I am lost help!!! Thats if you don't get lost too.

[The Linuxator]

Ok I rounded my options to these:

1-IBM Thinkpad R50e
2- Customized Compaq Armada M2000z
3- Another Customized Compaq Aramda M2000z
Here is the situation I have always been satisfied with my IBM desktops and worsktations, eventhough I am a very experienced system builder it has always been tempting for me to own an IBM system, becasue they are made with no quality compromises, and they last a lifetime, plus add on top of that nice company support and sweet sleek looks. I have never owned a Thinkpad, I used a couple of them but never used them long enough to judge them and now with this back to school offer I am toring myself up to get it.
Problem is the compaq armada comes for almost the same price but with a dvd drive(not a necessary feature for me but thats nice to have, cd burners are out of the question, My rig is equipped with the best for that) and also offers a Turion-64 bit processor much better GPU and a bundle of features. and I am debating myself between getting the 1MB cache Turion or the 512Kb cache turion, but for a $35 difference only I most probably go for the 1MB. and for memory I will get another 265mb stick for it. while IBM hasan upgrade to 512MB free
Anyway you guys have the links you be the JUDGE.

EDIT: can't get the links for compaq to show the setup so I pasted it

2-
Operating System Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
Processor AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-30 (1.6GHz/1MB L2 Cache)
Display 15.0" TFT XGA BrightView (1024x768)
Graphics Card ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/productivity ports
Memory 256MB DDR SDRAM (1x256MB)
Hard Drive 40 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
Primary CD/DVD Drive 8X DVD Drive
Networking Integrated 56K Modem + 10/100 Ethernet LAN
Primary Battery 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works/Money


3-
Operating System Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
Processor AMD Turion(TM) 64 ML-28 (1.6GHz/512KB L2 Cache)
Display 15.0" TFT XGA BrightView (1024x768)
Graphics Card ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/productivity ports
Memory 256MB DDR SDRAM (1x256MB)
Hard Drive 40 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
Primary CD/DVD Drive 8X DVD Drive
Networking Integrated 56K Modem + 10/100 Ethernet LAN
Primary Battery 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works/Money

 

[DaWhim]

before you want to own a thinkpad, you have to know about the R-series. they are not real Thinkpad. ibm makes it affordable to most folks, thus, cheaper built. it uses plastic.

the real thinkpad you should be looking at is the T-series and X-series.

tell us your budget, we can judge better.

 

[The Linuxator]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
before you want to own a thinkpad, you have to know about the R-series. they are not real Thinkpad. ibm makes it affordable to most folks, thus, cheaper built. it uses plastic.

the real thinkpad you should be looking at is the T-series and X-series.

tell us your budget, we can judge better.

I am looking at $ 600 but I might considre anything higher if it's a must deal.

 

[The Linuxator]

So what about the G series

 

[DaWhim]

that's a tight budget. a new T or X series will cost double of your budget. how about a used one? i got my x31 in mint condition for $1000, still got 2 years warranty left on it.

how about a dell? I really don't like compaq, so wouldn't recommend it.

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: The Linuxator
So what about the G series

not sure abou the A or G series. but the ibm flagship series is T series. then it is X series. x series is 2.7-3.6lbs with a 12.1" screen. it is designed for business guys who always travel.

 

[The Linuxator]

I feel ashamed of myself. I never thought I would be the type of guy that would follow a brandname blindly vs parts/performance but the $599 after $100 discount, free extra 265MB, free shipping made it very tempting.
plus I have been waiting to buy a thinkpad for a long time and I know if I a buy a Compaq I am going to be happy with the performance but I will always know that it s never going to be even near to the quality of the thinkpad.

It pisses me off.
So since you are more experienced with Thinkpads then I am what would I be loosing with th R50e at that price? Do you think that R50e at the sale price they have is a reasonable choice for a programming student like me?

 

[DaWhim]

for the performance wise, don't go with the r50. it is a crapleron. I guess you should go with the compaq, but make sure you get the extended warranty. my sis' compaq had been formatted a few times and sent back to bestbuy to fix(screen and ram) 2 times.

 

[The Linuxator]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
for the performance wise, don't go with the r50. it is a crapleron. I guess you should go with the compaq, but make sure you get the extended warranty. my sis' compaq had been formatted a few times and sent back to bestbuy to fix(screen and ram) 2 times.

See I know I am going to get an IBM with a "crapleron" belive me thats one of the main reasons I am pissed about the R50e. But the reason why I am reluctant to get an excellent performance compaq Turion-64 system is in the quote up there. maybe know you understand my delema. I need a laptop that will last me a minimum of 4-5 years without taking a major sht, all my friends who have Toshiba, Dell, Compaq had their motherboards fail completley in a 1-2 year duration =, IBM is my last resort, with their flagship of the cheap Thinkpads R series.

Edit: If only IBM had a Turion-64 laptop I would find enough logic for me to shell out a few more dollars for a Thinkpad.

 

[The Linuxator]

Anybody else, have any comments to add about the comparison here?

 

[The Linuxator]

bump

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
before you want to own a thinkpad, you have to know about the R-series. they are not real Thinkpad. ibm makes it affordable to most folks, thus, cheaper built. it uses plastic.

the real thinkpad you should be looking at is the T-series and X-series.

tell us your budget, we can judge better.

Have you used an R-series? They offer almost ALL of the features of a T-series in a slightly thicker package; but one that is equally as solid in my opinion. Yes, it uses ABS plastic instead of the titanium reinforced CFRP (carbon-fiber reinforced plastic). But to maintain the quality of the machine, they make the plastic thicker. The R-series is very tough and durable, almost as tough as the T-series, and comparable or better than all other notebooks.

I would say that the build quality of the Compaq M2000 will be slightly less than that of the R-series, but of course it is thinner. The plastic HP uses is less thick than that on the R-series, but is still sufficient.

Of the 3, I would get #2. The Turion processor will be plenty powerful and the 12-cell battery will give you 5+ hours of battery life. Make sure that you are okay with a 15" XGA screen; personally I hate such low res screens. I would rather get a Compaq V2000/HP dv1000 14" widescreen WXGA (1280x768). I hate low res screens and I don't mind using my gf's dv1000 at all. There isn't much vertical scrolling room, but it is sufficient.

 

[The Linuxator]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: DaWhim
before you want to own a thinkpad, you have to know about the R-series. they are not real Thinkpad. ibm makes it affordable to most folks, thus, cheaper built. it uses plastic.

the real thinkpad you should be looking at is the T-series and X-series.

tell us your budget, we can judge better.

Have you used an R-series? They offer almost ALL of the features of a T-series in a slightly thicker package; but one that is equally as solid in my opinion. Yes, it uses ABS plastic instead of the titanium reinforced CFRP (carbon-fiber reinforced plastic). But to maintain the quality of the machine, they make the plastic thicker. The R-series is very tough and durable, almost as tough as the T-series, and comparable or better than all other notebooks.

I would say that the build quality of the Compaq M2000 will be slightly less than that of the R-series, but of course it is thinner. The plastic HP uses is less thick than that on the R-series, but is still sufficient.

Of the 3, I would get #2. The Turion processor will be plenty powerful and the 12-cell battery will give you 5+ hours of battery life. Make sure that you are okay with a 15" XGA screen; personally I hate such low res screens. I would rather get a Compaq V2000/HP dv1000 14" widescreen WXGA (1280x768). I hate low res screens and I don't mind using my gf's dv1000 at all. There isn't much vertical scrolling room, but it is sufficient.

Having a 64bit turion and a better ATI gpu would have been very nice but, I am thinking, I already have a powerful AMD 64 bit gaming rig and the laptop is going to dual boot winxp-pro and FC4 32-bit(I can live with the 32bit version of FC no big deal of difference) , and I am certainly not planing on getting any windows version ever , I have my windows XP pro and my big As* Linux distro Library :laugh:, and I am getting it for my programming needs ,for my courses this semester and semesters to come .
If I get a compaq there is no way I will get it without at least a 2 year warranty which will run for a $ 200 and I will need to get another 265mb stick of memory CL2.5 which will go for $ 50 and the gpu that comes with it is 32 mb shared memory ATI xpress 200 and becomes 128mb shared if you are ready to spend another $ 50 and things started adding up till I reached $ 800 price-tag then I knew it I was way over budget, the IBM has a 1.4 ghz pentium M 1 MB cache processor while the compaq offers a 1.4 ghz 1 MB cache turion 64 not too much powerful over the pentium M with respect to what I am going to be using it for (Visual Basic, JAVA, C+/C++.....etc).
Since there won't be any use of games, any advanced media editing, the pros of the Turion start to disappear one by one till I reached the point where I can't justify it's price premium.
The R50e is $ 599 shipped with an extra 512Mb CL2.5 memory free of charge , it comes with 1 year warranty that I will not have to pay for, and I already have a 5.25" Toshiba 40gb 5400rpm harddrive that has 16MB cache that gave me a very nice boost in my older laptop over the stock IBM 4200 rpm 2 MB cache which the R50e will come with, and as soon as I get the R50e I plan on selling the 40gb stock harddrive that comes with it .
So things might look ok for the R50e.
Does anyone here think I have a better option, if so please let me know . :thumbsup:

 

[The Linuxator]

anyone?

 

[fbrdphreak]

Sounds like you've sold yourself on it......

The Celeron M is not a bad chip; it is just a Pentium M with part of the cache & most of the power saving features disabled. The Turion 64 is 1.6 (not 1.4) GHz and will be a good deal more powerful, 64-bit or not, and give better battery life. The Celeron M can only run at one clock speed, it does not underclock at all, so you're looking at 2 hours max on the 6-cell battery. Keep that in mind

And when you say "If I get a compaq" that you need a 2 year warranty, you make it sound like this is the Compaq of old. Compaq today is owned by HP, the V2000 is an HP dv1000 clone and they are build very well. For ANY notebook I don't recommend going with a basic 1 year warranty, but I don't think you would be at a huge loss with the Compaq. The R50e is a little sturdier, but only because it has thicker plastic on it.

The V2000 gives you more performance and features for your money. The R50e will work, is cheaper, and is an IBM.

Oh, and about adding memory to the Compaq, you never EVER get it from the manufacturer unless they're running a free upgrade deal like w/the R50e.

 

[The Linuxator]

I do trust the fact that you are right, about the Compaq not being the old Compaq anymore but experiences from former compaq laptops still haunt me :brokenheart:.
I was glancing Ebay for some better cpacity batteries for the R50e and I found brand new sealed from IBM 9-cell original batteries for 49.99 opposed to $180.00 from IBM/ lenovo website, eventhough he says sealed from IBM I am going to do some detective work about the guy to see if there is any BULL IN THE CASE,
In that case I will be getting the 6-cell from the R50e and the 9-cell from Ebay, then most probably selling the 6 cell and getting another 9-cell and I should be set for that. But am I sure about my descions , hell no
it's still confusing as hell, alot of hypothesizing goes in there ,
I seriously never thought that Picking a sub $1000 laptop
would take some rocket science, especially that I have helped alot of members in here decide between alot of decsions, I guess it's much harder making the call when you are paying for it. :frown::laugh:

 

[fbrdphreak]

Link to said $50 9-cell sealed battery?

I wouldn't buy that battery unless he has a money back guarantee. When you pop the 9-cell into your system, the IBM software will tell you the manufacture date. Older battery = quicker loss of capacity

Also check if that battery has any warranty from IBM

 

[The Linuxator]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Link to said $50 9-cell sealed battery?

I wouldn't buy that battery unless he has a money back guarantee. When you pop the 9-cell into your system, the IBM software will tell you the manufacture date. Older battery = quicker loss of capacity

Also check if that battery has any warranty from IBM

Here Is the link to the seller.

I have asked him if these are genuine or not, and I am emailing him right now to see if he does offer moneyback if I am unsatisfied with it, if he is that sure of his batteries he should be ok with that , if not, I will see what else I can do about it.

 

[The Linuxator]

After looking at the spec of his battery his is 4400 mAH, and the stock is 3000 mAH so I would assume he might be selling 9 cell ones and the stock ones are 6-cell but I beleive I found a 12 cell IBM battery for the R50e here this battery is 6600 mAh go figure !!

but its $ 139 still cheaper than the Lenovo one e @ $ 179 but much more expensive than the ebay one $ 60 shipped. if the Ebay one is not BS I rather pay $ 120 for 2 x 4400 mAH than pay $ 140.00 for 1 x 6600 mAH

 

[fbrdphreak]

The original 6-cell battery on the R50e might have been 3000mAh. The next 6-cell after that got bumped to 4400mAh, and the T43/R52's got 4600mAh. All will work in the R50e. The 9-cells are in the 6000-7000mAh range if I'm not mistaken. The T43/R52's got 7200mAh 9-cells.

I agree in regards to two 4400mAh 6-cells versus 1x6600mAh. You do have to carry the other battery and hibernate the machine when you need to switch, but the 9-cell sticks out about 1.25" from the back and adds weight to the already bulky R50e.

In regards to the seller, it is a risk either way. First off that 6-cell did not last 5 hours in a T42 unless the screen was off :roll: You won't break 3.5 hours with a 4400mAh 6-cell in a T42. Also, it does say "100% Guarantee - 30 Days" or whatever. I would pay using my credit card and be ready to do a charge back if he doesn't take the battery back. But it is a good deal!

EDIT I just found this site:

http://store.memory4less.net/08k8193.html

If these are NIB and not old, I would trust that more. As is $60 for a chance at a 6-cell on eBay, this isn't too much more. Just an FYI

 

[The Linuxator]

Today I migh decide on getting the R 50e for $ 599 in that case I will sort out this battery issue with the seller and , get me one of those to check it out , we ll seewhat happens next .

speaking of bettery life check This Out

 

[fbrdphreak]

Did I recommend the $849 R50e to you yet? You bump up to a P-M 1.6, which offers better battery life & performance. That alone is worth the $250 IMO, but you also get a CDRW/DVDROM which is infinitely valuable IMO. Just a thought