Just got a T43. Tips & tricks welcome.

[Kaervak]

Finally got myself a nice upgrade from my T23, a T43 2687-D4U. There's a little wear on the system, but nothing horrifying. According to the specs it has an IPS panel which is a nice surprise. There is however a couple small spots of something in the lower right corner that seem to be stuck between the layers of the panel. Is that a common issue? The system is out of warranty by a couple of months, even if the warranty was still valid I wouldn't want to take the chance of getting a non IPS panel as a replacement. Any homebrew methods for getting rid of the spots?

I do plan on upgrading the memory and getting a DVD-RW in there ASAP. Any particular brand recommendations for the DVD-RW? I have an NEC DVD-RW in my T23 that I rather like, but I don't think they make a 9.5MM burner.

Any other things I should look out for? The system is rather clean, aside from the marks on the LCD it looks very well taken care of.

[ZaZ]

It's very unlikely they'd give you a non-IPS panel. I think there was someone here who got a non-IPS replacement for a UXGA screen, but they called and got it remedied toot sweet.

You're probably only able to use a ThinkPad burner due to the slimness of the drives and the connector issue. I'd get a T60 burner and I believe they fit the T43, though I think the bezel isn't quite the same. They're faster and better drives. You might want to post over in Marketplace forum to see if anyone's got one for sale or I think they run about $50-60 on eBay. An external desktop drive, if you're not moving it much, offers better speed and quality.

[ajkula66]

Congrats on your new FlexView-equipped T43!

Nothing you can do about the spots, they're here to stay, because it's most likely dirt stuck between the layers of the LCD. A very common issue on the IPS panels.

I've used 2687-D4U as a main machine for a few months, and loved it. It should run cool by T43 standards, and yet be powerful enough. My main tip is quite simple: don't turn it off, ever. Let it be on 24/7/365, and just shut the LCD off when you're not using it. This way you'll minimize the number of heating/cooling cycles that are one of the reasons for GPU failure on these systems. Although T43/p are safer than the rest of the T4x generation, they are not completely immune to the problem. Running TPFC 0.33 is also something I do on my machines, but you may not need it.

As for the DVD multiburner, I just happen to have one sitting idle... ...drop me a PM if interested.

Enjoy!

[wilsonhs]

Welcome 43er =]
thats quite a common issue (seems to be)
my T43 1871F1G also comes up with the dust problem.
but sadly, the dust is around the typing area of MSN Messenger Window
you are much lucky than me

anyway, enjoy your T43. Its reli a reliable machine.

[dr_st]

Nothing you can do about the spots, they're here to stay, because it's most likely dirt stuck between the layers of the LCD. A very common issue on the IPS panels.

Sometimes they move, but usually it happens when it's one big dust spec. I have one in my T42 Flexview, but most of the time it's invisible, stuck in the area which is covered by the bezel. If it's several small, greyish dust particles, then they are unlikely to move indeed.

[Kaervak]

The dust spots aren't huge, but they aren't small either. One is about 3MM and the other 1.5MM. Honestly, not that big of a deal. It's quite a nice system, a definite upgrade from my T23. I've forgotten how nice a high resolution screen is. I've already upgraded the memory to 1.5GB and it's quite an improvement. Just have to track down a burner, PM coming your way ajkula66.