About to buy a T42 - some questions..

[Jeremy31]

Hi,

I'm about to buy a Thinkpad T42 2373JXU. I'm buying it in Canada, and the specs may differ slightly, but it's a 1.7 Dothan with 512 megs of RAM, a 40 gig 5400 rpm HD, 64 meg ATI video card.. I'm also buying the on-site warranty and the accident-proof warranty. I have a whole bunch of questions and I'd really appreciate it if you guys can help me out:

1) It is very expensive to have IBM upgrade the HD, and the only option they give is an 80 gig 5400 rpm hard drive. Is it possible for me to buy a 60 gig 7200 rpm hard drive (and if so, which brand?) and put it in myself? If so, does it void the warranty?

2) I plan on buying a Port Replicator II. I know with other brands, some of the port replicators cannot support Gigabit (10/100/1000) pass through, they can only support 10/100 (for instance, Toshiba Tecra's port replicator..) Will the IBM Port Replicator II support Gigabit?

3) I noticed that the 2373JXU comes with "IBM 11b/g WIFI wireless" while the more expensive 23733YU comes with "Intel PRO/Wireless Network Connection 802.11b". My understanding is that the 2373JXU's wireless is b/g compatible but is still cheaper than the 23733YU's WIFI (which is only b and not g) because it is made by IBM and not by Intel. Is this the case? What is better about the Intel Pro wifi connection? Also, do either of these support 802.11a? Do I need 802.11a? My bottom line: Will the IBM 11b/g wifi on the 2373JXU do the job well (e.g., speed, reception, reliability..) Finally, if I need to upgrade the wifi myself with a card, will it simply use the Ultraconnect Antenna that comes with the t42?

4) I plan to upgrade from 512 megs to 768 megs of RAM. I can upgrade to 1 gig of RAM for another $100 or so - I realize that "the more RAM the better" but I need to draw a line somewhere. Typically I have about 6 windows open (e.g., Word, Outlook, Opera, MSN Messenger, our clinic software, Adobe Reader) at a time in addition to all the regular stuff that Windows XP Professional has running as well as Norton Antivirus. I also play a game (e.g., Vice City, Max Payne 2) now and then. Should I upgrade to a gig of RAM?

Thanks muchly,

Jeremy

[geobel]

2) I plan on buying a Port Replicator II. I know with other brands, some of the port replicators cannot support Gigabit (10/100/1000) pass through, they can only support 10/100 (for instance, Toshiba Tecra's port replicator..) Will the IBM Port Replicator II support Gigabit?

http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... &storeId=1

[G-Man]

1) The HD, just like memory upgrades, MiniPCI cards etc. is a CRU, Customer Replaceable Unit. So the answer is no, it won't viod the warranty.

2) From IBM wesite: "Gigabit Ethernet pass-through port (will function as 10/100 ethernet port for system without gigabit ethernet)."

3) The IBM 11b/g WIFI wireless is a perfect Wi-Fi card. I think .11a will slowly dissapear. Altough the antenna works with other Wi-Fi cards, by changing the Wi-Fi card in this model you void the warranty. But you don't really need to replace it, since b/g is an excellent combination.

4) Those programs will do fine with 512MB RAM (maybe games need a little more). It depends on your budget. I would upgrade to 1gig (now or later) since once you upgrade to 768MB, and you decide a year later to upgrade it to 1gig, you have to sell the 256MB modul, since there are only two RAM slots in T4x.

Regards,
G-Man