IBM X21 worth it? (Pentium III, 700MHz)

I'm looking for the cheapest notetaking laptop I can get away with. I have a desktop and a T400 (which I will probably sell) so power isn't really a concern.

My concern is the processor, is the Pentium III, 700MHz enough to run windows xp? Would Ubuntu be any better than Windows XP?

It's $59...

 

I run XP on a P-III Mobile 600 Mhz just fine, and office 07, etc i mean it doesnt fly, but it gets the job done

 

How are the boot up times?

 

I'm sorry for interrupting this topic but why are you selling your T400 and buy an inferior laptop?

 

Yes:

Desktop > T400

Money + X21 + Size > T400 (in my specific case)

 

My bigger concern would be the resolution, especially if it's the 800x600 screen. And it maxes out at 384MB of RAM, which struggles to run XP. I'd say you want a minimum of 512 for that task, and for Ubuntu, too. Plus there's no wireless, so you'd need a PCMCIA card for that.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:X21

 

I would recommend Xubuntu for low-end computers. I actually use it anytime I would otherwise use Ubuntu, though I personally prefer Slackware (that's a whole different thread though).
I'm sure the x21 could handle xp, there are tons of ways to make XP friendlier for old computers (change to Classic theme, watch startup items, etc.)
I would also recommend NOT using Office 2007 for taking notes. The "ribbon" will take up half a 800x600 screen. Office 2003, Openoffice.org, or Notepad++ (my favorite) are all good alternatives.

 

If I were you, my concern would be the amount of RAM and the wear on the hardware.

Memory: Even the most basic netbook comes with 1GB RAM and room for more, and I guess the X21 may come with 256MB or less. It is hard to find PC100 SDRAM now, and even used they would be expensive.

Wear: A computer that has been in use for 8-10 years will have significant wear, and spare parts (cooling fan, LCD hinge, inverter) will be difficult to find and expensive.

Depending on your needs, an X21 would be okay. But do not become too attached to it -- be prepared to toss it into the trash when it breaks (which, depending on your luck, could be next week or next year).

Edit: I see that Ethyriel already covered the RAM aspect.

 

haha, yeah you guys are right about the ram, wear and wifi.

a Dell D420 looks like a better buy.

 

if you are short of money and want a cheaper laptop i would overlook the D420, but rather get the Thinkpad T42, which can be bought for relatively cheap price. Have a look around the marketplace on forum.thinkpads.com, there is some good bargains to be had for Thinkpads.

 

I like the way you think. Those prices are great.

 

You are better off with a $200 netbook. Acer, Dell, etc. IMO even the crappy Ideapad.

 

i would rather spend the 200 dollars on an specced up T42, since the Dothan Pentium M is better than the Atom processor. I think the OP liked the T400, but needed to sell the it because he needs more cash. But the X21 a fine machine in its day is rather outdated with the restrictive ram limit and Pentium III processor. Considering that i use T41 all the time and in terms of running Office and web browser it is no way slower than the T400 or my W500, so T42 with a Radeon 9000 GPU and Pentium M Dothan CPU will be fine for his modest need.

Also, given the T42 have pretty much bottomed out in its resell value, if he did decide to sell it a year later when he got more money to upgrade, he could still sell the machines for a relatively high price without taking a huge hit in the depreciation. If he decides to keep it and get another machine, it is not going to break down on him.

 

We still have a bunch of Compal notebooks at work about the same age as the T42. A good portion of my first two months there has actually been to flatten and repurpose most of them, and we were surprised by the performance with some new software we just implemented. And that's with 512MB to 756MB of RAM, so with 1-2GB you should be fine. Plus, all the T42 came with discrete graphics, which will give you a nice boost in perceived performance. If you can get an SXGA+ screen, even better.

 

I think you should overclock the CPU from 700mhz to 1ghz. I can help you if you want (maybe, depends on what clock generator it has).

 

The T42 is good, but I don't think 4:3 is going to work for me. Unless it has SXGA+, can't seem to find those ones though.

What were the first 16:10 thinkpads with acceptable performance? or exclusively SXGA+?

The HP Compaq NC6230 seems to be what I'm looking for though. $200, SXGA+, Pentium M, $15 for a new keyboard, $29 for a new battery.

 

T42 can be had with SXGA+ screen, the first widescreen thinkpad laptop were the Z60, which had much of the parts of the T43. If i am you i would overlook the HP compaq laptop since they suffer from high failure rates as compared to the Dell or the Thinkpads. Compaq/HP and Dell is more much more difficult to pull part and upgrade then Thinkpads.

The definition of acceptable performance would depend on what you use your laptop for.

You should look at Pentium M Dothan CPU with the L2 cache of 2 mb. The performance difference between 1.4 and 1.6 ghz of the same generation would be negligible.

 

How much were you thinking of selling the T400 for? I'm just wondering since I bought the T400 in my sig for $575, and that's with a three-year warranty. Today I'm not sure I can get much more than $600 for it if I decide to sell it. Your T400's specifications seem very similar, so I'd think about it again since you might be replacing a newer technology with an inferior technology with a relatively small difference in price.

 

I bought mine for $500 USD refurbished as well.

But in the local Canadian market I will profit from the sale.

Canadians shop at brick and motar stores at a ratio of 10:1 over online (mostly overpriced crap in those stores). And Lenovo.ca is overpriced and then there is 13% tax, so a business class t400/6930p/e6400 is worth good money up here in a local sale.

In other words, they'd rather pay $800 CAD for it after looking at it rather than ordering it refurbished for $500 USD + shipping for some strange reason (they're oldschool perhaps).

 

I see... well then, that makes sense. Good luck to you and happy holidays!

 

It boots faster than my T500 (specs below) with vista business

Though I did just put a new HDD in it. Before that is was very slow