Suggestions on a Notebook

[Axon]

The Priorities:

1. Thin/Light. Must be around 3 lbs. Less is better. More is acceptable, but no more than 4lbs. I will be lugging this thing around for hours each day.

2. Relatively high-end specs. Graphics irrelevant. Screen size irrelevant. Need it to last me the 3 years of law school and still perform solidly in my final year.

3. Wireless internet as well as wired LAN/Modem.

4. CD-RW/DVD-Rom onboard. Do not want optical. Read only CD-Rom would be acceptable, though less desirable.

Budget: $3000. Obviously the lower the price, the better, but I'm looking for the most bang for the buck.

 

[eriqesque]

These 2 get my vote
The only downside to the IBM X40 is yor requirement for the buit in drive.

So if that is a definate must have then i suggest Fujitsu P5020D

 

[Axon]

the IBM does look good.

I wonder what Dell or Gateway has to offer.

 

[Yomicron]

CD-RW/DVD-Rom onboard. Do not want optical.

What exactly do you mean? CD/DVDs are optical...

I would also recommend the IBM X40, but if you want an integrated CD-RW/DVD, check out the Panasonic Toughbook W2. It's only 2.8lbs.

 

[Axon]

Meaning: I want it to plug into the unit (onboard, let's not get into the "but its still removable!" speeches.) I don't want to have to attach it with a wire of some type.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: eriqesque
These 2 get my vote
The only downside to the IBM X40 is yor requirement for the buit in drive.

So if that is a definate must have then i suggest Fujitsu P5020D

You can get the ultra base for the X-40 which will allow you an optical drive. The whole base snaps onto the bottom of the X-40 and can be removed at any time. The most popular use for the base though is to leave it on your desk and use it as a port replicator and the host for the optical drive -while travelling thin and light with just the x-40 itself.

I would also suggest the X-31 which IBM is still making and marketing along side the X-40.... Contrary to what you may think, the X40 does not replace the X31.

Pros and cons....Depending which way you look at it from.

X40 comes with SD memory slot.
X31 comes with CF Memory slot.

X40 comes with 1.0 or 1.2 Ghz Pentium M(ultra low voltage)
X31 Comes with up to a 1.7Ghz Pentium M.

X40 starting weight is 2.6 lbs.
X31 starting weight is roughly 3.3 lbs.

X40 uses intel integrated graphics
X31 uses ATI discreet graphics

X40 uses a 1.8 or 2 inch (can't specifically remember) HD. Limit to 40gig? but 20% more durable than standard 2.5 inch notebook drive.
X31 uses standard 2.5" drive... Better performance, and larger capacities.

X40 has Active Hard Drive Protection system (unrelated to drives 20% more durable statement- that comes from the size of the drive itself)
X31 does NOT have the Active Hard Drive Protection System

Both have an Ultra Base available and use most of the same options.
- X40 Ultra base does not have 9 pin serial port
- X31 Ultra base does have9 pin serial port

Both have smae Keyboard/screen size.
Both only have trackpoint.
Both get exceptional battery life - Industry leading in their class, and you can add optional batteries for 11 hours of battery life on each unit-$$ Subtract 40 to 50% off for constant wireless use.

 

[Axon]

Hmmmm....the X40, at least according to IBM's website, will allow up to a 1.7 Ghz cpu.

I'm thinking of going that way and upgrading to 512 Ram and a 40 gig HD. The Ultradrive bay....that's basically a CD-Rom you can leave in forever, no? It has the option to swap out, but once plugged in it appears to be part of the unit? My old Dell laptop was like that, I could swap a Cd-rom and floppy out depending on what I needed at the time.

Do any stores carry these laptops? I'd love to see 'em and get a feel for them before I buy. Thanks.

 

[ViperV990]

Try the ASUS M5N:
http://usa.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=M5200N%20Series&langs=09#

Centrino (supports Dothan), integrated DVD/CDRW, ~3.5lbs...

Found a review on digit-life.com:
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/asus-m5n/index.html


Keep in mind however that it only uses micro sodimm which limits the amount of ram you can upgrade to. The largest micro sodimm module is AFAIK 512MB, and they are very expensive...

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: Axon
The Priorities:

1. Thin/Light. Must be around 3 lbs. Less is better. More is acceptable, but no more than 4lbs. I will be lugging this thing around for hours each day.

2. Relatively high-end specs. Graphics irrelevant. Screen size irrelevant. Need it to last me the 3 years of law school and still perform solidly in my final year.

3. Wireless internet as well as wired LAN/Modem.

4. CD-RW/DVD-Rom onboard. Do not want optical. Read only CD-Rom would be acceptable, though less desirable.

Budget: $3000. Obviously the lower the price, the better, but I'm looking for the most bang for the buck.

......May I ask why you need highend, but not good graphics? If you're going to use it for writing and studying you wouldn't need at High-end notebook. And it's not like it will go slower over the years, it will be able to run word-processing even in the your last year.

BTW you now that the pentium-M performs much better than the P4 clock to clock pentium-M 1.5Ghz ~2.4Ghz P4.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: Axon
Hmmmm....the X40, at least according to IBM's website, will allow up to a 1.7 Ghz cpu.

I'm thinking of going that way and upgrading to 512 Ram and a 40 gig HD. The Ultradrive bay....that's basically a CD-Rom you can leave in forever, no? It has the option to swap out, but once plugged in it appears to be part of the unit? My old Dell laptop was like that, I could swap a Cd-rom and floppy out depending on what I needed at the time.

Do any stores carry these laptops? I'd love to see 'em and get a feel for them before I buy. Thanks.

Look again List all X series ThinkPads @ IBM.com What you saw with the 1.7 is the X31.... Trust me... THe X40 tops out at 1.2.

I think you need a better idea on what the Ultra base is as well... This is the one for the X40 X4 Ultrabase

And this is the one for the X31 X31 X3 Media Slice

Both do the same thing but are engineered to fit the respective ThinkPad chassis. Both Slices/bases come without the optical drive- so you will have to decide between Cd only/CDRW/DVD-CD combo/DVD-CDRW combo/ -or DVD Multiburner and buy one of those as an extra as well. You can leave the optical drive in the ultra base/media slice all the time, or if you need it with you, snap the X series ThinkPad down over the top of it and take it with you. Now... That will increase the weight and thinkness of the Laptop...Nearly double the thickness and up to 5.5lbs of weight.... But if you don't need an optical most of the time except for at your desk then the media slice/base is the way to go.

You will be hard pressed to find a name brand (read tier one) notebook in the weight class you rlooking for that incorporates a built in optical. From what I've seen and dealt with you'll be mainly sacrificing quality.

Note: I think when they list the X's as coming with an optical drive on the web they mean that it includes an external reader/burner. Again, X's are single spindle only-meaning HD only.

Your choice.

If you do go with an IBM, there is a fair chance it will come with the ESS -Embedded security subsystem. Neat little on board security chip that has a lot of functionality. Send me a private message via the forums and I'll explain what it is/does at the point and can walk you through the install.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: biostud666

Originally posted by: Axon
The Priorities:


BTW you now that the pentium-M performs much better than the P4 clock to clock pentium-M 1.5Ghz ~2.4Ghz P4.

*except for in numeric intensive applications ie: audio/video encoding-editing, encryption(big hit), engineering apps. I work with these apps and have run them on both series of chips. There can be a significant difference in performance, especially in encryption. Though I admit I use a Pentium M because I like the battery life a whole hell of a lot more than mobile P4.

Though I doubt he'll be doing any of those on an extreme portable class notebook.

So the statement should be clock for clock better than P4 in General groupware, general internet, and office application.

 

[Axon]

Originally posted by: biostud666

Originally posted by: Axon
The Priorities:

1. Thin/Light. Must be around 3 lbs. Less is better. More is acceptable, but no more than 4lbs. I will be lugging this thing around for hours each day.

2. Relatively high-end specs. Graphics irrelevant. Screen size irrelevant. Need it to last me the 3 years of law school and still perform solidly in my final year.

3. Wireless internet as well as wired LAN/Modem.

4. CD-RW/DVD-Rom onboard. Do not want optical. Read only CD-Rom would be acceptable, though less desirable.

Budget: $3000. Obviously the lower the price, the better, but I'm looking for the most bang for the buck.

......May I ask why you need highend, but not good graphics? If you're going to use it for writing and studying you wouldn't need at High-end notebook. And it's not like it will go slower over the years, it will be able to run word-processing even in the your last year.

BTW you now that the pentium-M performs much better than the P4 clock to clock pentium-M 1.5Ghz ~2.4Ghz P4.

I want it for longevity. Period. As you said, today's high-end will last for years and years and years. When I get out and go back to my firm as an Associate, I'll still be able to use this laptop effectively. There are also some fairly resource heavy law oriented programs (Livenote, Summation, IPro) that, again, I'll still be able to run quickly down the road.

Now, I know that a high-end laptop generally comes with good video anyway, so it doesn't really matter. It's just not a priority. If I can grab a 9600 ATi mobility in addition to my requisite Ram and CPU, what the heck, why not?

 

[Axon]

Originally posted by: WackyDan

Originally posted by: Axon
Hmmmm....the X40, at least according to IBM's website, will allow up to a 1.7 Ghz cpu.

I'm thinking of going that way and upgrading to 512 Ram and a 40 gig HD. The Ultradrive bay....that's basically a CD-Rom you can leave in forever, no? It has the option to swap out, but once plugged in it appears to be part of the unit? My old Dell laptop was like that, I could swap a Cd-rom and floppy out depending on what I needed at the time.

Do any stores carry these laptops? I'd love to see 'em and get a feel for them before I buy. Thanks.

Look again List all X series ThinkPads @ IBM.com What you saw with the 1.7 is the X31.... Trust me... THe X40 tops out at 1.2.

I think you need a better idea on what the Ultra base is as well... This is the one for the X40 X4 Ultrabase

And this is the one for the X31 X31 X3 Media Slice

Both do the same thing but are engineered to fit the respective ThinkPad chassis. Both Slices/bases come without the optical drive- so you will have to decide between Cd only/CDRW/DVD-CD combo/DVD-CDRW combo/ -or DVD Multiburner and buy one of those as an extra as well. You can leave the optical drive in the ultra base/media slice all the time, or if you need it with you, snap the X series ThinkPad down over the top of it and take it with you. Now... That will increase the weight and thinkness of the Laptop...Nearly double the thickness and up to 5.5lbs of weight.... But if you don't need an optical most of the time except for at your desk then the media slice/base is the way to go.

You will be hard pressed to find a name brand (read tier one) notebook in the weight class you rlooking for that incorporates a built in optical. From what I've seen and dealt with you'll be mainly sacrificing quality.

Note: I think when they list the X's as coming with an optical drive on the web they mean that it includes an external reader/burner. Again, X's are single spindle only-meaning HD only.

Your choice.

If you do go with an IBM, there is a fair chance it will come with the ESS -Embedded security subsystem. Neat little on board security chip that has a lot of functionality. Send me a private message via the forums and I'll explain what it is/does at the point and can walk you through the install.

So this "let me build it" feature leads to the X31? That would explain the "starting at 3.5 lbs" thing.

All the other info....this is why I need to see it.

The Panasonic W2 looks quite solid.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: Axon
Hmmmm....the X40, at least according to IBM's website, will allow up to a 1.7 Ghz cpu.

I'm thinking of going that way and upgrading to 512 Ram and a 40 gig HD. The Ultradrive bay....that's basically a CD-Rom you can leave in forever, no? It has the option to swap out, but once plugged in it appears to be part of the unit? My old Dell laptop was like that, I could swap a Cd-rom and floppy out depending on what I needed at the time.

Do any stores carry these laptops? I'd love to see 'em and get a feel for them before I buy. Thanks.

No stores carry ThinkPad.... Some select IBM resellers with a storefront may have a token TP or two, so you might try that strategy to see one up close.... IBM does not sell in the Retail space ie; CompUSA, Best Buy, etc....Too expensive to compete in that space.

 

[ViperV990]

The Panasonic W2 tops out at 1GHz, that's if u decide to get one that is imported straight from Japan. The current US version tops out at 900MHz.