IBM ThinkPad R51-PM 1.7GHz 512MB, 40GB HDD, DVD-CDRW, WIFI, 14.1", Windows XP Pro - Refurbished - 2889-W57 - Refurbished

I thought this used DDR2 memory. I was wrong; otherwise, this appears almost identical to the T43 except that it is not as refined----somewhat chunkier (thicker.)
 
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For what it is (a somewhat out-dated notebook), this computer is a fairly good deal. It'll be fine for my wife's non-demanding use, since it has all the basics nailed. I rate it's performance based on it's capability, NOT a comparison to more modern units, and give it a 5. The display is bright and super-clear, battery life is excellent, WI-FI works perfectly and it will do anything a basic user could ask with adequate speed. Gamers - forget this one (but you knew better already). Shipping, as always, was very fast and our only complaint upon receipt was a few scratches on the top of the case. I understand re-furb, but have bought such products before that arrived in a like-new physical condition. Everything worked fine out of the box and, even with no detailed manual included, set-up was easy. We put on Office 2003, anti-virus, music burning software and even Adobe Elements and have about 30MB of hard drive left. No valuable applications come pre-loaded. It's a basic machine! With that said, my wife is very satisfied with it, as it will do anything she requires. I rate value as only 4, because this was a fair (but not great) deal at $399. I see the price is down, after Christmas. If you're not a big fan of Vista and IE 7, and you aren't a power-user, this could be the right notebook for you. It really isn't powerful enough for those, so running XP is perfect. I like to upgrade memory on older computers, but this one gets by just fine with the installed 512MB (a surprise). We'll likely leave it alone.
 
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