I your help buying another Thinkpad

[dmnoland]

Hi all,
I bought a new R52 new a few years ago and didn't last very long. It ran rather hot and as it aged (quickly) I acquired a factory refurbished R51. It runs very cool, has lasted way longer than the "newer" model but is also rather slow. It is only a 1.7 ghz pentium M with 512 ram but it has a nice big 15" screen.
Since I am down to one machine I want another either as a backup or for use in another room.
My needs are real simple. I must have a 4:3 screen as large as possible. I believe that 15" is already the largest. My eyes are not as good as they used to be so I am not so concerned with resolution. I would like a machine that is fast enough to run Firefox, Outlook & Windows Media Player at the same time without everything literally crawling to a halt. The only other software I run at the same time that might slow things down is the standard Norton Antivirus. Lastly, I need the newest/fastest machine possible. And of course it must be a Thinkpad!
So that's it, is it too much to ask for?
*new, used or refurbished
*4:3
*15" screen
*ability to run 3 programs
*run reasonably fast
Any input would be very appreciated.
Thanks,
David

Edit: Do all Thinkpads still have the trackpoint and Thinklight?

[lead_org]

T60 was the last thinkpad to have 15 inch 4:3 LCD, so you should look for something in that model range (R60 also have something of that size).

These machines can be upgraded to 3 gigs of ram, and a Core 2 Duo T7xxx 667 mhz FSB CPU, so it will satisfy your modest needs.

I would personally either get these laptop with ATI X1300 or Intel GPU as these run cooler.

[ZaZ]

You forget the 4:3 R61, though I don't believe it was sold in the US. I'd love to get my hands on one of those.

[lead_org]

Those R61 15 inch model are quite rare. But if you can get one, then it is a good machine and have lot of upgrade potential.