Quality, Fit, and Finish
I was drawn to IBM for the build quality and durability of their laptops. I was not disappointed. Compared to my previous laptop (a Dell Inspiron 8000), the T30 feels significantly more solid and substantial (while being several pounds lighter than the older Dell model).
The quality is more apparent in the case, keyboard, and screen hinges. The screen hinges were the first thing to go on my old Dell. I can’t stand a laptop with a screen that wobbles as you type (models from some manufacturers seem do this even when brand new). I have had the T30 for over a year and the screen stays as solid and stable as the first day I used. I’ve been pretty hard on the case in my year of use so far, dropping it two or three feet on to a hard-wood floor twice (enough to scar the case slightly) and the ThinkPad still works fine.
As for the finer details of fit and finish, I was surprised to find that the fit and finish varies a fair amount among several T30s ordered around the same time by my co-workers. For example, one of my co-workers has a T30, purchased the same time as mine, that has a keyboard with much more solid keys. If I had never seen his laptop, I would be happy with the fit and finish on mine, but it is odd that it varies so much.
Keyboard and Pointing Devices
The ThinkPads are known for their great keyboards. I had always been happy with the keyboard on the Dell model I had owned, but the ThinkPad is much better in feel and quality.
View Larger Image The Fn and Ctrl keys are in the reverse order from what I expected.
However, there are a few unusual key layout choices. There is no “Windows Key” on the ThinkPads. This doesn’t bother me, as I hadn’t gotten into the habit of using it on previous computers, but others in my office miss it on their ThinkPads. The most annoying keyboard oddity is the placement of the Function (“Fn”) and Control (“Ctrl”) keys. The Function key is for special ThinkPad combinations, like Sleep, Hibernate, and monitor brightness controls. This key is the bottom left key on the keyboard - where many experienced keyboard users (including myself) expect the Control key to be. The Control key is the next key to the right of the Function key.
For several weeks, I would hit the Function key when I was reaching for the Control key. This doesn’t appear to have changed in newer ThinkPad models. I did eventually get used to the Fn/Ctrl key layout, and it no longer bothers me, but now I have to “un-train” myself when using a more typical keyboard on another computer.
View Larger Image The Next/Previous Page keys are more of a hassle than a convenience.
There are also “Back” and “Forward” page keys to to left and right of the “Up” arrow key. The only times I have ever hit these keys is by accident. That said, I do know a few other ThinkPad users who have gotten into the habit of using them. I would rather not have them at all.
To the top left of they keyboard, right at the base of the screen, there are four extra hardware buttons: “ThinkPad”, “Volume Up”, “Volume Down”, and “Mute” (photo). While I’m generally opposed to extra proprietary buttons on hardware, these don’t really get in they way, and the volume controls are useful. With a bit of Googling for hack-instructions, you can also change the ThinkPad button to launch any application you like. By default, it opens a system configuration application. I’ve updated it to lock the screen.
View Larger Image The T30 model I have includes both a trackpoint and touchpad - IBM calls it
UltraNav.
The ThinkPad T30 is available with several pointing device configurations. The model I chose has both the TrackPoint (the little red eraser-head pointing in the middle of the keyboard) and a trackpad. For the TrackPoint, there are two mouse buttons and a scroll button (when depressed, the TrackPoint movement scrolls the page).
I was originally used to the touchpad from my old Dell, so for the first few weeks, I used this exclusively. I was pleased that, even though I wasn’t using it, the TrackPoint never got in the way. However, after a few months of use, I found myself using the TrackPoint more and more. Eventually, I stopped using the touchpad all together (again, I was pleased to see that it doesn’t get in the way, is it has on some Dell models I’ve tried).
I find the way the TrackPoint lets you keep your hands in the typing position is what got me using it so often. While they all work fine under Windows, I have had some difficulty configuring the combination of the TrackPoint and trackpad under Linux. IBM calls the combination pointing devices “UltraNav”, and I ended up disabling the touchpad all together under Linux for easier configuration of the TrackPoint.
Visuals and Style
I’ve seen other reviews of ThinkPads that list the style and case design as both a positive and a negative aspect. I can understand this - the sharp lines and all-black case design is bold and utilitarian. I like it - but I can see why others don’t. One drawback of the sharp lines on the case is that these lines tend to collection dust and are a bit difficult to clean out.
The screen on the T30 model I have is 15” with a resolution of 1400 by 1050 pixels. This is a relatively high resolution for the size of screen. This results in a sharp picture, and lots of real-estate. The quality of the screen the great resolution has made shopping for a stand-alone LCD panel quite a bit more difficult since many large flat-panel displays only come with a 1280 by 1024 resolution.
Sounds: Musical and Otherwise
The speakers on the front of the cast are adequate, but as is to be expected from laptop speakers, are not great for music. I have found that they are good enough to watch a DVD when turned up all the way.
As for the less musical sounds produced by the T30, there isn’t too much to report. The DVD drive is disruptively loud when you are listening to the audio through the system speakers. Fortunately, the ThinkPad configuration software allows you to set the DVD drive to spin at a slower speed that still plays the DVD properly, but is much quieter.
The system fan only turns on when necessary. It is relatively quiet, but is only on a fraction of the time anyhow. To top left of the case, where the fan is, it can get quite hot - but the rest of the case stays relatively cool.
Software
The ThinkPad came installed with a slightly IBM customized install of Windows XP. The ThinkPad configuration utilities, and CD burning software are IBM specific. After a reformat a few months ago, I didn’t use the IBM recovery CD, but did a vanilla Windows XP install. This left me without the IBM specific stuff, but it hasn’t been a problem.
I have also been running Linux (Fedora Core 1) on the T30. The only configuration issues I’ve run into with Linux on the T30 is the issue with the IBM “UltraNav” that I mentioned above.
Hardware Miscellany
The battery lasted about 2:30 when new. I’ve noticed a significant drop in the battery life (I now get fewer than 40 minutes). However, the other ThinkPad users around the office haven’t seen such a significant decline. It’s possible that my Linux install isn’t using power-saving options.
The T30 has WiFi antennae built-in to the sides of the screen. The model I ordered didn’t have an actual wifi card built-in. I added a 3rd-party (Orinico) MiniPCI wifi card I bought off of eBay. The card was easy to install. However, the Orinoco card conflicts with the ethernet card - so my ethernet port is useless as long as the wireless card is installed. This problem is unique to the Orinoco card - as others I know with T30s have used other wifi cards with no problem.
The ports on the ThinkPad T30 give you most of what you need, but it could use an update. There are no USB 2 or Firewire ports. Instead, you have more legacy ports (a parallel, serial port, and a PS/2 port).
Is It Worth It?
I am pleased with the ThinkPad overall. I will likely replace it with another ThinkPad model when it runs its course (not for a while, I expect). The prices directly from IBM are quite prohibitive. While the machines are high quality, I get the impression that the IBM name is what really hikes the price up.
Fortunately, there is a healthy cottage industry of ThinkPad resellers on eBay. Good deals are all over the places.
I’m looking forward to a thinner and lighter version of the ThinkPad. The T40/T41 is already a thinner version of this machine, so hopefully the options will be even better by the time I’m in the market for a new machine.
Comments
Greg - May 21, 2004 8:04 pm
How can you go wrong with a blue ENTER key?
The RC Freak - July 13, 2004 3:04 pm
Bravo my good man. The T30, and now the T42 is an excellent notebook. The best in my opinion.
Tristan - July 29, 2004 4:49 pm
Good review. I have a ThinkPad R31, and I'd just like to point out that the R series are not necessarily desktop replacements only. They're more of a 'budget' line, with a cheaper plastic casing and not as much attention to the detail (eg, the "IBM" logo on the outside is a decal, instead of a painted inlay). However, despite their cutting corners in a few spots, the R31 I have is still an excellent system. All of the internals are the same as in the T-series counterpart, as is the screen and the keyboard (the best keyboard known to man, might I add). So if you're looking for a slightly more economical way to get all the IBM quality, the R series are the way to go. And I'll agree with RC in saying that IBM laptops are the best, literally.
Ed Stephens Jr. - December 24, 2004 1:41 am
Steven,
Thanks for such a good post. I'm replacing my two year old R-series Thinkpad and wanted to get more information about the "ultranav," given that I like the trackpoint and wanted to know if the arrangement had any problems. Your review provided exactly the kind of information I needed. Well done!
...and my new R-51 is now on the way...
rahul - May 6, 2005 6:54 am
your service is not up to mark
you must do swomething to improve it
snope1108 - May 28, 2005 1:17 pm
I have a T30, my little road champ. It works great but I want to upgrade a few things in it-the Wireless B card to Wireless G and the USB 1 to USB 2, is that doable? At least the Wifi B
Joe - August 9, 2005 1:32 am
So is the usb1 upgradable at all to usb2??
Richard - September 27, 2005 7:56 am
Thanks for a good review.
Just thought I should mention that there is not a PS2 port on the T30, however there is a S-video out port you did not mention.
It is possible to get all the pointing options to work properley under linux, it is just a matter of setting up your \etc\xf86config correctly. In fact all the features can be made to work properley under linux with the exception of the s-video out - while it does work, it requires the machine to be rebooted with the external TV connected which can be annoying.
You may need to investigate setting up the linux speedstep module (and one of the many dameons to control it) properley in order to reduce battery consumption. This does work.
I have found my T30 to be a great machine, the most annoying thing about it is the lack of USB2. Also, my fan is quite noisy but I think this is a problem specific to my machine.
NUr Elias Tan Bin Abdullah - October 10, 2005 6:39 am
Hello folks,
IBM lifts up to its name in manufacturing Laptop. My first laptop was an IBM T21. Its now about 5 years old and recently got a second hand T30. What can I say.....trust IBM for manufacturing quality and durablity. Always go for IBM, if you are scouting for Business laptop or even Grapic design which the T43 can offer. GO for IBM thinkpad. Cheers
Lynn - December 15, 2005 3:37 pm
Can someone suggest an inexpensive external speaker that I can attach to my T30, good enough to play music through it in my house while doing other things? Thx
Jimbo Joomla - January 12, 2006 6:36 pm
I got my T30 right around Christmas '05. My goal was to find an affoardable (i.e. cheap) laptop to replace my desktop. I wanted to be mobile and work anywhere in the world. I was tired of being tethered to my old desktop. I got a decent deal on uBid.com on a refurbished T30 at just over $500. Wooho! Then, the fun of getting my laptop configured began.
After getting everything moved over from my desktop, including my entire web development environment, I ran into some performance issues that needed to be addressed. It was clear to me that the stock T30 was not going to fully satisfy my need for speed. Can you say, upgrades? Well, here are my choices for upgrading the stock T30 (type 2366-85U).
Despite some saying their T30's have screen resolutions of 1400x1050, my type 2366-85U only puts out 1024x768 with the ATI drivers. :( I'm still determined to find a way to get that higher resolution that some have claimed.
The stock hard drive was a 40GB 4200RPM IBM brand Travelstar (Hiachi made?). I just runs like a tired old hound dog on a hot summer day. BLAH! With all the extra junk like anitvirus and anti-spyware stuff running in the background at startup, a full boot takes upwards to two minutes. That little 'ol disk drive light is on solid the entire time. Unacceptable! I couldn't stand it. So, I'm upgrading my HD to a zippy new Hitachi 7K60 @ 7200 RPM. I'm sure this will get things going again.
You know these older laptops come with USB 1.1 ports. I need the USB 2.0 for backups to my external HD. USB 1.1 just won't cut it. So, I found a 4 Port combo USB/Firewire card at Dealsonic for under $20! http://www.dealsonic.com/sybecocatous.html. Heck, at that price, this upgrade was almost painless. I now have USB 2.0 and Firewire. This little hardware gem solves my port issues quite nicely.
As for the internal wireless card--mine has the Cisco stock 802.11b card. It works fine. But, I want 802.11g. So, I found a reasonably priced mini-PCI 802.11g card that I'll install once it arrives. Installing the hardware is a snap--the bay is located on the bootom of the computer and is easily accessible. When it arrives, I expect to have to deal with the infamous 1082 error where IBM's bios only allows certain wi-fi cards on their bios whitelist to get past the bios check. Here's the site telling how to get around this: http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~mjg59/thinkpad/wireless.html.
Last, but not least, is the RAM memory upgrade. My stock machine was 256MB--this was not enough and I encountered frequent paging, that just added to the load on my slow disk drive. So, I spent another $100 for two 512MB SODIMM DDR ram chips. I'll put the exisiting 256MB in my kid's thinkpad and have a respecdtable 1GB of RAM.
Well, with these upgrades, I'll truly be mobile and fast. The T30 is fine out of the box for most. I just need more umph to handle my atypical loads.
Jimbo
SADICK BILL GATE - April 20, 2006 1:34 pm
PLEASE AM SERIOUSLY IN NEED OF DISPLAY DRIVERS FOR MY LAPTOP(IBM THINKPAD T30)SO PLEASE HELP ME TO GET IT.THANK YOU
brad - June 2, 2006 5:00 pm
I have a T42 that I use as a desktop replacement and am quite happy with it except I wasn't able to get one with a hard drive larger than 40 gigs (and I only have 7 gigs available after only a year or so of use).
One question I have: on my Apple Powerbook you can close the lid without putting the computer to sleep. That's a great feature for those of us who use a laptop as a desktop replacement and want to use an external monitor. I've searched all through the ThinkPad documentation and have found no indication that there's a way to do this on a ThinkPad. Is there?
julio - June 15, 2006 2:38 pm
You can definately do this on a ThinkPad, this has more to do with the operating system anyways...
(On Windows)
Control Panel > Power Options > 'Advanced' Tab
brad - June 19, 2006 4:15 pm
Thanks jsegundo, you have no idea how helpful that little tidbit of info was (and how difficult it has been for me to get the answer)!
Scott - September 4, 2006 5:42 pm
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to upgrade the video card or processor on a T30?
I just bought my first laptop which was a used T30 and while I have some limited experience with working on desktop pcs, I have no knowledge or experience with laptops.
Injuneer58 - September 21, 2006 5:31 pm
I wanted to thank Jimbo for his great upgrade tips. I too picked up an "off-lease" T-30 (eBay $450) and saw some immediate upgrades were needed. A high speed 40G HD was first then, the best thing I did was go to the IBM website and upgrade every driver on my puter.
[admin edit: IBM website linked]
If I recall correctly, the IBM software upgrade fixed a display driver problem associated with my ATI driver. Overall performance definitely improved!! The site basically reads through your harddrive and identifies every possible upgrade you need then loads them automagically. Voila! I'm a happy puppy now that I am getting two USB 2.0 ports so I can download my pics from my new Canon 6 Mpix camera, load my IPOD much much faster, and my Magellan roadmate GPS too. (It has 5 gigs reserved for pictures, audio (I prefer books on tape), etc. Thanks again! I hope the new USB/firewire port card is as easily replaced as my harddrive was.
Michael - October 9, 2006 7:26 pm
Hi all,
I have a T30 that I recently purchased. Looks like a great machine but doesn't have any original CDs or original partition. My burnt copies of XP don't like the valid XP Pro key that comes with the machine. Any good people out there kind enough to burn me a copy of the recovery CDs or and OEM version of XP Pro?
Email me, will pay postage of course.
Cheers.
Michael.
Mario - October 25, 2006 4:46 pm
I just purchase a t30 from ebay and would like to get a new HD so I also need the recovery CDs if anyone has them it would be highly appreciated a copy and I would be more than happy to pay postage.
Email me.
Thanks
Mario
Steve - November 17, 2006 8:26 pm
I too need a copy of the recovery CDs or and OEM version of XP Pro?
Email me, will pay postage of course.
Cheers.
Steve
Mike Gauthier - February 6, 2007 11:17 pm
Joe,
Sorry, nope it isn't possible to upgrade the USB from 1.0 to 2.0. You can, however, purchase a PCMCIA card that has USB 2.0 like this Cardbus adapter for USB 2.0 from TigerDirect.
Mike Gauthier - February 6, 2007 11:19 pm
Michael, Mario and Steve,
Prior to ThinPad's aquisition by Lenovo you could request free recovery CD's from IBM. Now Lenovo will provide the CD's for a charge of about $50.00. I think your best bet is to try eBay.
Callum M - February 19, 2007 8:39 pm
Its a great laptop! I have had mine for 3 1/2 years now and have had no real problems. The fan came off the motor once but i fixed that and have had no problems with it since. The screen is stable and doesn't wobble at all! Richard says there is not a PS/2 Port and it is a S-Video port, WELL HES CLEARLY WRONG! GET IT RIGHT FOOL it is a PS/2 port! and i know this as i have a mouse plugged into this at this very moment! There is no USB 2.0 ports but it is upgradable to a 2.0 port. I have added another 512mb RAM card and it is a hell of alot faster now. The DVD drive is noisy and it annoys me alot. I dont know why but mine has not got wireless LAN built not even an aerial, so i bought a wireless LAN adapter from belkin. This does stick out the side but isn't that bad. The battery is crap! may i add it lasted for about 8 month now all i have is about 20mins max before it runs out. The sound and video cards are okay but not brilliant. I have a docking staition which i find very useful! My T30 is plugged up to sum 400watt speaker and subwoofer and it works fine with them. There is no CD-RW drive meaning i have to use my desktop PC to burn CD's.
Great Notebook 9 out of 10!
Drew - March 3, 2007 6:19 pm
Hi, I have a IBM T30 laptop that started acting up about a month ago. It will not boot us saying read error, press CTRL ALT Delete to restart then says read error again. It does the same with or without the battery in it. My buddy says that the battery is most likely dead and is causing these problems. What do you think? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Mike Gauthier - March 3, 2007 7:01 pm
Drew,
This is more likely a problem with the hard drive.
Note: This is not a technical support forum. Discussion about the T30 product is encouraged but further technical support questions are discouraged. There are several ThinkPad technical support forums elsewhere.
Shananan - March 9, 2007 11:40 pm
"Richard says there is not a PS/2 Port and it is a S-Video port, WELL HES CLEARLY WRONG! GET IT RIGHT FOOL it is a PS/2 port! and i know this as i have a mouse plugged into this at this very moment!" -Callum M
WOW...I bet that works awesome! LOL! You do have a t-30 right? Hook me up with the magic upgrade to USB 2.0! Ill give you some magic beans for it! Better yet ill turn your cdrom in to a DL DVDRW drive with a firmware upgrade!
ROFL!! thanks for the laugh it made my day!
Joey - April 6, 2007 7:41 am
Hey, I can confirm it is a S-video port as with this port I can manage to get the DVD in my T30 to show movies it plays on TV. Stop laughing guy. It is you that are completely wrong!
boondog - April 22, 2007 5:05 am
If your T30 BIOS is fully updated, you can even put 2x1GB memory in it.
Callum M should get his eyesight checked. He probably has a T23 (as it takes 512MB sticks).
All T30s come with wireless cabling, and only have an S-video port.
To an earlier poster: you can get 2 screens for a T30, the XGA 1024x768 and the SXGA+ 1400x1050.
If you want the higher resolution, you have to swap out both LCD and the LCD-cable. The graphics card is soldered onto the motherboard, and can not be upgraded.
Kailash Kumar RAi - May 17, 2007 6:18 am
Sir,
I ahve lost T30 Recovery Cd of IBM Laptop
So can u help me how to recover my Laptop without Cd
Please do needful
Kailash
harvester3 - June 7, 2007 1:24 am
Has anyone encountered problems with the memory slots similar to just about every Dell c series I've ever seen? I've got one slot completely dead.
Thanks
Perplexer - June 15, 2007 1:00 am
harvester3: One dead RAM slot seems to be pretty common on the T30. A friend's T31 (?) has only one usable slot, and my own T30 also has only one functional slot.
(I am typing this now on my T30, which I picked up from a garage sale for $5.00! No battery or charger, but it works fine!)
A $20 512MB SODIMM and $15 mini-PCI wireless-G card (with no-1802.com) later, and I have a very functional machine. I only wish it had USB2...
Dom - August 9, 2007 5:04 pm
I have an IBM Thinkpad T30 and 2 512 MB memory chips but the bios/os will only recognize 1 of the 512 chips. Yes, they are both good as I have had them in independently of each other and the system works. How do I get the BIOS to recognize BOTH chips?
Bernie - August 24, 2007 7:36 pm
I had a T-23 for a number of years until my college kids finally put in the grave--loved that laptop. Paid $700 for it from Tigerdirect. Since most of the work we do on the laptop is school or business related, I decided on a laptop that will cost me no more than $500. For that amount, it's good for a couple of years and with the way my kids treat a laptop, I would be suprised if it sees daylight that long.
Anyway, a few days ago I bought a T30. It was running slow with 256 MB ram or so I thought. The guy was asking $300 and I got him down to $250. Yahooooo!!! Not quite as good as the $5 story. Anyway, I removed the original xp (too much junk slows down the system) and installed my own and added a few drivers I really needed from the driver's site. Man, does it run a lot faster. Also I found out that there is another stick of 512 MB ram that intermittently works. So I did a little troubleshooting and found it that that stick of RAM was bad--called Kingston and guess what? They're sending me a replacement because as you know, Kingston has a lifetime warranty on their product. I'm buying Kingston from now on. So now I have a laptop I can use to do almost anything on, with 768 MB of ram, 11g wireless adapter and an operating system that's stream lined and doesn't have the excess weight. I am happy camper:) In fact, I think I'm keeping this for my own and look for another T30 for the kids.
You do not have to have a recovery CD, but you do have to have a copy of XP and a driver of your wireless adapter. The rest of the drivers you can get from the Levono/IBM. The main ones will be video, power management, bios and mouse/trackpt. It's will run faster if you keep it simple--by turning off services, startup applications, devices in bios and device manager.
Jesse - September 10, 2007 3:49 pm
I have 2 T-30 and discovered the dead memory slot late last year. This is a defect on the motherboard something about overheating destroys on on the slot. Good news is that IBM covered this, this was a known defect issue, not a warranty. They knew it was a problem early on and should have recalled the T30s. Recall items do not have an expiration date. Check with IBM (Lenovo) and tell them about this recall. I argued the point and they sent me pre-paid shipping boxs and after a week got my computers back all fixed. Look up the T30 memory issue on the web and reference it in conversation with the IBM support techs.
thomas kain - October 16, 2007 1:56 pm
have a IBM T30 has been a great laptop, however whenever you power up the unit the display is garbled and unreadabel about 95% of the time, that is the 5% of the time it will brefily display the WinXP black screen witht he blue scale going back/forth only to come upgarbled again, even at times when it frist powers up you can see the screen where as you can pres F1 or F12 for boot device or BIOS setup, however when you do select either of these it only goes to a black screen with no display, any suggestions, thanks for all help and commmets, I really like to get this one fixed....
Soegito - October 29, 2007 11:57 pm
I wan Driver IBM Thinkpad T30 2Ghz
disco - November 11, 2007 12:01 pm
Yeah, I loved my now 5 year old T30 but I'm really sad to see it die after struggling for ages with only 1 working memory slot. It now won't show anything on the screen after I battled with the RAM slots (sometimes pressing on them fixes the problem for a number of days) for a while. It will still beep at me if it doesn't find any RAM but if there is ram, it still powers up but there is nothing on the screen.
I've never tried it before it died, but nothing comes up if I plug in a secondary monitor either. I think something OTHER than the monitor is dead as there is no IDE activity going on or anything.
Any clues, email me.
kam pooni - December 27, 2007 6:05 pm
hi i ahve just installed 2 512mb memory card sbut the t30 will only recognise oe of them. help
!!! the machine is out of warranty . both memory cards work so it seems if the second slot is not working
alexader - January 4, 2008 2:55 pm
I have recently received a Thinkpad T30. I have always loved computers from IBM, Ever since I used a IBM Aptiva 2142 and a thinkpad 380xd. But just so you know the ps\2 looking port on the back of the t30 is actually a s-video port.
Ron - March 26, 2008 5:31 pm
I love my T30... The RAM slot problem is common with the T30's but it is preventable! Symptoms include "freeze-up"s, as well as error messages when coming out of hibernation. (In effect, system wakes up with different RAM size than it had when hibernating!) In my opinion (30+ years tech experience) this is caused by handling T30 using left hand under front left corner (as when right-handed person places laptop on table). This flexes the RAM sockets and leads to metal fatigue where the socket leads are surface soldered to PC board. I replaced the mobo in my T30 because of this problem, and I now handle the T30 using one hand on each side of the case!
Chris Bevilacqua - March 27, 2008 8:55 pm
Well I just bought my T30 from e-bay and only had to buy a new battery (from lenovo). My question is, when i 'open' the dvd drive automatically, it only opens a little bit and I have to manually open it. Is that the way it works? I manually close it. Otherwise it works fine. I really do love this machine and hope the new battery lasts for a while.
michael mosiere - April 4, 2008 7:04 pm
hi guys! this T30 forum is just great.i wanna buy a T30 or T40.does anyone know of a good deal,around $300 or lower..please!!!! i'd really appreciate.email osop_mosiere@yahoo.co.uk thanx!
Maccess - April 13, 2008 1:05 pm
If you haven't bought a T30 yet, I suggest buying a T41, T42, T43. I have two T30s, but understand that the reason I purchased them recently was because they were cheap (around the price of the Pentium III (and Win XP) equipped T23) and I needed them as desktop replacements. My portables are an R51e and a T43.
One cause of the RAM slot problem is flexing of the motherboard due to movement. This is because of the RAM module's "hanging" position, and because of a rubber sheet between the hard drive and the memory board.
Since I'll got the T30s as desktop replacements, I won't need to move them much.
Here's a very well writen explanation of the memory slot problem of the T30, including some comments by IBM service technicians about the problem.
http://www.omskakas.se/2007/07/thinkpad-t30-memory-slot-failure.html
Note that in the list above I ommitted the T40, which has a serious problem with static discharge through the USB ports, resulting in a friend southbridge chip over time.
If you're looking for a cheaper portable than a T4x series, you could look into a used x31, or X32 (Pentium M chip, faster than a P -IV), or a T23 (1.13 Ghz P-III, and NOT AS HOT and HEAVY as a P-IV laptop). If you're lucky you can find an R51, R51e, or R52 for cheap. These have the same motherboards as the T42, and T43. Note that the R51e should have been called an R52e since it shares the same board as the R52, which means that the R51e actually has a more recent board than the R51. (The r51e lacks a docking port on the underside).
Mike - April 20, 2008 11:35 am
I want to upgrade the USB 1 port on my T30 to a USB 2.0 port. Where can I buy the card and can I install it myself? Any help would be appreciated. TIA.
Robert - April 20, 2008 11:46 am
Hello all :can someone explain the difference between R series and the T series?