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    What 'classic' ThinkPad would you get for <$350?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by Maximos, Dec 5, 2007.

  1. Maximos

    Maximos Notebook Consultant

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    What would you guys get?

    I was looking at the T41 - T43's, X31, X41, and so on. What is considered a good deal?

    If you guys were wonndering, I think that a good idea is too get a cheaper laptop now and get a top-end one later (think March or April)
     
    Maximos, Dec 5, 2007
    #1
  2. ChristopherAKAO4

    ChristopherAKAO4 Notebook Nut

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    I was wondering the same thing this morning! :eek:
     
    ChristopherAKAO4, Dec 5, 2007
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  3. Maximos

    Maximos Notebook Consultant

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    Ahh, then lets proclaim a joint-thread venture! :)
     
    Maximos, Dec 5, 2007
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  4. 4cefed4

    4cefed4 Notebook Evangelist

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    If you can find a T43 for less than $350, that's definitely the way I'd go. Not so much for the slight boost in performance over the previous models, but the 9-cell that is standard. Of course you could always buy an extended 9-cell for a t41 or t42. Otherwise, all the Thinkpads are very solid, aside from AC adapter ports that get "loose" over time.
     
    4cefed4, Dec 5, 2007
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  5. Maximos

    Maximos Notebook Consultant

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    Sounds good...

    How are the speakers on that? (if you know, by chance)

    If I can not seem to find any good deals on old ThinkPads, I am going to end up getting an EEE PC ;)
     
    Maximos, Dec 5, 2007
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  6. 4cefed4

    4cefed4 Notebook Evangelist

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    The speakers I'd say are about average, nothing to rave or complain about. They are the same on the T41 and T42 as far as I can tell. One source for the ThinkPads youre looking for is people graduating Medical or Dental school. It seems like every single one of them requires its students to purchase the current ThinkPad model, and once they graduate I imagine a lot of them are looking to get somethig new.
     
    4cefed4, Dec 5, 2007
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  7. sp00n

    sp00n Notebook Deity

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    I would look into any of the T4x series like others have suggested.
     
    sp00n, Dec 5, 2007
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  8. eyecon82

    eyecon82 Notebook Deity

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    I would get the t41 for something cheap until you can get a new one like you stated you wanted before
     
    eyecon82, Dec 5, 2007
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  9. Maximos

    Maximos Notebook Consultant

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    Maximos, Dec 5, 2007
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  10. SpacemanSpiff

    SpacemanSpiff Everything in Moderation

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    Hm. Looks like what I own. But I can't tell if the screen is XGA or SXGA+, and what the video card is.
     
    SpacemanSpiff, Dec 5, 2007
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  11. Maximos

    Maximos Notebook Consultant

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    He states that it is SXGA...
    I believe the video card to be aa Radeon 9000, containing 32MB of RAM.

    It is a little hard tp justify it, however...for $100 more, I can get a Gateway with a dual-core AMD processor at 1.8 GHz, 2GB RAM, DVD-RW, and so on.

    Really, I do not know what to do...to me, it makes sense to go SUPER cheap for now and get something nice later. Therefore, I do not want to drop so much money on a unit now.
     
    Maximos, Dec 5, 2007
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  12. chubbyfatazn

    chubbyfatazn Notebook Evangelist

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    The picture shows it at XGA res, but the specs say SXGA.

    It's probably either a Mobility 7500 or 9000.
     
    chubbyfatazn, Dec 5, 2007
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  13. Maximos

    Maximos Notebook Consultant

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    Maximos, Dec 5, 2007
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  14. ChristopherAKAO4

    ChristopherAKAO4 Notebook Nut

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    ChristopherAKAO4, Dec 6, 2007
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  15. Maximos

    Maximos Notebook Consultant

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    That looks decent...hows upgradability? Can I pop in a Core Duo?

    If so...that might be it ;)
     
    Maximos, Dec 6, 2007
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  16. 4cefed4

    4cefed4 Notebook Evangelist

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    You can add RAM, replace the HDD, then that's pretty much a day.
     
    4cefed4, Dec 6, 2007
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  17. Maximos

    Maximos Notebook Consultant

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    Oh, so no CPU upgrades? That Celeron is disappointing...
     
    Maximos, Dec 6, 2007
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  18. ChristopherAKAO4

    ChristopherAKAO4 Notebook Nut

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    I was wondering about the CPU too. I mean get a T7200 on eBay for like $100 a little RAM...
     
    ChristopherAKAO4, Dec 6, 2007
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  19. Maximos

    Maximos Notebook Consultant

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    You know? A T2500 can be had for $85, directly from China, which was probably bought directly in bulk from Intel in Taiwan. Add $40 for 2x2GB RAM, and have a little screamer! :)

    $400 + $125 +$40 = $565.

    Under $600 for a dual-core ThinkPad with 4GB of RAM. Unprecedented!
     
    Maximos, Dec 6, 2007
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  20. ChristopherAKAO4

    ChristopherAKAO4 Notebook Nut

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    I would recommend doing I'm doing and just watch the Lenovo outlet regularly there where better deals last night, but they were gone by morning. (or more like in ten minutes of my finding, lol.) That was the only one under $400 I saw, but If you could go up a few hundred you could have got a R or T series. They seem the refresh once a month or so, so it'll be a while before they add probably...but maybe not.
     
    ChristopherAKAO4, Dec 6, 2007
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  21. eyecon82

    eyecon82 Notebook Deity

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    the current santa rosa platforms are socket P, i would make sure the architecture of the notebook you plan on buying supports that. Keep in mind that cpu's are sometimes soldered in. The new ones have a switch you can move to make it plug and play
     
    eyecon82, Dec 6, 2007
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  22. Maximos

    Maximos Notebook Consultant

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    Can I get a link to the outlet? Seems like we are looking at two different things.

    I may wait till February and just get a real laptop then :)

    For now, I'll get a Lenovo UltraNav keyboard for my desktop.
     
    Maximos, Dec 6, 2007
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  23. ChristopherAKAO4

    ChristopherAKAO4 Notebook Nut

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    The link I had was out of date :p that's why I didn't find out they refreshed the outlet. Go to the lenovo home page and click on "outlet" home page.
     
    ChristopherAKAO4, Dec 6, 2007
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  24. ChristopherAKAO4

    ChristopherAKAO4 Notebook Nut

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    That would be my question, is it solder on?
     
    ChristopherAKAO4, Dec 6, 2007
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  25. ChristopherAKAO4

    ChristopherAKAO4 Notebook Nut

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    Here's a list of supported CPUs -

    * Intel Core Duo T7400 (2.16GHz), T7200 (2GHz)
    * Intel Core Duo T5600(1.83GHz)
    * Intel Core Duo T2300 (1.66GHz), T2400 (1.83GHz), T2500 (2.0GHz)
    * Intel Core Solo T1300 (1.66 GHz)
    * Intel Celeron M 410 (1.46GHz), 420 (1.6GHz), 430 (1.73GHz)
     
    ChristopherAKAO4, Dec 6, 2007
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  26. 4cefed4

    4cefed4 Notebook Evangelist

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    4cefed4, Dec 11, 2007
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