Advice on buying T42 display model

[serge]

Hello, I'm new here. I came across the following at my university's computer store; it's a model that's been on display for the past year.

$1599.00 (new: $2039, but they're switching to T43 in June)
ThinkPad T42, 15.1" UXGA screen, Pentium M 1.8 GHz, 512 megabytes RAM, 80 gigabyte hard drive, DVD multiburner, 802.11b wireless, Windows XP Pro, PC Protection warranty valid until June 2008
The model number is listed as 2373-DD3 but I'm pretty sure this is wrong as the IBM site has much different specs --- (maybe a 2379-DYU?)

I've laid eyes on it and it seems to be in very good condition. Right now I'm running linux (FC2) on a very old Dell (Inspiron 7000 with a 15" screen; probably about 10lbs). (To say the least, this will be a very nice upgrade for me.) I mostly use my current machine for browsing and writing (latex/LyX), and a little coding. I do all my computational work (simulations) on my desktop machine or at an engineering cluster. I hope that I can do a bit of the latter on my new laptop.

I know from purusing this forum that many prefer the 14" T42 models for the combination of portability and performance. I'm worried that I'm so accustomed to the extra real estate that I'll be disappointed with a smaller screen. (I often have multiple terminal windows and editors up at once.) I doubt I really need the multiburner, but the 80GB HD would be nice -- I'll probably repartition and keep XP on half for my wife (we have a 20GB MP3 player that we use quite a bit)... Our home desktop is also on its last legs...

My questions are: (1) Is this a reasonable deal vs waiting and getting a new T43? (I'm not sure what the University pricing will be on those yet.) (2) Is there another config/model that may better suit my needs... I've looked on ebay, but are there better places to look for other-than-new T42's...?

Thanks.

[mlykke]

I cant comment on a lot of the things you mention, but i can say that it is a pretty fast machine and that the 14" screen is perfect - I too have used 15" screen for a long time so i was worried about downgrading in both physical size as well as resolution, but it seems perfect. I do alot of development so i have many windows and long lines of code on the screen.

If i where you i would look at th ebottom of the machine and see what model number it says.