Best cheap used laptops for web surfing

[KenSimone]

I currently have a PII 300 laptop that I use for web surfing. It still works fine, except it's slow when I hit a site with flash ads. I was thinking of picking up a ~$200 laptop off ebay to replace it. I think a PIII 800mhz or better processor and 256mb would probably work fine (OS will either be XP or Ubuntu). Some models I've identified are:

Compaq Armada M700
IBM Thinkpad T20,T21,T22,T23

Can anyone suggest any other models I should consider? Are there any reasons why I shouldn't be looking at the Armadas / Thinkpads? Does my target processor seem reasonable for a machine that will be purely used for web surfing?

Thanks,
Ken

 

[DarkThinker]

I :heart: X21-22 ...etc they are light, sturdy, nicely constructed and cheap. I like the old X so much, that I am considering getting one even though I own a brand new T60 too.

 

[cparker]

Why don't you just get rid of flash? Then you could keep your lappy and be happy. Another tip, get rid of adobe reader and replace it with the foxit reader 2.0 (free!). Adobe reader really hogs resources and lingers even after you stop using it while Foxit doesn't. Get rid of anything you don't absolutely need such as quicktime, realplayer, etc. Also, what OS are you using and how much RAM?

As to the other Lappys on your list, I'm not familiar with the Armada, but the Thinkpads would all be much, much faster in general. But you would need to find one in good shape with enough RAM to support the OS in question. Probably a good, nicely configured T2X series model would cost 200 or so. Just be sure you get a warranty so you can send it back if there are problems (good policy with any used lappy, I would think).

 

[KenSimone]

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually use FireFox with flashblock to prevent unwanted flash animations, and I use FoxIt reader for PDFs. The problem is sometimes I *need* to see the flash animations, they're integral to the site I'm visiting (i.e. dish network). Again, thanks for the suggestions so far.

 

[KenSimone]

Won a thinkpad t40 on ebay for $299. I almost bought a $399 laptop from Microcenter, but it just felt so cheap that I couldn't bring myself to do it.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: KenSimone
Won a thinkpad t40 on ebay for $299. I almost bought a $399 laptop from Microcenter, but it just felt so cheap that I couldn't bring myself to do it.

not a bad price, im looking at those myself

what were the specs on yours?

 

[KenSimone]

what were the specs on yours?

It's pretty much the base configuration, but the seller claims it's in excellent condition, and that the battery holds a full charge. Before I started bidding I searched completed items. I think I did pretty good. There were a few that went in the $270-$280 range, but those were the exceptions.

This is what I got.

This auction is for (1) IBM Thinkpad T40 Notebook. Notebook IS IN GREAT SHAPE. . Notebook is in Very good condition. Battery holds full charge and screen is good condition, photos merely show smears, I will clean the screen before it?s shipped. Intel Pentium-M 1.5Ghz * DVD ROM drive * 512 GB Memory * 40Gb * 14" 1024 x 768 screen* Network: Integrated Wireless LAN 802.11b (WiFi) & LAN Integrated 10/100/1000 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional installed* Expansion Ports: 2 x USB 2.0, Parallel Port, RJ-11 * Battery and AC-Adapter included *

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the Intel processor lineup. The Pentium M in the T40 series (which is *NOT* the Pentium 4M) is the good one, right? How does it compare with the Celeron M's found in the $399 budget laptops?

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: KenSimone

what were the specs on yours?

It's pretty much the base configuration, but the seller claims it's in excellent condition, and that the battery holds a full charge. Before I started bidding I searched completed items. I think I did pretty good. There were a few that went in the $270-$280 range, but those were the exceptions.

This is what I got.

This auction is for (1) IBM Thinkpad T40 Notebook. Notebook IS IN GREAT SHAPE. . Notebook is in Very good condition. Battery holds full charge and screen is good condition, photos merely show smears, I will clean the screen before it?s shipped. Intel Pentium-M 1.5Ghz * DVD ROM drive * 512 GB Memory * 40Gb * 14" 1024 x 768 screen* Network: Integrated Wireless LAN 802.11b (WiFi) & LAN Integrated 10/100/1000 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional installed* Expansion Ports: 2 x USB 2.0, Parallel Port, RJ-11 * Battery and AC-Adapter included *

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the Intel processor lineup. The Pentium M in the T40 series (which is *NOT* the Pentium 4M) is the good one, right? How does it compare with the Celeron M's found in the $399 budget laptops?

yeah, the pentium m is better than any equally clocked p4m
im looking at the T40s as well

from looking around notebookforums.com it seems that the celeron-m and pentium-m have similar performance, though the celeron is going have a smaller l2, and it doesnt seem to have any speedstep tech, while the pentium-m does and gets much better battery life for it

i really want a pentium m, so im keeping a close on eye some T40s to see if i can afford it on my tight budget

 

[KenSimone]

Just FYI, if you're looking for a good website to stress test an older laptop, go to chilis.com. It's flash based and is brutal. I tried a thinkpad t22 PIII 900mhz, and the site was almost unusable. I thought I was going to have to kill the browser via task manager when I tried it w/ my PII 300. Hopefully this isn't representative of the future of websites.