I would like to buy some old computer with nice screen

I would like to buy some used high-end VAIO computer (or anything you might recommend) for about 3-400 dollars. Which model number should I search for on Ebay?

What I do want in a computer is the Pg up and Pg down keys on the top right area of the keyboard, side by side. This makes reading PDF files much easier. (Having the Pg Down key under the Pg Up key makes it hard on the fingers.)

Although, I suppose I could just get a bluetooth keyboard with such a layout; please recommend it if there is one.

This is based on the reasoning: If I'm going to buy a new $400 computer, the screen is going to suck. So I would rather buy an old computer that used to cost a lot (and hence has a good screen). But Mac laptops although they do have good screens, they don't come down in price too quick.

 

The ThinkPad T60 is a good option. The 15" SXGA+ and UXGA LCDs are IPS displays, which means a high contrast and wide viewing angles. The problem with them is the displays are now five or six years old. Since they use CFFL LCDs, the displays may have dimmed some or a lot. If you want a used T60, the marketplace forum on ThinkPads.com is a good place to buy one. The sellers there tend to be much more honest about what they're selling than say CL or eBay. If the screen has dimmed some they'll tell you.

Another option is to buy a R60/R60e and buy the display, then you can swap it in. This is what I did with my R60e. I swapped in the SXGA+ LCD. It's a straight swap on the T60 or R60 and this way you'd be assured of getting a new LCD. The whole thing cost me a little over $200.

The T60 or R60 is still a great notebook for every day use as long as you don't need top performance. Good luck and welcome to NBR.

 

Ok so about 200-something dollars is the right price for the ThinkPad? IBM Thinkpad T60 Lenovo Cheap Laptop Core Duo 1.83GHz 2GB 120GB Notebook | eBay

How much did these cost when it first came out? When was it first released? And is installing Windows 7 on it easy?

Also the only thing I don't seem to like on these is that its screen is kind of small. Is there a 17inch version of this?

 

Windows 7 on Intel Duo Core runs fine. Just make sure you get at least 4GB of RAM.

 

No, but there's a 15" version.

And NONE of the 14" T60s have IPS displays, just normal TN ones.

As ZaZ said: you want T60 with a 15" SXGA+ or UXGA display, as those are IPS/AFFS panels.

 

The T60s price ranges were fairly wide when it was released in 2006. A base model with, yes, a CD-ROM and no WiFi was probably a little over a $1k while a top T60p with the best specs was I think around $3K.

 

By swapping it in, do you mean buying a differnet laptop model named R60e and then swapping its LCD display with a separate IPS display?

 

what resolution at you looking for? i have a Wide XGA, 14inch 1280 x 800. its an Asus F8SP, and the keyboard has the pgup and pgdn button ontop of each other like this:

Asus F8 Keyboard MP-05693US-5284, 04GNCB1KUS14 V020662BS1 [Asus F8 Keyboard] - $26.99 :

 

Get the Dell Latitude E6500 with 1920x1200. That screen is AMAZING. Not IPS but really quite close, and the 16:10 aspect ratio allows you to view two pages side by side easily. And yes, the Page Up and Page Down keys are at the top right corner.

 

I saw one of the E6500 with that config not too long ago and yes, it was amazing.