Thinkpads Forum

Looking for a good TP 240x or 240z to replace my Sony P200 505G for short road trips.

What's the difference between the 240x and the 240z. IBM lists specs for the x but not the z.

Prefer a PIII 400, 450 or 500 with 192MB of memory, Type 2 screen and standard floppy drive.

OS not important but Recovery CD would be nice.

I'm on the road 2-3 weeks a month. I have a T20 that serves me well but for short trips I prefer my 3LB Sony 505. The Sony is getting long in the tooth!

I thought about a faster Sony 505 and the IBM TP X series laptops but the 240 seems a better choice for my needs. (Forget about any new Sonys. their support sucks!)

Any feedback on the TP 240 models would be helpful. What about battery life?

How come the TP240s aren't listed in any forums (red headed stepchild???)?

Thanks, Chas.

verktyg@aol.com

Not much difference. The 240Z series came with built in modem and ethernet. Some 240Z models had Pentium III 600MHz CPU and 20GB hard drive, and 1024x768 TFT. The 240X fastest CPU was PIII 500MHz, and they didn't come with built in ethernet, only with a modem. Also 240X highest resoulution was 800x600.

Hope it helps,
G-Man

Good stuff, thanks.

Chas.

I picked up two PIII 500 240x 192MB TPs for good prices. One is like new, the other one (that I paid more for) is pretty worn but works well.

Chas.

Chas.,

verktyg wrote:I picked up two PIII 500 240x 192MB TPs for good prices. One is like new, the other one (that I paid more for) is pretty worn but works well.

Could you define "good prices" for us? Inquiring minds want to know and the Forums are a good place to share such info.

Regards,

James

Ahhh, not really that good but in line with the average prices on eBay.

Most of the 240x TPs being auctioned off have been 400Mhz & 450Mhz Celerons with 128MB - 192MB of memory, some without floppy drives or other accessories.

They've been going for $275 to $500+ depending on condition and equipment. The 300Mhz 240s have been going for around $300.

I just missed an IBM refurbished 240x for $287 "Buy It Now" then I found another IBM? refurbished 240x and paid $400 for it including overnight delivery. The 240x in like new condition cost me $325 including WinXP and Office XP Pro with disks.

They are both 2609-61U models with 500 PIII CPUs and 192MB of RAM, good batteries, AC chargers and Floppy Drives.

I've been using an old Sony 505G PII 200Mhz with 96MB of memory for short trips and my T20 for longer on the road stints. The 505G has served me well for about 5+ years but with all of it's accessories it weighs as much as the T20!

I started shopping for a rare 400Mhz model 505 as a replacement then I saw a woman on a plane working on her 240. I like the smaller laptops for working while I'm flying. Standard size laptops are too big for me to use on planes most of the time.

BTW, equivalent Sony 505 series 200Mhz to 366Mhz 10.5" screen laptops have been going for $300-$375.

I guess that there weren't too many 240 series TPs sold in the US, I forgot all about them. Their prices seem right in line with TP 570s and 600s. I've never seen a 240z any where. They must have mostly been sold in Japan?

verktyg wrote:I've never seen a 240z any where. They must have mostly been sold in Japan?

you are correct.   the 240z was a japan-only model with a 10.4" screen at 1024x768 rather than the 800x600 of the 240x.   z models came with either a 500MHz celeron or 600MHz p3.   in 2001, ibm of japan replaced the 240z with the s30.

-erik

WOW! I Could Have Had A V8!

I didn't do my home work well enough... DOH!

The 240 TPs are nice little laptops but... I could have gotten an X series TP for a little more. New X40s are going for $1500.

I've been looking at X series TPs for several years but shied away because I wanted to stay with the 10" x 8" x 1" footprint of the Small Sonys and the TP 240s.

I figured that the X models with 12" screens would have larger cases closer to my T20 in size.

Are any of the X models better than other versions?

verktyg wrote:Are any of the X models better than other versions?

in my opinion (and this is just my opinion ) the X31 is the best of the X-series lineup.   it offers a fast mobile P3, ATI graphics, PC2700 ram, and uses a standard 2.5" hdd allowing you to upgrade to a 7200rpm hitachi 7K60 or E7K60.

the X40 is a bit smaller but uses an intel integrated video chipset and 4200rpm 1.8" subnotebook hard drives.   knowing how fast a 40gb E7K60 made my s30, i'll never go back to 4200/5400rpm drives.

-erik

Thanks for the feedback on the X31.

I agree about the 7200 RPM HDDs. I was about to spring for a new T40 or T41 at the beginning of this year. My old T20 PIII 650 ran slow from the beginning with the original 4200 RPM 6g Hitachi HDD.

I read about the new 7200 RPM drives and installed one of the Hitachi 60g HDD. It made a world of difference! The speed increase in loading programs was like a 200-300Mhz CPU upgrade!

I also have a 240x (PIII 500Mhz), but looking for the 240z (600Mhz) as well ..... just for kicks! I love my little 240x!