Should I trade My T42?

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MelloYello · #1 Post by **MelloYello** » Fri May 25, 2007 4:56 am

Hello everyone. I've been lurking here for awhile and finally took the dive and bought a used T42. I am quickly finding out that it can be quite addicting modding and upgrading these Thinkpads (not that I've actually done anything yet; just spending hours upon hours on the net reading about it). I'd like to thank everyone for all the great info that's available here on this forum. It truly is a great resource. I hope to contribute in the near future.

My question is I have a friend that owes me a small favor and he says that he'll trade me his T41p (pretty good shape) for my mint T42.

My specs: PM 1.7ghz; 512MB RAM; 40gb 5400rpm; 14.1 XGA; 64mb ATI Radeon 9000; 24x24x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD; Intel 802.11 b/g ; Secure Chip (what is that??); 6 cell.

His specs: PM 1.7ghz; 512MB RAM; 60gb 7200rpm; 14.1 SXGA+ LCD; 128mb FireGL t2; 16x10x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD, bluetooth; Secure chip (what's that??) 802.11b ; 9 cell

What do you guys think? I'm worried about the wifi card. I've read that it's fairly easy to replace but was worried about compatibility issues, drivers etc.

Brad · #2 Post by **Brad** » Fri May 25, 2007 5:48 am

Welcome to the forum MY!

I think that for me the resolution would be very important and would seriously consider making the trade on that point alone.

This is of course a very subjective issue and if that is not something you care much about then maybe you want to stick with your mint T42.

I think that any MPCI wireless card can be used and drivers are available on the Lenovo website for download. I see the cards available for less than $50.

Also you don't mention it but does either have any warranty remaining? The faster hard drive is also something to think about.

Enjoy your ThinkPad and once again welcome to the forum!

Brad

pianowizard · #3 Post by **pianowizard** » Fri May 25, 2007 8:59 am

The T41p has much much nicer specs, except that the 9-cell battery makes it heavier than the T42. I would go ahead trade with your friend, but keep the 6-cell battery, unless you like the long-lasting battery. Yeah, 802.11b is old and slow, but you'd get a bigger and faster HDD, much nicer display, twice as much video RAM, and bluetooth.

#4 Post by **underclocker** » Fri May 25, 2007 9:59 am

Why not suggest a trial week? You guys can probably just swap hard drives and with a little plug and play be ready to test.

Don't forget to image your drive first! The T41p is a better spec'd machine that can take a Dothan and better wifi. I'd keep the 6-cell unless the 9-cell has great life left and you need it. The 9-cell unbalances any machine - it's deep and heavy.

Good luck.

#5 Post by **gator** » Fri May 25, 2007 10:21 am

Same as above comments, keep the 6 cell and trade it! Or as underclocker says, try it for a week and decide.

underclocker wrote: The T41p is a better spec'd machine that can take a Dothan and better wifi. Good luck.

The T41 can also take a dothan, right?

fallenlordz · #6 Post by **fallenlordz** » Fri May 25, 2007 2:27 pm

I would go for a trial week period - I like the higher resolution

(To bad his isnt in mint condition like yours)

MelloYello · #7 Post by **MelloYello** » Fri May 25, 2007 3:29 pm

Wow, thanks for the replies guys. I'll take your advice and try it out for a week or so. As simple as that sounds, it never occurred to me to do that..haha. And I'll also keep in mind the heavy battery. That's important for me also because I attend school and will be lugging it around a bit although the extra power would be nice. I'm gonna check to see how long the battery lasts compared to the 6cell.

Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts and will more than likely trade.

pianowizard · #8 Post by **pianowizard** » Fri May 25, 2007 3:59 pm

MelloYello wrote:I'm gonna check to see how long the battery lasts compared to the 6cell.

Instead of actually using the laptop to see how long the battery lasts, you can simply go to Batery Maximiser or Power Manager and check the Full charge capacity. The battery that has a higher value lasts longer.

Temetka · #9 Post by **Temetka** » Sat May 26, 2007 6:55 pm

Make the trade. The T41P is a better machine.

MelloYello · #10 Post by **MelloYello** » Sun May 27, 2007 2:39 am

Temetka wrote:Make the trade. The T41P is a better machine.

Thanks, I am going to as soon as he gets back in town. I see from your sig. that you have a T41P. I'll be most grateful if you would be kind enough to share your thoughts on your likes/dislikes.

Temetka · #11 Post by **Temetka** » Sun May 27, 2007 11:13 pm

MelloYello wrote:
Temetka wrote:Make the trade. The T41P is a better machine.

Thanks, I am going to as soon as he gets back in town. I see from your sig. that you have a T41P. I'll be most grateful if you would be kind enough to share your thoughts on your likes/dislikes.

Likes:

can be upgraded to 2GHz+
supports 2GB of RAM
14.1" 1400x1050 LCD
128MB of Video Ram - especially important given that most notebooks in the $700 range use integrated graphics
My model also has:
bluetooth
modem
wifi
Excellent built quality
great keyboard - actually I love the multi-colored keyboard. It's awesome and not something you see on a lot of notebooks

dislikes:
Nu dual core
"slow" 400MHz FSB. Yet Vista is really snappy, so go figure
PATA

I chose the T41P because I believe (IMO) that it is the best of the T4x line. It can go to Dothan, has the FireGL 128MB GPU, support multiple drive bays, does not have the 2010 issue when using nin-IBM drives, does not have the annoying fan issue.

This machine is great, and if you look at my sig you can the amount of upgrades that I have lavished upon my baby. It's kind of weird really as I have a funky emotional attachment to this laptop. It has treated me well and run every OS/software combination I could throw at it and it has never complained. It reminds me of what Thinkpads used to be and could be again some day if only Lenovo would get their vision corrected and understand the roots of where the Thinkpad came from.

I seriously suggest you trade with your friend. You already own a Thinkpad so in most of this post I am preaching to the choir. In terms of specs you are upgrading. It must be one heck of a favor for him to give up a T41P.

MelloYello · #12 Post by **MelloYello** » Mon May 28, 2007 5:22 am

Wow, thanks for your reply Temetka. I'm already eyeballing your sig. and visualizing the things I can do. I'm also thinking about the dent in my wallet!! haha.

Anyway, I've always known about the quality of Thinkpads but thought I'd never actually own one because of my student budget. Buying a used one never occurred to me until I came across a friend's that he said had been sitting on his shelf, literally, for years. When I saw it, I was enthralled by its condition and made him an offer on the spot. ha. So I guess I know how you feel when you say you're emotionally attached. I felt like a kid with a new toy and couldn't wait to get my T42 home to play with it.

The T41p that my friend is willing to trade was given to him by his company and they pretty much give him a Thinkpad every other year it seems. He has the new T61 and seems to like it but I think the T41p is his favorite which explains why he held on to it so long. I think he's willing to trade me because he sees the almost childish enthusiasm I have for Thinkpads.

Now if I could only get him to swap out the wifi cards and cd-rw drive .....(evil laugh). hahahah.

monkey243 · #13 Post by **monkey243** » Mon May 28, 2007 8:14 am

That's a good trade, why not.
You can get a better screen, bigger VRAM, more faster and bigger HDD and BT. It sounds very good for you. The WIFI card can be replaced with a faster 54M or 108M miniPCI wireless card very easily, cost less than 40$.

w0qj · #14 Post by **w0qj** » Mon May 28, 2007 11:59 am

The only thing that the T41p cannot do (that T42 can): T41p cannot burn its own Product Recovery CD's.

Otherwise you can literally drop a T42 CPU into a T41p and it should work (I remember a forum moderator did this when the T42 first came out).

Temetka · #15 Post by **Temetka** » Mon May 28, 2007 7:09 pm

w0qj wrote:The only thing that the T41p cannot do (that T42 can): T41p cannot burn its own Product Recovery CD's.

Otherwise you can literally drop a T42 CPU into a T41p and it should work (I remember a forum moderator did this when the T42 first came out).

What?

My T41P created its own set of discs. The wonders of rescue and recovery you know...

Should I trade My T42?

Should I trade My T42?

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