WTB: a <3lb XGA notebook for under $170 [DONE!]

[pianowizard]

I am looking for a notebook that's less than 3 lbs (i.e. 3.00 lbs or more would be too heavy) and am willing to pay up to $170. This is a notebook that I would like to carry around everyday. It needs to be cheap so that it wouldn't be the end of the world if it gets broken or robbed. The X40 and R100 that I currently own aren't cheap enough! I hope to get something with these specs:

XGA monitor
at least 400MHz CPU (Celeron is okay but PIII is preferred)
at least 256MB RAM
at least 10GB hdd
a fairly good battery
a built-in microphone
does *NOT* need to be a Thinkpad

If you have something like this for sale or if you know of a place where I can get one, please PM me. The last (and third) TP240 I owned almost met these requirements, but the screen was only SVGA and the RAM had only 192MB, so I sold it.

[Quattro]

Look up the X20 on ebay. 600mhz, 38x max RAM.

[pianowizard]

I have owned three X20's and the ones with XGA are 3.5 lbs, too heavy.

[floyyed]

I have owned three X20's and the ones with XGA are 3.5 lbs, too heavy.

hmmm...

you want light and cheap...

mission impossible.

[pianowizard]

hmmm...

you want light and cheap...

mission impossible.

Perhaps not! I don't need a laptop in pristine condition; scratches and small cracks are acceptable. I bought a 500MHz Celeron X20 five months ago for only $117, and it was in excellent condition. The only "problems" were the screen was only SVGA, the RAM had only 128MB, and the weight was 3.15 lbs. Prices have been dropping and the specs I am asking for are only slightly better, so I think $170 is a reasonable offer.

[kstuart]

I think that a 570E fits your specifications, and they go for less than $170 on ebay.

[hadoken]

I don't think it can be done at that price and weight. The closest you are going to get is probably the Dell L400. 3.3lbs

[AlphaKilo470]

I just flipped through the IBM specbooks I have and the closest you'll get to the weight requirement for your money is an X2x or if you are lucky and find a good deal on one, just maybe an X30. I think you're just gonna have to learn to deal with some extra weight if you don't want to spend more money. On the bright side, if you get something heavier than originally desired, you can benefit from a free workout.

[pianowizard]

First, thanks everyone for your insights.

It has been almost a week but no one has offered me anything yet. I still think it's possible to get the specs I want for around $170 or less, but it would require constantly staring at eBay, and I don't want to do that. So, I went ahead bought three laptops on eBay that don't meet all of my requirements but are fairly cheap, and hopefully one of them will suit my needs and I will sell the remaining two. So far I have received only the Fujitsu but the two Thinkpads should arrive within a few days:

1) $116 (including shipping) Fujitsu LifeBook B-2131: 400MHz Celeron, 64MB PC100, 6GB hard drive, 10.4" SVGA touch screen, 3.17 lbs, USB CD-ROM drive, external floppy drive, wireless card

2) $160 (including shipping) IBM Thinkpad T21: 800MHz PIII, 128MB PC100, 20GB (or 10GB?) hdd, 14" XGA (I think), DVD-ROM drive, should be around 5.2 lbs

3) $165 (including shipping) IBM Thinkpad T23: 1.13GHz PIII, 256MB PC133, 30GB hdd, 14" XGA (I think), missing optical drive (I think), should be around 5.2 lbs

I have not lugged around laptops heavier than 5 pounds in a long time, and so I don't remember how they felt. Perhaps it's not that bad after all. And like AlphaKilo470 said, I can get some free workout!

[Orevin]

Congratulations on the excellent deals on the Thinkpads. $165 for a T23, nice!

[tfflivemb2]

Wow, I think that borders on stealing....at those prices.

Atleast with what you bought, you can sell all three, turn a profit, and increase your spending limit for a small laptop.

[pianowizard]

OMG, I received the $165 T23 today and it's in **pristine** condition, complete with a DVD-ROM drive and a COA sticker for Win XP Pro! The model is 2647-8MU with memory upgraded to 256MB. It's the first T series I have owned and will definitely keep it for a while. I will need to learn to live with its heavy weight though.

On the other hand, I still haven't received the $160 T21 or even been notified by the seller that it's shipped -- it has been a week since I bought it.

[dsigma6]

im waiting to receive the t23 i bought from dorronto. im going to check his price match policy.

I still haven't received the $160 T21 or even been notified by the seller that it's shipped -- it has been a week since I bought it.

i hate when sellers don't communicate. the only time i can understand is when they have 1000's of feedbacks and hundreds of items for sale. i can imagine that gets quite hectic.

[AlphaKilo470]

Yeah, some eBay shippers are pretty slow. I have a 400mhz Compaq Prosignia that didn't even get shipped until 3 or 4 days after purchase. I'm expecting the system today but then again I was also expecting it Monday and Tuesday as well.

Still, not all are bad though. I got a tracking number for the 760CD/360P lot auction I won the same day and it's expected to go out today.

Nice job on getting that T23. I was lucky enough to have similar luck when I paid $100 for a 600E that was listed as 366mhz and had a breif description and when it arived it turned out to be 400mhz and in mint condition with not even a scratch on it. Still, you don't realize how wimpy it sounds when you call a T series heavy but then again you are hearing this from someone who spent a good three years in high school lugging around a 760ED or 380ED.

[asiafish]

Wimpy? I carried a T20 around for years, and I'm stronger now than I was then, but I still wouldn't go back from an X to a T.

[pianowizard]

I am sooooooooo happy with my latest purchase that I felt compelled to update this thread. It's a mint-condition X22 (2662-95U) that I bought on eBay last week, for only $169 shipped, with the following specs:

PIII 800MHz (512KB), 256MB RAM, 20.0GB HDD, 12.1 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, Modem, Ethernet, Li-Ion battery, Win2000

I sold my Toshiba R100 for $540 and my X40 for $805 immediately after getting this X22. The X40 was so expensive that I never used it much for fear that I would break or scratch something. The Toshiba was just cheap enough for me to feel comfortable using it, and its meager 2.38 lbs was very helpful when I traveled, but a big problem was that it didn't have a built-in microphone. I need a built-in microphone for making piano recordings.

This X22 is a godsend, because I finally have an extremely cheap but good quality ultraportable laptop. I take it with me almost everywhere I go. Yes, at 3.39 lbs it's slightly too heavy, but I am starting to get used to lugging it around. The whole laptop looks practically new, and the battery still lasts for over 3 hours.

If you don't already own a super cheap ultraportable laptop, I strongly recommend you to get one. Because it's so cheap, you will worry less about damaging it or getting mugged on the street. Of course, I was really lucky and X22's normally cost a lot more than $169, but it's not that hard to find an X20 for $150 or less these days.

[asiafish]

I second Pianowizard's comment. When I don't want to damage a good machine, I bring one of the many old and slow ones out with me. Sadly, my daughter has all-but taken full possession of the X22 (and cracked the screen, need a replacement), so I'll likely be adding another super-cheap ultraportabl to my fleet.

A Toshiba Portege 2000 or another X22 is the likely choice. The Portege 2000 because it has the same keyboard and htkeys as my current M400, or the X22 because i could share my daughter's ultrabase (with its terrific NEC DVDRW Dual Layer drive).

X22s seem to be selling in the $200 range, while Portege 2000s which are slower, but oh so slim (look about the same as the current R200) are in the area of $300. Time will tell.