Thinkpads Forum

Hey guys! Want to get a decent classic thinkpads....but not sure which one is the best. Any of of you guys can recommend?

well, I'd recommend going back about 7 years--
one spindle==560, or 570 (need external floppy/CD)
two spindle==600 (especially the mid-range E series)
three spindle==390 (some of these are *BIG*)

the 600 series is *the* classic TP: similar in size etc to yr T
series, but IMHO better keyboard & general build quality.

further back than that, unless you run Linux or
DOS, the processors are rather limited <200mHz.

happy hunting:-)

ambientscape, are you looking for something that's really old but you'll never use, or something that you're actually going to use?

Except for the 560, I think any of the models recommended by tom lightbody are worth getting. In addition to those, I also suggest that you look into the 240, which I believe was the world's first laptop weighing less than 3 pounds. I have owned three of those, or four if I count the 240X. With the RAM maxed out, even the slowest model (300MHz Celeron with 320MB PC66) can run WinXP Pro fairly well.

Yes, you should define "old"...and whether or not you want to realistically use it.

For an old everyday use Thinkpad, I HIGHLY recommend the 600E. It has THE BEST keyboard of the Thinkpad series.

If you want old as in unique collectible...701c (the butterfly) or the 750P/360P (convertable tablet). I have a 701cs and a 750P and they really turn heads when I turn them on and demonstrate them. I also have a 360P on the way soon, which is just like the 750P, but in color.

Nothing is more solid than the 600 series. If you're on a budget, go for the 300mhz ThinkPad 600 or anything in the 600E family. You'll have a relatively thin and light laptop with the ability to run XP smoothly. If you have money to spare, go for a 600X which features a MiniPCI slot and a Pentium III CPU.

A 701c, of course. Seriously, though, I can still use it, and have, any day I want ever since I got it. It is better than most of the X Series in terms of being an ultraportable with a full-sized keyboard. It also does, indeed, turn heads when you open it at a meeting or a conference.

Other than that, I would also have to recommend going with the 600x or 600e as they are essentially proto-T Series machines and have awesome keyboards to boot.

Another vote for the 701C. Other novel Thinkpads would be:

The 755CDV, which has a removable backplate for use with overhead projectors.

The PC110, a super-tiny palmtop only sold in Japan.

The 500 - the first 500-series notebook, which defined that model line as the subnotebooks. The 701C is unique in that it was the only 700-series subnotebook - IBM returned to the 500-series theme with its replacement, the 560).

Last but hardly least, the IBM TransNote. The T-note is the only machine accurately described as a "notebook" computer, as well as ThinkPad (developers at IBM regretted that they'd already used the name for their laptops, and came up with TransNote as a less appealing alternative). The best tablet pc design ever. I'm in the process of creating a website about it, in fact.

Unique non-Thinkpads - there aren't many, imo. The Toshiba Libretto 50, HP Omnibook 300 (with Windows on a ROM chip and the "j-mouse"), the Compaq Aero, the Sony 505G (Sony's first laptop, and groundbreakingly thin at the time - tempted me away from my beloved 701, though I've still got both), and the Sony C1 "Picturebook." Small, thin, 1 kg, built in camera - imo, as deserving of accolades as the 701.

epbrown wrote:the Sony 505G (Sony's first laptop, and groundbreakingly thin at the time - tempted me away from my beloved 701, though I've still got both), and the Sony C1 "Picturebook." Small, thin, 1 kg, built in camera - imo, as deserving of accolades as the 701.

And even today, Sony still makes the most incredible notebooks, such as the Sony Vaio G1, which has an internal DVD burner and weighs only 2.17 lbs!!!!! See http://www.dynamism.com/g1/main.shtml .

pianowizard wrote: And even today, Sony still makes the most incredible notebooks.

I take it that is one of the few examples of "incredible" within the Vaio line. Even though that is impressively thin and light, especially with a DVDRW drive.

*doesn't want to think of all the Vaios he has had to fix without HMMs and bizzare case constructs*

I thought we were talking about venerable Classic Thinkpads.

Whoa! Amazing post reply! I thought nobody would reply this post. Anyway, was thinking to get a workable machine to run a decent OS to carry it around for some internet surfing and some office application. I like the 701C.......but I'm afraid its too old for its age on todays standard.
WOuld think of 240 series, or the 600 series....

The 701C is old but it is special. It is a great thinkpad and i am going to force my uncle to sell it to me.

christopher_wolf wrote:

pianowizard wrote: And even today, Sony still makes the most incredible notebooks.

I take it that is one of the few examples of "incredible" within the Vaio line. Even though that is impressively thin and light, especially with a DVDRW drive.

*doesn't want to think of all the Vaios he has had to fix without HMMs and bizzare case constructs*

I thought we were talking about venerable Classic Thinkpads.

You son, are a syndrome.


Minute anyone says something about a non IBM laptop you're in there aren't you?

gearguy wrote:
You son, are a syndrome.


Minute anyone says something about a non IBM laptop you're in there aren't you?

This shows how much he loves his thinkpads!

USER EDIT: I trimmed the quotes if not later nonny ... *shivers*

gearguy wrote:You son, are a syndrome.

Minute anyone says something about a non IBM laptop you're in there aren't you?

It is a territorial thing...many members here are that way. Try mentioning "Thinkpad" in a Dell forum and see what happens. Besides, this thread was related to "TPADS".

Also, word of advice.....I wouldn't recommend antagonizing a Mod or Admin. Everyone here is allowed to have their own opinion.

NS wrote:The 701C is old but it is special. It is a great thinkpad and i am going to force my uncle to sell it to me.

Or, and I hope this is a more appealing alternative than torturing an elderly relative, you could buy one of your own for about $30 on eBay.

gearguy wrote:You son, are a syndrome.

Tone it down, now.

That kind of targeted sarcasma is not appreciated.

epbrown wrote:

NS wrote:The 701C is old but it is special. It is a great thinkpad and i am going to force my uncle to sell it to me.

Or, and I hope this is a more appealing alternative than torturing an elderly relative, you could buy one of your own for about $30 on eBay.

I don't mind trading my Acer travelmate for his 701C for free.

NS wrote:

epbrown wrote: Or, and I hope this is a more appealing alternative than torturing an elderly relative, you could buy one of your own for about $30 on eBay.

I don't mind trading my Acer travelmate for his 701C for free.

You are crazy, dude! You gonna hug it to sleep don't you?

ambientscape wrote:You are crazy, dude! You gonna hug it to sleep don't you?

Yes...

1st: 701c
2nd: PC110 (was it a thinkpad?) quite cool - full blown pc in 34 cubic inches
3rd: 600x

Looks like the 701c has a cult following. Take a look at this:

Thinkpad 701c 65% kit

vlyne wrote:Thinkpad 701c 65% kit

That's incredible!

I'm selling one on eBay, but still have some I'm keeping. I made 2 of them with 133MHZ AMD CPUs, 40 Megs RAM which runs Win 98 just fine for me. I've had a 701C since I bought one new and have never stopped lovin em. I have one in my car everyday with WIFI using the latest version of Firefox. The 600s are great too, I guess I never considered them "vintage" yet. I like my 310ED, but wish it was a 310E instead.

The odd things about the 310s is that ED on all other models implied the top of the line whereas in the 310 line, the best 310E was of nicer spec than the 310ED.

As for "vintage," I normally consider anything introduced 8 or more years ago to be vintage which just qualifies the 600 and 600E but not the 600X which will have to wait until late 2007 before I consider it to be vintage.

Speaking about design people often say Thinkpads are boring, uniform.
That´s why I´d recommend to get some TP which demonstrate originality of TP design.

Number One is Transnote. Closed it lookes like portfeuille, attache case. It has pseudo-leather cover. Very elegant. It is opened like a book and after some movements you can see notebook or (hand)writing pad or tablet or all together.
Apple lovers are green with envy.
One inconvenience - it is not easy to learn to manipulate it.

Number Two - 701C - what to say?

Number Three - 700T (710T, 730T) the biggest tablet of that era; elegant form, combination of black and blue was not uniform and boring that time.

Number Four - S30 - battery; it is designed like a mount; if you want to change interfacial angle between notebook and desk battery serves as a support.
And this TP shows that Thinkpads are subtiles and delicates too.
Have a look.

Davemci,

I'm pretty sure I bought your 701c on eBay. Small world. I can't believe how small this machine really is. Even more amazing, it states on the bottom that it was manufactured in the United States. Another classic added to the collection. How much did you pay for one back in 1995?

List price on a top-of-the-line 701C (the 75Mhz 486-DX4 with active matrix display) was $4500 in May of 1995.

In December, I snagged one from PC Mall for $1899.

In 1999, I bought my girlfriend one for her birthday for $100.

In 2000, I bought FOUR for $100 and passed them out to my siblings.

In 2095, I'll sell the first one at auction as a collectors item for $45000

ambientscape wrote:Whoa! Amazing post reply! I thought nobody would reply this post. Anyway, was thinking to get a workable machine to run a decent OS to carry it around for some internet surfing and some office application.

I think you'd be very happy with a 600e. It is the sweetspot of the venerable 600 series. You can run XP and, with that, most modern software. You will find these reliable, comfortable to use, easy to repair, and inexpensive.

Thinkpad 235 - Japan only, SubNotebook, 3 PCMCIA slots (2 are Cardbus), P233MMX, can use NP100 series Camcorder batteries for power.
Very cool, very rare.

I have seen that only once and it was, indeed, cool. I think it was confined to most of the Asian market too, including China and Korea.