Help deciding which of these two IBMs to get.

[Bruce6323]

Hi:

I am deciding between 2 IBM thinkpad models, the t41 (2373-9FU) and the t41p (2373GEU). The T41 has pentium-M 1.7, 1400x1050, 32MB ATI 9000 (M9), 512 MB RAM, 60 GB 7200 rpm hard drive, CD-RW, DVD-combo, a/b/g wi-fi. The t41p is essentially identical in configuration except for a 128 MB FireGL T2 (M10) video card. I can get the t41 for $2350 and the t41p for $3000. There are some other very minor differences between the two.

My question is, is the video card really worth almost $700 more??? I will be running graphic intensive software like rendering images from 3d-models, but probably very little gaming.

Thanks,

Bruce

 

[eriqesque]

I woudl say that for your purposes then yes you should get the T41p

 

[UltraWide]

I am not sure what the difference will be for professional 3D apps between the R9000 and R9600 exactly. But, I am sure that the R9600 will be faster nonetheless. If you purchase with a Mastercard or Discovercard they have a 5-10% discount, check the credit card site for the links.

 

[Bruce6323]

I have a mastercard (sonycard), but I don't see anything like a 10% discount for computers. Could you please tell me the exact website you are referring to?

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[oaaltone]

The only site I found with a discount similar to this is the Citi/AAdvantage 10% site...

EDIT: A little more info http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/cardserv/aabiz/promo.htm, but probably not much of a help with the Sonycard.

 

[thuned]

Well, for $700 you can get a desktop with a faster chip than that m10.

 

[randytho]

What is this discount with a Mastercard? Is it at time of sale or through the CC company?

 

[GoSharks]

Originally posted by: thuned
Well, for $700 you can get a desktop with a faster chip than that m10.

what he said.

 

[UltraWide]

http://www.mastercard.com/mcweb/index.jsp

Then choose special offers. Once you sign up you will get the IBM link.

Edit: they took IBM out, only Fujitsu is there....

I checked Discovercard and they have the IBM 10% off link. Might be worth signing up for a Discover to save 10%.

This is the cheapest T41p on that link:

ThinkPad T41p
2373GGU
Customize
Add to cart

Your price
$2,872.15*
IBM Web Price
$3,379.00*
$102.00 /mo. for 36 mos.
SuccessLease® for Small Business***
In stock**

http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?storeId=821258&langId=-1&catalogId=-840

 

[Frightcrawler]

Originally posted by: thuned
Well, for $700 you can get a desktop with a faster chip than that m10.

well, he says he wants a laptop, not a desktop.

 

[Bruce6323]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm still not sure what to do. I get the bad feeling that as soon as I buy the $3000 notebook, they are going to drastically reduce prices. Especially when ATI 9600 becomes the norm in the upcoming months.

 

[sciencewhiz]

The FireGL is optimized for CAD and other professional applications. So, you not only get the speed increase of 9000 to 9600, but you get the speed increase from having a firegl.