Thinking about collecting vintage ThinkPads - any recs?

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#1 Post by **K. Eng** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 6:25 pm

I've seen plenty about the 701 (butterfly keyboard) and the 600 series. Are there any machines that a collector of ThinkPads might want to have?

I was thinking about searching eBay for an old one or two.

G-Man · #2 Post by **G-Man** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 11:17 pm

Of course. TransNote. A must have for a ThinkPad collector (like me).

Regards,
G-Man

JHEM · #3 Post by **JHEM** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 12:40 am

I'll agree with G-Man about the Transnote, it's a must have along with the 701 "Butterfly".

A 600 series machine, preferably one of the X models.

An Axxp machine.

Something from the 755 series, just to see how far we've come!

Regards,

James

#4 Post by **BillMorrow** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 4:02 am

my small collection..

ThinkPad 860 - RS/6000
770Z
701C
Transnote
760CD
755CE
760C

want:
755CD
(oct-2005 edit: now have a very nice and somewhat rare 755CDV)

an A series when they become affordable..
and several more..

#5 Post by **K. Eng** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 9:26 am

Thanks guys

Is there any reason why the 600X is more coveted than the 600E, other than faster components? I think I might go for a 600 series first.

#6 Post by **erik** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 9:53 am

definitely get a 701c but avoid the 701cs because of the dual-scan screen.

the s30 isn't exactly vintage yet but it is one of the smallest thinkpads ever made and is smaller than an X40. to me, it definitely falls under the "collector's item" category. it was made exclusively for the japanese market circa 2001 but a few have popped up on ebay within the last year.

i have a mint 600 (2645-41U) with original box, manuals, etc. that i might be willing to sell for the right price. how about $1000? j/k

the 600X models came with P3 processors and better specs all-around. if you're going to get a 600, it might as well be fast enough to actually use once in a while.

-erik

#7 Post by **BillMorrow** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 11:45 am

<miscellaneous ramblings>
IMO the 600E 366 mhz version was the benchmark..

600X was better but shorter life..
and if you are doing a museum it is more representative of the breed..

mdbrown · #8 Post by **mdbrown** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 12:40 pm

What about one of the PowerPC thinkpads?? I don't think I've ever even seen one of those.

JHEM · #9 Post by **JHEM** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 12:54 pm

morrow wrote:<miscellaneous ramblings>
IMO the 600E 366 mhz version was the benchmark..

I just happen to have one of these lying around (2645-5AU)! I was going to upgrade it to a PII 400MHz, but maybe I'll leave it stock.

Regards,

James

JHEM · #10 Post by **JHEM** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 12:55 pm

morrow wrote:want: 755CD

Your wish is my command! Watch for Fedex this week.

Regards,

James

JHEM · #11 Post by **JHEM** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 12:57 pm

mdbrown wrote:What about one of the PowerPC thinkpads?? I don't think I've ever even seen one of those.

About as rare as hen's teeth, or reliable Unos!

I had four of them a while back, couldn't give them away.

Regards,

James

#12 Post by **erik** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 1:10 pm

i had a 765 for a short while with a 13.7" SXGA (1280x1024) screen but can't recall the exact model. shortly thereafter, the 770 model was introduced with that screen.

does anyone know what model 765 that would have been? 765ED sticks in my head but i haven't found any info to back that up. it's been years since i owned mine and i ended up selling it to a friend in college. i should have kept it.

-erik

JHEM · #13 Post by **JHEM** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 1:25 pm

Erik,

AFAIK, there ain't no such animal. The 765s all came with the 13.3" XGA (1024x768) display. First Thinkpad with the 13.7" SXGA display was the 770X.

Regards,

James

#14 Post by **erik** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 1:31 pm

JHEM wrote:AFAIK, there ain't no such animal. The 765s all came with the 13.3" XGA (1024x768) display. First Thinkpad with the 13.7" SXGA display was the 770X.

i could have sworn it was a 765-something model. then again, it's been about 5 years since i last had it in my hands...

oh well, i'll have to change my signature to reflect my brain fart.

-erik

#15 Post by **erik** » Sat Jun 19, 2004 1:33 pm

K. Eng wrote:I was thinking about searching eBay for an old one or two.

i just found this on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... eName=WDVW

it looks to be perfect for someone looking to "collect" a transnote.

-erik

Bruce Guttman · #16 Post by **Bruce Guttman** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 9:28 pm

I have a 765D, which has MWave and a 13.3 SXGA (1024x768). It was my main axe until I managed to patch up a 770, then an X and now a Z. I don't think any of the 765's (D or L) had anything but a 13.3" 1024x768. There was a 760XD which had a 12" 1024x768, but it was hard to read at that resolution and the 800x600 did not use the full display.

For a collection, you might want a 760 or two. There appear to be "families" including the 760C/760L, then the 760E/ED/EL, then the 760XL/XD. I started with a 760E with a P-133, which was a nice setup, even when it was 4 years old.

For collecting purposes, you might want to find some of the 300's (360/370/380/385/390), the 560, and maybe an i.

I have a couple of 760EL's and 760XL's I might be willing to part with.

Hope this helps.

#17 Post by **BillMorrow** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:28 am

JHEM wrote:
mdbrown wrote:What about one of the PowerPC thinkpads?? I don't think I've ever even seen one of those.
About as rare as hen's teeth, or reliable Unos!

I had four of them a while back, couldn't give them away.

Regards,

James

james..
you don't happen to have one of those SCSI hard drives for those power pc thinkpads..??
do ya..??

epbrown · #18 Post by **epbrown** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 9:43 pm

I think you're going at it sort of scatter-shot. When I collected Thinkpads (rather than just accumulating them, like now), I went for the subnotebooks: 500, 701, 560, 240, X, and one of those palm models only available in Japan. Stick with a model range you like using, and go for it. It also makes it easier and cheaper.

Emanuel (who recently completed his teeny-tiny Porsche collection)

#19 Post by **BillMorrow** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:13 am

i AM just collecting "scattershot", what comes my way at a price that is affordable..

i leave it to ibm to have a new one of each thinkpad ever produced..

though a friend has the prototype of the powerPC 850 or maybe it a 755CD..

epbrown · #20 Post by **epbrown** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 4:47 pm

Well, there are usually three main collecting philosphies: capture a particular time period, follow an evolutionary track, or just collect everything. I liked having all the subnotebooks because it was cool to see how they improved over the years while staying remarkably similar. What makes is cooler with IBM laptops is that they follow the same design strategy - there are few visual cues separating the 500 from the 560X or the X-series. People that saw them always thought they were all new.

If I were to follow another thread, it'd be the 7 series, and I'd likely stop when IBM did the name change.

Speaking of which - does anyone know why the 701 didn't follow the standard model numbering scheme in '95? Subnotebooks were 5xx are the time and IBM even returned to that for the 560 (codenamed Kite, remember that?).

Emanuel

JHEM · #21 Post by **JHEM** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 5:53 pm

morrow wrote:you don't happen to have one of those SCSI hard drives for those power pc thinkpads..?? do ya..??

I'll check the piles, but you might be in luck! IIRC, it was a 1.2GB Seagate.

Sorry, didn't get your 755CD packed this week, next week for sure.

We're doing some construction here at the old homestead and it's been consuming what little "extra" time I've had.

Regards,

James

#22 Post by **BillMorrow** » Sat Jun 26, 2004 2:19 am

for museum residents there is no hurry..
let me know when you're ready and i'll send my fedex or UPS #'s..

i have the software for the powerPC (i think) but no HDD..
got ground up at boeing..

ndoggfromhell · #23 Post by **ndoggfromhell** » Sun Jun 27, 2004 8:57 pm

Bill: What model 755CD are you looking for, it came as either a Pentium 75 or a 486 100mhz machine. My father actually still uses both.

anyone else have a 350C? what's funnier is that it still works!

i've also got a bunch of 750 series machines laying around. I do want to get a 701 sometime soon.

-Nate

JHEM · #24 Post by **JHEM** » Sun Jun 27, 2004 10:13 pm

ndoggfromhell wrote:Bill: What model 755CD are you looking for, it came as either a Pentium 75 or a 486 100mhz machine. My father actually still uses both.

They're very, very reliable machines in either their 486/100 or P75 guises. I support about 200 of them for clients, all reliably running for years now under WFW3.11 and W95OSR2.

Not everyone wants the latest and greatest when their livelihood relies on their computers working day-in and day-out. Just last year I had a fellow call me out of the blue and buy 4 P75s for $1K. He uses them to run his small milling and machining operation under DOS.

Regards,

James

lilserenity · #25 Post by **lilserenity** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 5:38 pm

I agree, sure I revel in the plush surroundings of my T23 in Windows XP Pro, its gig of memory and all the other nice gubbins that makes it a pleasure to use, but tucked into the corner of my room is a hardly vintage ThinkPad 560X.

On that runs DOS 6.22 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11 on a flash card with the 16bit terminal services client, office 4.3 pro, ie 5.01 and so forth. It's tough as old boots, and performs admirably at its job.

It might not be modern or so forth but it does make sure you can do one thing - carry out most of the tasks I do on my T23, namely word process, browse the www (hey finally I just realised, no one calls it the information super-highway, looks like things have progressed since 1994/95

and send an email and manage my server.

A 560Z.

Personally though, I have no idea why, but I do have a soft spot for the 570, what a cracking machine that was.

Shame it never did that well in the 600E and 600X's shadow.

Vicky

Frank Ponte · #26 Post by **Frank Ponte** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 5:49 pm

I have a mint 750C that I found while unpacking some boxes recently, with internal floppy drive, hard drive and power brick.

I'd be happy to donate it to the museum.

Just let me know.

Frank

#27 Post by **BillMorrow** » Tue Jun 29, 2004 11:23 pm

ndoggfromhell wrote:Bill: What model 755CD are you looking for, it came as either a Pentium 75 or a 486 100mhz machine. My father actually still uses both.

most any would be interesting to have next to the 860..

i THINK james was sending one..

you know, what would be fun is to have these all running the OS du jureat that time..
with some of the apps also current at the time these were sold..
uhmm, anyone want to screw around loading MWave drivers..?

ndoggfromhell · #28 Post by **ndoggfromhell** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 9:06 pm

lol. I loved the mwave disks. I think i have the earlier versions of windows somewhere. I'm talking 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 and 3.1.

What? you want networking... you want Windows for Workgroups 3.11!

Ah... just throw XP on em.

califas · #29 Post by **califas** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 3:55 pm

Can someone list in order the 5-10 smallest thinkpads ever.

#30 Post by **BillMorrow** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 4:14 pm

for USA sales or worldwide..?

701 and its antecedants..
240 et al..
S30 (though i never saw one..
the 760 series was very small compared to the T42p with 15 inch display..

and more, but i can't think of them all, now..

Thinking about collecting vintage ThinkPads - any recs?

Thinking about collecting vintage ThinkPads - any recs?

Re: Thinking about collecting vintage ThinkPads - any recs?

Re: Thinking about collecting vintage ThinkPads - any recs?

Re: Thinking about collecting vintage ThinkPads - any recs?

Want a 750C in Mint condition?

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