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Last Second Tips Before I Buy

T40/T41/T42/T43 Series
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Joseph-N
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Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:46 am
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.

Last Second Tips Before I Buy

#1 Post by Joseph-N » Sun Aug 16, 2009 9:44 pm

Hi Guys, I was just about to buy a T43p, after looking at the T42p, T43p and T60. All are IPS screens, but the T60 is not UXGA.

Before I buy the T43p, I thought I'd post a note here. If anyone thinks one of the other 2 is a better machine, let me know. I just thought the T43p, with UXGA, seemed like the best bang for the buck.

ZaZ
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Re: Last Second Tips Before I Buy

#2 Post by ZaZ » Sun Aug 16, 2009 10:02 pm

If you're taking votes I'd probably opt for the T60 without knowing much else. The T60s are more durable. It gets your a dual core CPU and you access to faster/bigger SATA drives, but if you like UXGA and aren't going to be doing anything too intensive, the T43 isn't a bad choice. Have you used a UXGA notebook before? I only ask because some of the text will be very small, but some do like them. Good Luck.
ThinkPad L14 - 2.1GHz Ryzen 4650U | 16GB | 256GB | 14" FHD | Win11P
ProBook 470 G5 - 1.6GHz Core i5 | 16GB | 2.2TB | 17" FHD | Mint

sjthinkpader
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Re: Last Second Tips Before I Buy

#3 Post by sjthinkpader » Sun Aug 16, 2009 11:01 pm

I am using these machines:

T60, T5500 1.66Ghz, ATI X1400, 14 inch SXGA+, 200GB 7200RPM Hitachi
My work machine.

T43p, Dothan 770 2.13Ghz, ATI V3200, 15 inch UXGA, 160GB 5400RPM WD
Windows 7 test machine

T42p, Dothan 745 1.8Ghz, ATI Fire GL T2, 15 inch UXGA, 160GB 5400RPM WD
My personal PC

The T60 belongs to the company. I haven't upgraded from T42p to T43p due to these reasons:

1. T42p is lower in thermal power. CPU temperature is mostly hovering below 50 deg C.
2. T43p is not image compatible with T42 and earlier. That means I have to do a complete reinstall of all the software. So far rolling forward from A30, A31 to T42, T42p have all been without a new OS install.
3. T43p cannot accept 11n cards due to 1802 error. That means I have to give up the 11n card in my T42p.

So even with both T42p and T43p on my desk, the main machine is still T42p.
T60p 2623-DDU/UXGA IPS/ATI V5200
T60 2623-DCU/SXGA+ IPS/ATI X1400
T43p 2668-H8U/UXGA IPS/ATI V3200
R50p 1832-NU1/UXGA IPS/ATI FireGL T2
X61t 7762-B6U dual touch IPS/64GB SSD
X32 2673-BU6/32GB SSD
755CDV 9545-GBK Transmissive Projection LCD

ajkula66
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Re: Last Second Tips Before I Buy

#4 Post by ajkula66 » Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:51 am

T60 is the most modern and reliable model out of the three aforementioned.

If you must have an UXGA LCD (like myself), I'd take T43p over T42p for reliability issues.
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

One FlexView to rule them all: A31p

Abused daily: T520, X200s


PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.

t20user
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Re: Last Second Tips Before I Buy

#5 Post by t20user » Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:57 pm

I just upgraded from a T41 to a T60. I was able to get an inexpensive 500GB SATA Hdd for it, something that I don't think exists for the PATA T4x machines, certainly not at the price I paid. I got the T60 for less than $400 on ebay and it is loaded, plus it still has 9 months of warranty left. The seller I got it from regularly posts machines, PM me if you want his ID.

Joseph-N
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Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:46 am
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.

Re: Last Second Tips Before I Buy

#6 Post by Joseph-N » Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:55 pm

Thanks guys, I've seen some threads here that seem to cover roughly what I'm asking. I see two opposite groups. Some say the T4x/R5x range is just about at the end of the road. Others say they expect to keep using their T4x for many more years. So I thought I'd ask before buying.

George said the T60 is noticeably more reliable than the T43p, and the T43p is noticeably more reliable than the T42p. I'm happy to save a buck when I can, but my thinking is: If the T42p/43p is $75 cheaper then the T60, but reliability is so much worse (the "P"s do get hot, esp. the T43p) that I have to spend $100 on an extended warranty, then it isn't worth it.

Re: UXGA, maybe SXGA+ would be fine, but I really like the UXGA's ability to switch to 800x600 when the text is too small, then switch back when I need more real estate.

sjthinkpader
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Re: Last Second Tips Before I Buy

#7 Post by sjthinkpader » Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:07 pm

My T60 had the MB replaced too. So I can't say that T60 are much more reliable than T4x. Improved GPU detachment issue is for sure.

You don't want to set a UXGA LCD to other non-native resolution. If you want larger features, change the normal 96 DPI setting to something larger. This way, you get larger features but retain sharpness.
T60p 2623-DDU/UXGA IPS/ATI V5200
T60 2623-DCU/SXGA+ IPS/ATI X1400
T43p 2668-H8U/UXGA IPS/ATI V3200
R50p 1832-NU1/UXGA IPS/ATI FireGL T2
X61t 7762-B6U dual touch IPS/64GB SSD
X32 2673-BU6/32GB SSD
755CDV 9545-GBK Transmissive Projection LCD

Joseph-N
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Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2008 10:46 am
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.

Re: Last Second Tips Before I Buy

#8 Post by Joseph-N » Fri Aug 21, 2009 1:52 pm

Thanks everyone, the T60p with UXGA came back into stock at IBM certified used, so I bought that.

I did not buy the 1yr extended warranty. Is that 1 additional year, beyond the 3 month warranty I already get, or one year total? It seems like a logical question, but I couldn't find the answer anywhere on the website.

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