Should I buy IBM Thinkpad T20 ?

[ps20090]

Hi,

I already have a laptop Compaq Presario CQ62 , but i always wanted to have a IBM Thinkpad with trackpad , maybe just for collection purpose .

I am a student in china by the way , so they have a chinese Ebay , called taobao

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=13402900266 here is the link of item

i am thinking of buying it , it is like less than 50 US$ (with postage to my city in China)

Here are some of my questions , which i cannot ask him as my chinese is not so good ....

1 . One website said it can maximum download only at 56kbps , is it true or is it for 56kbps Modem ? Because i have un-capped 4MBps internet speed , even though i can download so much as hard disk is limited , but cann't i download movies at 300-500 KB/s in T20 ?

http://www.ciao.co.uk/IBM_ThinkPad_T20__17174 Says Max Transfer Rate 56 Kbps

2. Can i atleast watch PPTs in it ? We are given Powerpoint Presentations in class , can i open it without much trouble ?

3. The seller told me that battery is not good , and DVD drive works only sometimes , do you think 50 USD is too much or okay for IBM T20 ? Think rom perspective of a student with a limited pocket money ....

4. I was thinking like keeping it on 24/7 , so that i am online all the time and chat with friends , so even though if IBM T20 fails i have my backup Compaq Laptop , do you think its fan is powerful enough for that ?

Thank You

[dr_st]

Hi ps20090,

I assume you meant to say that you want an IBM with a trackpoint. Because this is what IBM laptops are famous for, and this one does not even have the pad.

The laptop by the way is a T21. A little newer and more powerful than a T20, but still, very very old, and not a good performer at all by today's standards.

$50 for such a machine, especially not in 100% condition is not a very good price in my opinion. Then again, I am not familiar with the availability of Thinkpads in China and the going prices.

Your Compaq CQ62 is probably about 10 times as powerful as that T21. No kidding. It doesn't make sense to me to have this T21 as a main machine, and the CQ62 as a backup. If anything, then vice-versa, for collection purposes as you said.

Even then, you are looking at a machine that's 10-11 years old. You cannot expect it to have much life left in it. Wanting an old Thinkpad collectible, I would look at least towards something like a T23/T30. Or an A30/A31 if you want a bigger, more universal workstation-type machine. Anything older I wouldn't bother with unless I got it 100% free.

Just my opinion.

[rkawakami]

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

.PPT files should display fine but it can be slow with complex/large files. The 56Kbps figure is only for the modem. If the system has the modem/ethernet combo MiniPCI card, then you can get 10/100 ethernet connections. If it has the modem only card, it's easy to swap. If you can get the TYPE number from the seller (i.e. 2647-xxx), then you can plug it into Lenovo's Support site:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/?&sitestyle=lenovo (Click on "Use Quick Path", enter the number and look for "Intel Combo" or "3Com Combo")

Personally, about the only time I would spend US$50 on a T21 is if it already had 512MB of memory AND the higher resolution SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) screen. I'd really be buying it only for those parts.

The T21 system has these "problem" areas:

- Maximum memory is 512MB (2 x 256MB), using older (read: relatively expensive) memory that is typically referred to as "low density".
- Fastest factory CPU in a T21 is 850Mhz Pentium III.
- T20, T21 and T22 systems can be affected by the "Blink of Death". When pressing the power button, all you get is the hard drive LED flashing for 1/10 second; it never powers up consistently. Sometimes, if you leave the system without any power, it will boot but the problem eventually comes back. It is suspected that a component in the power controller circuit is defective.
- Only a single USB port.
- T20, T21 and T22 are not configured for built-in wireless support. However, you could try swapping a lid from a T23. Which brings up....

If you will be considering the T23, then these are the main problems seen in those systems:

- A couple of inductors can work loose from the bottom of the motherboard and that results in the laptop spinning the fan fast and slow; no display on the screen and it does not boot. Easily fixed if you have the soldering skills needed to attach surface-mounted components.
- Maximum memory is 1GB (2 x 512MB). Uses a little bit cheaper "high density" memory than the T20-T22 but it's still more expensive (cost per MB) than today's DDR2 and DDR3 memories.
- Maximum CPU speed is 1.2Ghz Pentium III.

Both the T21 and T23 share these "minuses":

- USB system is only 1.1. Anything that requires USB 2.0 means a PC Card (PCMCIA) to USB adapter will be needed.
- Video controller is basically only good for web browsing and document creation. Forget about running modern games.
- Tendency for an aluminum mounting tab on the Ultrabay frame to break, which usually results, or is a result of, broken keyboard bezels. Generally the bezel splits at the "front" corners of the keyboard, near the Fn and right arrow keys. Opening and closing the (stiff) lid is the cause for all the problems. The tab on this T23 that I'm typing on now cracked a couple of days ago but the keyboard bezel broke back near the right lid hinge instead of next to the arrow key.
- Battery life of around two hours, but if you are going to be using the system 24/7 plugged into the AC adapter, then this won't be a problem.
- When the MiniPCI card goes bad, it can result in what looks like a general power problem (laptop doesn't turn on or boot) or it will cause a hang during a Windows OS re-load. Easily fixed by replacing the bad card.

[rossmosis]

My parents actually still use a T20 I bought from here for $10 and it works for everything they want to do: Facebook, Emails, checking out library books, my brother uses it to type his papers because their desktop is out of commission. Wifi works great with a USB adapter (~$10 on Ebay or equivalent auction website) and even Youtube is decent at the lowest resolution (240p I believe) Build quality is great and I honestly can't believe that a laptop made in 2000 still works fine and can be used on a daily basis today. *knock on wood*

You can definitely find one for way less than $50, may not have a hard drive or be in the best condition though. Maybe try to find a T22 or T23, even T3x and T4x machines can be found for a great price.

[waterloo]

Try to find a T4x if you can afford it too. They are much for powerful and you can get them for good price. They can run XP just fine and it has no problems with light computer usage for like web browsing, office etc.