With Dothan, which laptop should I get?

[fixthefoo]

I am looking seriously at the IBM ThinkPad T42 with a 1.8 GHz Dothan, but I am also considering the Dell Latitude D600 1.8GHz Dothan as an alternative. The HP nc6000 1.8GHz Dothan is a longshot for me but I am considering it too. My question is of the three which one would serve me best or what others not mentioned might be good? I am about to go into college where I will have to move around a lot and need a powerful sturdy laptop. I have done a lot of research but just now am I seeking the ever important opinions of other experienced users.

I think highly of IBM as I have known owners who say they love theirs. I have almost solely considered the IBM for nearly the whole time I have been researching for my purchase. The Dell seems like a good value though but has that slow 60 and 80 GB hard drive (4200 rpm). The IBM's 7200rpm 60 and FlexView display looks appealing. Is the Dell made of metal on top like the IBM? I am willing to spend up to but no more than $3150, so the IBM is within reach. But I have heard complaints about T41 noise and fan problems that scare me a bit. We have yet to see if they are or will be fixed in the new T42. Overall what do you guys think I should do? At the very latest I need to buy the computer by June 15.

 

[aamsel]

I got a brand new Dell D600 as a replacement for a refurbished D600 from them (which was a replacement for an older Latitude). All 3 machines had display problems. The refurb and the new D600 had the same issue: uneven backlighting of the LCD panel. The bottom had about a 1" area illuminated more than the area above it. The top 1" or so of the LCD was darker. In the middle was fine, but it looked pretty poor. Some people would not have noticed, but it was very obvious to me.
SO.........
I am wondering about your other 2 choices, because those are my two 14.1" choices. I tend to lean toward the HP becasue I can get standard XGA which I would probably want in a 14.1".
Andrew
Austin, TX

 

[fixthefoo]

Thanks, aamsel. You know, it seems like we are having some quality issues here with most of the major manufacturers which in my opinions sucks big time. Why can't they make it right to begin with? There is no excuse for poor quality, and I am tired of that "well LCD displays are hard to manufacture perfectly." Personally I think that excuse is bull, why are there so many perfect displays from people like Sony and NEC and Samsung, what have they got that Dell or IBM or HP doesn't.

To tell you all the truth it seems like many companies aren't even really testing the machines they build. I don't mean pre-release testing I mean actual production line testing before each unit goes to the shelves for sale or directly to customers. If you get a machine that has a bad hard drive or is missing a solder on the headphone jack (many of my friends who buy Dells find that the headphone jack doesn't work) it looks like that could have been caught by some testing person at the end of the line before it goes into the box.

Nevertheless, that dissapoints me about the D600's screen aamsel, but thanks for giving me the heads up. I am very picky about quality and a perfect screen that is evenly lit and clear is important to me. See...if any of you Dell employees are trafficing and reading this post keep in mind you just lost a customer because you can't control your quality consistently in your products.

 

[aamsel]

You are absolutely, 100% correct. It is definately a QA problem at Dell right now. In addition to the 2 machines with the display problem, they also did 4 service calls. 2 motherboards were replaced (the entire guts of the notebook) and 3 LCD panels. All of this was to try to correct a poor video quality problem on my original Latitude. 2 times there was no difference, and the third made it even worse!!
I had Complete Care (the most expensive warranty) with onsite coverage. Unisys did the onsite service. They were fast, efficient and competent, but they did not give a DAMN when the display looked the same or worse. They just suggested that I call Dell. So after several service calls I got the refurbished D600 and then after another call I got the new D600. When I looked at the display and saw it was the same, I posted it on EBAY and sold it in 2 days!! Considering that it was a C610 that I originally had, not too bad financially, but emotionally it was hell!! After 5+ weeks, 2 replacement systems, and still NO GOOD working system, I was pretty tired of Dell to say the least!!
Andrew
Austin, TX

 

[Evilkoala13]

you might want to check out a company called Powernotebooks (http://www.powernotebooks.com). They are really great at giving you the most bang for your buck. You can get a top of the line 1.8 Dothan (1 gig ram, 128 MB ATI 9700, 60 GB 5400 RPM hard drive and a 15 inch SXGA+ screen) for around 2000 dollars. I am looking at them for my future laptop prices and they're rated top notch. You might definately want to consider them as a place to purchase. Plus, they're staff are great and answer lots of questions on their forum.

 

[aamsel]

Excuse me, I have heard nothing but good about powernotebooks also...
but I don't think that is what the thread is discussing.
We are talking about how to get true quality, how to get a product that is well checked out during assembly and before shipping, where a real QA department still exists.
We are not talking about "bang for the buck".
Andrew
Austin, TX