WTB: old thinkpad for home use

[slangeditorial]

hello all! First time poster, thanks for having me!

I'm in the market for an oldie but goodie thinkpad. I really just need something that is faster than my old 1.83 ghz core duo (2006) macbook pro (coding in matlab, visual studio, and labView), but especially with the ability to output to two monitors (1920x1080) without any flicker or grainy-ness (ala dell).

I don't really need an IPS/ SXGA+ screen, but I *think* I need something with a somewhat good video card that will support two monitors. My old mac had a 128 mb card and DVI port that worked like a charm and I picked up a usb-dvi converter for my second monitor. The reason i mention this is that i tried hooking up a dell through vga and the background was extremely grainy and would flicker, it felt like I wasn't wearing my glasses (don't know what kind of card it had).

So I was thinking maybe something along the lines of a T42, T43, T60, T61 or maybe an T400 if in budget. X series is also fine with me. Do these models support DVI? if only vga, will my converter give me a crisp enough image?

I'm looking for something in the 200-300 range, if its a newer model I can go higher

Although I am new to thinkpads a fair deal is much appreciated!

Thanks and I hope you guys have something for me!


also if anyone has a nice sturdy older x-series that i can use for websurfing, latex editing, pdf reading I would also welcome that! looking around 100-200

Cheers,
Ivan

[BobA]

PM coming ..

[sysiphus]

As an FYI: nothing on your list has built-in DVI output; you'll need to attach it to a dock to get DVI output (works perfectly on my T60p). If you need something faster than a first-generation Macbook Pro, rule out anything older/slower than a T60--they came with everything from the same 1.83GHz Core Duo up to a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo. Anything pre-T60 has a single-core Pentium M. Avoid a T61 with Nvidia graphics at all costs--the video chips are ticking time bombs. As such, if you don't need high-end 3D performance, you can get a T60, Intel-graphics T61, or anything T400 or newer. 99% of T60s that shipped with a Core Duo can be upgraded easily to a Core 2 Duo. If you want a 4:3 screen, your only options would be a T60 (plenty of them out there) or T61 (the 4:3 models are scarce, especially coupled with the need to avoid the Nvidia-powered ones). The sweet spot for your budget is probably a T60 with an ATI X1300--not a high-end configuration, but rock solid and could do everything you indicated.


Oops, just noticed an X-series is fine by you too. In that case, avoid anything older than an X61 if you need something faster than your Macbook Pro. Pretty sure you can't do DVI out on the older X-series, though. I know an X61 tablet can't, anyways. Hope this helps/good luck!

[slangeditorial]

Thanks for clearing this up sysiphus! I appreciate your help