Thinkpads Forum

Hi everyone!

Just looking for a good old thinkpad to help me through university lectures, not doing anything intensive just note-taking so something which is good build quality pre-T60 would be perfect. I'm not too picky, just got burned by some bad ebay choices and thought I would look here. I don't really mind paying for shipping from outside Australia as long as it isn't extremely expensive combined with the cost of the actual thinkpad. Preferably with a working battery and in good condition, but I don't really mind about a few scratches and dents.

Thanks!

EDIT: Changed to more recent thinkpads rather than the legacy pre-2000s thinkpads. A T43p, X60s or X61s would be ideal although a T42 or T43 with one of the higher res screens would do

I have 390X with second-fastest PIII450 in 9.5/10 condition except for the batteries
I have a T22 in rough condition
Those two I'm looking forward to sell
And I have a A31p and T43 if you want but you do need to pay for some money
but then the shipping to Australia would be around USD$80-90

Yeah, I have a 600E that I would be willing to part with. But shipping from USA to Australia would make the deal unrealistic.

Yeah the shipping does seem much steeper than i thought it would be, I'll have to think about it for a bit but if I were to pay for the shipping how much would you guys be willing to sell the 390X and the 600E for without shipping?

If it's in good enough condition I might be willing to take the plunge.

Freeser wrote:Yeah the shipping does seem much steeper than i thought it would be, I'll have to think about it for a bit but if I were to pay for the shipping how much would you guys be willing to sell the 390X and the 600E for without shipping?

If it's in good enough condition I might be willing to take the plunge.

If you talk about good condition, my 390X has absolutely no wear and tear aside from a few hairline cracks on the base below hinges and a few tiny tiny scratches on the lid. It has 30GB HDD which is REALLY quiet, a huge (for its time) 1024*768 XGA TFT display with NO dead pixels or yellowing or dead backlight but for some reason it is unable to display 24bit color but only 16bit, 2x128mb=256mb RAM (max 512mb), 450mhz PIII-M (500mhz is the official maximum), working FDD and CDROM, dead batteries. Keyboard has absolutely NO wear, stickers are all present, 100% functional if you can get the non-standard CMOS battery. Trust me, it is absolutely beautiful and aged really well since there is no rubbery shell on this one either. The thing is I don't have much use with it since I already have powerful A30p and A31p which both of them were rescued from being into the recycling.
I hate to bump the price up but I think I would have to set the price to USD$40 without adapter and battery. The main battery is available at my local store for unknown condition but it is nowhere on eBay so if you are interested I will try to get the main battery to you for another USD$25
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_ ... _id=024855

I have a T23 that is also in 9.5+/10 condition but has a lose hinge and its bottom left corner of the body (not lid) completely chipped. 14.1" XGA display with some dust inside but perfectly snow white, Pentium III - M 1, 1.13 or 1.2Ghz, whichever you want (the faster ones suffer from more TDP), maxed 1GB RAM, WLAN card without antenna, DVD-ROM/floppy/superdisk whichever you like (I also have DVD/CD-RW combo and HDD caddy for extra), 30GB HDD.
This computer is modern enough to achieve DVD playback and also runs Windows 7 SP1.
Battery for this one lasts 10 minutes but is widely available on eBay and using T30 ones are suggested
USD$60 (I spent $20 on the RAM sticks already)

I'd be interested in that 390X and yes, if you could pick up that battery that would be great. If it's possible to get one of the CMOS batteries there at the same time because I think it's just a CR1220. Is the 390X running Windows or Linux, because I read up a little about the video adapter and it seems the driver doesn't support hardware acceleration at colour depths above 16bit on Linux at least.

Freeser wrote:I'd be interested in that 390X and yes, if you could pick up that battery that would be great. If it's possible to get one of the CMOS batteries there at the same time because I think it's just a CR1220. Is the 390X running Windows or Linux, because I read up a little about the video adapter and it seems the driver doesn't support hardware acceleration at colour depths above 16bit on Linux at least.

Sure it does. Even the older Neomagic MagicGraph128XD supports 24bit true color but only at 800x600 resolution so I don't use that on my 600 under W9x, W2k and XP. One thing for sure is this GPU does NOT support mpeg2 which means DVD playback is out of the list. Unfortunately I haven't figured out why this machine does not start Windows 6.x and later. Yes indeed the CR1220 seems like the right size but I lost the original battery so I cannot say for sure. As for productive use, Office 2007 will run under Windows XP but office 2003 under Windows 2000 is much better and use converter if you get the newer file version. One thing be extra careful about is when pulling out the hard drive. There is this non-standard adapter in the front of the hard drive that had all the pins secured by the hard drive pins so keep the non-standard connector side up all the time or else the pins will fall and if you miss any of them the computer is useless.
Also do you want me to preinstall 3.x, 95, NT4, 98, 2k (I also have the rare NT5 beta but does not work on this computer), me or XP (I also have Windows whistler which should work on this one)?

I am not trying to discourage you, but I tried the same thing at my uni with my 600X and T23, and it just wasn't practical for the following reasons:

1. Very limited use other than light office tasks or ssh/terminal. Practically no web capability for the increasing presence of web interaction in lectures (ie. hotseat quizzes)
2. Bulky and takes up lots of space
3. Poor battery life, requiring you to find a plug everywhere you go (not available in most seating areas).
4. Dim, low resolution screens
5. Adding to (1), you will want to do work between classes, but your laptop can't access coursework because most of it is done online on webassign or blackboard. You will have to go to a computer lab which is not convenient and may be full.

An upper end X61 tablet with a tablet screen from an X60 would suit you much better, or even an X200/X201. Build quality is still good and you get far better practicality and usefulness.

To answer your questions in my opinion:
1: 600x and 390x, yes. T23, 100% workable since I have a wlan minipci inside
2: Nope. Doesn't take up more space than a gaming laptop and no matter how new the laptop is, 15" screen size cannot be overcomed
3: I usually carry spare battery packs
4: X61 has the same resolution options as T23 (XGA and SXGA+) if you want higher resolution go for T4xp or A3xp or QXGA R50p if you do not mind its thickness
I think T series also work for note taking as well. In fact T43p is my daily driver and works under Windows 10
If you want to get X series X60 or later are more future proof than X41 (A pity that its GPU that doesn't support Aero)
I think the reason he asks for a older laptop is because he doesn't have much budget
Edit: Yes I tried A30p as well. It is a bit too heavy just like how 390X would be but consider it as a daily exercise

It's true maybe I'm looking too far into the past for my thinkpad, but I'm really looking for something with a 4:3 screen so I guess the X series would be fine however size isn't really an issue for me.

I've tried looking for something like a T43(p) on ebay but they usually went for way too much or were really beaten up. Would you recommend looking for something like that instead?

I haven't really heard much about the tablet X series ones, are they very solid around the hinge so that they don't break off or get loose after extended use?

I might have changed my mind about the 390X, sorry about that man.

For size and battery life of "older" 4:3 systems suitable for note-taking, I'd go for an X60s or X61s (non-tablet). Provided with an 8-cell battery, you could go for many hours. While the keyboard of the 600 series is best, the battery life (if you can still get a brand-new one) is probably about 1.5 to 2 hours. The drawback of an X6x system would be if you need the optical drive. In that case, you could use an external USB drive or bring along the X6 Ultrabase. If you need a small portable system with an internal optical drive and that has good battery life, then an X300 or X301 might fit but they have 16:10 screens.

Alright thanks, i guess i should change the title of this post then to looking for an X60 or X61 then? Or should i just make a new post, I'm kinda new to this forum. Thanks for the help by the way.

Freeser wrote:Alright thanks, i guess i should change the title of this post then to looking for an X60 or X61 then? Or should i just make a new post, I'm kinda new to this forum. Thanks for the help by the way.

What price are you expecting to spend before shipping anyways? Something like X6x would cost you as a regular T43.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 31#p791131
This is a great buy if you can get a motherboard from some place near you. T43 and 9-cell battery and Ultrabay battery under medium brightness if you are just doing Microsoft office should last 4+ hours just fine
14.1" T43 is still 2.8kg but is smaller and thinner than 15" T43 at the compromise of screen quality (XGA, SXGA+ vs. XGA, SXGA+, IPS SXGA+, IPS UXGA, IPS QXGA)
reminder/useful hint: also whatever motherboard you get DO NOT GET GMA 900 T43 MOTHERBOARDS!! IT WON'T WORK WITH THE SXGA+ SCREEN IN THAT LINK!!
Get a T43/p/R52 motherboard with ATI graphics if you want it to be a bit more future-proof as it can run Windows 10, more power at the price of heat, and less prone to the GPU failure or get a T42/R51 motherboard if you want the best battery life

I can give my defective T43 board to you for $15+shipping. By defective really there is only one problem: it does NOT recognize the main hard drive. It works fine with my Ultrabay hard drive adapter and worked like that for quite a few months without problems and hallelujah! SATA mod is technically done automatically since the adapter takes SATA hard drives. The only problem that is still left is that it takes 20-30 seconds to POST due to that missing main hard drive.
Check out this Chinese T43p replacement board lot as well! (if you can sort of figure out what is going on)
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a2 ... t=1#detail

I'd rather an in-tact thinkpad rather than just rebuilding one from parts, managed to kill one of my older T-series by using the wrong screws in the wrong holes putting it back together. I don't trust myself after that sad day

I have a T43 but it only has a 14" XGA screen. I am overseas at the moment but will be back in Perth in about 10 days. I also have a X201 which might interest you.

I think I can help you.
I have two X61s machines.
#1) X601s Frankenpad, which consists of an X60s (1702-A11) body with an X61s (7666-3EU) motherboard
___ X60s (1702-A11) Body: 12.1in 1024x768 LCD, Intel 802.11abg wireless, WWAN, Bluetooth/Modem, Fingerprint reader, 8c Li-Ion batt (in green), WinXP Pro
___ X61s (7666-3EU) Mobo: L7500(1.6GHz), 2x2GB RAM, no HD (but HD-cover included), Intel X3100, 1Gb Ethernet, Secure chip
___ Tiny chip broken off on right front palmrest corner, see here: http://www.theboardroom.info/pix/X60-X61-2.jpg

#2) X61s (7667-C54) Original, L7300(1.4GHz), 2x2GB RAM, no HD (but HD-cover included), 12.1in 1024x768 LCD, Intel X3100, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Modem,
___ 1Gb Ethernet, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, 8c Li-Ion (in green), WinXP Pro

Both machines have the Middleton BIOS.
Both machines are in very good condition and, as described above, each would cost $90
If required I have 1 X6x Ultrabase with DVD/CDRW for an additional $15
Shipping is extra, to Australia reckon with $75.
Payment via PayPal.

Pictures available upon request.

Is there much of an advantage to have the X601s Frankenpad over the normal X61? If there isn't I would like the original one with the X6x Ultrabase and that would be great!

i have a t40p with 40gb hdd blank if interested. i can dig it up and take pics+specs after work. let me know.

The X601s has the WWAN "outcrop" + antennas, bluetooth and a slightly faster L7500(1.6GHz) CPU than the X61s with L7300(1.4GHz).
"Outcrop" see here on the bottom right, 1st. pic: http://www.ebay.com/itm/131277596259
Other than that, they are the same.
For your intended purposes, you wouldn't notice any differences between them.
PM me for further info please.

Alright sounds great!