23738ZU vs. 2378FVU?!

[mickey012]

I've been thinking about getting a T42 for my very first laptop because many people I know own the FVU and it's a great machine! I couldn't find the FVU on the TP website, but I found 8ZU, which comes with 512 instead of 256. And I was wondering if you guys can help me out on some of the other questions I still have...

1. I read in an old post saying that FVU was withdrawn earlier in June of this year, is that true? Does this mean it is no longer available even thru phone purchase?

2. The only difference I noticed between the two models is the RAM, is there anything else that differs between the two? And how does that affect the quality/performance of each?

3. Which is the better buy for what it comes with and the price? That is, if the FVU is still somehow purchaseable thru Lenovo...

4. Finally, this might sound kind of silly...but I was wondering...does it matter what time of the year you purchase a TP? What I mean is...people tend to buy electronics around Thanksgiving because all stores have huge sales/clearance...does this hold true for ThinkPads? Is it more likely for them to have extra promos during thanksgiving...or should I just purchase the machine ASAP?

Thank you all very much for your help! I'm not extremely familiar with laptops since I've been around PCs for the longest time...so any help is appreciated!

[mysbca]

1. Yes, it has been withdrawn. It is no longer listed in the tabook. Don't know if you can order through the phone though.

2. The warranty is different. FVU comes with 1 year warranty which you can upgrade to 3 years for around $120. The FZU comes with standard 3 year warranty. Quality is the same, but more RAM is definitely better for minimizing disk access, especially if you are opening a lot of apps at the same time.

3. Depends on which discounts you qualify for. There is a manager special on the 2373H6U that ends today, 10/3. You can fully customize it to your liking. The default config listed here for $1500 with 3 year warranty is very good:
http://www-131.ibm.com/content/home/sto ... oduct.html
Just buy more RAM at newegg.com or other vendors.

4. Don't think they run specials for Thanksgiving. They do have occasional promos like the one that ends today.