Upgrading from an old T23

[teamdaddy]

My old T23 is starting to act up and I am wanting to upgrade to another used T series. It has been so long since I bought another computer that I am not up to speed on the various models that have come about since the T23. A couple of people have recommended the T42, but I see they have the T43, T60 also. I guess I am wanting someone to help me pick the best model with the most features for the money. Most of my computing is simply word processing, internet, email, etc. I do hardly any gaming or such. Would appreciate your recommendations. Thanks.

[ajkula66]

Key questions would be:

a) How much do you want to spend?
b) How important is the warranty to you?

Let us know and we'll take it from there.

Good luck.

[teamdaddy]

Based on how I use a computer, I would like to keep the cost at around $400-600.00. A warranty is always good, but if I could get one from a reputable person who could vouch for the reliability of the computer, I could live with that also. Thanks.

[Jax184]

Out of curiosity, are you still happy with your T23? Both of the T23s I've worked on just needed some loose components resoldered to restore their stability.

[teamdaddy]

Actually my daughter was using my laptop and spilled about a half bottle of sports drink on it. She then called herself cleaning it up with water and some household cleaner! It actually did crank back up and began working ok, but within a few minutes began acting crazy. First off, it got real hot and then the screen started to go blank and would later come back on. Also, for no apparent reason, it would start to shut down (without warning). Lots of other little quirky things that I'm not smart enough to detail. So to answer your question, yes, I was happy with the T23 up until this happened, however instead of having it repaired which may or may not work, I just want to upgrade to a newer model. I just need some advice on which one to upgrade to. I don't think I want to go older than the T42 model however.

[tylerwylie]

Both the T43 and T60 are solid machines, if you're looking in the 400-600 range I'd go for a T43, just be sure to get something bigger than XGA and you should be happy.

[Jax184]

I'd offer to clean it out for you if you were closer.

One of those two T23s I repaired came back to me recently after the owner spilled beer in it. He didn't even have the sense to turn it off!

Beer is rather corrosive. When I opened the machine up, I found a big blob of corrosion where the power management section of the motherboard used to be, and a spot where the power had been arcing through the conductive liquid. Yet as a testament to IBM build quality, a bit of cleaning with distilled water and 99% isopropyl alcohol got it up and running.

I also spent the day before yesterday cleaning out a T40 which had undergone much the same treatment. Works great now, though it still has a bit of a smell.

[ajkula66]

Depending on the screen size/resolution that you can tolerate, these would be my suggestions:

UXGA (15" 1600x1200, FlexView):

R50p. Outstanding machine that can be found under $500. None of them will have warranty left, but are generally quite reliable-I've sold more than 30 of them over the last year worldwide, and only one went belly up. Other amenities include DVD multiburner and 128Mb video.

SXGA (14" or 15", 1400x1050):

T42, T43 or R52. The quietest one of the lot is T42, which is a favourite to many forum members. Powerful piece of equipment, especially higher-end models with 64Mb video. Some will have warranty left.

My personal choice would be a T43 (please disregard the fact that I'm currently selling one, my suggestions have nothing to do with that) because of the speed and for the fact that most of them will have warranty remaining, as well as for being the only T4x model not affected by "motherboard flexing" issue to any great extent. The price to pay is noisy fan and higher temperatures than other T4x machines.

15" versions of T4x series with SXGA+ resolution will come with 64Mb ATi video and FlexView LCDs. 14" SXGA+ will have the same 64Mb video married to a conventional LCD.

R52 is pretty much a cheaper and somewhat sturdier but less pretty version of T43, most of these will not have warranty remaining. 15" versions come in XGA and SXGA+, 14" are all XGA.

Good high-end T42 should run no more than $450 with warranty remaining. Add $100-200 for a T43. Deduct $50-150 for R52.

Hope this helps.