New and full of questions.

[Harryc]

By that do you mean it won't work at full capacity because of the fsb?

Yes, a 760 is rated to run at 2Ghz. In your machine if it runs at all, it will run at 1.5Ghz because of it's lower multiplier. With your thinking, you might as well put a Pentium M 715 (1.5Ghz) cpu in there. Same thing. I'll give you one for free, I have several. Also, since your T42 has a PM 735 today (1.7Ghz) both of the proceeding would be downgrades, so why bother.

[c4warrior]

Yes, a 760 is rated to run at 2Ghz. In your machine if it runs at all, it will run at 1.5Ghz because of it's lower multiplier. With your thinking, you might as well put a Pentium M 715 (1.5Ghz) cpu in there. Same thing. I'll give you one for free, I have several. Also, since your T42 has a PM 735 today (1.7Ghz) both of the proceeding would be downgrades, so why bother.

Ah, the multiplier makes sense. Sorry, I wasn't grasping it at first, not used to these laptop sockets yet.

Anyways, all of this was great for learning but I just sold my T42 and I'm buying a T43 to replace it (Thanks to John). He was teaching me about the SXGA+ LCD swaps on the T42 and, in the end, it was more cost effective just to go with the T43 that already has the screen (my T42 needs a palmrest and such as well).

Thank you all for the useful information and easing my transition in to these wonderful machines.

[sarbin]

^^^
what model t43 are you getting?

[c4warrior]

^^^
what model t43 are you getting?

I don't know yet as I'm still waiting on the full info right now. Is there some place to look that shows the differences in the models specifically? I know about the normal lenovo specs pages but they group things together from what I've seen like T42/T42p page they just list all available options between both of them, not specifically what they were shipped with.

What I do know is it already has a SXGA+LCD, takes PC2 ram (which is cheaper than the PC ram this T42 takes), and isn't known for the GPU issue. So that's a good start I think.

[sarbin]

these links might help...
Brief: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-58315
Detailed: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-58317

[sarbin]

you might also want to look at this link: http://www.lenovo.com/psref/psrefs_withdrawn.html
and pick the appropriate reference file.

[ajkula66]

Another good source of info:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:T43

Hope you're not paying too much for that T43...as you can tell from my signature, I'm quite keen on these beasts, but their prices have gone down tremendously...

[c4warrior]

Another good source of info:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:T43

Hope you're not paying too much for that T43...as you can tell from my signature, I'm quite keen on these beasts, but their prices have gone down tremendously...

$150 shipped. Has the SXGA+LCD, 1gb ram, PM750, and Blue Tooth. That's all I know right now.


Thanks so much for all the links, folks. Time to start reading.

[ajkula66]

Sounds like a fine configuration - powerful enough but not too hot.

Enjoy!

[c4warrior]

Sounds like a fine configuration - powerful enough but not too hot.

Enjoy!

Thanks! I guess all I will have to do with that one is another gig of ram and it will be done. I still have this urge to paint a laptop though.

So why do you have so many laptops, if you don't mind me asking? Just addicted?

[ajkula66]

A collector.

A mostly-retired reseller.

Above and beyond everything, a ThinkPad buff.

Not every ThinkPad I own is in the signature...

And my immediate family is one big ThinkPad-playhouse with the sole exception of my daughter who is an Apple/HP user....

[c4warrior]

A collector.

A mostly-retired reseller.

Above and beyond everything, a ThinkPad buff.

Not every ThinkPad I own is in the signature...

And my immediate family is one big ThinkPad-playhouse with the sole exception of my daughter who is an Apple/HP user....

Ah, very cool. I've been building desktops for a while and never had the urge to have more than two at a time... but I am getting this feeling that it would be nice to have a few different thinkpads... these things are quite addicting. Luckily I've had the restraint to sell one before buying another so far mostly because as a student it's not like I can stand to waste too much money on things I don't need... but I can see having more than a few of these in the future. I prefer writing programs on my T42 to any other machine I've ever been on and I still can't say why it's just comfortable.

Sorry to hear about your daughter, I have a friend that is the exact same way but there's nothing I can do about it. For the life of me I could never understand the draw to HP. Apple, I guess you can reason it out to a point... but HP? Ugh. They have made some of the worst designed desktops and laptops I've ever seen.

Also, I notice there doesn't seem to be a real central location for mods (such as swapping to SXGA+LCD, Ultrabay sata hdd docks, and that sort of thing), have I missed a forum heading somewhere or is that not a big focus here?

[ajkula66]

It depends on the ThinkPad you're modding...if it's a T4x, it will be in this section. For a W500, you'll go into the W forum. This forum is the single biggest resource for ThinkPads worldwide, but you have to dig and use the "search" function...

HP makes some very nice laptops (EliteBook) right now, but they're out of my spending range and will stay there for a while...

My daughter started off with several ThinkPads but quickly came to conclusion that she needs something light and inexpensive that tolerates abuse well...

Hence the HP since I wasn't about to give her any of my past ToughBooks...

Apple...every household should have one. Just for fun. And for keeping up with OSX...if you can find it under the market price, that is...

[c4warrior]

I've still got some toying around to do with the search function. My first few attempts weren't very successful and it brought up a ton of things I wasn't interested in. So I'll be digging again after I get the full spec of the T43 to see if there's anything cool for me to do.

I have an extra screen for OSX and every other operating system I don't use, Macs just aren't my thing. Only had one good experience with HP and it was a "special edition" and that experience turned sour when the screen blacked out (the recent recalls of the special editions with dv6000 boards... terrrrrrrible design). So I suppose it's just my own experience shading my opinion. I really like the Thinkpad. It's like a ford, but a laptop... and doesn't have expensive parts... ok maybe it's not like a ford, but you get it.

I've only got the chance to use one ToughBook and it was in the middle of combat in Iraq so I don't know much about them... just that they look really awesome and you can run them over with a HMMWV without any fear of losing it.

[Harryc]

Try this forum search instead of the one we have here -
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q ... as_qdr=all

[c4warrior]

Try this forum search instead of the one we have here -
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q ... as_qdr=all

Awesome, thank you. I will check it out.

[ParatoOptimal]

The latest top of the line HPs are nice. They had some bad ones a while back. There was one, maybe it was the 6220 series that I always thought looked like a rebranded Thinkpad.

[underclocker]

A late welcome to the forum!

What I do know is it already has a SXGA+LCD, takes PC2 ram (which is cheaper than the PC ram this T42 takes), and isn't known for the GPU issue. So that's a good start I think.

ALL T4x machines with ATI GPUs are known for the GPU issue. It can happen to any T4x model with the ATI GPU. Some models may be more or less prone to others, but all can fail for the same reason.

I've handled hundreds of ThinkPads, my advice for a low cost machine is to buy a T60 or T61. It may be a $50 - $75 premium, but worth it for many reasons, three being 1) reliability, 2) performance, and 3) upgradeability.

[c4warrior]

ALL T4x machines with ATI GPUs are known for the GPU issue. It can happen to any T4x model with the ATI GPU. Some models may be more or less prone to others, but all can fail for the same reason.

I've handled hundreds of ThinkPads, my advice for a low cost machine is to buy a T60 or T61. It may be a $50 - $75 premium, but worth it for many reasons, three being 1) reliability, 2) performance, and 3) upgradeability.

Thank you for the advice and the welcome. I'm going to stick with the T43 for now at least since this is a done deal and I really like this one for certain reasons. The swap from the T42 didn't cost me anything and it's an upgrade so it's win/win for now anyways. I'll look at T60s in the future.

[underclocker]

Cool and understood. I actually love the T43 design, but on the used market without extenuating circumstances, it's hard not to give the nod to a slightly more costly T6x machine.

[Temetka]

As a T43 user myself I thought I would join in the conversation. I have owned a T41P, a T60 and now the T43 that I am typing this post on. I have also owned several other Thinkpads over the years.

I love the look and feel of the 14" T4x machines. The red highlights on the mouse buttons, the curved mouse buttons, the grey function keys. They all contribute to an overall look which I find very attractive and of course, cool.

From my experience upgrading my T41P to what I would have called the super high end (fastest CPU, fastest HD available at the time, matched pair of quality 1GB DDR SODIMMS), I can tell you that a $25 Dothan will whomp almost any other non-Dothan CPU. It's the cache. Dothan CPU's are highly efficient calculation devices. Couple that with a fast disk and memory sub-systems with excellent graphics support in the form of the ATI FireGL T2 128MB GPU and you have a combination for power, performance, and sex appeal.

The T60 is also a great machine. Ranging from a CoreDuo to full on 64-bit Core2Duo madness, support for upto 3GB of DDRII RAM, onboard SATA connectors, and updated graphics in either the Intel GMA 3100 or the ATI X1300 GPU. This machine is far faster than any T4x machines (yes even my uber T41P), but the main drawback for me is the bland case and keyboard styling. It literally reminds of the monolith from the 2001/2010 movies. Flat, black, un-inspired meh.

I'll take a T43 over a lowend T60 any day of the week. However if you up the offer to a T60 with widescreen and dedicated GPU and I'll take that machine.

The T4x has excellent (for its day) hardware, is capable of running the latest software, and looks great.

The T60 (not 61 as they have GPU issues) is far more powerful due largely to it's dual core CPU, has faster graphics and SATA. However unless it is a widescreen model IMO, it doesn't have much going for it in the looks department.

My advice to you is to buy the machine with the specs and features you want and go from there. Buying a base model and building up to the machine you want is not advisable. Sure it's fun as hell parts shopping, comparing, discussing, dreaming and finally when the day comes - building. However you'll more than likely spend more money than you had thought, wasted time, and in the end get a machine that's just as powerful as the pre-built models already available for sale. Plus they are ready to rock and roll right out of their FedEx boxes.

[c4warrior]

@Temetka

Thank you for the insight! Through a new friend I've met on this forum I went from my T42 which I was upgrading to a T43 (2668-NU3) with everything already on it (it is actually supposed to be the first machine that TTAV134 tested the 2010 error mod which makes it worth more to me). So I really don't have anything to upgrade on this new one minus painting it and *maybe* modding the board to use a SATA drive (thanks to John's help again). (Yes, I am experienced enough to do it but I may be too lazy / busy with school to do it for a while). But John pointed out to me that everything I was doing to my T42 would cost me almost as much as it was to buy the T43, plus I can sell the T43 and PNY ram I had just bought for it... so I actually came out of this deal with more money in my pocket and a better computer that I won't have to buy things like the SXGA+LCD for.

I really like the T4x machines as well, I always have since I saw my first one in Iraq (it was all sandy and running like crap... but come on, it's in the desert). I couldn't describe it better than you just did. The combination of everything makes it appealing for me and as far as my needs I only use my laptop to write programs and surf. I have a beast desktop for other things.