About to Purchase 2378-FVU - Last Minute Advice/Suggestions?

[RogerPodacter]

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=

From my original thread, i've decided to go with the 2378-FVU. I will be adding bluetooth and 512MB of Crucial ram. In the far future i will upgrade to a 7200RPM hard drive and will also upgrade the CPU to whatever the max of the motherboard is.

Thanks in advance.

[IR0NMAN]

Well, Bill is offering a really good deal on his web page. It's the item in red, at 2300$US, it has bluetooth, fingerpring, 14.1 SXGA, ATi 128MB!!! , combo drive, 512mb, 60GB 7200... etc... check it out if you can spend the extra money!

But the FVU is a good deal overall! Go with it if that enough for you!

[Plinkerton]

Buy it. It's awesome. I love mine.

[Daver]

This is exactly what I did.

The 2378-FVU has all the parts that I thought were important and could not be retrofitted easily/cheaply. SXGA+, reasonable CPU, reasonable graphics, Bt antenna, WiFi.

The day I got the ThinkPad in the mail I installed the Bt modem and upgraded the RAM +512 from newegg.

Still holding off on the disk though. Haven't run out of space, and I'm satisfied with the speed of the 5400 40gb so far. I'm mainly just uninspired by my upgrade choices right now. I expected bigger/faster by now.

I got the employee/friend discount on my 2378-FVU, so it was definitely hard to beat that deal. I had a T41p for a few months before this T42, and I don't really miss the 7200rpm drive and FireGL. My use doesn't really require them though.

Good Luck,
-Dave

[daeojkim]

I got the 2378fvu as well. it seemed to be the most well rounded notebook for the price once you upgrade RAM.

Fun fun fun...

[Esteban]

A discount of 20% off IBM's Web Price for most notebooks is easily available from:

http://www.ibm.com/businesscenter/visa
http://www.ibm.com/businesscenter/mastercard

IBM's regular Web Price for a T42 2378fvu is $1749.00. The discounted price is $1574.10. A savings of $174.90. This beats NewEgg's prices.

Currently IBM has a $100 off promotion for MS Office, too.

Also, by buying from IBM, you get 30 days to return the notebook for a refund if you find something not to your liking.

[steelie69]

dont get the 2378-fvu unless you feel like returning it within 2 weeks.

serious keyboard/case flaw.

massively loud clicking that cannot be fixed- the keyboard assembly and the palmrest simply do not fit together correctly.

[eriqesque]

So the FVU has has the Bluetooth antenna installed already?

[Daver]

A discount of 20% off IBM's Web Price for most notebooks is easily available from:

that's only 10%.

dont get the 2378-fvu unless you feel like returning it within 2 weeks.

serious keyboard/case flaw.

massively loud clicking that cannot be fixed- the keyboard assembly and the palmrest simply do not fit together correctly.

If you're referring to the palmrest creaking, no the keyboard, then it's typical of all 14" at least, not limited to the 2378-FVU. It can be mitigated. If it's not the typical palmrest creak you're referring too, then it's not a typical problem.

So the FVU has has the Bluetooth antenna installed already?

Yes, the Bt antenna is factory installed.

-Dave

[rhema83]

The FVU is a very well-rounded machine and is really bang-for-the-buck. I have been using this for about 5 months now and I can tell you that I am really satisfied. From programming to everyday internet usage to long hours of gaming, this computer holds up really well. I don't need to write a full review to tell you how good this laptop is.

The creaking palmrest is common to all 14" T42/p models and can be fixed by simple methods. As for the keyboard, if you get a lemon, you can always call IBM support and they'll send you a new one by overnight.

Do check out the "business card mod" and the "foam tape mod". They are simple things you can do to improve your user experience.

In terms of upgrades, you might want to upgrade to 3 years warranty and at least 512MB of RAM from Crucial. I have done both and I am going to get the 7K60 hard disk very soon.

[Leon]

I think those fixes are for the keyboard..... any definitive fixes for the palm rest?