IBM R40 laptop ?

[ctcsoft]

Is integrated wifi always crap for signal?

I can hardly ever pickup signal with my IBM r40 laptop unless I'm pretty much right next to the router.

If I'm in an airport or restaraunt, etc then forget about it!

So do I have to use a pcmia card? Are other laptops better for integrated wifi? It doesn't really matter so much to me. I just want to receive some good signal once in awhile.

Also battery life is horrible on my r40.

I always liked thinkpads and thought they were the 'elite' of laptop manufacturers but I'm really starting to wonder. I see Dell 700m batterys last around 4-5 hours?!?!?!

 

[Ionizer86]

Some R40's came with P4-M's. P4's were never good in laptops. They ran hot and used up lots of battery quickly. On top of that, your laptop's battery may have high wear by now.
I guess it's that generation of technology that's deficient, not the thinkpads themselves.

My wireless is fine. Maybe because newer laptops have built-in antennas for the wifi. If the R40 has little/no antenna I suppose you could find out how to add your own.

 

[fbrdphreak]

You have a much older, bottom of the line Thinkpad with a processor that was never suited for laptop usage. I think most people will agree that even the T30 series (Also P4 based I believe) were the worst of the bunch, thanks to the P4 processor.

I can't speak to the wifi signal as I don't know what card is in yours or whether you have the integrated antennas built into the screen. If you're not sure, go buy a PCMCIA card from a retailer and try it. if its better, use it. If not, return it.

In regards to the Dell reference, you're comparing apples and oranges. A Pentium 4 processor of that age has at least 2-3 times the power consumption of a Pentium M, what the Dell 700M uses. Compare a more modern Thinkpad R5x series and you will see very comparable battery life.

Did you just buy this machine? Sounds like an uninformed purchase IMO 🙁

 

[aceO07]

You might want to recondition your battery. It might bring a bit of life back into it, assuming that its capacity isn't what it used to me. I'm not sure if you use any of the IBM software, but there is a battery maximiser program that will tell you the condition of your battery.

My Thinkpad X22 will run for at least 3.5hours with the screen on and wlan on AND folding@home running.

 

[ctcsoft]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Did you just buy this machine? Sounds like an uninformed purchase IMO 🙁

Thanks for the information. As for the laptop, I bought it like 5 months ago. Maybe even 6. I could just check my heatware to really find out.

But I paid $550 and it included 1gig ram, mint condition. No scratches or anything. cdrw drive, xp pro coa, and the processor was a p4-M 2.ghz. A true p4 not a celly.

So I thought it was a good deal. I didn't even think about the battery consumption at the time. And since I never owned a laptop with integrated wifi before, I really didn't give that thought either 🙁

How are Dell 700m's as far as reliability, durability, battery life, and wifi signal??

I'm deciding on a 700m or maybe a newer thinkpad. The build quality of dell just scares me though.

 

[ctcsoft]

Originally posted by: aceO07
You might want to recondition your battery. It might bring a bit of life back into it, assuming that its capacity isn't what it used to me. I'm not sure if you use any of the IBM software, but there is a battery maximiser program that will tell you the condition of your battery.

My Thinkpad X22 will run for at least 3.5hours with the screen on and wlan on AND folding@home running.

thanks! can you download this utility anywhere? I bought this laptop bare with no software except the windows xp pro that was loaded on it.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I would just use the Lenovo Software Updater, it should find all the latest drivers & utilities for your laptop, DL & install them. VERY nice program to have
Software Updater

Otherwise start here and browse to your machine's drivers:
Support & DLs

EDIT From what I hear, Dell 700m's are pretty nice. I'm not a Dell person myself, but for the price and size it is hard to beat. I've seen one with the TrueLife screen on it and it is nice looking.

 

[ctcsoft]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
IEDIT From what I hear, Dell 700m's are pretty nice. I'm not a Dell person myself, but for the price and size it is hard to beat. I've seen one with the TrueLife screen on it and it is nice looking.

Thanks for the links. I'm not a Dell person either. I really love thinkpads but for the thinkpad I want, it'd cost me a fortune.

Thanks and take care.

 

[RossMAN]

I LOVE my Dell Inspiron 700m but there are a few things you should know:

1) The keyboard is cramped, you will get used to it eventually.
2) Only 2 USB ports which annoys me.
3) No internal Bluetooth available.
4) Obviously if you're a gamer this isn't the laptop for you.

I would only consider the 700m if you get a great deal on it. I bought mine last year during the famous $750 off $1499 coupons. You're probably wondering when will those come back or should you wait? No one except for Dell Marketing knows if those coupons will ever return, maybe they will next month or maybe they never will. As long as you get a nicely loaded 700m (1.8, 256, 60, DVD Burner, 8 cell) for under $850 shipped then you got a good deal.

IIRC my 700m's specs are:
Pentium-M 1.6 or 1.7something
256
40GB
DVD Burner
Intel 2200 802.11b/g WiFI
1 year standard mail in warranty

$757 + $119 1GB SODIMM RAM = $876 final price

A few things I love about my 700m:

Size, size, size. This is funny considering it spends 95% of the time in our computer room on a small table. Once I buy a sleeve, I'll probably take it with me to work more often.

With the 8 cell battery I get 5 hours of battery life. So the 8 cell is worth every penny!

Most importantly the LCD display is GORGEOUS! In a moment of weakness I bought a Dell M140 which I later sold and I'm glad I didn't keep it. The 700m's screen is just sharp, bright and crystal clear.

Until Dell replaces the 700m (with something better than the 710m) it will be my main laptop for a while.

If you can't get a great deal on a Dell laptop, I would definitely go with a Lenovo ThinkPad or maybe even HP.

http://laptoplogic.com/ has some nice reviews and even forums 🙂