I've FINALLY gotten all the ThinkPads that I want (and a couple that I don't...)

[ajkula66]

Well, yeah, I don’t expect too many people to actually believe this statement, but it’s true.

A lot has changed since the early days of my ThinkPadding – especially in the last year or so – and not all for the better. There are things that I can’t do much about such as Lenovo’s design decisions or my own aging, neither of which makes my happy. And those where my own input actually makes a difference.

Anyway...

For the first time since I’ve started playing with/modding/collecting ThinkPads and FrankenPads, I’m in the position where I can comfortably state that I’m not buying another laptop. Unless the Retro actually blows my mind if and when it's released, which I highly doubt at this point.

So let’s start by playing a little game here. What are the four machines in the picture? The ones that are here to stay?



What do all of them have in common?

Let's get a couple of guesses in, and then I'll continue with more pictures and text...

[hhhd1]

All with IBM logo, so can't be that new.

I was thinking you might be interested in W520/W530, but that does NOT look to be the case here.

[ajkula66]

All with IBM logo, so can't be that new.

All but one. You're correct in stating that all of them are quite old, though.

I was thinking you might be interested in W520/W530, but that does NOT look to be the case here.

I was interested in building a custom W520 unit and had most parts put aside about a year ago, but gave up on the concept altogether since I realized that I simply can't live with a 16:9 LCD.

[TPFanatic]

I'll guess A31, T43, T60, and X61 in ultrabase, not including any modifications in or out....

Also they're all 4:3. All can be had with IPS screens.

[rkawakami]

A31p       X60t
????       T60p

For sure, upper left is A31p. Easily identified by the back left corner and dual latches. Upper right appears to be X6x tablet (obvious stylus), mounted in an X6 UltraBase. Guessing it to be an X60t. Lower right seems to be a T60 given the gray square button latch, wireless 'window', lid hinges and port placement on left side. Since I know you like high-resolution, non-wide displays, I'll say a T60p. Lower left is a total guess on my part; T43p. I don't have one so I can't compare it with anything in my own stable.

[ajkula66]

I'll guess A31, T43, T60, and X61 in ultrabase, not including any modifications in or out....

Very, very close.

Also they're all 4:3. All can be had with IPS screens.

Bingo. Give this man a cigar. And make it a Cuban, since they're legal again.

A31p       X60t
????       T60p

For sure, upper left is A31p. Easily identified by the back left corner and dual latches. Upper right appears to be X6x tablet (obvious stylus), mounted in an X6 UltraBase. Guessing it to be an X60t. Lower right seems to be a T60 given the gray square button latch, wireless 'window', lid hinges and port placement on left side. Since I know you like high-resolution, non-wide displays, I'll say a T60p. Lower left is a total guess on my part; T43p. I don't have one so I can't compare it with anything in my own stable.

Well, I bought that A31p from you...

Good guess on the T43p nevertheless.

However, the machine that both you and TPFanatic have presumed to be a T60/p is not a T series unit at all...

[Cigarguy]

Terrible at guesses but some nice looking machine. Did someone say a cigar?

[Tasurinchi]

I'm coming late to the game... Knowing you as a FlexView farmer the A31p and T43p would be a given I guess

However, the machine that both you and TPFanatic have presumed to be a T60/p is not a T series unit at all...

I guess then a R60? With "touchpad free" palmrest?

[FryPpy]

I guess then a R60? With "touchpad free" palmrest?

Even more - It is ...personal, unique, Hydis-LED-modded, touchpadless 4:3 R61FL from here

hhhd1 wrote:
All with IBM logo, so can't be that new.
All but one.

But it is not a problem at all. "Thinkpad X series" logo can be swapped with IBM Thinkpad logo to make the entire quartet dressed in identical tuxedos.

My be ajkula66 invented cure to the Thinkpad disease??? Mine was stable but to the end of this year it becomes worsen
I've got some x30 series (W530 + X220-X230) to make keyboard mod (but any way when i working on T410 it's layout make me sick from Esc-Del keys modifications). And SL300 to place near X301.

[Tasurinchi]

Even more - It is ...personal, unique, Hydis-LED-modded, touchpadless 4:3 R61FL

How could I miss that!! I guess the silber latch button misguided me

it's layout make me sick from Esc-Del keys modifications

I love that layout, (best ever for my personal taste) probably because I keep pressing the ESC key so much

[ajkula66]

I guess then a R60? With "touchpad free" palmrest?

Even more - It is ...personal, unique, Hydis-LED-modded, touchpadless 4:3 R61FL from here

Give this man a box of cigars...

Maybe ajkula66 invented cure to the Thinkpad disease??? Mine was stable but to the end of this year it becomes worsen
I've got some x30 series (W530 + X220-X230) to make keyboard mod (but any way when i working on T410 it's layout make me sick from Esc-Del keys modifications). And SL300 to place near X301.

No.

Realistically, I don't *need* four laptops. Two at the most. But I'll be keeping all of these.

I've found myself going back to an old and quite expensive hobby of mine, and while I'll most certainly stay around on this forum, my days of modding/buying/selling ThinkPads are over with for the most part.

[ajkula66]

More pictures, as promised...

[brchan]

Very nice machines George! I almost guessed a QXGA R50p for the bottom left.

[ajkula66]

Very nice machines George!

Thank you.

I almost guessed a QXGA R50p for the bottom left.

I owned one of these many years ago, but it was proven to me time and time again - with modded T43p and T601 - that my eyesight can't handle QXGA resolution on a 15" laptop LCD for a prolonged period of time. UXGA is what I am - and have always been - comfortable with.

[murak]

Indeed a very good looking collection! Specs would be very interesting.

I do hope that you keep coming to the forum, since you know so much about Thinkpads. Someone has to answer all my questions

[ajkula66]

Indeed a very good looking collection!

Thank you.

Specs would be very interesting.

The specs will be posted by tonight, I just had a very busy Sunday that is not over yet...

I do hope that you keep coming to the forum, since you know so much about Thinkpads. Someone has to answer all my questions

Trust me, I'm not going anywhere if I can help it...

[600X]

Wait, didn't you want to sell that R61?

[ajkula66]

Wait, didn't you want to sell that R61?

Yes. A short-term financial crisis that was resolved by other means...now it's not going anywhere if I can help it.

[ajkula66]

Now let's get on to some specs and comments...

A31p (seen on the left) is the unit closest to stock configuration out of them all. Sporting a conservative P4M 2.0, 2GB RAM, original - gorgeous - ID Tech UXGA FlexView LCD, it has only been upgraded in the respect of the wireless card (Atheros-chipped TP Link "N" card) and HDD which is a 80GB/7200rpm Seagate unit.

I'll never be able to thank Ray (rkawakami) enough for letting me have this particular A31p, given its shape...absolutely outstanding for a laptop from this era.

Why I'm hanging onto a '02 system that I've performed a fresh install of W2K on a couple of months ago is obvious to anyone who had been following my posts on this forum to at least some degree. It is - and will always remain - my favourite ThinkPad.

T43pSF on the RH side of the picture has seen quite a few deviations from its original shape. The planar was SATA-modded by our own RBS, and the system is currently running W2K on an Intel X-25E SLC SSD. The entire LCD assembly came from my (sadly demised) T50 project, and consists of a NOS lid and a NOS Hydis -101 UXGA AFFS panel. Other than that, it's a fairly standard offering ( ) with a PM 760 (2.0 GHz) CPU, 2 GB RAM and the same TP Link card as found in my A31p. As for the Slovenian layout keyboard...a T4x Thai is a thing of beauty, and an opportunity to have a native language layout on a ThinkPad is just as wonderful. FTR, I'm not Slovenian - nor am I fluent in the given language (shame on me, seriously) - but that's how IBM branded the layout used as native over several different languages and nationalities back in the day...

To me personally, T43/p was one of IBM's finest moments, a classy, beautifully designed machine. While I'll never forgive them for excluding the non-touchpad option on 15" models, it remains one of my all-time-favourites, and the ingenuity of a SATA-mod upgrade is definitely something to treasure and hold on to, at least in my book. And yes, it sports a "wrong" clear plate on purpose...

The wallpapers? What you see on the A31p is the corner that I grew up on, having moved there in 1969 - left in 1972 - then returned in 1981, a chock full of memories....and on T43pSF, it's my twin boys when they were about three years old...the time certainly flies by.

[shawross]

A nice collection of classic 4x3 aspect ratio Thinkpads and thanks for sharing.

The A31p and the T4X are definitely IMO the most elegant even if the T4X has a Trackpad.

The clean look without a Trackpad appeals to me though.

W2K and Windows 7 but no XP at ATM unless I am mistaken.

My enticement to purchase my X61 a few years back was the fact that it still had the IBM badge. The IBM badge and a 4x3 screen are so indelibly linked.

[ajkula66]

A nice collection of classic 4x3 aspect ratio Thinkpads and thanks for sharing.

Thank you for the kind words. What's the point of having nice *anything* if one doesn't use it, and share it with those who appreciate it?

The clean look without a Trackpad appeals to me though.

I'd venture a guess - since I've got no quantifiable data to share on the subject matter - that people who got into ThinkPads before T4x series and/or prefer early X series are the most ardent supporters of "touchpadless" look. To me personally, it's twofold:

a) It looks (to me) cleaner from a design standpoint and

b) I don't use touchpad on my ThinkPads to begin with.

W2K and Windows 7 but no XP at ATM unless I am mistaken.

You're not mistaken. These are my two of my favourite operating systems when it comes to Windows offerings, and are well-suited for the machines discussed here. I was never a big fan of XP, although I've had little choice but to use it extensively for over a decade for a slew of reasons that are no longer in play.

My enticement to purchase my X61 a few years back was the fact that it still had the IBM badge. The IBM badge and a 4x3 screen are so indelibly linked.

That's an interesting take. My tablet will be getting IBM logos probably sometime later this week, but more on that matter later in this thread...

[thinkreal]

Very interesting setup and thank you for sharing.

Just curious - do you use all these for just web-browsing? I'm thinking, with the amount of money spent on modding, you can probably get a modern laptop with better hardware specification for more intensive usage like editing videos/photos/virtualization projects etc.

Of course, if you're retired and just use it for catching up news and YouTube, it definitely works well for such usage. For some, these can also be easily accomplished with today's smartphones.

Nevertheless, I hope you have got over with the financial crisis you mentioned.

Have a wonderful day

[ajkula66]

Now, onto my unique R61FL which has been the most extensively modded one out of all four ThinkPads that I'll be keeping.

For those unfamiliar with the model in question, it was only sold in South Asia and certain parts of Europe - never in Americas - for a short period of time in late 2007/early 2008. The specs were usually low-grade, and this is what the particular machine started its life as:

ThinkPad R61i 8943-DSG T2310(1.46GHz), 1GB RAM, 160GB 5400rpm HD, 15in 1024x768 LCD, Intel X3100, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, 6c Li-Ion, WinVista Business 32

I bought this one from a fellow forum member last year and had it shipped across the pond. Nowadays, very little remains from the original set of specs...

The most important - without a doubt - upgrade/mod was the Hydis LED UXGA LCD, performed by my dear friend RealBlackStuff. I've written extensively about these panels, and have owned and sold numerous FrankenPads that sported them. These screens are nothing short of amazing, and present a worthy upgrade to any 4:3 ThinkPad in 15" guise.

Somewhere along the way the machine "lost" its touchpad.... ...but gained a T9300, 8GB matched Elpida RAM with heatsinks, San Disk Extreme Pro SSD and an Atheros AR9380 card. Let's not forget the Slovenian-layout keyboard that hasn't come from Slovenia - like the one on my T43pSF - but all the way from China. Middleton's BIOS? You bet. Genuine Lenovo (made in Japan) TrackPoint cap? Check, thanks to a fellow forum member.

So yes, this one was a rare bird to begin with and it's a fairly unique offering nowadays, especially on this side of the Atlantic.

And last but not the least, the latest addition to my fleet, the X601T



Huh? What on Earth is a X601T?

Well, it's an X61 tablet that has received a screen - or in most cases the entire lid - transplant (SXGA+ of course) from its older X60T cousin, in order to avoid the "bubbling" effect seen on hi-res X61T units...

The original specs were as follows:

ThinkPad X61 Tablet 7762-K3U L7700(1.8GHz), 2GB RAM, 100GB 7200rpm HD, 12.1in 1024x768 LCD Touchscreen, Intel X3100, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Telus WWAN, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, Secure chip, FPR, 8c Li-Ion, WinXP Tablet 2005

So this one has lost its touchscreen - which I couldn't possibly care less about since I positively hate fingerprints on the screen of *any* kind - and its big battery, but gained a hi-res Hydis panel, 8GB matched Samsung RAM, Plextor M6 Pro SSD and an Atheros AR9380 wireless card. Not bad.

And yeah, this bad boy sports the fastest CPU available for these systems - L7700 running at 1.8 Ghz. Speed demon, I tell you.

Now if you'll excuse me while I try to take down that flying pink pig with Ray Bans that is intent on building a nest outside my window...

The LCD is living on borrowed time - which was fully disclosed to me by a fellow forum member at the time of purchase - and will have to be replaced. I've already obtained a complete replacement lid and will likely be performing the swap in the next week or two. Will start looking into a keyboard with Slovenian layout as well as into an 8-cell battery. But that's about it when it comes to this little guy. If I end up going to Europe again next year, this one is likely to be my travel partner.

So yes, 4:3 high-resolution screens in IPS and AFFS format have proven themselves to be an absolute must for silly old me.

Surprised? Yeah, I know. Was kinda shocked myself when I realized that...

Mark my words, kids: some addictions are extremely difficult to cure, and my own addiction to good screens and proper keyboards has been one of them, although Lenovo has done its absolute best over the last few years to cure my New ThinkPad Acquirement Syndrome...seemingly for good.

[ajkula66]

Just curious - do you use all these for just web-browsing? I'm thinking, with the amount of money spent on modding, you can probably get a modern laptop with better hardware specification for more intensive usage like editing videos/photos/virtualization projects etc.

Nowadays, it's web and office work. I don't play games on my laptops, and my photo editing is on a strictly amateur basis.

I've owned many "modern" laptops but haven't kept any of them, which has got to tell you something about my priorities. If I had the space to accommodate it, or an actual need that would justify spending $$$$ on it, my next purchase would not be anything but an EliteBook 8740W with a DC panel.

As for the money spent...ThinkPads have been good to me - as has this forum - and I've made my fair share of money on them. No regrets when I have to spend some of it.

Of course, if you're retired and just use it for catching up news and YouTube, it definitely works well for such usage. For some, these can also be easily accomplished with today's smartphones.

I'd love to be retired but I'm not quite there yet. As for smartphones - in today's iPhone/Samsung/etc. sense of the word - I positively hate them. A hardcore BlackBerry user here, and doing everything I do on a laptop simply can't be done on a phone, not with my eyesight anyway.

Nevertheless, I hope you have got over with the financial crisis you mentioned.

Thanks. Clerical errors can turn one's life upside down in a matter of seconds, but everything eventually got straightened out.

Have a wonderful day

And you, my friend, have a better one...

[wujstefan]

Wow!

First of all my own world gets back on its legs knowing you're not selling your own R61FL. I was pretty close to a nervous breackdown.

As for the second I was looking for a real purpose to build just the models I personally like (X20, A31p, G41, T43, X61s, R61 and T601) which is actually extremely difficult when living in Europe. Now I've got it

Great collection George! If you tend to run out of R61 spare parts call me any time; these were pretty popular in Poland (before I bought them out )

[Saucey]

Wow, that R61i is an absolute beast!!
Very tasteful look with that palmrest!

Awesome set of ThinkPads you have here, I'm sure they will be a great addition to your ThinkPad family.

[ajkula66]

Wow!

First of all my own world gets back on its legs knowing you're not selling your own R61FL. I was pretty close to a nervous breackdown.

Both of us were, my good man...

Wow, that R61i is an absolute beast!!
Very tasteful look with that palmrest!

Awesome set of ThinkPads you have here, I'm sure they will be a great addition to your ThinkPad family.

There's no more "ThinkPad family" to speak thereof, these four are all there is to it. I've got two more that will be sold/donated or whatever, but this batch is what stays and there won't be any additions.