T43.. good deal?

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ex0dus · #1 Post by **ex0dus** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:27 pm

Hi guys... just got a T43 on Ebay for $291.85. It was $449, but I used BIN with the Live Search 25% off + 10% Ebay PayPal coupon.

Just wondering if it's a good deal or not. I'll be using this as my main laptop for internet and e-mail and some photo editing while on vacation.

1) Should I upgrade it to VISTA BIZ?
2) Can I upgrade the HDD with a new 200GB Hitiachi without any major problems?
3) Best place for a new 9 cell?

Thinkpad T43
2668-NU3
Warranty Until 2008-12-15 (on-site)
Centrino Intel Pentium M 1.86GHz
14.1in (1400x1050) TFT LCD
128MB ATI Radeon X300
1024mb (1GB)
80GB
9 Cell IBM Battery
CD-RW/DVD Combo
1Gb Ethernet
Intel PRO 802.11b/g wireless(MPCI)
Bluetooth
Secure Chip(TCPA)
UltraNav

mattster · #2 Post by **mattster** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:10 pm

ex0dus wrote:Hi guys... just got a T43 on Ebay for $291.85. It was $449, but I used BIN with the Live Search 25% off + 10% Ebay PayPal coupon.

Just wondering if it's a good deal or not. I'll be using this as my main laptop for internet and e-mail and some photo editing while on vacation.

1) Should I upgrade it to VISTA BIZ? I haven't done this on my system, but I've read varying opinions on the viability of this. Personally, I won't go near Vista with my system. If you really want to do it, I would advise adding another 1GB of RAM to max out your system, as Vista is very memory hungry.
2) Can I upgrade the HDD with a new 200GB Hitiachi without any major problems? You will most likely get the dread 2010 error message @ boot time, but if you can live with it, the drive should work just fine.
3) Best place for a new 9 cell? Not sure about this. Most of the batteries on ebay are cheap chinese knockoffs.

Thinkpad T43
2668-NU3
Warranty Until 2008-12-15 (on-site)
Centrino Intel Pentium M 1.86GHz
14.1in (1400x1050) TFT LCD
128MB ATI Radeon X300
1024mb (1GB)
80GB
9 Cell IBM Battery
CD-RW/DVD Combo
1Gb Ethernet
Intel PRO 802.11b/g wireless(MPCI)
Bluetooth
Secure Chip(TCPA)
UltraNav

ajkula66 · #3 Post by **ajkula66** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:01 am

A couple of things here:

a) X300 GPU is 64Mb, not 128, but it's a good card anyway.

b) Beware of non-IBM drives, you'll get and infamous "2010 error" on boot. Tha largest drive that I know of that doesn't give this error is Fujitsu 120Gb (generic).

c) Stay away from Vista and enjoy your fine ThinkPad with XP and/or Linux.

d) There are people on this forum who sell genuine new IBM/Lenovo parts, including batteries. Post a WTB add in the marketplace.

Hope this helps.

#4 Post by **underclocker** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 7:27 am

Very good deal.

#5 Post by **Harryc** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:13 pm

Thanks for posting this. I had no idea that this Live Search 25% off existed until now. Here's a good link with instructions if anyone is considering taking advantage of it.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-dea ... 1/?start=0

To the OP, nice deal on that T43. Good luck with it.
Also see this thread for drive issues with the T43.

sjthinkpader · #6 Post by **sjthinkpader** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:51 pm

ajkula66 wrote:....

b) Beware of non-IBM drives, you'll get and infamous "2010 error" on boot. Tha largest drive that I know of that doesn't give this error is Fujitsu 120Gb (generic).
....

I haven't tried one yet, Fujitsu does have a 160GB version now. Meanwhile the 120GB went as low as $50 at Fry's a few weeks ago.

These are not the highest performance drives but I haven't had one fail in use yet. So the Fujitsu and the Hitachi 7200 RPM drives are my favorite drives. For a daily user, I recommend changing the HDD every 3 years or so even without a hint of trouble.

ex0dus · #7 Post by **ex0dus** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:41 pm

Got the laptop and it's in great condition! I've upgraded the RAM to 2GB of Crucial. If anyone wants the 1GB (2X512) kit that was installed (Hynix) let me know and I'll let it go at a cheap price.

IBM also sent me the recovery CDs (the 7 disc set) free of charge, thank you!!!!

Amazon.com had a BRAND NEW SEALED IBM/Lenovo 9 Cell Battery (Made 1-2008) for sale so I bought it. It was $160 I think? The battery it shipped with was over a year old and it still got around 3.75hrs battery life.

The hard drive is an 80GB Fujitsu, and I think it's 5400RPM?

Also, I confirmed that the graphics card is a 128mb X300. Is that rare? Machine type is 2668.

I'm also thinking of using the IBM warranty to get the palm rest replaced as the left click button is showing its age. Anything else I should look into warranty wise? The on-site expires in December.

Temetka · #8 Post by **Temetka** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:07 pm

Is this a T43p?

Based on my experience with the T41 line the T41 has 64MB card and the T41p has a 128MB and if I recall correctly, same deal with the T42 series as well.

Great deal on excellent machine. I hope it serves you well.

#9 Post by **Harryc** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 5:59 pm

The T43/P has a 128MB ATI FireGl V3200. The T43 has a 64MB Ati Mobility X300. If you are seeing 128MB associated with the X300, it is because it is sharing system memory in XP. It only has 64MB dedicated.

ex0dus · #10 Post by **ex0dus** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 6:11 pm

Harryc wrote:The T43/P has a 128MB ATI FireGl V3200. The T43 has a 64MB Ati Mobility X300. If you are seeing 128MB associated with the X300, it is because it is sharing system memory in XP. It only has 64MB dedicated.

It's a T43 ... not a T43p

Yes, it is showing 128MB in the graphics properties. Should I change it to 64mb... or is there even a way to do this? I guess what I'm asking is does the fact that the 64mb card uses an additional 64mb of system memory impact performace and is it supposed to use 64mb of system memory in addition tot he 64mb on the card?

When I do change out the HDD is it as simple as swapping the new HDD into the existing tray and booting the system from the recovery CD set?

Thanks!

#11 Post by **Harryc** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 6:18 pm

No don't change anything it is normal. Yes it is that simple.

sarbin · #12 Post by **sarbin** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 6:41 pm

Harryc wrote:The T43/P has a 128MB ATI FireGl V3200. The T43 has a 64MB Ati Mobility X300. If you are seeing 128MB associated with the X300, it is because it is sharing system memory in XP. It only has 64MB dedicated.

related question...
is there ever a situation where the x300 will grab more system memory? i can't find it now, but i seem to recall a post where the report was 192 or 256mb.

mine has never reported anything but 128 (64+64).

tia

msidd · #13 Post by **msidd** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 11:53 pm

Hell yeah that is a good deal. It's basically fully loaded except missing the full 2GB and a UXGA Flexview.

And stay away from Vista as you will regret it. It will cause your CPU and graphics card to work harder resulting in more heat resulting in more fan.

SkiBunny · #14 Post by **SkiBunny** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 8:39 pm

ex0dus wrote:Hi guys... just got a T43 on Ebay for $291.85. It was $449, but I used BIN with the Live Search 25% off + 10% Ebay PayPal coupon.

Just wondering if it's a good deal or not. I'll be using this as my main laptop for internet and e-mail and some photo editing while on vacation.

1) Should I upgrade it to VISTA BIZ?
2) Can I upgrade the HDD with a new 200GB Hitiachi without any major problems?
3) Best place for a new 9 cell?

Wow that was a great deal. But it seems the Live Search deal is over. And it's hit-and-miss as to what items qualify.

About the 9c, if you're in a large metro area near a major IBM development site, try craigslist or their local IBM outlet. Here they sell new-sealed, fresh, authentic IBM/Lenovo batteries for $50 (9-cell or 6-cell; personally I prefer the 6-cell because the bulky 9-cell is heavy and sticks out the back). They also sell the newest ultrabay slim super-multiburner for $70. Unfortunately, the matsu multiburners that came in the T4x series were bad... slow and notorious for burn errors. Burn a dvd? fahgetaboutit. They finally improved with the newer models that first shipped with the T60 but also fit in the T4x and X-series ultrabays (tho some have a flat bezel that won't perfectly match your curved bezel; looks okay anyway IMHO)

ex0dus wrote:When I do change out the HDD is it as simple as swapping the new HDD into the existing tray and booting the system from the recovery CD set?
Thanks!

Yep or you might take an image of your old drive onto the new drive. That'll save you having to re-install all the drivers updates software and settings.

sarbin · #15 Post by **sarbin** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 2:16 am

^^^
"Here they sell new-sealed, fresh, authentic IBM/Lenovo batteries for $50 (9-cell or 6-cell; personally I prefer the 6-cell because the bulky 9-cell is heavy and sticks out the back). They also sell the newest ultrabay slim super-multiburner for $70."

could you supply a web link or other contact?
tia.

kajencik · #16 Post by **kajencik** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 3:17 am

I'm just trying vista on my T43p, and I can confirm that it is putting much more load on the system than XP but it is working quite fine.

I also like the vista networking setup, as I connect to the internet by many ways (wireless at different places, LAN, through my cell phone over bluetooth) and I think vista handles it a bit better than XP. So

I'd say, if you like to explore new features and especially if you like fancy graphics stuff and don't mind the aditional heat and fan spinning (Actually the T43p fan doesn't bother me at all even at a full speed, compared to other people here who find it quite anoying, so it depends...), go for vista, if you want to just work or don't like the colourfull windows desktop, stay with XP.

SkiBunny · #17 Post by **SkiBunny** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 2:33 am

sarbin wrote: could you supply a web link or other contact?
tia.

no web link just address and phone,.. but it's pickup-only in markham ontario canada

sarbin · #18 Post by **sarbin** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 2:52 am

SkiBunny wrote:
sarbin wrote: could you supply a web link or other contact?
tia.
no web link just address and phone,.. but it's pickup-only in markham ontario canada

ah. thx.

T43.. good deal?

T43.. good deal?

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