Best Used Thinkpad For...?

[BruisedQuasar]

I'm looking for a used pre-Lenovo Thinkpad for a 12 year-old buy who likes to go online & play games. Price limit is about $300.
He will not take it out of his room, so mobility & security is not important. Classic IBM design & solid build & a decent graphics chip set or card is important. Right now he is using a T-23 I refurbished & gave to his mother. I want to avoid defects certain models showed over time like the faulty solder issue of some of IBM's last models.

I'm thinking one of the older T-60s but I wonder if there may be an even better choice.
Any recommendations?

[goofyGAguy]

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-T60-C2D-2-0ghz- ... 0397788310

EDIT: oops, I didn't notice at first that laptop has the dreaded "L word" on the clearplate. Oh well, seemed like a pretty good deal.

[underclocker]

That's a great deal, I noticed it, too. However, I'd verify that the CPU really is a Core 2 Duo, as advertised. If so, it should be the T7200, not the T2500. Although, for the price, even with the T2500, it's still a very good deal.

Alternately, if a 15.4" widescreen is preferrable, and they have grown on me, a Z61m, Z61p, R61, R61i, R61e or T60 widescreen would certainly work. They occasionally sell in the $300 range, at this point.

[dr_st]

The picture shows a 14" T60, not a 15" one. I would suggest contacting the seller and getting the exact model number and specifications.

A T60 is a T60 whether it has the "Lenovo" name on the clearplate or not. They were all manufactured by Lenovo. And it seems to be a rather good model, with less reported issues than the T4x. They still have the "classic IBM design" in many aspects.

[ZaZ]

The R60, which can be configured the same as the T60, might be another option.

[BruisedQuasar]

A T60 is a T60 whether it has the "Lenovo" name on the clearplate or not. They were all manufactured by Lenovo... They still have the "classic IBM design" in many aspects.

No quality difference has been discovered?
I would be much surprised to learn Lenovo is maintaining IBM quality. I don't know one way or another. I am simply very skeptical.

[dr_st]

The point I am trying to make is not that Lenovo maintains IBM quality. This is a topic for a separate discussion, which can get very long and heated.

My points are merely:

* All T60/R60s are made by Lenovo, whether they bear the IBM logo, or Thinkpad logo, or Lenovo name on the clear plate and what not.
* Whatever logos the machine bears, is no indication of the factory in which the machine was assembled, and the exact parts used (Lenovo like most manufacturers sources its common parts from several vendors.
* A T60 in design is very close to the T4x. Significant deviations have come later down the road.
* A T60/R60, despite being officially a 100% Lenovo machine have fewer significant flaws reported, compared to the much touted T4x/R5x series with the loose GPU and southbridge syndroms.
* By the way, the T4x/R5x, despite still sold under the IBM brand, were also manufactured by Lenovo, so even the definition of what a "pre-Lenovo" Thinkpad means is pretty moot. My guess is you will be looking at something around the T30 time - now is that the upgrade you want from your current T23, just because it's "IBM quality" (with a couple of noticeably flaws of its own, by the way).

[ajkula66]

You won't do much better than a T60/R60 or for that fact Z61m/R61 if you don't mind a bigger machine. All of these have been proven to be pretty reliable by most applicable standards.

There is no such thing as a perfect laptop, ThinkPad or not. Every generation of ThinkPads over the past decade - be it IBM or Lenovo - built in U.S, Mexico or China had its own set of flaws, some more serious than the others.

Having said that, my recommendations - especially given the price range that you're after - would remain the same.

[BruisedQuasar]

You won't do much better than a T60/R60 or for that fact Z61m/R61 if you don't mind a bigger machine. All of these have been proven to be pretty reliable by most applicable standards. Having said that, my recommendations - especially given the price range that you're after - would remain the same.

I have a Lenovo branded T-60 & I am happy & impressed with it.

Another concern I have is computer maker's marketing departments call for more bells and whistles and lower prices since 2007 or so. The boy & his mother don't need roll cage and other road warrior features. It will never leave their house. I'm thinking space saving as I did when I gave them my T-23.

I am now aware of budget versions of the T60 (minus the superb road warrior ruggedness). The prices I'm finding may let me get them a T2500 or T2700 system which would blow their socks off. They know a lot of people who have new laptops that cost them more than $300 that can not touch my dated T-60, or a well outfitted R60.

I've received some excellent suggestions here and thank everyone!

--Bruised

[sysiphus]

Best of luck; I picked up my like-new T60 (see sig) excepting the current hard drive (came with the stock drive) for just a couple bucks over your $300 ceiling. It may take a bit of looking/waiting, but you should be able to get a fantastic T60 in budget. As for the IBM vs Lenovo deal--any reasonably modern Thinkpad (SATA/dual core processors, for example) is going to have been made under Lenovo supervision, regardless of which logo was slapped on the case. My particular T60 only says Lenovo in small print on the bottom case label--but it was almost certainly built with the same components in the same factory as one which says Lenovo all over. The T60s came in all permutations of labeling--everything from like mine to saying Lenovo all over, to having the tricolor logo on the palmrest but with Lenovo on the screen bezel--there's no real functional difference in any of them.

[Harryc]

I have a T60P that I'll let go for $300 plus actual shipping cost. I was selling it for $360 with an advanced minidock, but if you don't need a dock send me a PM.