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Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

T40/T41/T42/T43 Series
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Which Thinkpad to keep?

Poll ended at Wed Jan 26, 2011 1:24 pm

T21
0
No votes
T40
1
5%
T42
9
45%
T43
10
50%
 
Total votes: 20

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micl9
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Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#1 Post by micl9 » Sun Jan 16, 2011 1:24 pm

Hey All,
Need to clean up and consolidate my thinkpad collection.
Listed below is what I have - Its a no brainer to get rid of the T21 and T40. But I am torn with the T42 and T43.
The T43 has Intel graphics so no BGA issues but the T42 board is a newer version (with red dots) which George tells me should be better. I like the screen resolution of the T42...
Any insight and a vote would be greatly appreciated.


SOLD Product: ThinkPad T21 2647-4AU 2001
Original description:
PIII 800MHz (256KB)
128MB RAM NOW 384MB
20.0GB HDD - selling with an extra 40GB
14.1 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD
8x-2.3x DVD
Intel combo
TV out
Li-Ion Battery
W98 NOW XP Pro

Product: ThinkPad T40 2373-96U Jul-03
Original description:
P M 1.6GHz NOW P M 735 (1.7GHz) Dothan
512MB RAM NOW 1GB
80GB 4200rpm HDD NOW 40GB
14.1 SXGA+(1400x1050) TFT LCD
32MB ATI Radeon 9000
CD-RW/DVD
Bluetooth/Modem (BMDC)
1Gb Ether - Intel PRO/1000 MT
Cisco 802.11b NOW Intel PRO/wireless 2200BG 802.11b/g
Sec Chip
UltraNav
9 cell Batt NOW 6 cell
WinXP Pro

Product: ThinkPad T42 2373-9XU Jul-05
Original description:
P M 745(1.8GHz)
512MB RAM NOW 2GB
80GB 5400rpm HDD NOW 160GB
14.1 SXGA+(1400x1050) TFT LCD
64MB ATI Radeon 9600 (Late model Mobo - small red dots)
CD-RW/DVD
IBM 802.11a/b/g wireless NOW Intel PRO/wireless 2200BG 802.11b/g
Bluetooth/Modem (BMDC-2)
1Gb Ether - Intel PRO/1000 MT
UltraNav
Sec Chip
6 cell Li-Ion Batt
WinXP Pro
ADDED Fingerprint reader

SOLD Product: ThinkPad T43 1871-W7Q Dec-05
Original description: Based on 1871-CTO:
P M 750(1.86GHz)
1GB RAM NOW 2GB
40GB 5400rpm HD
14.1in 1024x768 LCD
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900
CDRW/DVD
Wireless upgradeable(MPCI) NOW Intel PRO/wireless 2200BG 802.11b/g
Modem(MDC-2) NOW BMDC-3 with Bluetooth
1Gb Ether - (Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit)
Secure Chip
6 cell Li-Ion battery
WinXP Pro

Last edited by micl9 on Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:36 am, edited 2 times in total.
Mike
Thinkpads:
T40 (2373-96U)
T42 (2373-9XU)dying
T43p (2669-P1U)new
T61p (6459-CTO)new

ajkula66
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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#2 Post by ajkula66 » Sun Jan 16, 2011 2:01 pm

If the machine is to be stationery (not moved around much) I'd keep the T42, which will also run W7 with full Aero if so desired.

Now, if it's meant to be carried around...T43 would be my preferred choice.

Good luck with the cleanup.
...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.

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#3 Post by pianowizard » Sun Jan 16, 2011 2:04 pm

This is not an easy decision! If I were you, I would swap the LCD panels between the T43 and the T42 so that the T43 will have 1400x1050. You would need to swap the LCD cable and inverter as well. Then, sell the rest.

My T42 also had red dots but its GPU failed nonetheless.
Dell Latitude 7370 (QHD+, 2.84lb); HP Pavilion x2 12-b096ms (1920x1280, 3.14lb); Microsoft Surface 3 (1920x1280, 2.00lb);
Dell OptiPlex 5040 SFF (Core i5-6600); Acer ET322QK, T272HUL; Crossover 404K; QNIX QHD2410R; Seiki Pro SM40UNP

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#4 Post by ajkula66 » Sun Jan 16, 2011 2:12 pm

@PW: that T43 has Intel graphics and won't drive a SXGA+ screen...that's the part that sucks...otherwise OP could swap the panel from the T40 which is not going to bring him much in today's market anyway... :D
...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.

pianowizard
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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#5 Post by pianowizard » Sun Jan 16, 2011 2:28 pm

ajkula66 wrote:@PW: that T43 has Intel graphics and won't drive a SXGA+ screen...that's the part that sucks...
Ah, I forgot about that! In this case, sell all four laptops and buy a T60 with SXGA+.
Dell Latitude 7370 (QHD+, 2.84lb); HP Pavilion x2 12-b096ms (1920x1280, 3.14lb); Microsoft Surface 3 (1920x1280, 2.00lb);
Dell OptiPlex 5040 SFF (Core i5-6600); Acer ET322QK, T272HUL; Crossover 404K; QNIX QHD2410R; Seiki Pro SM40UNP

underclocker
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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#6 Post by underclocker » Sun Jan 16, 2011 2:35 pm

pianowizard wrote:In this case, sell all four laptops and buy a T60 with SXGA+.
Amen.
T510, i7-620m, NVidia, HD+, 8GB, 512GB Intel 545s SSD, Webcam, BT, FPR Home
T400s, C2D SP9400, Intel 4500MHD, WXGA+, 8GB, 160GB Intel X18-M G2 SSD, Webcam, BT, FPR Travel
Edge 14 i5-540m, Intel HD Graphics, HD, 8GB, 180GB Intel Pro 1500 SSD, Webcam, BT, red cover Music

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#7 Post by Tasurinchi » Sun Jan 16, 2011 2:57 pm

I would never go back to XGA in a 14" screen :BAAAD!: , so I'd join the supporters of selling all of them and buying a T60.

Cheers
IBM Convertible 5140/L40SX/220/240/240X/2*340CSE/360PE/365XD/380D/380E/380XD/380Z/390/560E/560X/2*570/2*600/600E/750Cs/755C/760CD/760EL/760XD/770E
A20p/A22p/A31/i1600/G40/R50p/R61i/S30/SL510/2*T22/4*T4x/11*T6x/6*T40x/6*T5x0/3*W5x0/W700/3*X2x/4*X3x/3*X4x/5*X6x/3*X6xT/12*X2xx/4*X30x/Z60m/3*Z61x

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#8 Post by madkat » Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:12 am

Take the 160gb hdd from the T42, stick it in the T43, and keep the T43.
ex: T30, TR451, TR453, R51, R52, X40, X60, R61, T400, X200
now: T450, i5, 8g, 250ssd

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#9 Post by killer » Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:34 am

IMO, the T43 is the one to keep. Machine type 1871 is an excellent piece of kit.
T540p Win 7 Pro 64

X1 Carbon Win 7 Pro 64 for my wife.

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#10 Post by Microspeed » Tue Jan 18, 2011 1:42 pm

I vote for the T43.
Microspeed
T61 7664-17U

rkan
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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#11 Post by rkan » Tue Jan 18, 2011 1:46 pm

Sell them all and get a T43p or T61p
T43p - M 770(2.13GHz), 2GB RAM, 60GB HDD, 15in 1600x1200 LCD, 128MB ATI FireGL V3200, CD-RW/DVD-R Multi-Burner, Intel 802.11abg wireless(MPCI), Bluetooth/Modem(CDC), 1Gb Ethernet(LOM)

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#12 Post by GomJabbar » Tue Jan 18, 2011 6:18 pm

ajkula66 wrote:If the machine is to be stationery (not moved around much) I'd keep the T42, which will also run W7 with full Aero if so desired.

Now, if it's meant to be carried around...T43 would be my preferred choice.

Good luck with the cleanup.
I agree with this. I voted for the T42. Better screen resolution and no problems with non-IBM/Lenovo hard drives. :wink:

I have a T42 with the features of yours. Haven't had any GPU problems yet. I don't carry mine around all that much though.
DKB

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#13 Post by Norway Pad » Tue Jan 18, 2011 9:06 pm

My opinions: I have both a T42 and T43, and I wouldn't have swapped a T42 with those specs for a T43 with a XGA. Even not knowing the increased possibility for GPU failure on the T42 vs. the bulletproof Intel'ed T43, and the *slightly* better specs of the T43 internals. You can of course apply the non-2010 BIOS to the T43, image and swap the hard drives, but you are stuck with the XGA screen no matter what. Doing a side-by-side comparison of my T42's XGA and the T43's SXGA+, it really makes a difference, particularly if you use the laptop on a daily basis with the built in screen only, and no external monitor.

Or even better if this is a laptop choice you intend to stick with for a while: Sell them all and buy a T60, or even keep one of your T4x as a backup laptop. (But do not buy a Nvidia T61 like suggested above.. :) )
Last edited by Norway Pad on Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#14 Post by Raceboy » Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:20 am

I'd keep the T42. It is quieter than even Intel GPU based T43 (I have them both together on my desk right now), has much better screen and can run W7 with Aero like George already mentioned.

And if you like, you can run the CPU on your T42 on 533 MHz bus like T43 and have almost as fast machine clock-per-clock as T43 even though you are hard pressed to notice the difference even now. Intel graphics on T43 suck anyway regarding even basic performance and it matters to me because I occasionally play older games on my laptops (CoD, older NFS etc).
X61s:L7500,4GB,128GB SSD,IPS
X32s:PM 758 LV CPU mod,2GB,64GB microSATA SSD,COM mod,IPS
701c,240,380,X60s,560X,570E,600/E,T20,T21,T30,TR451,T42p
Past:560/E/Z,600E,R30,T21,T23,T30,T40,TR451,T40p,T41,T41p,T42,T42p,T43,X20,X22,X23,X24,X31,X40,X41,X60/T,X61/s,X201,T60,T60p,T61,T400,T601p

micl9
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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#15 Post by micl9 » Thu Jan 20, 2011 12:45 pm

Hey All,
Thanks so much for the advice and voting in my poll! Keep the votes coming as polls are still open :banana:

Results are pretty much to be expected - alright who voted for the T40! :eek:
FYI HDDs have options I have some laying around to maximize interest in any particular unit.

George thanks for the info on running win7 on the T42. I just need a good sale on win7 as I hate to pay full price! Right now I prefer to keep that one (the T42) as it is already my laptop and is completely set up as I like it. :mrgreen: This laptop does not move around much, or should I say far. It sits on an end table in the TV room, so it moves from the table to my lap quite often.

I will plan on selling the units serially in ascending order, so after the T21 and T40 are gone I can make my final decision on which one to keep.

Oh and T6x upgrade is VERY tempting and I am resisting the urge to browse the marketplace. Maybe when I am down to 1 T4x and IF I have not already spent the money from the others I will go down this path.
Mike
Thinkpads:
T40 (2373-96U)
T42 (2373-9XU)dying
T43p (2669-P1U)new
T61p (6459-CTO)new

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#16 Post by dr_st » Thu Jan 20, 2011 5:52 pm

Of all these I would keep the T42. There is a chance of GPU failure of course, which the Intel-based T43 does not have, but the specs are so much nicer, and in any case:
1) GPU failure is less frequent on late model mobos
2) Southbridge failure can happen equally on the T43, and can be just as fatal
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#17 Post by micl9 » Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:14 am

Well Guys I got it down to 2!

Decided to keep the T42 for myself and will eventually get around to bumping it to Win7.
As I was selling the last 2 (T40 and T43) my 10yr old asked if he could have a laptop. Left it up to fate, whichever sold 1st he got what was left.
So he is now set up with my the T40. Hopefully it does not die before he really needs a laptop for school.

thanks for all the input and advice (and votes!)
Mike
Thinkpads:
T40 (2373-96U)
T42 (2373-9XU)dying
T43p (2669-P1U)new
T61p (6459-CTO)new

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#18 Post by sktn77a » Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:54 pm

I think he'll be fine with the T40. I had no GPU problems with my T40, which I think was pre-RoHS. These may be somewhat less susceptible to the solder problems that the T41 and T42 were plagued with.
Keith
(Formerly 600E, T21, T30, T40, T41, 2xT42, 2xT61p, T420, 2x Ideapad K1)
(Currently 4xT430, 2xT460, H520S, M910q, M920q, M70q)

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#19 Post by systemBuilder » Fri Sep 23, 2011 12:37 am

You guys are all totally nuts! Keep the 14.1" SXGA+ T42 !! The screen resolution is awesome but the dots aren't too tiny, the GPU out-benchmarks all other T4x CPUs in history, there are a bazillion of these devices still going strong despite your reballing fears (including 4x of them in my house, T42, T42, T42p, T42p), they use less power and are therefore cooler than T43 machines with airplane-sounding fans, and they have a higher-speed memory bus (but expensive SoDIMMs) compared to T43, which imho was an IBM mistake.

- DWG
=======================
Lots of thinkpads (10+) but I would never be so stupid as to list them all because that would spam everybody's searches and people who *do* try to list them all would be jerks.

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#20 Post by RealBlackStuff » Fri Sep 23, 2011 1:32 pm

systemBuilder wrote:T42 have a higher-speed memory bus (but expensive SoDIMMs) compared to T43, which imho was an IBM mistake.
T42 = DDR PC2700, FSB = 400 MHz (expensive, old standard)
T43 = DDR2 PC2-4200, FSB = 533 MHz (cheaper, faster RAM as well as faster FSB)

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#21 Post by systemBuilder » Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:34 pm

RealBlackStuff wrote: T42 = DDR PC2700, FSB = 400 MHz (expensive, old standard)
T43 = DDR2 PC2-4200, FSB = 533 MHz (cheaper, faster RAM as well as faster FSB)

Don't tell fantasies or blame the wrong party! :BAAAD!:
RealBlackStuff, there's a BIG reason why DDR2 memory is so much cheaper than DDR memory! Quoted from wikipedia :
"Since the DDR2 internal clock runs at half the DDR external clock rate, DDR2 memory operating at the same external data bus clock rate as DDR results in DDR2 being able to provide the same bandwidth but with higher latency. Alternatively, DDR2 memory operating at twice the external data bus clock rate as DDR may provide twice the bandwidth with the same latency. The best-rated DDR2 memory modules are at least twice as fast as the best-rated DDR memory modules."
Thus, 533 Mhz DDR2 memory has the latency performance of 267 Mhz DDR memory, which is ONE THIRD SLOWER than 400 Mhz DDR memory! There is a reason why DDR memory is so expensive at the higher speeds, it's faster (and better) for Random Access compared to DDR2 (by the way there's a reason why these SoDimms are called "RAM", it's the Random Access speeds that matter!) The move to DDR2 memory on the Thinkpad T43 was a cost-saving measure, NOT a performance-enhancing measure!
=======================
Lots of thinkpads (10+) but I would never be so stupid as to list them all because that would spam everybody's searches and people who *do* try to list them all would be jerks.

ajkula66
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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#22 Post by ajkula66 » Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:04 pm

systemBuilder wrote: The move to DDR2 memory on the Thinkpad T43 was a cost-saving measure, NOT a performance-enhancing measure!
Wrong you are on this one...

Benchmark RAM performance on any T42 vs. T43 and let me know what you find.

There were really no cost-saving measures applied to T43 generation, actually the exact opposite holds true...once you get a proper understanding how vastly different T43 architecture is from what was seen on previous T4x units, you'll comprehend what I'm talking about, and that goes way beyond DDR2 and faster FSB...
...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.

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Re: Need advice - Which Thinkpad to keep?

#23 Post by dr_st » Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:21 am

DDR2-533 is faster than DDR-333 despite the higher latencies. Latencies sometimes matter more, but usually less than the bandwidth.

At the time of T43 introduction, DDR2 was not cheaper than DDR, so calling it a cost-saving measure makes little sense.

The reason DDR is more expensive now is because it's rare, and isn't manufactured anymore (or barely so). Low supply - prices go up.

Just like DDR2 is already much more expensive than DDR3, despite the latter being faster.
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

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