I don't think it's worth $30. I guess it depends on condition. Also the screens on these are XGA based resolution so they wount scale good with traditional resolutions like 640x480. If its ATI graphics it can do very light gaming. If its Intel graphics avoid this.

If you get a docking station for it, than you can hook up an external monitor that has proper resolutions. The docking stations have 1 PCI slot so there is that. So you could put a soundcard or a video card in the pci slot, you can also thing about like the Audigy2zs for a PCMCIA card for better sound. All in all it can be a good laptop but only if you get the docking station in my opinion.

What about the R51e? How much does it differ, and does it largely have the same qualities?

There were dozens of models of almost every Thinkpad. To get any reasonable answers you need to provide the 7-character model number which will generally be printed on a sticker on the bottom of the machine, starting with 4 digits, a dash, and 3 more characters.

Some R51 were high-end machines and even had SXGA+ IPS screens (the 15" versions) . The R51e were low-end models ('e' is for economy).

Warlord wrote on 2020-01-22, 07:04:

If you get a docking station for it, than you can hook up an external monitor that has proper resolutions. The docking stations have 1 PCI slot so there is that. So you could put a soundcard or a video card in the pci slot, you can also thing about like the Audigy2zs for a PCMCIA card for better sound. All in all it can be a good laptop but only if you get the docking station in my opinion.

The docking stations with the PCI slot (IBM Dock II, model 2877) are bulky, rare, and possibly expensive. Most of the docks (Thinkpad Mini-Dock 2878 and Port Replicator II) do not have the PCI slot, but you can still connect two external monitors.

dr_st wrote on 2020-01-22, 20:29:

The docking stations with the PCI slot (IBM Dock II, model 2877) are bulky, rare, and possibly expensive. Most of the docks (Thinkpad Mini-Dock 2878 and Port Replicator II) do not have the PCI slot, but you can still connect two external monitors.

I have 2 of those docking stations, they are neither expensive or rare. I don't know what country you live in but in USA they are not only prevalent, but also cheap. Here is one right here and I had no trouble finding it. They are also not anymore bulky than the port replicator really, I know this becasue I have a replicator too. So what you said isn't right from my experience. I have 2 T43s and a T41 for a long time now. The T43 are very similar to a R51

And yes what I said is 100% correct if you get one of those laptops and the docking station it can be pretty decent. Just a word of advice. There are no working x300 drivers for windows 98se so if you want to run 98se try to get the ATI 7500 since that has working 98se drivers. If you use the docking station of course you could put a different PCI GPU in there.

Just don't expect amazing gaming performance, but these laptops should be able to handle games to some extent. I was able to play Resident Evil 4 on my T43 of course it really stressed the hardware.

Warlord wrote on 2020-01-23, 01:50:

I have 2 of those docking stations, they are neither expensive or rare. I don't know what country you live in but in USA they are not only prevalent, but also cheap. Here is one right here and I had no trouble finding it. They are also not anymore bulky than the port replicator really, I know this becasue I have a replicator too. So what you said isn't right from my experience. I have 2 T43s and a T41 for a long time now. The T43 are very similar to a R51

And yes what I said is 100% correct if you get one of those laptops and the docking station it can be pretty decent. Just a word of advice. There are no working x300 drivers for windows 98se so if you want to run 98se try to get the ATI 7500 since that has working 98se drivers. If you use the docking station of course you could put a different PCI GPU in there.

Just don't expect amazing gaming performance, but these laptops should be able to handle games to some extent. I was able to play Resident Evil 4 on my T43 of course it really stressed the hardware.

Is that dock compatible with T43 as well? (I have a T43, so might be interesting)

Sorry to OP for asking out of subject ..

ya it is compatible, I highly suggest disassembling the docking station and removing the fan. Ive done it on both of my units and they have been fine for over 3 years.
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_make_your_Dock_quiet
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_Dock_II

Warlord wrote on 2020-01-23, 01:50:

I have 2 of those docking stations, they are neither expensive or rare. I don't know what country you live in but in USA they are not only prevalent, but also cheap. Here is one right here and I had no trouble finding it. They are also not anymore bulky than the port replicator really, I know this becasue I have a replicator too. So what you said isn't right from my experience. I have 2 T43s and a T41 for a long time now. The T43 are very similar to a R51

Yes, and I found that too. That's literally the only one on eBay right now. Now, count how many Mini-Docks / Port Replicators II are for sale on eBay this very moment.

As far as not any more bulky - well, it is at least 50% deeper (and more like 100% deeper if you count just the extra footprint compared to the laptop itself).

Warlord wrote on 2020-01-23, 01:50:

And yes what I said is 100% correct

Your original post implied that every docking station for these laptops will give you a PCI slot, which is definitely not true.

Everyone has a different "experience", but facts are facts.

I see them a lot. Theres a new one on amazon https://www.amazon.com/IBM-62P4547-ThinkPad-D … 0/dp/B00B86XWY6

Theres another one on ebay

I want to add my experience with these thing some more.

One of the major complaint about these laptops is the fan noise and the heat. The fan can be manually controled with TPFanControl. Make sure you patch the fake error reporting.

People complained that heat sink is inadequate. on t43. Id reccomend not going CPU higher than 1.8 I put the 2.2 ghz in one of mine and its fast but its just too much. There is also no heatsink on the south bridge and its right under the wifi. I never had a problem with it but I considered removing the internal wifi and using a pc card for wifi.

T41 with the ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 seems to be about the sweet spot for win 98se, If you take the heatsink off a t43 and put it on a t41 with a think termal pad or shim on the gpu I think that could be good.

The ADI AC97 does have soundblaster emulation, but your results may very. You can set environmental variables and it should work.
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/90195-soundmax-in-dos/

Warlord wrote on 2020-01-23, 17:58:

I see them a lot. Theres a new one on amazon https://www.amazon.com/IBM-62P4547-ThinkPad-D … 0/dp/B00B86XWY6

Theres another one on ebay

Again. Compare the number of these versus the other docks available on eBay/anywhere at any given time.

Warlord wrote on 2020-01-23, 17:58:

People complained that heat sink is inadequate. on t43. Id reccomend not going CPU higher than 1.8 I put the 2.2 ghz in one of mine and its fast but its just too much.

Another suggestion often made for the T43 is to use the T42 long heatsink/fan instead; apparently, it's quieter.

dr_st wrote on 2020-01-23, 17:37:

As far as not any more bulky - well, it is at least 50% deeper (and more like 100% deeper if you count just the extra footprint compared to the laptop itself).

But it has the power supply internally, rather than a bulky adapter hanging on the mains power cord ..

That is actually a good point. The power supply can typically be stuck under the table and not occupy any desk space, but then it adds to cable clutter.

Has anyone tried Linux or BSD on these models (like the R51e), and how do they fare?

Also, what kind of luck have you all had with the sub $20 third-party batteries from eBay?

Again, greatly appreciated.