EPP and Thinkpad T series

[computeerrgghh]

Hello, I am currently looking into a t42 notebook and i am interested in a THinkpad with model number 2378FVU. The model currently costs $1750 on the IBM website; however, I know an IBM employee. My questions are:
1. What kind of discount can I get through the Employee Purchase Program?
2. Is the Employee Purchase Program valid on only select Thinkpads or for any model?
3. What kind of RAM would go into the t42? Is generic fine or is it fussy?
4. Is there anything extra that is recommended to be purchased with the THinkpad?
5. I looked at the specs and it doesn't mention battery or ac adapter. Does it come with a 6 cell by default? If so what kind of battery life does it have?

Sorry for all these questions. I am looking to snag the laptop for $1k or a little bit more. I have not seen my friend from IBM in a while; however, the day after Xmas I will be eating lunch with him, so I would like to know the answer to these questions so that I can decide whether to ask him his IBM# or not. THank you in advance.

[fargusmax]

1 - The EPP discount depends on the model. Currently, IBM has two different types, the regular models and the "Express" models. The Express models have much lower regular prices, but also only have a 15% discount for the EPP, as well as only a one year warrantee instead of the usual 3 year. The discount for regular models is 35%. The FVU you mention is an "Express" model, and will only have a 15% discount. I believe the current EPP price on it is around $1450.

2 - The EPP pricing is available for most computers (laptops and desktops) and accessories that IBM sells. As mentioned before, the discount varies.

3 - I've heard many people say that crucial ram is a great aftermarket choice for adding ram (crucial.com)

4 - It depends on what you would use the laptop for. If you will never be too far away from a power outlet, then buying an extra battery wouldn't be very useful. However, for the FVU, I'd definitely check out crucial and add a 512mb chip. Others may have more input on this.

5 - The FVU comes with an adapter (I think all thinkpads do) and a 6-cell battery. The 9-cell can be purchased as an addon. The 9-cell does come standard on the higher priced models, most notably the T42p.

I think it will be tough for you to get a T-series for less than 1200 + tax. For that range, you would probably get a 1.5ghz Pentium M with 256 meg of ram and a 30gb harddrive.

You'd easily be able to buy an R or G series for around $1000, although I think most of us here would rather have a T series. It all depends on what you want to do with it.

Rob

[computeerrgghh]

hm i guess i could scrounge up another 300-400... coz I really want the T series as I have used it before and its the best compromise of portability and graphics power (i want an r9600). How much does it cost to extend the warrantee, $254 if i call IBm to ask for one? Otherwise, I would rather have a custom T series with a 15" screen rather than a 14.1" screen. Is the extended warrantee really necessary? TIA.

[Dow Jones]

I have a 2378-FVU and I can tell you you are truely getting a really good bang for your buck. I think most of it is attributable to the Radeon 9600 graphics chip that comes with it.

The only gripe I have with this laptop is its battery life. At max screen brightness and adaptive CPU power, I get about 2 to 3 hours depending on the application I'm running and its CPU usage.

I would suggest you get the Ultrabay Slim battery to extend your computing time by a little over an hour. It's not a cheap battery, but I think it's almost a necessity (more so than the CD-ROM). If you use your CD-ROM often, I would consider the 9 cell battery. Except it makes the laptop look funny.

The ram that your computer takes is 200 pin 2.5 CAS Latency. I got myself a 512 MB strip and installation is virtually idiot proof. The machine only comes with 256, so I suggest you get atleast 256.