Is the A31 a solid machine ?

[JohnB2000]

Or is it just waaay to old to consider these days?

A31 ThinkPad P4M 2.0 GHz/512MB Ram

Anything to watch for when buying one due to its age?

And what would be a good price - Around $100 or so?

Id just use it for light duty/internet/MS Office. I just consider it because I could save a lot of money compared to a T43 I was looking at...

Any comments on these machines in general would be really appreciated! Thank you.

[Harryc]

The A31 is a classic 3 spindle Thinkpad. 3-spindle in that it has 2 bays for a CDRW and a diskette drive, as well as a hard drive. Newer models are 2-spindle. Other than that, they are susceptible to GPU failure just like the T4X machines, and at this point in their age, frequent CCFL (backlight) dimming and failure is common. Other than that, a very solid older Thinkpad. Personally I would buy one from George (ajkula66) on this forum before I'd go to EBay or the like. He has one for sale at $150 right now I beleive. The flexview LCD's on the A31's are quite nice. If you are looking at 1024x768 A31's, they do not have the nice LCD.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=78114

[JohnB2000]

The A31 is a classic 3 spindle Thinkpad. 3-spindle in that it has 2 bays for a CDRW and a diskette drive, as well as a hard drive. Newer models are 2-spindle. Other than that, they are susceptible to GPU failure just like the T4X machines, and at this point in their age, frequent CCFL (backlight) dimming and failure is common. Other than that, a very solid older Thinkpad. Personally I would buy one from George (ajkula66) on this forum before I'd go to EBay or the like. He has one for sale at $150 right now I beleive. The flexview LCD's on the A31's are quite nice.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=78114

Thanks for the reply Harry - I think I can get one local (from an individual) for $70USD(80CDN) so I wouldnt have to pay for shipping and I could see it first. Do you think this would be a good deal?

Either that or a T43 like yours. The T43 would probably be a better bet for the long term, but its more money...

[Harryc]

If it's $70 and you can see it, I would go take a look. That would be a good deal if it is 100% functional. Ask to see it run on battery and on ac power, and make sure the LCD has no red tint when you first power it up. Good luck.

[JohnB2000]

Thanks for the advice Harry - I will let you know on that T43 soon. Best regards.

[sjthinkpader]

Frequently they will have a broken USB port. As long as the contacts don't short, it will be ok. Due to their weight, there may be case damage. So look to make sure it is free of cracks.

[ajkula66]

There is a significant generational gap between A31 and T43. These, in their respective "p" versions are my favourite ThinkPads of all times.

Posting a 7-character model number of the A31 would help establish where it belongs in the order of preference within the particular range. We are discussing a model that came with a variety of CPUs, two different GPUs and four LCD types-and I'm not even including the "p" section in this consideration...

These can be great (best ever in my opinion) desktop replacement, but are not meant to be carried around. Battery life, by today's standards, is atrocious.

All in all, the higher-end ones are still very usable machines with some limitations due to their age (USB 1.1, P4M CPUs etc.) but you have to weigh your needs before plunging in and buying one.

T43, with all of its imperfections, is a far more modern unit.

If your need a desktop replacement running XP and utilizing it for office applications and web browsing, a properly set-up A31 will do fine.

However, if you need portability and acceptable battery life, T43 is a much better choice.