WTB: 15" XGA (*not UXGA or SXGA) Thinkpad that can run modern OS and programs (T60/61/R61 or Mod)

[kwhitegocubs]

I am not really as hardcore as the people on here, but I used to have a T60 for several years until intense abuse, drops, cracks, overheating, and other issues caused it to succumb beyond reasonable repair. It had the X1300 64MB video display, and a T8300 processor (I think?). It was reasonably fast and would have flown with an SSD, in retrospect.

However, since then I have never been happy with the modern high resolution displays - everything looks too small to me. I felt at ease with the 15" 4:3 XGA screen. Moreover, the keyboard on the T60 was about as perfect as possible. Finally, I liked the touchpad, as I click near the center and modern no-button touchpads misregister my clicks about 30% of the time.

I'm not old, I just hate the way that scaling breaks websites and programs, and the fuzziness if I choose a non-native lower resolution. So please don't try to convince me to use UXGA or SXGA; I'm not interested.

Basically, I want a laptop I can run Windows 10 on, or which has it installed, and is otherwise in good shape. A vintage laptop experience that can muddle through fairly well in 2020+.

Thanks!

[atagunov]

Hi, I guess it may help if you filled out your location in the profile.. This will make it easier for people to gauge if they can be of any help. Actually forum rules may require that too

[kwhitegocubs]

Wasilla, Alaska.

I filled it out when I signed up and it shows that it's filled out in my profile when I went to edit it, so I have no idea why it's not showing up. That said, I don't know why there is a need for passive-aggressiveness. You could just have asked "Where are you located?" or explained "this is how to add your location to the profile." I am always frustrated by this kind of attitude on tech forums to be honest, they seem very unwelcoming to newbies and not very forgiving of failures of technicalities.

- Kristin

[theterminator93]

Consider then how the tone behind your monologue to us, which is basically calling all of us out, is reflected to those of us who are regulars. It's not a big deal to us and atagunov's post to you was a friendly reminder. I see no passive aggressiveness in the post at all and it's unfortunate that you did.

If you can take it as face value and move beyond that, I can help get to the heart of your post and offer some insights to help your search.

The T60s are limited to 667 MHz bus CPUs and the best out there is the Merom T7600 at 2.33 GHz. A dual core Core 2 at that clock will have a hard time keeping up with the modern web and HTML5 video will prove difficult to render with the (by today's standards) ancient GPU. The 667 MHz memory compounds this effect since the GPU has so little of its own. And any of the current builds of Windows 10 will prove unfriendly in terms of driver support for the GPU as well.

The best you can do if you are unwavering with your need for a 15" XGA display is to build a FrankenPad with the 15" T60 4:3 chassis and use a T61 motherboard. You can modify it to accept 1066 FSB Core 2 CPUs, including quads - and also overclock the memory and/or GPU. I have such a machine and even it is a little sluggish at times, but I have used it daily at work for years and continue to do so because of its vast array of ports and expansion options via the UltraBay.

All this you probably know. If not, hopefully it can help you narrow your choices down a little. Best of luck.

[kfzhu1229]

Hmm do T4x 15" XGA panels work on a T6x (Do any of them have the EDID information required on the T6x)? I have plentitude of those lying around in case you stumble around a cheap deal with a bad screen or something.
Personally I agree that a T61 is like your only option if you want a good modern-ish experience.
The T40-T42's don't work with Windows 8 and above so that's ruled out. ATI graphics based T43's work with Windows 10 but up to version 1607.
T60's work with the latest built but the aging graphics drivers on those make them rather cumbersome to use under Windows 10 and a Core 2 Duo CPU upgrade is required for x64 compatibility (and with 3GB of max RAM you shouldn't anyway)
T61's work much better if you don't have one plagued by the GPU death (a graphics chip with 08/08 datecode or later). The iGPU based ones might give you some graphical glitches under Windows 10.
As for performance gaps, those between T43, T60 and T61 are absolutely huge!
A mid-range Core Duo T2400 from the T60 is already some 20-30% faster than the high end Pentium M 780 on the T43, and a midrange Core 2 duo T8300 is also another 20% faster than the high end Core 2 Duo T7600 from an aftermarket upgrade for the T60. The X9000 in a T61 when overclocked and with modded BIOS is about 50% faster than the T7600 on a T60.
T43 takes a max of 2GB of RAM, 3GB for T60 and 8GB for T61 with modded BIOS.

[RealBlackStuff]

Your ideal laptop would be a 15" non-widescreen R61 with Intel GPU and (1024x768) XGA LCD.
All of those have only Intel graphics anyway, so no GPU-ageing problems.
Look for an R61 with a TYPE 8943-xxx.
They are quite rare, but not impossible to find.

[kwhitegocubs]

Thank you very much for the advice, especially regarding the R61 model!

Sorry if I misinterpreted the comment above, it just seemed that way from the phrasing. I really don't know why location isn't showing.

If anyone has a model of that type for sale, or even one of the T60s, I would be interested!