2005 – 2009 ThinkPad Prices | Spring 2019

Image Credit Modano “@変態™#0321″ T400 Gentoo

These ThinkPads are old… and quite frankly the same money going into these, can get you a newer more abundant ThinkPad. The price fluctuations are happening, some rise more than others. Consider these if you want a working ‘vintage’ ThinkPad that can run on a modern OS.

Buying used instead of brand new

• Used ThinkPads are cheap thanks to businesses always buying new equipment every 2+ years.
• The old laptops become tax write offs by sent to local recyclers or IT groups.
• An abundance of laptops eventually flood the market on eBay, sellers start to list them off at low prices, 99 cent auctions or offers in bulk
• Some of these used laptops can come out to a 1/3 of the original price when a new model arrives & may still have a warranty.
• Since these are 8+ years old, some of these are practically given away.

Why choose these (old) ThinkPads

• Spill proof keyboard on almost all
• Greatest keyboards made, save the T25 for an honorable mention.
• Great durability & functional matte black design
• Great battery life vs competitors at the time, substandard nowdays.
• GOAT pointing stick, removes strain on wrists from trackpad
• UltraBay, flexible media drive that can be a battery or second HDD/SSD
• ThinkLight – A little LED prior to illuminated keyboards that can help you read a comfy book
• Great Linux compatibility, various guides, programs, & scripts specifically for ThinkPads
• Well maintained due to being business laptops, most are written off & auction starts at low prices due to so much inventory
• Easy serviceability, abundance of parts, wealth in repair guides.

• Getting a set of 8GB DDR2 RAM is fairly expensive vs 8GB DDR3
  • A single 4GB DDR2 module seems to be at $36 from China, but… dunno if they are legit sticks or just reprinted stickers.
  • A single 8GB DDR3 module can be had for $25, or a 2x 4GB (8GB kit) can be as low as $23.
• Muh keyboard. NMB is regarded as the best, but Alps is considered great too for others, myself included.
• You could get NMBs on newer ThinkPads, but I felt a decline in keyboard feel from them.

What are you looking for?

• Medium Size
  • T43, T60, T61, T400
  • R52, R60, R61, R400
  • Z60t, Z61t
  • SL400
• Big Screen
  • T500, R500, Z60m, Z61m,
  • SL500, G50
  • T43, T60 & T61
• Small & Portable
  • X32, X41, X60, X61
  • X200, X200s
  • X300, X301
  • SL300
• Wacom Tablet
  • X41 Tablet, X60 Tablet, X61 Tablet
  • X200 Tablet
• Workstations
  • T43p, Z61p, T60p, T61p
  • W500
  • G40, G41
• Desktop Replacements
  • W700, W700ds
  • Dock 2503, 2504

Where do you look for once this cheap?

• eBay, Offer Up, Craigslist, Gumtree, electronic recyclers
• Schools, businesses, & churches having auctions or liquidations
• Sellers needing cash instantly, clearing inventory, local ‘as is’ or untested
• Hard mode – Laptops listed without model numbers or photos, local auctions in bulk, newspaper ads with address only and no phone number

Index of Terms

The following is what you should expect with what you paid for. If some of these things are missing, its not recommended to pay that price.
Low    – Ugly but boots, maybe faulty
Mid    – Better condition, average selling price
High   – HDD or SSD w/ OS, high/max spec’d, mint condition.
EX+ – Modded, sold by a reputable seller, rare variant, or immaculate condition collector piece.
# Sold   – How many sold in the last 3 months. The higher the better (300 great) or 0 means very uncommon or rare on eBay.

HW – Hardware Abbreviations

Socket 479 – Pentium M (2GB DDR/2 RAM)
Socket M    – Core Duo, Core 2 Duo (3GB DDR2 RAM)
Socket P    –  Core 2 Duo 800MHz FSB (8GB DDR2 RAM)
Socket P+  – Core 2 Duo 1066MHz FSB (8GB DDR3 RAM)
S – Soldiered CPU
Q – Quadcore support

Lists

• Best Value Easy – No frills, no mods needed
• Longterm Money – As the name suggest, you’ll need it.
• Libreboot – If a laptop is librebootable
• Memory – RAM type first, how many modules it can take, then models that support it. RAM limits & speed not listed
• Storage – Storage type first, then laptops that support that option.
• Display – Display type first, then models
  • To keep this shit smaller, I’m skipping LCD size
  • Yeah…. my previous post had this done differently. RIP 🙂
• Power – Type of AC adapter it requires & wattage requirement.
  • Coax – The old standard that was used since the late 90’s.
  • Big B – “big barrel”, more robust plug.
  • 4 Pin – Circular charger with 4 pins inside.
• This list is a bit different than the Modern ThinkPad Post.

ThinkPad Pricing Guide Start

T Series Standard – 14″, 14.1″ wide, 15″ 15.4″ wide ThinkPads

• Easy – T400 bc lightweight, battery life, & memory
• Money – T61 with botched graphics
• GOAT – T60p chassis, UXGA IPS, T61 Mobo, X9000 CPU mod
• Libre – T60, T400, T500
• Memory Max
  • 2GB DDR2 – T43
  • 3GB DDR2 – T60
  • 8GB DDR2 – T61
  • 8GB DDR3 – T400, T400s, T500
• Storage
  • 2.5″ PATA 9.5mm – T43
  • 2.5″ SATA I 9.5mm – T60
  • 2.5″ SATA II 9.5mm – T61, T400, T500
  • 1.8″ uSATA II 8mm – T400s
• Display
  • XGA, SXGA+ | T43, T60, T61
  • IPS SXGA+, UXGA | T43, T60
  • WXGA, WXGA+ | T60, T61, T400, T400s
  • WXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA | T60, T61, T500
• Power
  • Coax 65W, 72W | T43
  • Big B 65W, 90W | T60, T61, T400, T400s, T500
• Yes make a T601 Frankenstien.
• >forgot about getting 51nb prices. Fuck.
• T400 & T500 can accept quadcore if you coreboot it 🙂

14″, 15″ & 17″ ThinkPad Workstations

• Easy – W500
• Money – W700
• Mods – T43p w/ SATA HDD mod
• Libre – T60p, W500
• Memory
  • 2GB DDR2 | T43p
  • 3GB DDR2 | T60p
  • 8GB DDR2 | T61p
  • 8GB DDR3 | W500, W700, W700ds, T50
  • 16GB DDR4 | T70
• Storage
  • 2.5″ PATA 9.5mm | T43p
  • 2.5″ SATA I 9.5mm | T60p
  • 2.5″ SATA II 9.5mm | T61p, W500, W700, W700ds\
• Display
  • SXGA+ | T43p, T60p, T61p
  • IPS SXGA, UXGA | T43p, T60p
  • WXGA+ | T61p, W700
  • WSXGA+ | T60p, T61p, W500
  • WUXGA | T60p, T61p, W500, W700, W700ds
• Power
  • Coax 72W | T43p, T50
  • Big B 90W | T60p, T61p, W500, T70
  • Oddity 170W, 230W | W700, W700ds
• My ocd is going off on this table format. Damnit wordpress why can I make this table larger!?
• These all can get their asses kicked by a 2nd gen i5, however they won’t have that dgaf IBM aesthetic.
• Good luck finding a non fucked T61p or a scammed past 08/08 date
• I couldn’t find T43 with IPS in the title, other than some absurd priced units.

12″ 4:3 Ultraportable – ThinkPad X Series

• Easy – X61
• Money – ThinkPad Reserve Edition
• Mods – X60 Tablet SXGA+ transplant w/ LCD cable with X62 mobo
• Libre – X60, X60s
• Memory
  • 2.5GB DDR2 | X41, X41 Tablet
  • 3GB DDR2 | X60, X60s, X60 Tablet
  • 8GB DDR2 | X61, X61s, X60 Tablet, Reserve
  • 16GB DDR3 | X62
• Storage
  • 2.5″ PATA 9.5mm | X32
  • 1.8″ PATA 8mm | X40, X41, X41 Tablet
  • 2.5″ SATA I 9.5mm | X60, X60s, X60 Tablet
  • 2.5″ SATA II 9.5mm | X61, X61s, X61 Tablet, Reserve
  • 2.5″ SATA III 9.5mm & mSATA | X62
• Display
  • IPS XGA | X41 Tablet, X60 Tablet, X61 Tablet
  • XGA | X32, X40, X41, X60, X60s, X61, X61s, Reserve
  • IPS SXGA+ | X60 Tablet, X61 Tablet
• Power
  • Coax 72W | X32, X40, X41, X41 Tablet
  • Big B 65W | X60(s), X61(s), Reserve
• The elusive ThinkPad Reserve Edition is just a fancy X61s, but dat rarity doe
• There’s about 3 generations of the X62, all with variations of stability

12″ & 13.3″ 16:10 Ultraportable – ThinkPad X Series

• Easy – X200
• Money – X210
• Mods – X200s w/ AFFS LCD mod from a WXGA+ model
• Libre – X200 because its so damn easy
• Memory
  • 8GB DDR2 | X300
  • 8GB DDR3 | X200(s), X301, X200 Tablet
• Storage
  • 2.5″ SATA II 9.5mm | X200(s), X200 Tablet
  • 1.8″ uSATA II 8mm | X300, X301
• Display
  • WXGA | X200(s), X200 Tablet
  • WXGA+ | X200s, X300, X301
• Power
  • Big B 65W | X200(s), X300, X301
• I thought there was a BGA CPU mod for the X300 or X301 by 51nb but I must of been mistaken
• X210 is probably the best mod in this page, and maybe better than the T25. :O
• I love the design of the X300 and keyboard feel but it is sooooo slow… X301 is a little bit bettter until I get bothered by the LCD.

Goddamn I feel soulless a bit after doing so many of these… kek time to update the /tpg/ page. ^_^

Secondary ThinkPads

These are not up to par as the original T/X/W ThinkPads… The R Series is here because many came with economy options to save money, but there are some that are equal to and better (in some people’s opinion) than the T Series. The Z series is sort of a precursor to the Edge & L series, but died out quickly. The G Series is included here and tbh feels like an afterthought to the A31p.

14″ & 15″ Economy Business – ThinkPad R Series

• Easy – R500
• Money – Wanting 8GB DDR2 on anything
• Mods – R61 mod like the T601 Frankenstien
• Libre – R400.
• Memory
  • 2GB DDR2 | R52
  • 3GB DDR2 | R60, R60e
  • 8GB DDR2 | R61, R61e, R61i
  • 8GB DDR3 | R400, R500
• Storage
  • 2.5″ SATA I 9.5mm | R60, R60e
  • 2.5″ SATA II 9.5mm | R61, R61e, R61i, R400, R500
• Display
  • WXGA | X200(s), X200 Tablet
  • WXGA+ | X200s, X300, X301
• Power
  • Big B 65W | X200(s), X300, X301
• I thought there was a BGA CPU mod for the X300 or X301 by 51nb but I must of been mistaken
• X210 is probably the best mod in this page, and maybe better than the T25. :O
• I love the design of the X300 and keyboard feel but it is sooooo slow… X301 is a little bit better until I get bothered by the LCD.
• There wasn’t search results for the economy i/e models, but its here for when they are.

14.1″ & 15.4″ Multimedia Business – ThinkPad Z Series

• Easy – None of these
• Money – WUXGA Z61p w/ unflawwed Titanium Lid
• Mods – None really
• Libre – Z61?
• Memory
  • 2GB DDR2 | Z60t, Z60m
  • 3GB DDR2 | Z61t, Z61m, Z61e, Z61p
  • 8GB DDR2 |
  • 8GB DDR3 |
• Storage
  • 2.5″ SATA I 9.5mm | All
• Display
  • WXGA | All
  • WXGA+ | Z60t, Z61t
  • WSXGA+ | Z60m, Z61m
  • WUXGA | Z61p

Other ThinkPads, G Series, Edge & SL ThinkPads

• Easy – Edge 13
• Money – G50 (buyers remorse)
• Mods – G41 w/ nVidia graphics & SXGA+ display
• Libre – None?
• Memory
  • 2GB DDR | G40, G41
  • 3GB DDR2 | G50
  • 8GB DDR2 | All others
• Storage
  • 2.5″ PATA 9.5mm | G Series
  • 2.5″ SATA II 9.5mm | All others
• Display
  • XGA, SXGA+ | G40, G41, G50?
• Man fuck the Edge, & SL Series, i didn’t bother getting the specs for them.
• SL Series have… ideapad firmware. Says everything about the build quality.
• G50 became a budget bigpad… nothing like the G40, or G41, it can’t even accept anything better than a T2400 CPU. But its rare because it was only sold in Japan in small quantities iirc.