Best bang for the buck in classic Thinkpads right now?

[TRS-80]

So, are you saying you sort of agree with the idea that "if they made it this far, they are probably OK?"

And yes, btw mine is a 1830-WCW with an ATI Radeon 7500. Dang, you've got a good memory.

[ajkula66]

So, are you saying you sort of agree with the idea that "if they made it this far, they are probably OK?"

Sort of. As long as one understands their (vint)age and the limitations that it brings, they'll be OK.

And yes, btw mine is a 1830-WCW with an ATI Radeon 7500. Dang, you've got a good memory.

Yep. My favourite animal is elephant, which I resemble in many ways.

Good memory can be a royal PITA, especially when there's no "off" button included with it, though.

[TRS-80]

OK, some updates. I scored a very nice T42 off of Craigslist locally. It's a type 2373-C88, which out of the box was the following (from Lenovo):

PM 735, 512MB RAM, 40GB 5400rpm HDD, 14.1 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, 32MB ATI Radeon 7500, 24x24x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD, Cisco 802.11b wireless, Modem, 1Gb Ether, UltraNav, Sec Chip, 6 cell Li-Ion Batt, WinXP Pro

So, PM 735 is nice, that's a Dothan core 1.7. Also, someone at some point upgraded it to 1 GB RAM (I will be upgrading it to 2x1=2GB RAM, the max possible, already have the RAM, see below).

Not sure how old the HDD is, but I ran CrystalDiskInfo on it before purchasing and the S.M.A.R.T. data looked pretty good for a used HDD. Seller wasn't familiar with S.M.A.R.T., a discussion of it prompted him to tell me he had several more used 2.5 PATA HDDs sitting on a shelf that he had no real use for (apparently he is also a hoarder like many of us, lol). I feel some of them may be in decent shape, he will probably let me have them for little to nothing, further allowing me to keep these old machines running on the cheap.

Best part is, I only paid $40 for it! He was asking $50, I offered, he accepted. That's a steal for a complete machine, including power cable, HDD, etc. even included original disks for Win XP and Office 2007 Enterprise!

I see what you guys mean now about the lid of the T series, compared to my other R series. It is much more sturdy, full frame, not plastic. And the rubberization is nice, I don't think it will attract too much dirt. Therefore I may continue to look for T series in the future.

Also, I scored 2x1GB pc2700 laptop DDR (from a different person on CL locally) for only $20! I guess I am lucky in the area where I live (Tampa) as it is pretty populous and if you keep a keen eye out (I have some things monitoring CL constantly for certain keywords) you can get some good deals. In fact, just as I am writing this, a T61 (complete!) just popped up for $50, I may pull the trigger, even though I am still learning about T61s, I figure, I can't go wrong at that price.

So I just wanted to share my recent nice gets with you fellows, and again thank you for helping me to learn, as now I know what to be on the lookout for and can buy with confidence.

[RealBlackStuff]

If you need Firewire/1394 for anything, and you pursue the T4x/R5x group, you'll need to stick to the R5x, as T4x don't have that.

[TRS-80]

Nope, don't believe I will need firewire, but thanks for the heads up RBS.

I am really liking the solid feel of the T series frame (as compared to R series), and so I am thinking I will continue to look for these in the future! Now I see what you guys were talking about, now that I have one in my hands to fondle. :p

[schen]

Now that you have a T42, I'll go ahead and pass along my little piece of superstition. That series of machine was given to ATI GPU failure due to cracks developing in the attachment points of the BGA. My brother who works in the semi-conductor industry is convinced that it comes from the differentiation of the expansion/contraction from heat/cool cycles of the different materials between the chip and the board. I think, it's that combined with the thinness of the model leaving VERY little space between bottom of the MB where the GPU attaches and the case.

To be specific, my people have a bad tendency of trying to carry a running machine around in one hand as they move around. Since most people are right-handed, they'll try to keep that hand free, thus carrying the computer in the left hand. If you have a running/open machine and want to carry it in the left hand, you'd most likely hook your left thumb over the left edge of the case, sliding the rest of the hand around the side with the fingers underneath. The fingers pads would be bearing the majority of the weight of the machine, causing flex right about the middle of the case bottom (the weakest point). After taking apart more than a few of them, I'm going to say that it's definitely a possibility that case-flex plays a role in the GPU cracking.

So, I've ALWAYS used some sort of pad underneath to spread out the pressure, and to make certain that the cooling vents aren't covered up. Take it for what it's worth!

[RealBlackStuff]

Flex is the worst that can happen on a T4x, BUT...
the flex alone was not the major problem!
The real baddie was the EU (European Union, NOT Etats Unis) who adopted and enforced RoHs.
This included lead-free solder, and most factories around 2006 didn't have a clue HOW to work properly with the new lead-free stuff.
The GPU, as well as the Southbridge, were both soldered to the board with about 650 lead-free solder balls.
Unless it's done perfectly, lead-free solder does NOT have the connection 'power' of leaded solder.
That's why so many T4x went haywire, because the Foxconn/Wistron motherboard manufacturers ballsed up, as they didn't know at that time HOW to solder lead-free...
So, after a good dose of flex, those balls disconnected, one at a time...

[lophiomys]

... and as a friend in the industry explained me, at that time they did not get the mixture of materials for the - then new - solder balls right,
because the solder industry did not properly prepare itself to the new RoHS requirements and did not know about the new materials - as RBS said above.
Therefore the first generation of RoHS solder balls did develop some nasty aging effects and effectively became brittle over time.

For my T42p's, I never spared any of them and all of them developed some flexing.
I'll get them reballed, if the T50 mobo wont turn up in 2014

Cheers

[pianowizard]

In fact, just as I am writing this, a T61 (complete!) just popped up for $50, I may pull the trigger

I would if I were you, because $50 is a steal for a T61, and because your T42 probably won't last long, as discussed above. However, make sure the T61 has Intel graphics.

If you plan on keeping the T42 for a while, I recommend you to avoid doing anything graphics-intensive on it, i.e. watching videos or gaming.

[ajkula66]

Therefore the first generation of RoHS solder balls did develop some nasty aging effects and effectively became brittle over time.

Moving the production from Mexico to China didn't help the matters either in my not-so-humble opinion...talk about an almost instant sink in QC...

[TRS-80]

Yeah, I am aware of the BGA / RoHS / no lead solder issue, as it was/is also common to XBOX360s of that time period.

Funny you mention that flexing thing schen, because the more pictures I see of T4x/R5x opened up, and where the GPU is, I have been thinking the exact same thing. Now my R51 is still going strong (*knocks on wood*), even though it has ATI graphics. But I am always careful with electronics. I almost always close the lid before moving it. And in those few cases I moved it while open, I would always support both left and right sides at around the middle (i.e., a nice balanced / even hold to best distribute the weight of the machine). I would never carry it as you describe, although I am well aware that most people probably did/do exactly that. Furthermore, when mounted in the truck (which it was the majority of the time), the R51 was secured to a flat 3/4-1" board with 4 small metal tabs holding it down. A mounting plate of my own design and construction (that I keep promising pictures of, and will get around to... one of these days... lol). And that is just my general careful way of handling electronics, way before I joined the forums here or even knew anything about these issues!

In fact, just as I am writing this, a T61 (complete!) just popped up for $50, I may pull the trigger

I would if I were you, because $50 is a steal for a T61, and because your T42 probably won't last long, as discussed above. However, make sure the T61 has Intel graphics.

After getting the type no. from the guy, turns out the T61 in question was actually some widescreen abomination. Therefore the search continues. lol

If you plan on keeping the T42 for a while, I recommend you to avoid doing anything graphics-intensive on it, i.e. watching videos or gaming.

This reminds me of the comments people always make wrt smartphones and prolonging battery life (i.e., turn down screen brightness, turn off this and that, you know, don't use it as a smartphone, lol). I am just kidding around with you a bit. In all seriousness, the machine is very lightly used, basically doing truck mounted data collection (custom M$ Access database).