Thinkpads Forum

I used an A20 as my main machine for many years, day in day out in pretty much continual use until fairly recently when i switched to a new desktop system - making the switch to a Mac at the same time.

I set the A20 up with a clean install of W2k and a VPN client last week and took down to Starbucks to test my new VPN router for remote access and opened up a whole can of worms in the process.... realising that I LOVE using that old machine, can actually type accurately on it, and that its not just an adjustment period or senility setting in, my MAC desktop keyboard really does suck !!!

I have tackeld that dektop keyboard with a buckle spring EnduraPro that should be arriving today , and I could continue to use the A20 for remote access except that the ethernet port has gone out, I have already gone through 3 wireless cards that get bashed from being exposed sticking out the sides - oh and its a TANK ( both good and bad !).

SO now I am reconsidering my next laptop which i had intended to be a MacBook. It will primarily be for remote accesss to the home office which isnt the macs forte without parallels and another installation of windows , i would have liked the built in iCam but hey you cant have everything - and did I say i LOVED using the A20 esp the trackpoint!

I have a T23 which I picked up used a couple of years ago as a backup to old faithful but the keyboard is either worn out or loose or buckled or something, it is both spongier and has a lot of flex in it, you defeinatley cant hammer away like on my A machine.

I started wondering about switching the leyboards between the A20 and the T23, and found this forum. From what I read thats not a straight forward swap if possible, and I would hate to pull apart my baby.

So its either put a new keyboard in the T23 and hope it turns out similar to the A20 feel ( seems there are a lot of different types of keyboard available - confused !!!) or look to a new/used Xseries - but even here there seems to be dispute amonst the relative quality of hte keyboards on the 3 and 4 series. I had a quick play with an x60 the other day and liked th feel but cant really justify ( yet ) the cost for the use this machine will get.

So whats my best option for a more portable machine that feels as much like my A20 as possible ?

and if the answer is a keyboard for the T23 - whats with all the part numbers !!!!!!!


Andrew

Andrew, if your key criteria are portability and keyboard feel while keeping the cost reasonable, I highly recommend an X3 series (X31 is the most common) with the NMB keyboard. It really has excellent feel. Although I have never used a T20, if it's anything like a T22, the keyboard in the X31 is at least as good.

You should be able to locate a nice unused X31 with some warranty on eBay for about $600 -- look for auctions by seller "assetdisposition".

Thanks for that suggestion . I was at either a x31 or x42 in my mind

Are the x series keyboards the same full size as the A and T series or are they Shrunk down ?

When you say with NMB keyboard, is that somethign I have to check for or will all x31's have this type keyboard ? and if so how do i check ?

Thanks

The nice thing about X40/X41 is that they are very light. However, from my point of view, the big problem with them is the 4200 rpm 1.8" disk. It's very slow, and there are no good upgrade options. X31 can happily run a 7200 rpm 7K100 or 5400 rpm 5K160.

In practice, you likely will not be able to tell before you get your hands on one. After that, the quick way is to pop off the keyboard and check the FRU. Generally the X31 keyboards are very good, but NMB is the best of the lot (most people would agree).

drewnrupe,

I too recommend you take a look at the X31 thinkpad. I purchased my first X31 two months ago while waiting for my new T60 to arrive. I initially intended to give the X31 to my wife when my T60 arrived but once I started using it I could'nt bear to give it up. I ended up buying a second X31 on eBay from assetposition, to give to my wife. Happy to report she loves hers as well.

The X31 keyboard is the best I have ever used and I prefer it over the keyboard on my T60. This morning I had an interesting conversation with a colleague regarding the X31 keyboard. Having owned an X31, he has a totally different opinion from mine. Where he uses all ten fingers to type he finds the X31 keys too close together which resulted in more typo errors. I however am a two finger typist and find the closeness of the X31 keys to be a real advantage.

The main reason I went with an X31 over the X40/41 thinkpad was because it could use the faster 7200 rpm hard drive. With a new IBM a,b,g wireless card and 7200rpm hard drive installed, the performance using XP is fantastic. It is also upgradable to vista and from posts I have read from fellow forum members, it also performs well with vista. Considering it's compact size, low price point, excellent performance and upgradeable features including Vista, the X31 has alot of great features going for it.

Hope this is of some help to you in making your decision.