Does the system I want even exist?

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vjack · #1 Post by **vjack** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:35 pm

I want to buy a T42 with a 14.1" screen. I think I want the SXGA+ screen, but I keep reading that I shouldn't settle for less than 64MB of video RAM because the next version of Windows will require it. All the models I can find offer only 32MB. Does what I'm looking for exist?

JHEM · #2 Post by **JHEM** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:44 pm

2378-FVU!

Regards,

James

admsteiner · #3 Post by **admsteiner** » Tue May 03, 2005 4:53 pm

Ditto.
Have the 2378-FVU and bought two for friends. Great machine.

--Adam

vjack · #4 Post by **vjack** » Tue May 03, 2005 5:04 pm

Okay 2378-FVU it is then! Three remaining questions:

1. I want the 3 year warranty, and it looks like I'll have to pay extra to get it. Which of the many warranty options do I select to the typical 3-year coverage that IBM used to provide on all Thinkpads?

2. To get the best wireless b/g range, which option do I want?

3. Am I better off buying it with the minimum RAM and adding more myself if necessary? Are both RAM slots easily accessible?

Thanks!

admsteiner · #5 Post by **admsteiner** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:00 pm

vjack wrote: 1. I want the 3 year warranty, and it looks like I'll have to pay extra to get it. Which of the many warranty options do I select to the typical 3-year coverage that IBM used to provide on all Thinkpads?

There are two different warranties. The first is onsite or depot. That's your call (I purchased onsite). The second is Thinkpad Protection (has to be added at the time of purchase or within 30 days).
When you order select the 3 Year Depot (or next business day onsite) with Thinkpad protection and you should be fine.
If you're having trouble finding the option (you shouldn't) you can always call IBM, tell them you're using the edu or credit card (visa/mc/etc) site (specify which) and you'll get the same price, they'll be able to add the specific option for you too.

vjack wrote: 2. To get the best wireless b/g range, which option do I want?

I have the Intel 2200BG, works great.

vjack wrote: 3. Am I better off buying it with the minimum RAM and adding more myself if necessary? Are both RAM slots easily accessible?

Yes!
1) The RAM slot is very easy to get to. It should take you all of thirty seconds to pop the new chip in. There's one screw to get to it and that's it.
2) You can usually get quality RAM for cheaper than IBM charges
3) If you buy the 2378-FVU and customize the hardware IBM will then go to the laptop and put it in. While that sounds normal, it also means that your laptop won't ship out immediately as it will need to go through the "Configuration" stage and might add a couple of days to the ship time.

--Adam

GoEatFood · #6 Post by **GoEatFood** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:42 pm

right now it's taking about 2-4 weeks give or take. my order went in on the 21st of april and I have yet to get my FVU. I also got second dayshipping as waiting another 7-10 days after the 2-4 weeks wasn't going to work for me. I'm going to call in tomorrow and find out the exact status...I'll let you know what the wait time looks like then...but, most people are getting the 2-4 weeks because of a lack of chips and I'm sure the change from IBM to Lenovo is adding some time to orders...

admsteiner · #7 Post by **admsteiner** » Tue May 03, 2005 6:47 pm

I'd be surprised if the change from IBM to Levono is adding time. Right now it appears to just be a change in name. Any time delay is probably due to the IBM rep having to remember to say "Levono" when picking up the phone

If it is a chip shortage...well I guess you can go down to the 725 or up to the 755. Let us know what they say about the time wait though...
--adam

revolutionary_one · #8 Post by **revolutionary_one** » Tue May 03, 2005 10:44 pm

Also, if i open up the unit and add more RAM does that void the warranty??

with the 2378 FVU how many slots are easily accessable, and how many slots are hidden. If the case is one easy access slot and one not so much. Then i plan on buying a 512MB so dimm on the easy access slot and then another 512MB when i can afford to pay for the installation and the stick.

Otherwise, if there's only one extra slot total, i might just buy a 1gb so dimm and add it to the 256MB stick and just bite the cost, b/c in the end...its probably chaper.

#9 Post by **aamsel** » Tue May 03, 2005 10:54 pm

Well, that doesn't exactly work, because:
a.) The 1.6 chips don't come in SXGA+ with 9600's.
b.) To get a 2.0 you have to get a T42p.

However, T43's are much more readily available, but have the X300's not the 9600's.

Andrew
Austin, TX

admsteiner wrote:...If it is a chip shortage...well I guess you can go down to the 725 or up to the 755. Let us know what they say about the time wait though...
--adam

admsteiner · #10 Post by **admsteiner** » Tue May 03, 2005 11:30 pm

revolutionary_one wrote:Also, if i open up the unit and add more RAM does that void the warranty??

Nope (at least for the one slot, I don't think it'll void it if you do both slots either)

revolutionary_one wrote: with the 2378 FVU how many slots are easily accessable, and how many slots are hidden. If the case is one easy access slot and one not so much. Then i plan on buying a 512MB so dimm on the easy access slot and then another 512MB when i can afford to pay for the installation and the stick.

I'm not sure where the first slot is, the second one is very accessible.

admsteiner · #11 Post by **admsteiner** » Tue May 03, 2005 11:31 pm

aamsel wrote:Well, that doesn't exactly work, because:
a.) The 1.6 chips don't come in SXGA+ with 9600's.
b.) To get a 2.0 you have to get a T42p.

Sorry, meant with a different model. Must have turned my thinking cap off

--adam

stgreek · #12 Post by **stgreek** » Wed May 04, 2005 7:08 am

admsteiner wrote: I'm not sure where the first slot is, the second one is very accessible.

It is below the keyboard, relatively easy to reach (same as a mini-pci card) and is user replaceable, so it will not void warranty.

revolutionary_one · #13 Post by **revolutionary_one** » Wed May 04, 2005 10:43 am

Which slot is "below the keyboard". The easy access slot [which is usually on the underside of the unit in other lappys], or the "other slot".

Since it's "user replaceable" does it void the warranty if somehow bork the unit by installing / upgrading the main memory? Esp since i am getting 3 Years Warranty with 3 Years of Thinkpad protection, will either of them cover the potential mishap??

GoEatFood · #14 Post by **GoEatFood** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:35 am

well, I just got off the phone with them and I guess now it's a system as a whole and I suppose going back to what I said before about it taking longer because of the switch over...he said " we are waiting for our inventory to come in and it should be here may 25th, your thinkpad should be shipped out some time between then and june 1st." I hate hearing that. after asking if there was anyway to speed it up his only answers was...well, you already have the 2nd day shipping. there is nothing we can do on our end.

revolutionary_one · #15 Post by **revolutionary_one** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:44 am

Hmm, maybe you can ask for a better deal then, like ask them to add options. Talk to a higher level supervisor.

Because it seems to me that your essentially giving them 2000+ USD of YOUR money, in order to get a return almost 3 months later. Which is what

I'm going to try to do this week, if i cant get them to agree to atleast SOMETHING, then ill just wait till later when they've overstocked on inventory and have to get rid of units.

Get back to us if you get some sort of upgrade, b/c either way, it's prolly not even being built yet, so you might as well add options while its still not assembled

stgreek · #16 Post by **stgreek** » Wed May 04, 2005 12:10 pm

revolutionary_one wrote:Which slot is "below the keyboard". The easy access slot [which is usually on the underside of the unit in other lappys], or the "other slot".

Since it's "user replaceable" does it void the warranty if somehow bork the unit by installing / upgrading the main memory? Esp since i am getting 3 Years Warranty with 3 Years of Thinkpad protection, will either of them cover the potential mishap??

It is the "other slot", the easy access still exists on the underside. Your warranty should cover any potential pitfall, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

GoEatFood · #17 Post by **GoEatFood** » Wed May 04, 2005 12:46 pm

revolutionary_one wrote:Hmm, maybe you can ask for a better deal then, like ask them to add options. Talk to a higher level supervisor.

Because it seems to me that your essentially giving them 2000+ USD of YOUR money, in order to get a return almost 3 months later. Which is what

I'm going to try to do this week, if i cant get them to agree to atleast SOMETHING, then ill just wait till later when they've overstocked on inventory and have to get rid of units.

Get back to us if you get some sort of upgrade, b/c either way, it's prolly not even being built yet, so you might as well add options while its still not assembled

yeah, I was thinking about trying to get some upgrades and calling back in another week...I was also planning on going to the apple shop downtown to spec out a powerbook. I took a quick look a night or two ago at the shop in my downtown...they seemed a bit heavy though.

combustion · #18 Post by **combustion** » Wed May 04, 2005 1:41 pm

2373-x1m

14.1 sxga(1400x1050)
64mb 9600 radeon
1.8 dothan
512 ram (upgraded to 1.5gb myself)
bluetooth
60gb hd

this is my model and I love it.

Orbitz · #19 Post by **Orbitz** » Wed May 04, 2005 1:50 pm

revolutionary_one wrote:Hmm, maybe you can ask for a better deal then, like ask them to add options. Talk to a higher level supervisor.

Because it seems to me that your essentially giving them 2000+ USD of YOUR money, in order to get a return almost 3 months later. Which is what

I'm going to try to do this week, if i cant get them to agree to atleast SOMETHING, then ill just wait till later when they've overstocked on inventory and have to get rid of units.

Get back to us if you get some sort of upgrade, b/c either way, it's prolly not even being built yet, so you might as well add options while its still not assembled

Does IBM actually bill your card when you place the order...or when they ship?

Leon · #20 Post by **Leon** » Wed May 04, 2005 2:06 pm

Hold when ordered, bill when shipped.

Orbitz · #21 Post by **Orbitz** » Wed May 04, 2005 2:15 pm

That makes sense...I guess if things were delayed past someones deadline they could cancel the order and have the hold removed fairly quickly.

GoEatFood · #22 Post by **GoEatFood** » Wed May 04, 2005 7:52 pm

Leon wrote:Hold when ordered, bill when shipped.

my card has already been billed for some reason?? I believe...should I contact someone about this??

GoEatFood · #23 Post by **GoEatFood** » Wed May 04, 2005 7:53 pm

combustion wrote:2373-x1m

14.1 sxga(1400x1050)
64mb 9600 radeon
1.8 dothan
512 ram (upgraded to 1.5gb myself)
bluetooth
60gb hd

this is my model and I love it.

is that a t43?

chbone · #24 Post by **chbone** » Wed May 04, 2005 8:11 pm

It is a T42

GoEatFood · #25 Post by **GoEatFood** » Wed May 04, 2005 8:16 pm

do you know if there is a wait on that model?

GoEatFood · #26 Post by **GoEatFood** » Wed May 04, 2005 8:25 pm

if you find a price advertised on the website and then when you click to buy it a different price comes up...can IBM/lenovo give you the price you saw advertised on the site?? I found a big error where the price is at $0.00. I'm always willing to get a free machine and pay the shipping.

Orbitz · #27 Post by **Orbitz** » Wed May 04, 2005 10:13 pm

GoEatFood wrote:
Leon wrote:Hold when ordered, bill when shipped.
my card has already been billed for some reason?? I believe...should I contact someone about this??

That would seriously annoy me if they billed my card weeks or months before shipping my machine. Are you sure they actually billed the card and it is not just an authorization? I would definately complain if they managed to get an interest free loan from me. Not even Dell actually bills your card until your item is assigned a shipping tracking number (usually a day before it actually ships..in the case of PDA's anyway) and I would expect even better from a company the calibre of IBM.

GoEatFood · #28 Post by **GoEatFood** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:14 pm

I will have to call the creditcard company tomorrow...but, I'm almost positive they already billed me...

do you think I could get any free upgrades or anything of the sort if they did?? if so, should I talk to a manager when calling the 186686think #? as, I believe they would be the only ones that could give me an upgrade worth my time...lol, I ned LCD monitor would be nice...or even just an extra gig of ram or a better harddrive...lol, something worth value as there are a ton of other things I could have bought with that money in the mean time...

JHEM · #29 Post by **JHEM** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:26 pm

GoEatFood wrote:I will have to call the creditcard company tomorrow...but, I'm almost positive they already billed me...

Check with your CC company that it isn't actually a "hold", not a charge.

A hold is a way for the seller to reserve the funds in anticipation of shipping as a way to ensure that the funds will be available.

No money is transferred until the item is shipped, nor are you charged interest on the funds in the interim.

Regards,

James

GoEatFood · #30 Post by **GoEatFood** » Wed May 04, 2005 11:29 pm

yeah, I know how the hold works...that is why I was gonna check with the CC company...but, when I spoke to them last I believe they said it was charged to the card. I might have heard them wrong and they could have said it was waiting to be charged to the card...eithery way I'll find out tomorrow.

Does the system I want even exist?

Does the system I want even exist?

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