A T42p in my sights...on Ebay?

[forika]

Well, I thought I had zeroed in on the T43 and then I found this forum. So now I'm leaning heavily towards a T42. Actually I've been looking at the T42p. But I have a few questions.

1. Does the higher spec T42 "p" model still maintain the much discussed noise and heat advantages over the plain (non "p") T43?

2. What would be the main advantages to getting a "p" over an non-"p"? Is the "p" mainly a gaming or CAD machine? I'm still not sure whether I'll do any gaming or not, but would the FireGl 128 graphics improve work in say Photoshop (which I'll use often)?

3. I'm wondering which memory route I should go. Should I, as some have suggested, go with the minimum and then upgrade with newegg? If I get 512 can I still max out at 2 gbs? Or is only one slot accessible and the other soldered in place?

4. Finally, anybody out there get their thinkpad on ebay? I know I need to be careful since, from what I've heard, laptops are one of the hottest (as in stolen, hacked, gutted, etc.) items on ebay. That said, I've seen some great prices. For example, I just looked at a T42p offered from a seller called thinkpadworld that seem reputable. The model number is 2373P3U (2.1 ghz pentium M 765, 1 gig ram, 60 GB 7200) for a opening price of 2,099 and a "buy it now" price of 2,399. Any advice on this one in particular?

Any advice or experience would be valued. I hope to soon join the ranks of thinkpad owners and maybe be able to offer my own two cents one day.

[Thinkpaddict]

I don't own a T42p, but I recently got a T41p from eBay. Using that and what I've read here, I'll try to answer your questions.

1. Does the higher spec T42 "p" model still maintain the much discussed noise and heat advantages over the plain (non "p") T43?

As far as I know, yes.

2. What would be the main advantages to getting a "p" over an non-"p"? Is the "p" mainly a gaming or CAD machine? I'm still not sure whether I'll do any gaming or not, but would the FireGl 128 graphics improve work in say Photoshop (which I'll use often)?

The FireGL T2 won't make any difference in Photoshop at all. It will make a difference only in applications that need to use OpenGL extensively (for example 3DS Max, Lightwave, Maya, Autocad, etc). As far as gaming goes, if you need to run a game whose minimum requirements are a 128 Mb Graphics Card, it would obviously make a difference. However, I've heard that the FireGL T2 drivers are optimized for stability, whereas the 9600 drivers are optimized for speed (so apparently, with the stock drivers, the 9600 seems to perform a little bit faster with games). Also, note that you can apparently load custom drivers for the 9600 to make it behave like a FireGL T2 (but for the memory discrepancy). I don't remember the name of these drivers, since I don't have a computer with the 9600.

3. I'm wondering which memory route I should go. Should I, as some have suggested, go with the minimum and then upgrade with newegg? If I get 512 can I still max out at 2 gbs? Or is only one slot accessible and the other soldered in place?

The main RAM slot is not soldered in place, but you need to remove the keyboard (which may be a pain in the [censored]). I recommend that you get a machine with 512 Mb, and get a 1 Gb stick from Crucial (a little bit more than $100 if memory serves me well). I honestly think you will never max your RAM with 1.5 Gb, and I can't think of any circumstance where 99.99% of users would need more than 1.5 Gb.

4. Finally, anybody out there get their thinkpad on ebay? I know I need to be careful since, from what I've heard, laptops are one of the hottest (as in stolen, hacked, gutted, etc.) items on ebay. That said, I've seen some great prices. For example, I just looked at a T42p offered from a seller called thinkpadworld that seem reputable. The model number is 2373P3U (2.1 ghz pentium M 765, 1 gig ram, 60 GB 7200) for a opening price of 2,099 and a "buy it now" price of 2,399. Any advice on this one in particular?

I just got a T41p from another seller, and the transaction was great. The main thing for you to look at is the seller's feedback. Also click on the feedback number, and review some of the items that the seller has sold in the past. If everybody was happy with their purchase of similar items, that is a good indication that you will be as well (but not a guarantee).
There are a couple of problems with this approach though. First, you won't have the peace of mind that you would get when buying from IBM/Lenovo directly, allowing you to return the computer if you get any bad pixels for example.
Also, be careful that you are actually bidding on a NEW Thinkpad. I'm saying this because many sellers describe their Thinkpads as IBM factory sealed with 4 years warranty, but if you scroll down a bit you may find that it is a factory refurbished laptop (although indeed factory sealed) with 1 year IBM warranty and 3 years Mack warranty.
I forgot to mention: Make any questions you can think of to the seller.
And, pay with a Credit Card (not ATM), even if you use PayPal. You will notice that PayPal will attempt to discourage you from using a Credit Card. Think about that for a moment (about a nanosecond ). Now you know why you must use a Credit Card even if you are using PayPal.

[Thinkpaddict]

I forgot to mention something else.

The laptop you have an eye on is great. But consider this: You can get a T41p with the same features (as far as I know the T41p is like the T42p except for the CPU) for much less. I got a T41p with all the same features as your T42p, but with a 1.7 Ghz Banias which I can upgrade to a Dothan anytime.
It was new, factory sealed, and with 1 1/2 years of IBM warranty remaining.
And I only paid $1400 for this. I know the seller still has a couple more of this left. By the time I feel like upgrading my 1.7 Ghz CPU it will most likely be a $200 upgrade. Do I feel like I got a nice deal?

[hoya]

unless you truly need the p series (for CAD work, etc.), I would consider the 2373H6U which is on sale at thinkpad.com. click special offers, then View All under notebooks, then click on the section to the right for highly mobile users. I would recommend the 60gb 7200rpm hard drive and 256 RAM, then get the 1gig Crucial RAM from newegg for $120. 1.25 gig is plenty unless you'll be doing video editing.

you also get a 3 year warranty, fingerprint reader, bluetooth, and exactly the features you want. mine priced at $1371 which is an amazing deal, and of course shipping is free and you get a 30 day return period.

[forika]

Hoya, I took a look at the 2373H6U. Looks like a good deal. I didn't happen to see mention of the fingerprint scanner. Does that come with this model?

Also, when they say on the list of features:

Integrated WiFi wireless LAN
Wi-Fi wireless upgradable and Bluetooth (Standard)

Does this mean that it must be upgraded before it can go Wi-Fi and use bluetooth?

And the graphics card the ATI Mobility Radeon 9600, is this a 32 or 64 mb card?

Thanks for the advice.

[hoya]

forika:
here are the general specs from ibm.com:
Original description: Customer configured(RAM, HDD, Ultrabay, Battery, Preload): P M 745, 14.1 SXGA+(1400x1050) TFT LCD, 64MB ATI Radeon 9600, Wireless upgradeable(MPCI), Bluetooth/Modem(CDC), 1Gb Ethernet(LOM), UltraNav, Secure Chip, Fingerprint Reader

the 9600 is 64mb (see above), and the base unit is wireless upgradeable so you choose a WiFi card (Intel 2200bg is only $10). you have to scroll down the configuration screen to see that option.

also, you can choose either a 6 or 9 cell battery (price difference is $50). the 9-cell sticks out the back so keep that in mind when ordering.

let us know if you end up ordering one (mine took about a week to ship after ordering).