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Looking for a 386 laptop.

TH2002

TH2002

Experienced Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2020
Messages
364
Location
California, United States
I'm very sure people have asked for advice in this regard lots of times before but figured I would post about what exactly I am looking for.

Bolded = extremely important
Italics = somewhat important
none = not too important

-Something more common, not too hard to find.
-Something not too expensive.
-Fairly easy to take apart and work on. I don't need a nightmare system held together with a million screws and requires careful maneuvering to get to basic components like the hard drive.
-Sturdy build quality. Don't need broken hinges, broken plastic or anything like that.
-At least a 386SX with a clock speed of 25 MHz would be preferable but I wouldn't mind going faster.
-At least 4 MB of RAM is preferable.
-A hard drive with a capacity of at least 40 MB would be preferable.
-Would prefer to have a regular, removable CMOS battery.
-I don't care about the screen type.
-I don't care about the battery situation since I almost always leave my computers plugged in when I use them.
-No preferences as far as the keyboard and mouse are concerned.
-Not an extremely important requirement, but preferably something that doesn't use a redundant proprietary power connector.

The Compaq Contura 3/25 is my "dream" 386 laptop but have yet to find one for a reasonable price.

Advice on what exactly to look for would be appreciated.
 
TH2002 said:
-Fairly easy to take apart and work on. I don't need a nightmare system held together with a million screws and requires careful maneuvering to get to basic components like the hard drive.
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IME this does not exist in 80s/90s laptops
 
maxtherabbit said:
IME this does not exist in 80s/90s laptops
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I don't doubt that it is very rare among laptops of this era BUT I still think it varies by system. My Compudyne 386 is actually very easy to take apart and work on but has quite a few other issues (with the quality of the hinges being a HUGE one). My T3100e/40 (286) on the other hand is a nightmare to work on.

I guess I still think I am asking for a little bit too much, though. But I would like to at least fairly easily get to basic components like the hard drive without having to do a complete teardown of the system.
 
IME this does not exist in 80s/90s laptops
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It does. Compaq LTE Lite 386 for example. Had one (3/25s), very easy to work on.

-At least a 386SX with a clock speed of 25 MHz would be preferable but I wouldn't mind going faster.
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May I ask for the reason of wanting that CPU? The SX is gelded and due to its 16-bit bus not any faster than a 286. If you say you wouldn't mind going faster, get a decent 486 laptop instead. (or at the very least a 386DX)
 
Timo W. said:
It does. Compaq LTE Lite 386 for example. Had one (3/25s), very easy to work on.


May I ask for the reason of wanting that CPU? The SX is gelded and due to its 16-bit bus not any faster than a 286. If you say you wouldn't mind going faster, get a decent 486 laptop instead. (or at the very least a 386DX)
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I would be fine with a 386DX but I already have a working 486 laptop so no need to get another. Currently only have one 386 system which I have never gotten fully working, and I have some gripes about.
 
Lots of 386 era laptops had mono dualscan screens that look like crap now. Construction was very bad and plastics have aged.
 
Unknown_K said:
Lots of 386 era laptops had mono dualscan screens that look like crap now. Construction was very bad and plastics have aged.
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I definitely don't care about the screen type, I'm not the guy who demands a color TFT screen. But I think you are right that in some cases the plastic has simply aged to the point it is brittle and falls apart.

So putting ease to take apart and build quality aside and only considering specs, any good systems anyone can recommend (that is at least a little easier to find than the Contura 3/25)?
 
Anything you go with is going to require patience to find, as most people on eBay these days are insane with their prices, but there’s always deals to be had if you’re patient.

I’ve honestly never considered the Contura 3/25 to be rare, I think there was actually one on eBay recently for not too much. If you check eBay daily (I’m mean EVERY day), you’ll find one.

Aside from the Contura, another good choice would be the Compaq SLT 386s/20, while it does use a proprietary PSU and a Dallas RTC module, it’s easy to work on and has very solid construction.

The screens on these laptops are fine for their intended purpose. People judge the screen based on how a game looks on it, while overlooking the fact that these were business tools, not gaming systems, so that’s an unfair benchmark I think.

Honestly, I kind of like playing some of these old games on mono passive matrix!
 
compaqportableplus said:
Anything you go with is going to require patience to find, as most people on eBay these days are insane with their prices, but there’s always deals to be had if you’re patient.

I’ve honestly never considered the Contura 3/25 to be rare, I think there was actually one on eBay recently for not too much. If you check eBay daily (I’m mean EVERY day), you’ll find one.

Aside from the Contura, another good choice would be the Compaq SLT 386s/20, while it does use a proprietary PSU and a Dallas RTC module, it’s easy to work on and has very solid construction.

The screens on these laptops are fine for their intended purpose. People judge the screen based on how a game looks on it, while overlooking the fact that these were business tools, not gaming systems, so that’s an unfair benchmark I think.

Honestly, I kind of like playing some of these old games on mono passive matrix!
Click to expand...

If you're going to play DOOM on a 386 it is actually better on a passive matrix screen. Otherwise the game can be unplayably choppy (though a DX40 will run the game without too many issues)

There is one I have been looking at for $50 +$28.41 but I think they are asking too much given its condition. They offered me $40 and physically it is in good shape, but the screen looks like it would need to be replaced and the hard drive is untested so might as well be dead or missing. On the other hand, as much I would love to get an SLT 386s/20, I have never seen one under $150 so I will be unlikely to ever get one.
 
I still remember the day I got it. Went to pick up a freecycle Commodore 128+ 1571 drives and the guy gave me a bunch of other stuff included the boxed laptop. The laptop worked fine last time I checked it. I did tape the contacts for the main battery since it was dead and I didn't want it to leak.
 
TH2002 said:
If you're going to play DOOM on a 386 it is actually better on a passive matrix screen. Otherwise the game can be unplayably choppy (though a DX40 will run the game without too many issues)

There is one I have been looking at for $50 +$28.41 but I think they are asking too much given its condition. They offered me $40 and physically it is in good shape, but the screen looks like it would need to be replaced and the hard drive is untested so might as well be dead or missing. On the other hand, as much I would love to get an SLT 386s/20, I have never seen one under $150 so I will be unlikely to ever get one.
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Yeah, that seems a little high for one in that condition. The SLT 386s/20s can be had for well under $150, but you’ve gotta be patient. There’s a jack@ss that’s had one listed for almost a decade at $2,000 that I think makes a lot of sellers get stars in their eyes, because we all know most eBay-ers these days are completely oblivious to actual sale prices, and go solely on asking prices. When I say it’s been listed for almost a decade I’m not joking, it’s been on there almost as long as I’ve been collecting SLTs.
 
compaqportableplus said:
Yeah, that seems a little high for one in that condition. The SLT 386s/20s can be had for well under $150, but you’ve gotta be patient. There’s a jack@ss that’s had one listed for almost a decade at $2,000 that I think makes a lot of sellers get stars in their eyes, because we all know most eBay-ers these days are completely oblivious to actual sale prices, and go solely on asking prices. When I say it’s been listed for almost a decade I’m not joking, it’s been on there almost as long as I’ve been collecting SLTs.
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The $2000 seller has also convinced themselves it is SUPER RARE! even though there are eight other SLT 386s/20s systems on eBay right now. I can't help but laugh at their absurdity but it pisses me off too. Like the guy who has the absurd $200,000 ThinkPad clearly they aren't in a hurry to sell it.

I am sure I have missed some deals here and there and for that reason I don't doubt I can find a Contura 3/25 and even an SLT 386s/20 eventually. Although, going to sold listings shows a 3/25 hasn't sold for literally MONTHS. Would love to at least get one before the holiday shipping rush though.

I was actually really close to getting a Contura 3/25 a few months back, but the seller backed out due to the cost of shipping and even when agreeing to split the cost of shipping with them, they never got back to me.
 
Hmm somebody sold a PB Stateman laptop for $300 a few days ago (17 bidders), working with PS no box.
 
TH2002 said:
Here is an interesting listing. Out of my price range but almost everything is still sealed and according to the seller the laptop has never even been powered on.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/31371644899...wAAOSw1VphZzAK
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Not an awful price all things considered, but the unfortunate thing is that if it uses a NiCd or NiMh CMOS battery it could still have leaked and ruined the motherboard. I’m not familiar with that laptop so I don’t know.

Looked at it again it appears that the cable coming out of the power supply isn’t wrapped anymore (I would think it would have been originally). I really hope “never powered on” doesn’t mean “I tried it and it didn’t work.” Not saying that’s necessarily the case, but it’s something to think about.
 
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compaqportableplus said:
Not an awful price all things considered, but the unfortunate thing is that if it uses a NiCd or NiMh CMOS battery it could still have leaked and ruined the motherboard. I’m not familiar with that laptop so I don’t know.

Looked at it again it appears that the cable coming out of the power supply isn’t wrapped anymore (I would think it would have been originally). I really hope “never powered on” doesn’t mean “I tried it and it didn’t work.” Not saying that’s necessarily the case, but it’s something to think about.
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You could always just contact the seller and ask a few questions. There was a time in the distant past that I would have snapped that up in a heartbeat. Great price these days.
 
Agent Orange said:
You could always just contact the seller and ask a few questions. There was a time in the distant past that I would have snapped that up in a heartbeat. Great price these days.
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True, I would absolutely do that if I was interested in purchasing it, but I’m not at this time.
 
Here is the cheapest(?) 386 on eBay I could find today. Ignoring the *LQQK* crap in the listing title, perhaps another system I could look out for. It does have a little sticker on it that says 486-25 which is weird because these usually came with a 386SL 25. Maybe the 325nc came with a 486 as opposed to the 325n or it was upgraded? Not sure.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334018743064?hash=item4dc5118b18:g:3JwAAOSwQZ1gsWd2
 
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