[ltp] question about T30 compatibility

[Seth Kulick]

Hi,

I just joined the list, and the archives on
http://www.linux-thinkpad.org/bm/tp_mailing.html
only go through April, so my apologies if I'm asking something that has
already been discussed.  I'm also brand-new to the world of laptops, and no
great Linux hacker either, so please bear with me.

I have an opportunity to get either a Thinkpad T23 or  a T30, in an 
already-determined configuration due to a sales deal  
between IBM and the university where I work.  I want to set it up as a
dual-boot with Linux/Windows (Redhat 7.3 and XP Pro), but the return policy is 
basically nonexistent if I want to return it due to problems with Linux 
compatibility, so I want to be sure it'll work okay before getting it.  

I took a look at the linux-on-laptops page, and there are several T23
cases, but none for T30.  The T23 in my case is a 1GHz Pentium 3, 
the T30 a 1.6GHz P4, so I'd rather get the T30.  The other major difference
between them is the graphics accelerator - the T30 comes with a 
"ATI Radeon 7500 4x AGP graphics accelerator, 16 MB DDR SDRAM" while the
T23 comes with a "S3 SuperSavage IX8 graphics accelerator 2x AGP, 16MB DDR 
SDRAM".  (the T30 also comes with 512MB instead of 256, and a 40GB drive
instead of 20).  The display in both cases is an 
"Active Matrix display (1024 x 768 pixel resolution)".

I've found examples of the S3 working with Linux okay, after getting the
driver, but no such examples of the ATI Radeon 7500.   The redhat
compatibility list gives it a "? Community Knowledge", which is why I'm 
a little concerned.

One other detail is that it doesn't come with a floppy, so the boot would
have to be entirely through the CD - I've read of this working okay, though,
so hopefully that won't be a problem.

I know there's also an issue with the modem, judging by the recent email
right after I signed up on the list, but I'll be using mostly an ethernet
connection anyway. 


Any assistance appreciated.

thanks,

Seth




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