New (to me) T22

[asiafish]

Just bought a T22 from Braxx on the forum, and I sure am impressed. It was advertised and delivered in very close to new condition, without any marks on it except for some worn pebbling on the palmrest where the stickers used to be. The keyboard lacks any shine and the screen is nearly perfect.

Its strange how short my memory is, as I used a T20 and later a T22 for about 4 years. I remembered it as being very thin and light, but now I'm spoiled by my X41 and to a lesser extent the T60, and find the T22 to be rather thick. I also remembered the keyboard being outstanding, but it is quite mushy compared to the T60 (still better than any non-ThinkPad.

Where it completely matched my memory is the performance and ergonomics. My T22 is a 900MHz model equipped with 256MB of RAM and a silent 20GB 4200 RPM hard drive with a measly 2MB cache. Even so hobbled, Windows 2000 is quite swift.

I ordered a pair of 256MB modules for the T22 and will install a faster 80GB 4200 RPM hard drive (8MB cache) and perhaps will do an internal wireless card with antennas under the keyboard in place of the protruding PC card wifi I'm using now.

I thought about installing XP on it, but 2000 is so fast on this machine that I will probably just leave well enough alone.

Thanks Braxx, this T22 is every bit as nice as you said it was.

[AlphaKilo470]

FWIW, I'm running Vista Ultimate on my T23 (1gb ram, 120gb WD 7200rpm hd w/ 8mb cache) and while I can't get all the features that I have on my Lenovo 3000, it's fast and stable enough to be enjoyable. This laptop is my daily driver.

I had a wireless card installed inside my laptop briefly but removed it because reception wasn't very good. The lid does a good job blocking out signals. I was able to get the wireless usable by having the main antenna in the lid and the aux under my wrist pad. Also, it's worth noting that wireless equipped T2x laptops came with a different lid panel than the non-wireless equipped.

[Purcy]

Glad you like your T22, it is a sweet machine. I upgraded in the same manner, 512MB and put an 80GB 5400rpm HDD in, completely silent. I don't think the faster HD is much more money, in case that interests you. I use ethernet but occassionally have gone out on our patio with a Linksys Notebook adapter and the wireless reception was fine for me. Oh, and I run XP Prof SP2 flawlessly.

[asiafish]

Its not a question of money, but rather of already owning the 4200 RPM drive. 5400 RPM is a worthwhile boost (I run 5400s in both my T60 and my external case), but for an older machine with a slow ATA controller, the "modern" 4200 RPM drive is fast enough.

Going internal for wifi isn't about range, I just don't like plastic protrusions on my laptops. I'm actually never more than about 40 feet from my router, and usually am within 4 feet. Under the keyboard should do just fine.

[dorronto]

Have fun Andrew. You beat me to it (T22) again......

I'm enjoying my T23 for now.


Ron

[braxx]

I'm glad your happy with it. I'm now starting to regret selling it and the other 2 T2X's. I only sold them to make room and help fund the purchase of 2 R40's that a local person has for sale. We have a deal pending but he hasn't been able to complete the sale. I trust him fully but here I now sit with no backup or travel computer. My primary Laptop is too nice to take out and about.
I hope I can get the R40's soon.
Enjoy your T22
Josh

[fefrie]

Congrats on the t22.

My old roommate has a t42 and he complains all the time that the fan is on more often than not, so I still hesitate in upgrading my trusty t23.

It runs dead silent most of the time and since I've installed the speedstep applet so that it slows down the process when it's not being used.

I barely hear the 4200 rpm toshiba drive.

I would recommend getting the internal wireless card too. There is something to be said to just close your laptop lid and go.

I plan on keeping my t23 for a very, very long time.