Thinkpads Forum

I'm just wondering what Thinkpad system with the IPS screen you could get for upto $350.00~ $360.00.

I mean if you had 360.00 ,what system with IPS could you get?
I know there is the A30 and A30P with IPS.I'm thinking they will be the cheapest.
What about one with a bit more cpu power then the P-III's.

Anyone have anything?

The A31p, which has Pentium 4.

Well, the next in line would be A31, where certain systems have an IPS 15" with SXGA+ resolution. I'd imagine that your price range would be more than sufficient for one of those.

Obviously, my suggestion would be an A31p, which can be found in that price range, but is either going to be with issues, or a low-end model, although sometimes you might get lucky.

Then again, for a $100 more you can get an R50p which will eat all of the aforementioned alive...

Good luck and contact me with any ??????????????????

pianowizard wrote:The A31p, which has Pentium 4.

I thought about the A31P's but for some reason the price of them on e-bay are still high.
On e-bay.ca(canada) there is two full systems there now.One for just over 500.00 and the other for over 700.00.
I wonder if i can find one without ram or hard drive for low 300.00's...

An average A31p would probably be within your budget, Bill - I'd defer to George on that to see what he thinks though. (He may well have a barebones one that he wants to offload to help him pay for his T60p). You could possibly find a barebones or lowly configured T42 at that range if you looked hard enough as well.

Having owned both of these machines in some form, I'd say that I found the T42 ever so slightly more worth holding on to than the A31p by virtue of the lesser weight and USB 2.0 functionality (since I don't use Firewire devices, it doesn't matter to me that there's no Firewire port). The A31p's UXGA is fantastic, and it's more than fast enough for your general computer activities.

FWIW I looked back at the eBay listing for my A31p (1.7GHZ, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD) and it only sold for $426 Australian, which is about $380US on current equivalence.

SaberX wrote:I thought about the A31P's but for some reason the price of them on e-bay are still high.

Just look harder. I saw a very nice one several weeks ago on eBay that got sold for about $260 shipped. I was about to bid but decided not to at the last second.

I'd agree with Kristian that if one could find a T42 with FlexView for the amount given, it would be a keeper. And no questioning the fact that it's a far more modern machine.

A31p is an aging model, and quite a few of them will have issues. They can be ridiculously cheap on occasion, but beware of the GPU problem that can't always be resolved by re-flowing the solder. That being said, with a 2.0 USB card and upgraded wireless, it is still the strongest machine of its generation when it comes to everyday usability IMHO. That's why I always have more customers for these than actual machines in stock...

If you could squeeze a few more bucks, you'd be able to get an R50p, which is likely the best buy of its generation, with UXGA resolution FlexView, great keyboard, wireless, BT...you name it...not to mention 128Mb video...and they have been pretty reliable in my experience.

FYI, several R50 (like 1836-3SU) and R51's (like 1836-BBU) had SXGA+ FlexView IPS displays.

You can find them in that range, occasionally less, too.

They are equivalent to 9000 ATI GPU T41 and T42's. Quite nice.

underclocker wrote:FYI, several R50 (like 1836-3SU) and R51's (like 1836-BBU) had SXGA+ FlexView IPS displays.

You can find them in that range, occasionally less, too.

They are equivalent to 9000 ATI GPU T41 and T42's. Quite nice.

Thanks
I'll have to keep my eye out for one.
I have cash here ready to go for the right system.I also have DDR ram and a new hard drive here.So i can look for a system without those it would help also.
If anyone has something let me know.

Another tip, while it seems that everone on this forum knows about FlexView LCD's, the inverse is true on eBay. Therefore, you have to really peruse the eBay ads and even ask the seller for the exact model numbers. Sellers frequently don't even know they have an SXGA+ LCD, so they definitely do not know to mention FlexView.

It may take a little work, but they are out there.

Oh, as an example, here's one for $380 plus $25 shipping --> http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-Thinkpad-R51-Ce ... 0214558792

Also be forewarned that I've received an A31p in absolutely beautiful shape with a regular XGA LCD...hello eBay....goodbye $$$...and know someone who has had the same experience with a T42p....

So, yes, definitely ask all the questions that you can think of...

Ya you could get burned on e-bay very easy.
I would rather find a system here that a member has tested it out first.
It looks like for the cash i have(about 350.00) i'm just at the starting point of getting into a IPS system.I can wait and try and save abit more OR buy a nice non-IPS system now.
Theres a few nice T41's with SXGA+ screens around now.

underclocker wrote:Another tip, while it seems that everone on this forum knows about FlexView LCD's, the inverse is true on eBay. Therefore, you have to really peruse the eBay ads and even ask the seller for the exact model numbers. Sellers frequently don't even know they have an SXGA+ LCD, so they definitely do not know to mention FlexView.

It may take a little work, but they are out there.

Oh, as an example, here's one for $380 plus $25 shipping --> http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-Thinkpad-R51-Ce ... 0214558792

I second what Ed's said here - I obtained my T42 in this exact manner when the listing said it was an XGA and upon asking for the model number, discovered that it was a SXGA+ Flexview. I think the original listing for my A31p had the resolution listed as XGA as well.