Testing an IBM ThinkPad R31 Laptop from 2002

Recently received this lovely ThinkPad running Windows XP from the early 2000s. So let's check it out and put it through its paces! I'll probably add more RAM and swap the HDD for an SSD, but for now it's in its original form as Big Blue intended.

[@FORDboy357]

My sister had this exact laptop in college. My dad still complains to this day how expensive it was

[@JessicaFEREM]

I mean, it _was_ the perfect laptop.

[@oldschooldude8370]

I would too 😂

[@kreuner11]

@@oldschooldude8370 its been ages tho and it probably served her well

[@tegandetermann3299]

I think I got this one as a hand-me-down from a family member. I remember having it for, like, three months or something when my dad found out how much it was worth. Suddenly, I had his creepy old desktop and he had the laptop. 😂 I was about 12.

[@normaldude24]

​@@tegandetermann3299lol. Jerk move by your dad but still amusing in its own way.

[@login415]

Clint, brother. The IBM branded Hitachi wand massager still almost had me spit my drink out on my laptop.

[@jetryder]

Same. Was in the middle of a coffee sip.

[@danosdotnl]

@7:26

[@goop_lord]

i need to know if it's real or just a shop

[@goop_lord]

i mean ofc it's shopped right. that'd be one hell of an employee appreciation gift

[@integerofdoom69]

@@jetryder Same same. It got me good.

[@xyz.anonymous]

More ThinkPad content please. I am bribing you.

[@ofi9sher]

Thank you for the reminder of my mortality

[@NotJustBikes]

These retro computers are getting farther in time than I'm comfortable with. I love it when LGR shows off a computer I used as a kid, but it's uncomfortable seeing the laptop I used at my boring desk job in the early 2000s being "retro". 👴 It WAS a great laptop though.

[@JessicaFEREM]

the wii is considered retro now

[@nathanbinns6345]

There was one of those restoration channels that recently uploaded a restoration of a 'vintage xbox 360'...I am definitely getting old.

[@deamondeathstone1]

Well if cars here in the Netherlands become classics when they're 25 years old, then computers should too. Ofcourse that would only buy us an extra 2 years....

[@matiasgl]

I feel you. I was on my early 20s working at IBM as a data entry. They gave me an R51e (no wifi, no bluetooth, no nothing). About 4 kilos with the charger. But it was GREAT to me. Oh, the memories...

[@IdiotRace]

Pretty sure I deployed a few of these in my first IT job

[@meowmocha12]

"It was working earlier." That was before you started recording it. Now it has performance anxiety. "Why was the trackpad disabled?" To annoy you. The volume control is not your friend here. Now it works, now it doesn't. Gotta love the sound quality, too. It SOUNDS like crunchy old laptop speakers. Wow, DOSbox is struggling. And I love the terrific Tomb Raider soundtrack. "I'd test this, but I have no floppies. They're all at my house. Not my house, in storage. They're all in storage." (stares blankly into space while having existential crisis)

[@KitsuneAmy]

This is the same laptop that carried me through a good portion of my childhood. A lot of my very early videos on KZbin were made using Windows Movie Maker on this very laptop! Very many hours were had playing RuneScape, Toontown, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2, NASCAR Racing 1999 Edition, and more. Good memories, thanks for the video, Clint!

[@salmonella7993]

You should genuinely stop posting videos

[@isaace436]

Ignore the troll named after an illness, awesome youve been uploading so long!

[@Autistic_Pixel]

for the early 00's that is a really thin laptop, that era usually had inch thick or thicker laptops. Thank you for uploading more vids, love watching your channel Clint.

[@andyk192]

That looks about an inch thick to me.

[@adamweb]

I almost forgot about that dang aquarium screensaver, it was everywhere! Funny how screensavers were such a huge deal in the 90s and 00s now almost no one uses them lol

[@poeticsilence047]

Wallpapers are still a thing though. Bigger than ever. I just use a screenshot of games I play.

[@integerofdoom69]

I still use those ReallySlick screensavers from way back on most machines. I really miss desktop themes. Used to spend hours building them. Don't get me started on Winamp skins.

[@JeremyLevi]

You can still buy a current version of it. It's fully maintained by the original guy who was kind of a famous artist in the Amiga scene way back in the day. There's a trial version but the full thing is only $15

[@YTPewp]

Your little rhythms with the timing of the pops in TR3 were hilarious 😂 Great video as always!

[@edsonlopes7519]

LGR ThinkPad video on a Friday??? It can't get better than this.

[@EngineHeadCW]

Kudos to you and your ability to bounce back when life throws you a hard curve ball. I imagine jumping through hoops to put together videos after the storm damage and all that has been strange and odd. I would also assume that you're getting more satisfaction from the completed videos post 'hurricane'. Anyways, it says alot about your character, because putting together videos is alot of work when you have all your ducks lined up, twice the work when things get upturned like that.

[@zbyniew]

I love the way you angrily hit enter when re-applying that bios setting. Can relate

[@Dukefazon]

"Welcome to an LGR Existential Crysis thing!" 17:25 and 22:55 Yes, the TR3 ripped version had music issues. Usually music didn't play but when it did it often glitched. There is a button in the training map/mansion that you can press to turn on some classical music. We quit the map and loaded a save and some 2-3 sec loop kept on going and it was a pretty creepy one.

[@MikeKobela]

Hearing those glitchy chirps evoked long forgotten childhood memories in me, playing TR games on friends PCs, in software mode, with those sounds that I just assumed was part of the game (thought it was Lara's footstep sounds for some reason lol)

[@SonjaWeygand]

the great thing about thinkpads is, there is a market of used or re-fabricated spare parts. I got a R40 or R41 not sure, but on ebay i was still was able to get a battery replacement.

[@erc3338]

Hell yeah, I love the thinkpads! The X1 Carbon video introduced me to your channel, and I love your Thinkpad videos in general, so I'm so happy there's another one.

[@chrisvandergriff504]

I had the model that came out in 2000, aesthetically identical to this one, and kept it as my daily driver until 2012. Good working class daily driver for web browsing and word processing through the "aughts".

[@sotkajarvi]

I love the IBM Thinkpad and the design is in MY opinion absolutely amazing. In 2007 I got one Thinkpad from my neighbour because bought a Mac. The Thinkpad was only three years old, it had upgraded memory, a 120gb harddrive. I installed Debian on it and used it as a media server and just play my music on it. It was so stable and it had a uptime for 730 days before a power outage. But in the end, it worked flawlessly for ten years before I retired it. I don't know what the quality of the Lenovo Thinkpads these days, surely they can't be of the same quality as the IBM Thinkpad.

[@lucy4666]

i can confirm the new thinkpads are still great and durable. i use mine everyday and it's amazing. plus the construction is so sturdy and high quality you wouldn't even notice that IBM no longer manufactures them

[@JLajos]

Oh, that Windows XP start up sound! It hits me with a simultaneous combo of joy and melancholy every time.

[@ashkitt7719]

7:27 I am so putting an IBM sticker on my Hitachi now. Obviously I'm referring to my excavator, nothing that wouldn't be "advertiser-friendly," not at all.

[@NightShade7926]

I had one of these as my second laptop, I got it from one of my mother's co-workers who was throwing it out, a few years later I got an R52 (Which I still have) - they are built so different to other laptops I've had since 2013ish. I dropped both the R31 and R52 more times than I can count and I'm convinced the ground took more damage than the laptops did

[@poeticsilence047]

Didn't know we would fint out Clint was the voice actor of Claw from Inspector Gadget animation.

[@Ramonatho]

My dad has had several iterations of ThinkPads as his work computer for over 20 years now. This is a classic, man.

[@BurstingVeins1]

From what I remember, the Aquarium screen saver that came with the Windows Pro pack was basically a demo version with a reduced number of fish choices and maybe a max fish in the tank limitation, or something like that, but still more than the actual downloadable demo version of the screensaver. And I think somewhere in the screensaver config for it, it advertised getting more with the retail version.

[@mitchjohnson8250]

Given the inclusion of Yooper Bars, I wonder if this machine came from a Northern Michigan University student or professor. They had a program where every student got the same ThinkPad, and this looks like a very similar configuration to an R31 I got second hand back in the day from some NMU folks.

[@bryanR27]

I was thinking the same. That looks very similar to what I had during my time at NMU.

[@CatalinaSkybird]

Former NMU student here, had a school issued X1 Carbon while I was there actually. It was always in the shop for something.

[@somefreshbread]

God. The number of this generation that we sold refurbished at Computer Resource Plus in 2003 or so (aka a Computer Renaissance that the owner didn't want to pay the franchise fee for anymore) was astronomical. They ranged from $529 to $689 depending on RAM/HDD/Mhz but all ran that same Celeron chip from something like 433-566Mhz I think? I guess the ones we sold were probably a generation older if you're seeing ghz speeds. I reinstalled Windows and popped in the same burned driver disc to fill out the missing audio and networking probably 60 times a month. Wild times.

[@nathanielcargile7135]

We had these in the army when I first got in. Beautiful machine. That one is in such good condition.

[@easycompzeelandold2521]

If you have the dock then you got serial! Absolute powerhouse! I miss those like the x24! 11:15 this is how I learned my mom to use the pc haha!

[@biboKralle]

23:10 I LOVE how I immediately started drumming a beat on the table with my fingers and you also started some impro! :D Hahahahah

[@TufteMotorsport]

Dude! I was just making dinner and thought "Man, I miss the fridays where I would chill down with LGR and some dinner." And then this got released just when I clicked on "subscriptions". Haha! This is neat.

[@JessicaFEREM]

yea LGR is the perfect channel for eating food. love when it lines up like that.

[@swag8724]

I actually really agree for once that this is truly a timeless design, I hear that phrase often and rarely does it hit true in my opinion. 2002? looks like a lot more modern. great job to those designers.

[@Wayner71]

I remember this model from old PC magazines I found in a garage years ago. I used to yearn for an IBM machine like this or a desktop as they represented quality. The prices back then were out of this world and way beyond my league.

[@truth333seeker]

bro i been thinking about buying a thinkpad lately, and now you upload this. it's a sign

[@imKazahkstan]

Is the next laptop, the R32, a collab between Nissan and IBM?

[@TufteMotorsport]

Yes, the used the tech in the 2003 VW Golf with 4x4 and a VR6 engine :)

[@kz1000ps]

~ Ｓｋｙｌｉｎｅ Ｔｈｉｎｋｐａｄ ＧＴ－Ｒ ~

[@KingLich451]

now THAT is a rival for the Ferrari laptop 😊

[@jakethreesixty]

I'm sad this wasn't the R31 Super Silhouette 😭

[@carltonleboss]

The R31 is a model of Skyline, actually.

[@Markimark151]

I miss when IBM made laptops, the Thinkpad from the early 2000s were great laptops that I used in high school, someone in my class got in trouble for installing Unreal Tournament on that IBM laptop!

[@joshm7769]

Love the appropriate tinny sound from the speakers. It's the way the XP tune is supposed to sound.

[@nickwallette6201]

Yep. Laptops until like 2010 always had a kazoo for a speaker. :-D

[@planetfoxdotnet]

Jesus, a ThinkPad R31 is retro now. I had one almost exactly like this, but slightly older, R29 I think, in college. It's still probably the best notebook I've ever had. Wish they were still made by IBM.

[@vilcsith]

12:23 That sound effect gave me such a whiplash, I think that's the same sound my post office uses when a new number is called in queue! Either that, or my bank, but both are insane. I never knew that was a sound you could just acquire rights to.

[@TastyBusiness]

I wasn't ready for "suh-moss bee-os battery" and the brief demonic possession that followed. Clint had fun with this one.

[@The_Magic_of_Zelda]

I used to have this laptop with a Pentium III. It was a great workhorse. I also used it as a portable DVD player during trips.

[@opatchworko]

Enjoyed this a lot. Future vids like this would be great!

[@Obscusion2]

Man, that music in Tomb Raider III... what an absolute banger!

[@SenileOtaku]

The port replicators (two types) are on their way. The housing on your R31 looks a lot like the housing on my T23. On mine the HDD is behind the cover around the headphone/microphone ports, of what I could see in the video yours might be the same. The thing I haven't found out yet is the self-powered docks (the ones that have a PCI slot) work with the R31 (I have a couple each of the T20 and T40 docks). The CS00 connector may not be in the exact same alignment (can never tell with IBM).

[@vwestlife]

You can also get an LS-120 or even an LS-240 drive for that ThinkPad drive bay -- presumably a Zip drive as well.

[@rhydiangalindo8939]

Not on the R31's Ultrabay Plus interface. LS-120 for example (27L3451) requires an Ultrabay 2000-equipped ThinkPad model, and Zip (37L1509) requires an UltraslimBay model.

[@lemagreengreen]

That integrated GPU did a lot better than I expected or remember of those things.

[@PhillyMotoXTS]

I was NOT expecting that Hitachi picture 🤣

[@drewnewby]

He's been through a lot, needs a nice "back" massager.

[@jjenk911]

"EVERYTHING DIES." True, Clint. True.

[@BloodWraith777]

23:05 Tomb Raider 3 corrupts it's menu theme into part of the Battletoads pause theme.

[@Sedan57Chevy]

Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming, the tech we used new is now old and retro... Love these lookbacks but I'm far too young to feel this old!

[@Exnem]

Those IBM ThinkPads were my favorite.

[@Merylstreep1949]

Amazing how contemporary it still looks I want one 😮

[@axelworfles]

My favourite laptop - I had one with a Japanese keyboard and I regret chucking it away once it had finally broken after 10 years of use and being lugged around the globe in a rucksack. Also - ThinkLight - genius!

[@jasmijndekkers]

Hi Clint, Happy new year and a good 2025! Greetings from Steven from the Netherlands

[@edobkin]

That thing still looks new!

[@Beauc4652]

I had one issued by my job back in the day. I thought it was a pretty tough laptop. Took a beating in my backpack back in the day, and always worked reliably.

[@DaveF.]

Ooo - lovely - one of the last with the really good keyboard.

[@Brianybug]

That's a nice looking machine! My wife had a Thinkpad T470 with an 8th gen i5 and 32 GB RAM and the 1080p screen that belonged to our church for her work. It got retired, so I wiped it and have used it. It's a nice laptop even if the batteries need to be replaced and the Thunderbolt port is apparently hosed due to a known bug.

[@TeaAndFloppyDisks]

I've got a little X200 and the volume buttons have never been obedient. But in my opinion, they really shouldn't discontinue the trackpoint tradition, even if IBM doesn't own them anymore.

[@nukeum9535]

Ooooo baby. 2000's think pads are great!

[@hysel1234]

I used to manage these laptops for the company I worked for back in 2002. A beast of a machine!

[@minotaurusrpg]

I love your Duke Voice so much.

[@piperpa4272]

I had an X40, absolutely loved that machine, still the best laptop I've ever had.

[@rd4k04]

Reminds me of my first laptop. I remember upgrading to Windows XP from Windows 98. A Dell latitude CPi. I upgraded the HDD and loved the hot swappable battery and CD ROM drive. Added a Linksys WiFi Express slot card too.

[@RealGengarTV]

Clint, if having a potty mouth is your new years resolution... Then I'm fucking here for it!

[@hardeeharharrrr]

you should see his members only lgr Wrap Ups then lol

[@aner_bda]

I had this model in University. Very rugged laptop, they were built like tanks and performed very well.

[@StitchJones]

YES! I had this almost exact laptop model when I worked for Bank of America. I ran NT 4.0 WKS on it ftill almost 2005. OMG, good times. That thing was a complete tank.

[@naikrovek]

I had an A31p at the time this came out and it is the second best laptop I have ever owned. I paid $3500 in 2001 and it lasted for a decade of daily use.

[@cleanycloth]

My first ThinkPad I bought off eBay was the ThinkPad R50e. It was in basically mint condition on the inside, few marks on the outside. Celeron M, integrated graphics, such a fun little machine. I sold it on eBay again recently as I have a souped up T43 to play with nowadays, but I quite liked it.

[@BasicObject]

Takes me back to my first laptop... a ThinkPad T40. Laptops have come a long way.

[@nysaea]

Clint officially going no filter and I'm here for it

[@gaathastory]

Thanks for a lovely video, brought back memories. In 2000 I had a thinkpad … 32 MB RAM I think Pentium 233 Mhz? Don’t remember the model…Came with Win 98, upgraded to Win XP. Initially detected only 16 MB. Comcast guys refused to install cable modem internet because “computer did not meet specifications “. Had to reinstall OS and add an additional pricey 32 MB RAM stick to upgrade. Good old days.

[@retropuffer2986]

I had the regular sized ThinkPad for work in the early 2000s. Loved those things!

[@tk45-]

I had one of these as a hand me down… in 2011. It was my first laptop. Was a little outdated by then, but man, I got a lot out of it playing old Pokémon romhacks and FINALLY being able to look up walkthroughs when I was stuck in a game. Good times lol

[@KesSharann]

I have a ThinkPad from this era. $1600 new in the late 90's to 2000. It's still around here somewhere. I am fairly certain the fan has failed because it shuts off within 10 minutes of booting up. I altered mine. The bevel was so big I fit a USB hub inside plus a wifi and bluetooth dongle and have two ports cut out of the side, bringing the single USB 1.0 port up to 2 ports. The holes are the perfect size. That industrial plastic is sturdy. Some drilling and needle file worked well. All wires internal. The GPU is so weak at 8MB of RAM.

[@joey3179]

I was not rdy to be this excited about a YT video title this morning, good thing I just made coffee let's go!!!

[@mattbowd]

When I worked for IBM I had one of these. There was a battery reconditioning utility which brought my dead battery back to lift. I remember running MAME on it as well. Don't forget about the ThinkLight too, I think it's activated on one of the function keys)

[@LovelyAlanna]

That's my thinkpad ❤ I love that laptop, mine just needs to get the original charger, even if it works with the universal charger I have it deserves to be complete

[@-PVL93-]

Oh I think my dad used to have two of these, I recognize the red touchpad buttons for the mouse. Unfortunately both broke as their displays stopped working completely and also got gutted by taking out the disc drive and battery so they became useless. I did like the 4:3 form factor and how decently sized and light they were. Good throwback

[@rhydiangalindo8939]

You need a T40-series, mate. Fixes your issues.

[@martin_emrich]

This! The R series was (one of) IBMs more budget/cheaper/chonkier attempts at reaching more SMB/budget markets. (There were some serious beasts like R50p though) Got this R31 refurbished for my mom in late 2000s, the step down compared to my T41p in „finesse“ and specs was quite real.

[@RetroOkamii]

My very first laptop was an Thinkpad T60 (I always had desktops prior,) a little newer, sleeker design, had a core duo, loved that thing it lasted me all the way up to like 2014, built like a tank.

[@ExtersGameplays]

Thx for the video! I have the same exact laptop on my shelf, with suse Linux from 2004, and i love it.

[@T3hBeowulf]

This was a fantastic laptop. I found one in a discarded corner of equipment at a former job and they happily allowed me to rescue it from eventual disposal. I used it for quite a while with SuseLinux and XP dual-boot. I should see if I can find it. I miss that little machine.

[@spurgear]

Lol nerd

[@T3hBeowulf]

@@spurgear Hey, I resemble that remark! :)

[@sandycheeks7865]

I spent years working my way owning and restoring every IBM-badged Thinkpad and I eventually gave up on the R-series. I think they were made by Acer with some cross-changable parts from the T-series. So us Think nerds would say they were not proper thinkpads. No matter how good the ones I owned and restored were, put them away for an hour, a day, a month and something would stop working. I sold them all.

[@About4Ducks]

Currently working from home on my modern Thinkpad. Honestly not much has changed, but I would LOVE to have a vintage one.

[@brianbarker2551]

Those ThinkPads were great for business, I still have one floating around. IBM computer too, can't beat that. Call 'em Lenovo now

[@DEFGI]

I used an X31 laptop for a few years around 2008. Great little laptop which played 90's-early 00's games really well! I miss that thing

[@mrhaftbar]

My first thinkpad was an R32. Loved that thing. Used on at least three different continents.

[@Boedie92]

Holy shit! I totally remember that aquarium Screensaver!

[@Flying_Basset]

I have an X31 with one of those docking stations that just makes it fatter but still leaves it portable (Ultrabase?) and that thing has a serial port - very convenient! That wasn't an option for the R31 though, but normal Mini-docks and Port replicators should also have serial ports.

[@franknedobity2757]

Makes me want to pull out my IBM T30 think pad with the track pad still running XP professional but is suffering from only reading one ram stick due to broken solder joints on the ram socket for one stick.

[@nightcritterz]

I played a looooot of neopets in the early 2000s on one of these bad boys

[@ponyote]

That laptop is in amazing condition.

[@ArchLOL]

Worked with one of these back in 2010. Takes me back

[@Eireman_on_Twitch]

LOL Clint, you were totally speaking in tongues at 14:44! I can’t say anything, though, I do it daily myself. Brain gets ahead of the mouth and you’re suddenly speaking Andorian!

[@l21n18]

Amazing how similar the design still looks to today

[@MediocreTCG]

We have a Lenovo Thinkpad Carbon X1 6th gen that i got for my son, and it reignited my Thinkpad fascination

[@TamCennauldiz]

The first computer i ever owned was a base model T30. My dad picked it up at a church sale for $5 back in 2008. Watched a ton of movies on it as a kid. Regret not keeping it knowing how much they go for nowadays.

[@FreddyKruegerRealEstate]

I wanted one of these so bad back then in High School in 2002. It was WAY too much.

[@dreammfyre]

Beautiful. Well equipped. What more could you ask for?

[@xnonsuchx]

Something that still gets me is how games like UT and QIII:A worked well on dial-up MP and now there are so many games that can’t do decent online MP w/o higher end broadband.