T-43...good deal or should I....

[Pobo]

OD has a T43 (1875DMU) 512MB for $1199. Looks like a pretty good number...(150 less than direct) but they can offer no accidental damage plan like Lenovo. My experience tells me that sometimes the "newer" models get cheapened up compared to their older conterparts.

Was also looking at the T42 to try and skinny some more savings as the added spec of the 43 is moot for me.

Is there any differences between the 41-42-43 as far as case materials/quality in construction?

thanks from an IBM wanna be noob.

[christopher_wolf]

Welcome to the Thinkpad Forums


In terms of construction and materials? There is now difference, or very little, throughout the entire the T4X Series model lineup. Most of the differences are the options you get (Wireless, Bluetooth, etc) and CPU/GPU combo. HTH

[Pobo]

Thanks...your info as to the quality/durability differences eases my concern on the "newer" models. I'm consulting a friend on which way to go and stay within his $1200 budget.

An $800 Dell with accident protection vs. a Thinkpad with no protection. I'm pushing him to the TP as I'm reasonably sure it's a much better unit from an overall build & quality perspective. Although this will be used primarily as a business machine...they do have kids (teenagers) in the house. It will be deemed off limits and they've assured me they will abide by the rules.....but we all know how that goes sometimes.

[Aroc]

I would rather have an R-series thinkpad than a Dell, even a Latitude. I'm assuming this $800 Dell is an Inspiron (consumer line of notebooks) and not the Latitude (business line of notebooks). I would rather has a used Thinkpad off of ebay than any Inspiron.

[Pobo]

I would rather have an R-series thinkpad than a Dell, even a Latitude. I'm assuming this $800 Dell is an Inspiron (consumer line of notebooks) and not the Latitude (business line of notebooks). I would rather has a used Thinkpad off of ebay than any Inspiron.

That's pretty much my thinking as well. But as a consultant....I'm obligated to put the onus/choice on him. After my schpeal, it appears that he is going to get the T43 from OD. I think it was a wise choice although now I'm on the hook as opposed to "I told you so". Short of the kids pouring a Coke in the keyboard....I hope I'm in the clear.

Speaking of keyboards, I see that some models have a China made keyboard rather than a Thai made. Is this a big deal? I read in another forum that IBM would replace the China made one.....true? If so, how can I tell if this model t43 has the "undesirable" keyboard? I looked through the HMM...but that was clear as mud to me as to what keyboard comes as standard issue with a T43 (1875DMU).

thanks again for all your help.

[christopher_wolf]

Well; you can call up IBM, as far as I know, and tell them you want such-and-such keyboard along with the part number. They should be able to send you the keyboard as lon as you can give them the FRU #. I would, however, wait until the T43 has been recieved and given a good workout for one week before ordering it as a replacement right off the bat.

You can tell, roughly and without taking the keyboard off, by looking at the bumpers underneath the arrow keys in the lower right hand corner of the keyboard. If they are blue, chances are you have the NMB Thai keyboard.

Here is a thread that talk about it a bit more; see http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=2177

A better way to tell, I discovered, is to hit the blue "Access IBM" button, click on "System Information", then click on "Warranty & Parts"

There should be an entry similar to the following in the window that pops up

39T0519 FRU-KBD NMB US ENGLISH ROHS

That is for the NMB keyboard; I don't know what the other keyboards bring up for that, but you can see that thread for the FRU #s

My T43 came with the NMB Thai keyboard as standard, but I don't know how one could tell from looking at it via tabook.pdf without getting the direct warranty & parts information.

HTH

[Pobo]

Thanks...feeling better already given the amount of support here.... not to mention all the freely available documentation from "IBM".

[edit] heh heh...i just read in that thread about the IBM model M keyboards for desktops.....I bought a model M off ebay for $25 about 2 years ago to replace an $80 modern day pos. Best and least money I've ever spent on a replacement upgrade.