Suggestion for a used ThinkPad

[kylera]

I am in the market for a used ThinkPad that'll be used for office productivity. Battery life is priority here -- I'm willing to shell out for extra batteries. This may sound like a stupid question, so I beg pardon in advance.

Should I go with Pentium III-era models (X20) or Centrino? Which has overall better battery performance? Or even pre-X with Pentium II?

And since I'm going to be buying one in Korea, is it easy to interchange the keyboard to a US English one?

Much thanks in advance.

[ajkula66]

It all depends on what you're going to be using the machine for. If you can be more specific regarding your software needs/applications you'll be running, we'll be more likely to provide a precise answer.

As for the keyboard, most of them can be replaced within 10 minutes even if you've never done it before, with a little help from Hardware Maintenance Manual for the particular model.

[Terrahawk]

For general use, a Centrino based Thinkpad is a good compromise between computing power and battery life.

For example, my R40 has a 1.7 GHz Pentium-M and with the new battery I bought from IBM, it runs for about six hours on a single charge under light load (word processing or spreadsheet work).

[kylera]

It all depends on what you're going to be using the machine for. If you can be more specific regarding your software needs/applications you'll be running, we'll be more likely to provide a precise answer.

To be a bit more specific, it's going to be a great deal of college work-related stuff -- typing reports, typing lecture notes, making presentations, the occasional number cruncher on Excel. On top of that, there's going to be some minor web coding as I intend on learning some Web programming. I intend on running no games whatsoever nor do I intend on watching movies or listening to music on it -- it's going to be as much "pure work PC" as possible. It will be carried around basically every single day (which is why I'm looking at the X more closely than the R or T).

Oh, and there'll probably be the occasional remote desktop access.

[Harryc]

Battery life is key and a Centrino is fine for your needs. I'd look at an X31, X32, or X41 with an extended battery.

[kylera]

Much thanks. I shall be on the lookout for any of those. Is there a grand difference between X31 and X32?

[Harryc]

X32 has faster processor speeds available and uses a Dothan Pentium M CPU over the X31's Banias. The downside is that the X32 is rarer and harder to find at a reasonable price. It's really a sweet little machine if you can find one. Good luck.