How much?

[postdiction]

hi,
I am in the process of possible obtaining a t23 system and was wondering what you all think is a fair price for this laptop.

Assuming cosmetic condition is okay,
P3 1.13
512 mb ram
S3 16mb graphics
30gig hard drive
14 inch screen 1024x768

So what would be a fair price. Th only thing that i have noticed so far is that there a few minor "pressure white marks on the lcd" that won't bother me too much.

Thanks in advance for the input

[rkawakami]

As a sometime seller of T23 systems I can tell you that a "fair" price is somewhat hard to pin down given the description that you have provided. There's a couple of additional questions/points that need to be asked:

- RAM: are there 2 256MB modules or a single 512MB?
- Video system: All T23s have the S3 graphics chip with 16MB of memory so don't be swayed by this point. Unless you are looking for a gaming system, then you won't be happy with a T23.
- Hard drive: what's the model? A 4200RPM drive does not command the extra price of a 5400 or 7200RPM drive. Also, is there any operating system installed and if so, any additional software?
- Wireless: does that T23 have the built-in WiFi antennas?
- Ultrabay: any optical drive included?
- Battery: charge capacity; measured in Wh (watt-hours) as displayed in the Battery Maximiser gauge
- Miscellaneous: AC adapter or any other accessories?

Assuming "low end" (2 x 256MB, 4200RPM drive with no OS, no wireless, no optical but at least a battery), then I'd say somewhere in the ballpark of $100-$120. On the high side (single 512MB, 7200RPM drive with factory OS, wireless and DVD burner), probably around $200. I recently sold an almost maxed-out system to a forum member. It had a 1.13Ghz CPU, 1024MB, 60GB 5400RPM with a factory XP load, 802.11b/g built-in wireless and a DVD±RW burner for a little bit over $200 (shipped). If you look through the past month's completed sales on eBay (you have to be a member to perform searches on completed auctions) you can probably get a good feel for what are "normal" prices. You'll see some anomalies on the high end. I would consider those to be 120-150% prices. Meaning that, some people on eBay might pay 20 to 50% more than what the members here would say is normal.

[doctor bloomquist]

If your buying in person rather than on eBay, download mobmeter and hddhealth onto a usb stick. (http://www.cs.rit.edu/~rjy2985/mobmeter.html and PANTERASoft.Com)

They're both freeware, mobmeter will tell you if the battery's on its last legs, and hddhealth if the harddrive's on the way out. Should help you and the seller thrash out a 'fair' price!

[Temetka]

Based on your limited description (the seven digit machine code would help a lot. XXXX-XXX format) I wouldn't pay more than $100 for that machine, shipped.

If it has wireless, it is more than likely to be 802.11b which is fine for surfing but dog slow on file transfers even across home networks.

The only thing that machine appears to have going for it is the somewhat faster CPU.

Don't get me wrong, I used to own a T23 and I loved it. They really are good machines and as Ray pointed out, not so great for gaming. That being said I was able to run all of my older games just fine including Half Life and Quake 2.

If it is a local sale you could always inspect in person and maybe dicker around with the price some more.

If it has more or better hardware than what you posted then the price of course will go up.

Even then I don't think I would pay more than $200 for even an SXGA T23. The hardware is just too old for my tastes, YMMV.

How much are you looking to spend, what do you want to do from the machine, and how long do you expect it to last? These three questions should help you formulate a rough idea of what the machine is worth and how badly you want it.

Good luck.

[postdiction]

the model number is

2647-4mu
it has 2 sticks of 256ram and no wireless built in however, I have a stellar orinoco wireless card that i am not using at the time
Does have a 5400 30gb hard drive
No ultrabay however does have a DVD ROM
Battery last for about 45min, ac adapter included

with shipping it would come to $126

plan to use for about a year

Thanks for all of the responses