T43 - CTO -- Good Deal?

[andyli]

Is this a good deal? I found the 2686DHU from IBM, which is a T42 which has everything (the special also has a IBM wireless card vs. the Intel b/g card) and with TPP, the 2686DHU came out to more than the CTO below.

I'm not sure if it comes with fingerprint reader, but that's not a need that needs to be filled.

----

IBM T43 - CTO - University Special
Processor: Intel® Pentium Mobile Processor 1.7GHz
Memory: 512B DDR SDRAM
Hard Drive: 60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive 5400rpm drive

Optical Drive: Modular CDRW / DVD combo
Expansion Slots: One Type II or One Type III PC Card Slots HDW
External Ports: (2) USB 2.0, VGA, and Parallel HDW
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional SFW
Application Software: Optional
AntiVirus Software: Norton AntiVirus Software 90
Screen: 14" XGA TFT Active Matrix
Video: ATI RADEON X300 w/64MB VRAM
Keyboard and Mouse: Full-Sized Keyboard and ULTRANAV POINTING SYSTEM HDW
Multimedia Package: Integrated sound and stereo speakers, headphone/speaker jack, and mic jacks
Battery: Lithium Ion Battery with AC pack HDW
Modem: Integrated V.92 56K Modem HDW
Network Adapter: Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Connection and 802.11A/B/G wireless HDW
Limited Warranty Programs: 3Yr Part/Labor/On-Site Technical Support with ThinkPad Protection

Total Including Shipping and Handling: $1,505.00

[simscitizen]

You probably should keep looking. My 2687D8U was $1449 (1.86 GHz, DVD burner, and sxga+). Catch: it was refurbed, but was packed and looked just like new out of the box. You might want to try the visa/mastercard discount sites.

Personally I would take that "cerfified used" t41p for $1257 over this configuration any day of the week (1.7 banias, bluetooth/wifi, 9 cell, sxga+). Just go to the thinkpad website and it's there under the used section. If you want new I think you can still do better if you look around a bit.

[mysbca]

He has 3 year onsite and thinkpad protection which is at least $260 more than the regular 3 year warranty.
The "certified used" T41p that I see listed only comes with a 3 month limited warranty.

The OP's price seems pretty good to me, but I also would opt for the sxga+ screen.

[andyli]

He has 3 year onsite and thinkpad protection which is at least $260 more than the regular 3 year warranty.
The "certified used" T41p that I see listed only comes with a 3 month limited warranty.

The OP's price seems pretty good to me, but I also would opt for the sxga+ screen.

The model is a CTO that has been purchased in bulk, so I can't specify the SXGA+ screen. I assume, however, that since it is the X300, it would be able to display higher resolutions on an external monitor. The university special that has an SXGA+ screen also has the 1.86GHz Processor, 60 GB 7200 RPM drive, but runs for $1,739, which is outside of the price range for the person I am getting the unit for (they wanted under $1,200, but I was able to win them over to get the ThinkPad Protection).