IBM T41, T42, or HP nc6000

[aamsel]

I am down to the following, after absolutely deciding that I only want XGA. Nothing else works for me, so the following choices are all regular XGA, with a 5400rpm 40Gig and 512MB.
I am not gaming on this notebook, so the video card is not very important.

1.) HP nc6000 Dothan 1.7, a/b/g, 64MB ATI 9600, 14.1" screen
2.) T41 2379DKU, Banias 1.6, IBM 802.11 a/b/g, 32MB ATI 7500, 14.1" screen.
3.) T42 2378FZU, Dothan 1.7, Intel b/g, 32MB ATI 7500, 15" screen.

I again, don't care that these are all XGA, and I don't want higher resolution.
What I do want is:
1.) THE BEST OVERALL BUILD QUALITY, and quiet operation.
2.) The best regular XGA screen I can get, if a T is 15" just too big???
3.) The best keyboard, I read some of the T series not as solid.
4.) (battery life, less important, I know the nc6000 wins this one)

Your comments greatly appreciated.
I have been deciding on a notebook for far too long, but it took me months to realize that XGA was perfect for me (don't know why it did!)

Thank you in advance!!
Andrew
Austin, TX

p.s. Also, I don't see any T42 14.1" XGA models with Dothan and b/g or a/b/g wireless ???

 

[Shivatron]

1.) THE BEST OVERALL BUILD QUALITY, and quiet operation.

IBM, without a doubt.

2.) The best regular XGA screen I can get, if a T is 15" just too big???

Well, AFAIK the 15" on the T series is only available in 1600*1200. As for the 14" 1024*768 IBM vs. HP, I really can't say. However, I think 1400*1050 is the way to go on the 14".

3.) The best keyboard, I read some of the T series not as solid.

IMO the IBM wins this hands down.

4.) (battery life, less important, I know the nc6000 wins this one)

Even with the 9-cell battery in the IBM?

HTH.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: aamsel
I am down to the following, after absolutely deciding that I only want XGA. Nothing else works for me, so the following choices are all regular XGA, with a 5400rpm 40Gig and 512MB.
I am not gaming on this notebook, so the video card is not very important.

1.) HP nc6000 Dothan 1.7, a/b/g, 64MB ATI 9600, 14.1" screen
2.) T41 2379DKU, Banias 1.6, IBM 802.11 a/b/g, 32MB ATI 7500, 14.1" screen.
3.) T42 2378FZU, Dothan 1.7, Intel b/g, 32MB ATI 7500, 15" screen.

I again, don't care that these are all XGA, and I don't want higher resolution.
What I do want is:
1.) THE BEST OVERALL BUILD QUALITY, and quiet operation.
2.) The best regular XGA screen I can get, if a T is 15" just too big???
3.) The best keyboard, I read some of the T series not as solid.
4.) (battery life, less important, I know the nc6000 wins this one)

Your comments greatly appreciated.
I have been deciding on a notebook for far too long, but it took me months to realize that XGA was perfect for me (don't know why it did!)

Thank you in advance!!
Andrew
Austin, TX

p.s. Also, I don't see any T42 14.1" XGA models with Dothan and b/g or a/b/g wireless ???

1. I've had everyone of the T series from the first T20. Can't beat the build quality.
2. I just got issued my T42P with the 15". I had wanted the 14" as I fly every week and that is what my T41 was. To be honest, the 15" screen is just too big for me. It's a noticeable difference and changed the chassis look and feel and weight from the 14" I had before.
3. ThinkPad KB's are the best. Never had a problem with the 40 series KB's -held up well, feel great.
4. 14" will net you much better battery life then the 15". That's been the biggest thing I've noticed in moving to the 15" screen. The 14" model will get the exact same battery life of the NC6000.

PS.... Don't go by what you see on the IBM web site for models. That is a slice of what they have. If you don't see what you want, call their 800 number and if on the first call you don't get someone who knows their stuff, hang up and call back. They'll be able to get you closer to those specs than what the published pecs on the web site do. THe IBM site is good for support, but not for actually showing you what they have to sell.

 

[xcrunner51]

you can get SXGA+ on the 15in models

 

[aphex]

T-series IBM without a hesitation.

I love my T41, best laptop i've ever touched

 

[alisajid]

I was in pretty much the same situation and settled on the T42. I've got a 15" model... and I'm going to echo another poster's comments, if size is a concern, there's a significant difference between a 15" and 14" T4x. Build quality wise, I'd say IBM are top of the line (I've gone through 2 Dells and 2 Apples). In terms of quiet operation... if you're running cpu bound apps and laying the laptop on a non-optimal surface such as your lap prepare to hear some fan noise. Keyboard wise, the T42's kick ass... keys depress all the way through and they're decently sized, the only keyboard I can compare them to is the Powerbook one.

BTW, if I were you I'd try to find out whether the 15" XGA T42 is a flexview or not.

 

[aamsel]

OK, to answer all of you:

WackyDan:
Thank you VERY much for your comments. I assume that if I download TABOOK that I will then have listings for all available models??

Atticu5:
I DON'T want SXGA+ or higher, period. I have tested this with 3rd party utilities like LiquidView and LiquidSurf, tweaked Windows font and DPI settings, and SOME STUFF STILL REMAINS SMALL, there is no way around it until there is a new Windows beyond XP at the earliest.. The 15" model I mentioned IS AN XGA, but I don't think I want a 15", especially after WackyDan's comments.

xcrunner51:
I DON'T WANT SXGA+ at all. Tried it, can't do it.

aphex:
Thanks, but have you ever touched an HP nc6000 ??

alisajid:
Thanks, the 15" XGA is not a Flexview, and I don't want a Flexview either.


Thanks,
PLEASE post any more comments.

Andrew
Austin, TX

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: aamsel
OK, to answer all of you:

WackyDan:
Thank you VERY much for your comments. I assume that if I download TABOOK that I will then have listings for all available models??

Atticu5:
I DON'T want SXGA+ or higher, period. I have tested this with 3rd party utilities like LiquidView and LiquidSurf, tweaked Windows font and DPI settings, and SOME STUFF STILL REMAINS SMALL, there is no way around it until there is a new Windows beyond XP at the earliest.. The 15" model I mentioned IS AN XGA, but I don't think I want a 15", especially after WackyDan's comments.

xcrunner51:
I DON'T WANT SXGA+ at all. Tried it, can't do it.

aphex:
Thanks, but have you ever touched an HP nc6000 ??

alisajid:
Thanks, the 15" XGA is not a Flexview, and I don't want a Flexview either.


Thanks,
PLEASE post any more comments.

Andrew
Austin, TX

/ME opens my copy of TABOOK.PDF.....

It will give you an idea of the base configs or building blocks by market segment, and will certainly show you more configs then the web site does. For practical purposes, this list is most of the model SKU's that will ever be available to you unless you are a large enterprise customer doing custom builds based off of one of the base configs.

Just do me a favor when you get the ah heck and actually download the latest version of RRPC from IBM... INstall it and use it. It will save your butt.