Help pricing my T30

[emeraldgirl08]

This has been a very agonizing decision. I would like to sell my T30.

First I am wondering how much I could get for it!

It is a very decent machine but it cannot handle demanding applications I like to run. From what I can tell the GPU and CPU are the bottlenecks for my preferences. I was just about to order an extra stick of 512 RAM for it but thought otherwise.

I'm just thinking that my T30 can only go so far.

I've babied my machine- its got no shine anywhere on the keyboard. I took it out of the house less than a handful of times. I have a cooling pad underneath it at all times. The screen is nice- but remember this is an older machine so it has very small blemishes. Two tiny bright spots. Three or four tiny dust and hair particles. Other than that it runs and performs as expected of this type of machine. I should also mention that both memory slots function just fine (expandable to 2gb). BIOS has been updated successfully.

There are the extras I've gotten for my T30:

External DVD-writer
IBM Thinkpad Ultrabay 2000 HD adapter
USB 2.0 Cardbus PCMCIA Adapter (2 ports w/ power input)
Laptop Sticker Decal (so the top wouldn't get damaged; am hoping that it is easy and no-fuss to take off!)
Bluetooth Dongle
512 2700 sodimm RAM (256 RAM came with it so total is 768)
USB 2.0 All-in-1 Card Reader
Broadcom b/g wireless miniPCI
laptop cooler
80 gb 5400 Seagate

All that must have costed me around lower hundreds! I plan on selling it with the RAM, Broadcom Wireless card, the Ultrabay HD adapter, USB 2.0 PCMCIA card, and the recovery disks. It also has an after-market warranty good up until the end of next april.

What price do you think would be reasonable???

[sjthinkpader]

The last T30 I sold was $200 a few months ago. Now should be a little less.

[emeraldgirl08]

Hmmm.. I paid $120 for the T30. It came with the single stick of 256 mb 2100 RAM, the Cisco Aironet "b" card, no PCMCIA 2.0 USB card, no HD adapter, no recovery disks and no warranty past thirty-days. All these things have been upgrades/upgraded with my T30. I've also taken the liberty of upgrading the BIOS for it.

All these things must have some added value right?

I'm estimating a sale of at least $175- shipped for these things. I realize that this may seem a little pricey but I've taken great care of this laptop and include a couple of upgrades.

I'm shooting for at least a T42. I would prefer one with at least 64mb of VRAM (or 128mb; I know...I'm going out on a stretch here!). Better video, processor, and screen are what I'm aiming for

[RealBlackStuff]

Keep
- External DVD-writer
- USB 2.0 All-in-1 Card Reader
- laptop cooler
- remove that Laptop Sticker Decal (so the top wouldn't get damaged; am hoping that it is easy and no-fuss to take off!)
- (What is that exactly?)
- flog the rest.
- you should get ca. $210-240 for it

Alternatively, as above, but:
- put the 40GB HD back in as your main HD.
- keep the 80GB and the HD adapter, they will fit in your new T4x
- - or sell the HD adapter for $20-25
- - and sell the 80GB HD for around $60-70
- sell the T30 for $180-200

[emeraldgirl08]

Ah...the voice of reason

Sounds good to me! The laptop sticker decal is supposed to prevent scratches, nicks, etc to the top of my T30. The thing is...I don't take the T30 anywhere so it's just there b/c it has a groovy design on it! lol.

A Sticker like these.

I'm pretty sure I can find a T42/41 with my criteria it's just going through the process of selling this T30 that seems like a job!

[lifrancis]

Sorry to hear that you are giving up on your T30. Before you jump into buying another laptop, consider what you are using it for. If you need to travel with it, you have no choice but to get a laptop. If you never take it out of the house, a desktop will always give you better performance, and cheaper upgrades. So, get the right tool for the job. If you are doing a lot of video or photo editing, a T4X will not be much better than your T30. But, for the same price, you could get a desktop with enough horsepower do the job properly.

[emeraldgirl08]

We have a desktop that has C2D, 2 gigs RAM, a 512 VRAM video card, and a 250 gb hard drive here at home. I like to use that for video, music editing, and occasional gaming. There are times however when that computer is busy and I find myself stuck with my own. I've transcoded an DVD to an AVI format once. It took about 1 1/2 hours to do it but it did finish the job. I just don't want to make it a habit doing a job like that with the T30.

It just isn't made to do it!

Bottom line is I want upgraded graphics, better DIMM ports, and a processor that supposedly works more efficiently and cooler. This is all contingent on my budget at this point.

I'm basically a poor college student with a part-time job

I just think if you asked people here on the forum what kind of Thinkpad is more appealing- the T30 or the T41/42/43's. 10 out of 10 would pick the 40 series.

[Neil]

I just think if you asked people here on the forum what kind of Thinkpad is more appealing- the T30 or the T41/42/43's. 10 out of 10 would pick the 40 series.

Probably true... A T43 with 2GHz CPU would be much faster feeling than a T30 with P4 2GHz CPU, and more RAM could be used with the T4x. You will need to be looking for a "P" model T4x machine to get the graphics upgrade you are seeking.

Still, if you are able to get ~$200 for your T30, with a little patience you can find a nice T4xP for $100 more. I think you would be much happier with the T4x series. This from someone who has owned a T30 and a T41P. I found the difference between the two to be huge.

[lifrancis]

I just think if you asked people here on the forum what kind of Thinkpad is more appealing- the T30 or the T41/42/43's. 10 out of 10 would pick the 40 series.

I AM one of the exception to the rule; ever since my T42 failed me when I was out in the middle of nowhere in western China, I have nothing good to say about the T4X series. In fact, my Australian colleague told me that my reaction to that failure was "the most unique combination of words that he has ever heard". Coming from an Aussie, that was high praise indeed. Since then, I travel with my T30.

[RealBlackStuff]

....and more RAM could be used with the T4x.

There is no difference between T30 and T4x in that respect. Both can use a maximum of 2 x 1GB.

Actually, the T30 and the T40/41/42 use the same RAM, PC2100 or PC2700 200-pin Sodimms.
The T43 is different though!

And rather than a T4x, look at the R50/R51 models with a 1.7GHz Dothan CPU.
My personal preference would even go to an R52 (which is the much cooler equivalent of the T43).
They are slightly thicker (but more rugged) than the T4x, but don't have as many of the GPU problems as the T4x.

[Neil]

Doh! I knew that. Goes to show you shouldn't write forum posts while napping.

Yes, an R52 would be a nice machine. Except, no 128MB graphics chip, but then, we don't know if emeraldgirl really needs that anyway.

[RealBlackStuff]

Some of the R52s come with 64MB RAM for Graphics, double of the T30.
But a better solution would be an R52 with integrated Intel 'dynamic' graphics, where it takes Memory RAM for GPU use, as and when needed.

[emeraldgirl08]

I currently only have 16mb of VRAM

Works fine for web browsing and watching movies

I think that at least 64mb would be a BIG improvement! I'm thinking of maybe finding a project T42 (p) and see if I can fix it up over time. I know many of you guys have experience with that

There was a deal on a T43 for $91.00 shipped that I let pass by. It was barebones. No media drive, no HDD, and no AC adapter. I let that go b/c of the specific HDD's that are allowed on that machine. It was a shame b/c I could have kept my T30 and had a new toy coming my way to work on!

[RealBlackStuff]

Sorry, was watching Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot on the telly.
That T43 sounded almost too good to be true (and probably was).
Only the HD (with error 2010) and the AC adapter from your T30 would have worked on a T43/R52.

(Most T30s have a 32MB GPU, only the very basic ones have 16MB.)

[emeraldgirl08]

So I've done a lot of thinking.

It seems like all laptops are prone to some kind of hardware (flexing) problems. My new plan was to buy a T41/42 that might need a little work. I figured I could buy things over time for it and keep my T30.

I've got a soft-spot for it

It's sturdier than all heck. It's got a nice screen. I could go on

I've taken good care of it and with all maintenance software and hardware wise- it's quite zippy for an 6-7 year old machine! Maybe Emeralds just getting a little sentimental but as I'm typing on this and reading all the horrible reviews of "X" brand of laptops. I appreciate the durability that resonates through my fingers as I'm keying this letter.

I'm keeping it.

I am, however, going to be a "geeky girl" on the side and look for a project or buddy for my T30. I also will be looking for a laptop for my niece. She's a good kid and is getting good grades and is helping out around the house. She's just a special kid so I said I'd pitch in for a start-up comp for her. I'm schooling her on the basics of computer care and she knows how to move and copy things on her SD card. She also knows how to safely disconnect the card so there won't be any corrupt data.

So I'm busy these days and like learning new things about the laptops. The T40's scare me now. A search on fleabay revealed quite a few T40's with the dreaded graphics card problem. T60's are about two hundred more dollars than I have to spend which means I have to save up! How are the X series??? I was looking at the 12 inch X's and thought of how nice it would be for a travel "top" (my name for laptops).

[sjthinkpader]

This thread may be helpful in finding your X series "top".

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 8&start=30

[robert213]

Some of the R52s come with 64MB RAM for Graphics, double of the T30.
But a better solution would be an R52 with integrated Intel 'dynamic' graphics, where it takes Memory RAM for GPU use, as and when needed.

X2