FS: Mint T43p 2668-H1U 15" UXGA

[rexr]

The unit is in great condition, and it is under warranty until January 5, 2010. Its FlexView/IPS UXGA (1600 x 1200) screen is beautiful and has no dead pixels. I am the original owner.

The specifications of the unit, including the RAM upgrade:

P M 770, 2GB RAM, 60GB 7200rpm HDD, 15 UXGA(1600x1200) TFT LCD, 128MB ATI FireGL V3200, 24x24x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD, Intel 802.11a/b/g wireless(MPCI), Bluetooth/Modem(CDC), 1Gb Ethernet(LOM), UltraNav, Secure Chip, Fingerprint Reader, 9c Li-Ion, WinXP Pro

I am looking for $1175 plus shipping from the Dallas area, but I am open to reasonable discussions.

I also have a 14' SXGA T43p (2668-G5U) listed here, and I plan to sell one and keep the other. Both machines are top quality, but I just need one of them.

If anyone has any questions or needs any additional information, please let me know.

Thanks.

Rex

[rexr]

Still available.

[DrMiles]

You have written 'TFT' to describe the screen, but everyone here seems very particular about Flexview/non-flexview distinction - can you confirm whether the screen is IPS or not please?

many thanks

Miles

[Johan]

You have written 'TFT' to describe the screen, but everyone here seems very particular about Flexview/non-flexview distinction - can you confirm whether the screen is IPS or not please?

If you check the Personal Systems Reference Lenovo ThinkPad Notebooks 2005 to present - withdrawn, August 2007 - Version 326 (also sometimes called the ltwbook), page 63, you will find the 2668-H1U listed there with all specifications. As you will see, the 15" UXGA display is indeed FlexView/IPS!

On the page 15 inch LCD service parts - ThinkPad T43/p you will find the display listed as being manufactured by the company IDTech (at the bottom of the page, "LCD panel UXGA"). As far as I know, all 15" UXGA panels for T42/T43p's were made by IDTech, and all were FlexView/IPS. More information on this ThinkPad via Parts information - ThinkPad T43p 2668-H1U.

@ Miles: You may perhaps want to browse this recent thread, containing some considerations I did when recently facing the decision of buying a used ThinkPad.

Best regards,

Johan

[ajkula66]

Johan has made an excellent basis for a PhD thesis in this thread, but here's the bottom line: every ThinkPad with a "P" designation and 15" UXGA after A22P has a FlexView screen. There are machines without the "P" designation that have FlexViews as well (A30/31, R50), but what I've written above is the simplest reference, which would include, to begin with: A30P, A31P. T42P, T43P, R50P...as different as they may be, all are equipped with a FlexView...

From incurable UXGA/FlexView addict to an up and coming one...

All the best.

[PanEuropean]

Rex:

I'm interested in buying your machine to replace my current T42p, which is a 2373-HTG.

The only concern I have is this: I am currently using two Seagate 160 drives in my T42p, they are Seagate Momentus 5400.3 model number ST 9160821A SATA drives. I need this amount of storage on my laptop, that is absolute. I have read some discussions here in the forum about difficulties that other users have had with non-IBM drives in the T43 series. What are your thoughts on the matter?

I don't want to knock your FS post discussion off topic, so if you or anyone else is aware of another thread elsewhere on the forum that more fully addresses the issue of using this kind of drive with a T43p, I would appreciate it if you could post a link to it.

Michael

[Johan]

@ Michael:

Your present two Seagate 9160821A drives are PATA-drives (SATA will neither work in T42/p's nor in T43/p's!).

T43’s uses PATA drives and an integrated PATA --> SATA bridge, but the thing is that only certain PATA-drives are recognized (= usable) by T43’s. Non-supported drives will either not work or will produce the “2010-error” – this is discussed in the thread Problems with non-thinkpad option drives on T43 thinkpads. A list of recognized ATA-drives usable in T43’s are found at Hard drive firmware update utility (Bootable CD ISO) – ThinkPad. There, only two Seagate drives are mentioned: ST910021A (Momentus 7200.1 100 GB) and ST910021A (Momentus 7200.1 80 GB).

Although certain non-supported drives can hence be modified for error-free T43 use; see e.g. the thread Complete guide for flashing a retail HD to IBM official FW, it is however reported in this post (on page 2) by SteveS, on Thu Jul 05, 2007, that a Seagate 7200.1 ATA-drive could not clear the 2010-error!?! This seems to indicate some contradiction with IBM's info...! It hence appear that the largest, fastest ATA-drive usable (with no errors) as the bootable drive in T43’s is the Hitachi 7K100 (7200 rpm 100 GB). More info in the thread Hitachi 7k60 in a T43, and hello.

About usable Ultrabay-storage in T43’s:

An interesting discussion is found in thread 2nd hard drive in slim bay question which points to T43p - SATA or ATA Ultrabay choice where you in the post of Fri May 11, 2007 6:11 pm read:

I have T43p 2668-H8G as well as T60 1951-A47. T60 uses only SATA HDD drives in its ultra bay.

I'm running Hitachi 100 Gig HTS541010G9SA00 serial ATA drive mounted in the T60 ultrabay with my T43p. No problem so far.

The T60 ultrabay has an extra plastic 'pin' on its outer connector side. Besides that detail the outer connector of the T60 ultrabay is electricly identical to the one used for T43p ultrabay. Removing the plastic pin on the back allows usage T60 serial ATA ultrabay adaptor in my T43p.

This means that you could use a Hitachi 7200 rpm 100 GB ATA drive in the T43 as the bootable drive (mounted as the normal HDD), and use the new Hitachi 7200 rpm 200 GB SATA in a T60 SATA ultrabay in a T43p! This is actually reported in thread UltraBay Slim on T61p - Is it same as T43p? (see the post of Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:14 pm):

... There's a thread on the forums here, I think in the T4x section, where it was suggested that the T6x SATA adapter could be used in a T43, if only that rear tab was removed. A brave soul tried it, and it worked! I've done the same now, and am using the new Hitachi 200gb 7200rpm drive in the T6x/SATA adapter in my T43p. I'm not ready to move to a T6x machine yet, so this is a lifesaver!-Paul

So, in conclusion it is possible to have in total 300 GB, 7200 rpm disk space in a T43/p, but I’m afraid that you will need to purchase these two drives and let the two Seagate 5400.3 drives remain in your T42p. This is a (small) step down from your present 32o GB storage, but hopefully the Hitachi 200 GB drive will some day also be usable as the bootable drive in T43/p’s – bringing the internal storage potential up to 400 GB!

Alternatively, you could use the Hitachi 100 GB 7200 rpm as the bootable drive, and one of the 160 GB Seagate 5400.3 PATA drives in the Ultrabay, but this will only give you 260 GB of disk space.

Long story, sorry – but I hope this point out your options if moving forward towards a T43p-purchase!

Best regards,

Johan

[rexr]

Thanks Johan and ajkula66 for your helpful posts. I have been busy lately, and I appreciate your timely thoughtful comments.

In light of these issues and the other questions I have received, I have edited my original post to indicate that the screen is indeed FlexView/IPS UXGA (which in my opinion is as nice as it gets), and to show a price reduction.

Rex

[rexr]

A ThinkPad Dock II is available for this unit, too, for a nominal charge. The Dock II is no longer under warranty, but it works fine.

The T43p's 15' UXGA Screen with a nice external monitor makes for a great desktop set up with lots of screen real estate.

[andrewb]

It is amazing that there no takers for this machine ?

Aside for the noisy fan, this is about as good as a TP will ever get (IMHO) The 4:3 1600 x 1200 IPS screen is a thing of beauty and, unless things change drastically, will never be seen again on a TP model.

If it were not for the fact that I am using an identical machine already, I would buy it; less than 3 years ago, I paid the equivalent of $6,000 for mine.

[ajkula66]

As much as it's amazing, it's not...

A lot of people have concerns about T43s, especially high-end ones, regarding heat issues and hard drives.

On the other hand, the whole Core Duo concept has damaged one's ability to sell regular Centrino machines.

Finally, a couple of God-knows-what-like examples sold on eBay for ridiculous prices have further compromised the market...

Do I personally think that this machine is worth it?

I've never dealt with the member in question, but people whose opinion I value hold him in very high regard. So if I were in the market for a T43P with UXGA I'd be very much looking forward to this one.

Unfortunately, I have quite a few UXGA machines, and not enough cash...

Bump for this final example of the premium T4 ThinkPads...