'd ask before you buy.

 

Oh so centrino is like a combination of mobile technologies from Intel. I see, I just though that Centrino CPUs had some stuff in them that made the more... mobile-suitable.

I've sent a question about the GPU for the 3rd one. Is there a big difference between the Intel GPUs and the ATi ones avaliable in the 2nd option?

 

If you want to play games, yes.

 

7500, if i remember correctly, is probably from the t40 era

 

So is the X300 better? By much?

I see - thanks, that's useful.

 

The 64MB X300 is more like an X300 SE because it was a cheaper version of the 128-bit memory bus X300, and used hypermemory to make up for the memory it lacked dedicated. It replaced the mobile Radeon 9600, which was featured in some T42 machines, i highly recommend an X300 graphics T43, unless you want to spend a bit more and get a T42p or T43p, which had more powerful GPU's oriented toward 3D intensive programs.

 

I see. Right now it does not look like I will be getting an X300. I think I might just have to jump with the laptop number two or number three.

It's just that it absolutely must be here on Monday and I so far I have not received a reply back about the video card - would lke to ask about delivery also. Oh and a quick look on Ebay UK did not bring up any T43p notebooks, and only one T42p and it is on an auction for four more days.

Though would the aforementioned Intel GPU be okay for some older games, lika again, say Carmageddon, Doom maybe Serious Sam and such?

 

You should get a T42 with ATI 9000 GPU, the ATI 7500 isn't adequate for most of the 3D games that you want to run on it. The Intel GPU is even worse than the ATI 7500.

 

Right now it does not look like I will get anything at all as I can't be sure that the laptop will get here on Monday. BTW - the 3rd laptop I mentioned in an earlier post has an X300 GPU I got told, what version I dono, but either way it seem to be better than the Intel GPU in this case.

 

Or better yet, a T42 with a MR9600. A lot of modern games (no, not the latest games but rather from circa 2006-07) need a DX9 compatible graphics card at a minimum and the MR9000 doesn't cut the mustard.

 

No T43? X300MR outperforms 9600, i suggest you get it. You'd be happier with it, it does get a bit hotter but not considerably. The X300MR is also highly overclockable, i've OC'ed it from stock 230/230 to 450/325.

 

I see. Thanks for all the help, but I have not ordered the laptop as I could not be sure that it would get here today...

As for playing games from 06/07 with a laptop such as this - well I personally would not plan to...

I tried playing CoD1 on a Q310 and that does not run too well. Though games like Serious Sam should be just fine I presume.