Best 2nd user T series thinkpad to buy?

[flash4tech]

Hi all,

I'm new on here and recently purchased a T40 on fleabay for a family member only to have it delivered with the common ATI graphics fault which I was unaware off before purchase until joining this forum. Currently fighting with the so called "business" seller to get a full refund - can you believe it was delivered wrapped twice with big bubble wrap and placed in a heavy duty poly bag - perhaps this caused the fault but I'm thinking it may have been present before delivery from what I've been reading.

Anyway that aside I still need to get a decent Thinkpad within the next few days - I'm looking for a "qualified" answer from anyone who has in depth knowledge of this range and has maybe seen a fair few in for repair with common faults. I work in IT and have a lot of experience in repairing computers and laptops down to component level. I have seen and repaired a fair few faults on the older 600's, A series, I series and early T series. I also own a T60 which I've had from new with no faults arising as yet touch wood - very happy with it indeed. Unfortunately the family member cannot afford to stretch to the newer T series.

I am thinking of getting them the T43p - does this model have a bad rep or similar problems with the ATI chip as the earlier T4x models? All info greatly recieved

[ssd_thinkpad]

The T42 series are known to be quiet. The T43 model has cheaper RAM but gets hotter and louder. Do you want a 15 inch non-xga screen (all these displays are called Flexview) which has a very nice display? Or do you prefer a smaller computer with 14 inch that has less weight and better battery life?

[flash4tech]

Needs to be quite light and small - screen size and quality isnt really a major factor but price is. The most important factor is reliability - although their hardware requirements are probably small compared to what they will be using the machine for. I was trying to get the most recent model for the budget they have given me.

Thanks for your advice

[Harryc]

What is the budget? Frankly that is key to providing a decent recommendation.

[sktn77a]

Well, 2 out of 4 of my T4x had the GPU problem. Given that you can get it fixed for $50-$100, it may be worth the risk if you can't afford a T6x series. I think the proportion of T4x with this failure is probably less than my expreience (they were my kids' computers and they got 24/7/365 use like nobody's business). Of course you hear about it plenty on this site, but I think we're a biased sample! A 15" Flexview SXGA+ T42 with an ATI9600GPU, decent hard drive (7200RPM), fast processor (1.8/2.0 Dothan) and 2 Gb of RAM can hold it's own against pretty much anything out there unless you're into heavy gaming or CAD/CAM.

[flash4tech]

Harry - they have a measly £150-£200 to spend so about $300-$400 in your money.

I may be pushing my luck and should perhaps consider one of the older models. I would have thought they wont even need more than 1gb RAM for the tasks they are likely to use it for.

[killer]

@flash4tech,

1. Welcome to the forum.
2. GPU problems are common on all T4*s except T43 and T43p.
3. If you have a GPU problem then contact a member of this forum called poshgeordie on nick@reflowrepairs.com as he runs a GPU repair service which is based in the UK.
4. You get what you pay for. If it is cheap then it is probably a pile of p**.
5. There are bargains on eBay but there are a lot of bandits selling duff kit.
6. That's about it. Good luck.

[flash4tech]

Thanks killer,

Seems to be one of those hard questions to answer to be honest - "how longs a piece of string" and all that. I think I'll steer clear of the T40,41,42 and grab a T43 I can get my hands on cheap. As others have said views may be a little biased on here. I just didnt want to get a Thinkpad which has well known design flaws from the factory and risk having a come back. If they get a year or so use out of it they cant complain. This is their 1st laptop so no doubt they will want to upgrade after that time anyway.

Thanks for all the replies - I will no doubt be on here digging for info and advice in the near future.

[sojourner]

flash4tech, have you considered an R51 (2xxx series only). They're in your price range, a little heavier than T4x, but also more durable. The 2000 series has Intel graphics (vs ATI in 1000 series). I've never heard of problems with Intel graphics chip as with ATI.

[seaweedsl]

I have to agree that if you want reliable and super cheap, then go for an R51, 2000 series. You can get a 14" for under $250 in the US.

Of course many folks are enamored of the higher end graphics and especially the fine flexview screens. The most reliable of those seem to be the R50P (to be found for around $350 nowadays or the T43P, which is still more expensive.

An excellent t43 with a flexview that's availible right now is here:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=74442

Unfortunately the shipping to UK may take it over budget.

Cheers,
Steve

[VFR_firefly]

I'd say that the T4x series is probably the best for your pricepoint now that low-cost solutions to the GPU solder issue have become available. If one is handy, then the price point of these solutions is even better as you can disassemble and send in the motherboards to be fixed saving both shipping and Removal/Reassembly costs (although it seems both the European and US service providers are offering extremely low prices to do this work for you as it is.)

The memory is fairly cheap and so are new PATA hard drives to make these run very fast.

I don't have any experience with the T30 model but I would suggest you stay away from the T20 and older thinkpads just because they are too old/slow and the cost for memory is much too high for what you get. Max memory is only 1/2 gig and it will cost you more to just do that compared to what you can put into a T4x (2G max for only about $80 total). I'm currently putting together a T41 for my girlfriend to replace her achingly slow T20. It's going to be about the same price to build it from parts as it would be to max out her glacial T20 to 512M of memory since she currently has 2 128M cards in it that will need to be tossed). Anything older than the T20 will only be worse.

An R50 might be what you are looking for if you don't want to mess around with the GPU issue, although if you are handy you can probably save a lot of money in the end by getting a couple of cheap parts machines and putting a T4x together yourself and then sending in the Motherboard to be fixed if needed.

[flash4tech]

Ok chaps thanks for the input. I had a R51 not long ago but that was sold on as part of my business - very nice laptop but larger and heavier than the T series. I have repaired and regularly obtain T20's and T30's in asset management / disposal deals so realise this isnt a good choice - although it would probably do what they want it to do.

It's sods law that nothing has become available in bulk related to my business - otherwise I would have been able to obtain a real bargain compared to those being listed on ebay, alas already containing a profit for the seller. I guarantee as soon as I purchase a model something will come up in bulk - always the way. All I have at the moment is a 390 with broken screen hinges - although it does work fine and countless spares for the 600 series.

I'll just sit tight watching the odd T43 on ebay for now - still battling for the money back on the faulty T40 delivered last week - beware of 100% feedback "Business" sellers. From my experience it was clear to see that this seller is a "Have a go" repairer. I am able to remove the screw plastic covers on IBM's and then replace them without anyone knowing they've been removed. On the day of delivery as soon as I opened the screen one of these covers fell off in my hand prompting me to look even harder. Every single cover was misaligned or hanging off and to make things worse on further inspection today I noticed this amateur - or perhaps the one he purchased off, had not done the screw up properly which holds the DC jack secure - the one you have to remove the screen to gain access to. It was also clear that they had forced the screen bezel off at some stage because half of it along the bottom wasnt sitting flush with the TFT panel.

It's annoying because these sellers are the ones that undercut me on price and gain more business - the average purchaser wouldnt see these flaws and when it does go wrong they make their own rules up and don't follow consumer law on refunds and return shipping etc. When my customers have a problem they don't have to battle with me for a refund - I take it on the chin and move on.

[seaweedsl]

OK. Small and light is critical, so you must have a T not an R. So you want 14" not 15" . Otherwise, that T43 15" would be a great option.

If you can't get your money back on the T40, then also consider:

1) get the reflow done
2) buy a used R51 MB (Intel graphics) and swap it in. I am now finding R51 MB for under $60 USD.

#2 would be the more reliable option.

Steve

[ashat]

I have recently bought - here in Italy - two used T41p to replace my old R40, for about 250 Euros, both in excellent condition.
I am really satisfied.
They are fast, light, and silent.

T41p are about 4-5 years old, but if

a) you are able to find a "not so used" one,
b) your primarly use will be desktop/home with limited moving stress for the motherboard,

I think you could deal with the GPU issue-risk.

I think the same applies to the T42/T42p series.

A.