Best IBM(not lenovo) laptop ever?

Pre-lenovo, what was the best thinkpads out there, in terms of
1.)portability,
2.)gaming(I know IBM is not good for gaming but some of em were able to run halo),
3.)Linux Friendly(Meaning every single thing worked on it in linux buttons and all)
and
4.)overall good

and if possible is there a place were I can still purchase these laptop (short from ebay)

 

The T4x series were one of the last ones still made by IBM. I recently bought a T40 on Ebay. It has a 1.5Ghz Pentium M, 512MB, 40GB, ATi 7500 32MB, and 9 cell battery. All this for around $365 shipped.

Check your local Craigslist for some older ThinkPads.

 

does it do everything you want it to for your needs.

 

It was actually for my parent's. They mostly just surf the web on a laptop, which the T40 can easily do.

 

anyone else can reccomend?

 

I love my wife's T42, it's actually the system that got me interested in getting a thinkpad in the first place (I have a T60 14 inch standard screen). I'm happy with my purchase but I also was trying like hell before to get just the T42 and couldn't find one. But side by side with the exception of the Alps keyboard on hers and my chicony keyboard (which is also quite good, not as loud as the alps and with a little resistance) they are the same build quality. My screen is probably brighter, that's it. Go for a T42 if you can find it.

 

go for the last T4X SERIES of IBM..... the T43... they are quite newer than the previous models T40, 41 & 42.... and easier to find. I just got one last week and prefer to use it on daily basis over my T61 14 widescreen. Its even faster than my T61 (vista business)...... T43 (XP PRO). Only drawbacks of T43 is the smaller capacity HDD . Mine is 40 GB only. But you can look for a higher ones as T-series are configured in a million ways.

 

The T42 was the last one made by IBM. The T43 and up were all made by Lenovo.

 

I loved the way those looked .

 

I thought the T60 was the last IBM designed ThinkPad... I really love my T60 ;O

 

Speaking of which, why did IBM abandon the butterfly keyboard design of the 701c? I thought that was an amazing piece of engineering!

 

Not necessary when they can already fit a full size keyboard on a ThinkPad chassis.

 

Whatever the last model is, add a 'p' to the end. Its their professional graphics model.
Ex: if T43 really is the last, get the T43p, or if T42 was the last, get the T42p.

 

i thought the t40 was amazing....very solid...no flex anywhere...the lid closed shut tightly with absolutely no play...you can shut from far left or right corner and the whole thing would click in place. If I attempt that with my t61...only that particular corner shuts leaving the other side to be pressed on to click in place properly.

With the t40, i NEVER experienced a freeze or bsod...it would hibernate and sleep reliably...with no problems....I had it for around 2 years and never even did a clean install on it the whole time

 

Thankyou for that tip! I will dig deeper.

 

T40 is not that that good, a lot of T40's display cards on the main board will loose from the board include mine. It's one week after the 3 years warranty. The most bad lucky notebook I had.

 

When Lenovo bought the PC-Divison of IBM, it also included the Lab design in Japan. The same design teams and engineers are still there. Beside that, Lenovo used to manufacture IBM's laptops before they bought the divison. So what's the difference does it make?

 

I owned the Thinkpad 701c Butterfly and that was some fantastic engineering. I hope you have actually held one to see how tiny it was because it would be impossible to fit the keyboard it had in that chassis. Yes, IBM had the 600 series which was smaller but it was never that small.

BTW, I owned a fully tricked out T40p (back when IBM had the 30 day, no questions asked policy). I returned it because it had too many issues. I would stay away from the T40 and T41. The T42 was a fantastic machine though.

 

I was just going to say the same thing. If anything the ThinkPads today are superior, and we are now able to buy them for less because we're buying from the manufacturer without the middle man (IBM).