T40 1.3 or T42 1.5 with WIFI?

[mr.boy]

Hello.
I want to buy refurbrished IBM ThinkPad. I have two choices: T40 with Pentium 1.3GHz or T42 with Pentium 1.5GHZ and WIFI.
First I prefered T42 because it is newer and has wifi, but I read a lot of compliants about quality of T42! T40 is on the other way older.
My possible warranty is only 1 month but and I want to use this laptop longer without additional payment for service.
Please could you advise me which one is better?
If I have to worry when T42 dies or it is good machine like T40?

Thank you very much for your comments.

[GomJabbar]

If anything, I believe the quality of the T42 is better. I recommend getting the T42.

[teststrips]

I have a t40 and really like it. I got mine when work threw it away after someone spilled orange juice on it. I opened the case, pulled out the motherboard + used about a 1/2 can of electrical contact cleaner on the board to clean it off.... amazingly it powered up + still works to this day over a year and a half later - I run the machine 24/7 at home + travel with it about once a month.

That said - the t40 is a solid machine, but if you awnt to add a wireless card to it, his will involve upgrading the bios then physically inserting the card (which involved about 15 scews and two fairly delecate internal connections. Some of the screws hidden under stickers that had to be removed on the front bezel - they never re-stuck very well, so a few of mine are now missing.

I guess you could just use a PCMCIA or USB based wifi card if you don't plan on using wifi on a regular basis.

[mr.boy]

Thank you for quick answer.
I hope too. But I read some reviews on epinions and some people there says that T42 is made in china with less quality than previous T4x?!
Does anybody else advise me?

[pianowizard]

some people there says that T42 is made in china with less quality than previous T4x?!

I am pretty sure most components in the T40 were also made in China.

[mr.boy]

Yes, of course a lot of components are made in china.
But I read that T42 has some construction defect on motherboard which is very common. It is said that problems with sound card are previous of Dead of motherboard. Is it true?
For T40 I have not found any claims like on T42.

[underclocker]

If anything, the T42 should be less prone to defect for two reasons, 1) it's newer, 2) IBM had years of information from T40's and T41's to improve any weak areas. IBM does use repair information to improve parts.

That being said, all the T4x machines are generally reliable and solid. However, mistreatment is the leading cause of failure.

If a T42 was mishandled or mistreated, it will likely fail well before a T40 that was properly handled.

Bottom line, it's almost impossible to predict which used one will be better. The best advice given on this forum for used machines is to purchase one with a warranty - any amount remaining. Then you can quickly test the machine and have IBM fix anything that is wrong at not charge to you. From then on, it's up to you to care for it and keep it running.

[SHoTTa35]

i have a T42 and i wouldn't recommend a T40 or even a T41 over a T42 anyday. I sold a T41 earlier in the year and my replacement was this T42 and i love it. I was thinking of a T43 but decided not to because of the general heat issues with it and i rather more battery life The T40 gets great battery life because of it's slower CPUs and the like but the T42 is definitely recommended since odds are you'll still have warranty. I just sold one with close to 1yr warranty still left and it's in brand new condition still. As others have said, IBM has had time to better build the T42 when compared to the T40 and T42 so all past issues were taken care of by the time they released the T42.

[Sleepr56]

I have had my T40 for over 4 years now since I bought it new in 2003. Have yet to have a single issue with it. I was going to upgrade to a desktop this year, but I found it easier to upgrade the ram, hdd, and cpu, yada yada. Only thing lacking is a decent video card.

I dont know much about the t42, but I am more then happy with the performance and reliability of the t40

[KristianJ]

Yes, of course a lot of components are made in china.
But I read that T42 has some construction defect on motherboard which is very common. It is said that problems with sound card are previous of Dead of motherboard. Is it true?
For T40 I have not found any claims like on T42.

Most, if not all, of the threads regarding defects on the motherboard that I've read here have regarded the video card on the T40. Having owned both a T40 and the T42, I'd say that they're both solid machines if treated with care, but the T42, being a more modern machine, is a more secure choice. And as underclocker said, you'll have a greater chance of finding a T42 with a manufacturer's warranty instead of a seller's warranty.

[mr.boy]

Thank you everybody for your advice.
It seems that I will buy T42 today.

[monkey243]

T42 is better. T40 always have some problem with USB2.0 changing to USB1.1. And the CPU of T42 is Dothan which with 2M L2 cach, the CPU of T40 with only 1M L2 cach.

[Johan]

I have never had a T40, but only a T42 (see signature) and a T42p (2373-Q1U), so I can't really recommend the T42 above the T40 - but I can surely, highly recommend the T42! My T42 has about three years of operation today - and never had one single problem.

Warranty: As has already been said, if you have option of getting an unit with remaining warranty, that's a good idea - you can then further extend the warranty, if you wish. You may find more information about how to extend the warranty on this forum.

Display: You haven't given many specifications about the T40 vs. the T42 you are considering, but in the case you have the option of getting a T42 with a 15" SXGA+ display ... do that! The reason for strongly suggesting this is that 15" T42's w/SXGA+ will have displays of the so-called FlexView/IPS quality, which gives you a much wider viewing angle compared to e.g. 14.1" models with SXGA+ displays (the 14.1" SXGA+ are not FlexView/IPS). If you have the choice of getting a 14.1" SXGA+ T4x versus a 15" XGA T4x many would probably suggest the 14.1" SXGA+ model, unless you really, really want a big display! The XGA resolution on a 15" display is somewhat poor, if you have first seen particularly a 15" SXGA+ w/FlexView! NB: I'm not saying "poor" in the sense "useless", just "poor" in the sense "not as good as it can get"! If you are on a low budget, and not a display feinschmecker then XGA will do fine. After all, most 15" T42's sold for business customers are probably XGA's - so if it was really poor, IBM wouldn't have sold so many, would they?

CPU speed etc: Don't be so concerned about "only" getting a 1.5 GHz T42 (if that's what you end up buying); you can always later get a faster CPU, and swap it with the "slow" 1.5 GHz. Much more information about various upgrades to e.g. T40's or T42's can be found here at the forum; see e.g. New T40 owner, new upgrade race!! (also valid for T42's!) or the thread T42 Upgrade Possibilities.

Good luck with your new ThinkPad!!

PS: Do you have the model numbers of the ThinkPad's you are considering (the model numbers such as e.g. 2373-N1G)? If so, you could post them here... having them, it is much easier to see all specifications!

Best regards,

Johan

[sktn77a]

As you can see from my sig, I've had the T40, T41 and T42. My T40's screen (backlight) died out of warranty and I had to eat it (figuratively speaking). My T42's motherboard died (GPU chip problem) - replaced under warranty.

Get the T42!

[mr.boy]

Finaly I am proud owner of T42!
It is type 2373-Y8N. It is realy nice, like new. I sterted pcdoctor diagnostic program many times and it did not find any problem.
I only wonder about HDD. It makes strange noise. When it is not reading or writing it makes sounds like ticking every 5 seconds. PC doctor and Scan disk did not find any problem but I wonder that this noise is not good.
I will probably upgrade 512MB with another one and 30GB disk with bigger 5400rpm.
Battery has capacity only 27Wh but I expected worse.

[Johan]

I only wonder about HDD. It makes strange noise. When it is not reading or writing it makes sounds like ticking every 5 seconds. PC doctor and Scan disk did not find any problem but I wonder that this noise is not good.

If you Search this forum for "ticking" you may find many other users who have reported the same problem, e.g. annoying hdd noise... problem? or T42, clicking noise question? etc. etc. I suggest you consider upgrading your present (very small) harddisk to a Seagate Momentus 7200.1 - see e.g. T42 Upgrade Possibilities.

Congratulations with your new T42!!

Best regards,

Johan

[sktn77a]

Congratulations! Definitely upgrade the memory to a total of 1Gb or more. And don't worry too much about the clicking from the drive - you're going to get a much bigger, faster, one (7200rpm)!