Thinkpads Forum

I am in the market for a new laptop. I would rather get a USED thinkpad, but Dell's prices on notebooks seem pretty hard to beat.
Basically, I am looking for something with at least 512 MB RAM, at least 64MB Video RAM, at least 1.4 GHz, and ~4 hours of battery life (if possible).
The most graphic/processor intensive program I will run with this laptop is Warcraft 3 and maybe Acid Pro.

Dell's entry XPS laptop (which exceeds those specs) is ~$650. Can anyone beat or meet that price with a thinkpad in good working condition?

I was considering a used T43 until I saw how low Dell's prices were. I currently own a T22 (broken mobo).

Any advice or offers are appreciated.

Thanks

Just my opinion, but you won't touch that price for a used T42 or T43 with those specs.

For say a T42 with 64MB 9600, 9 cell battery for your 4 hours of life, SXGA+ screen and 1.7 GHz CPU, I wouldn't expect to pay under $900, and possibly closer to $1000-$1100 depending on extras/warranty.

I will just give this bit of advice: specs aren't everything. Dell comes out with dual core notebooks daily for under $600, but that doesn't mean I'd take one over my trusty T series.

Thanks for the reply... but besides portability/size... what else should I be considering besides specs?

$300 difference is a lot. It is what I paid for my T22 ~2 yrs ago. Even if you concede the fact that a thinkpad has 'better' quality than a Dell, I would still be able to purchase a new Dell laptop AND a back-up T22 thinkpad for the price of a USED T41/42/43

I like thinkpads, but I cannot honestly see the logic in paying that much extra for one. Diminishing returns.

I value my time and I want to avoid headaches minimizing problems. Over the life of the laptop of a couple of years the difference is $0.50 per day in your case. You get better service and a better built machine.

I agree with the others. My time is far too value to waste it with a POS. and a $650 consumer notebook is not worth my time. At least not as my primary or even secondary machine.

Does anyone have any specific information or sources than they can point me to?

I appreciate the advice, but its difficult to seperate out useful information from "$650 consumer laptops are POS's" or "Its not expensive if you ammortize the cost over XX years".

I asked the question here in the hopes that someone with more information than I have would share their knowledge.

Thanks in advance

Ryan T. wrote:I will just give this bit of advice: specs aren't everything. Dell comes out with dual core notebooks daily for under $600, but that doesn't mean I'd take one over my trusty T series.

Why not?

TarzanBoy wrote:

Ryan T. wrote:I will just give this bit of advice: specs aren't everything. Dell comes out with dual core notebooks daily for under $600, but that doesn't mean I'd take one over my trusty T series.

Why not?

Because its a Dell.

EDIT: In response to your earlier question about pointing you to specifics. You can easily browse through this forum and find out about the durability of the Thinkpad. While I cannot point you to specific sources, I can tell you that Dell and other makers are consistently changing their platforms for their systems and they are not interchangeable. The Thinkpads are pretty consistent, with the exception of major changes, such as the new T60. The T2x, T30, R3x, R4x, A2x and the A3x have A LOT of interchangeable parts, granted not all of the parts are interchangeable. Having said that...this IMHO increases the value of these systems, because more parts are available to upgrading or adding to my system.

I concur.......................................

..a dell is a dell is a dell is a dell etc........................

Ron

Many of my law school colleagues who purchased Dells are on their second or third one. The new ones may be warranty replacements from Dell, but who wants to go through that headache of transferring files and settings (if you were even able to save them) if you don't have to?

Thanks for the replies so far. A lot of people are saying that the Thinkpads tend to hold up longer than the Dells.... but in my mind this begs the question:

What if that hasn't been my personal experience? My T22 gave me a little over a year of service after I bought it used.

Also... what model of Thinkpad would best meet my requirments? What if i insisted on the 64MB Video card but dropped the processor requirment to 1.1Ghz or something. What price range would I be in then?

FWIW, i have purchased 2 Dells, and sold both within 24 hours and got another IBM thinkpad instead.

The first one was a Dell 700m. The laptop itself was nice, but the keyboard was not standard sized and the laptop itself just looked cheap being made of all plastic.

The second one was a Dell E1505, which I actually got earlier this week and sold the same day it came in. The screen was beautiful, but again the laptop was really ugly looking and felt cheap. It was very thick compared to laptops by other manufacturers (such as IBM and Apple), and was just not very appealing to me. I sold it and purchased a T60.

I say spend the extra few bucks and pick up a thinkpad, you wont be disappointed! Also Dells only come with 1 year warranty, whereas IBMs usually have 3 years standard.

Not much, i think the lowest processor i have seen in T40 is a 1.3 bianis. The video and lcd is what helps them hold their price. Processor upgrades are cheap, video upgrades require a new motherboard.

Because its a Dell.

I will never understand this. DELL puts out a good product for your buck. Obviously you are not going to get the build quality or premium features of a Thinkpad - but that hardly means someone should scratch DELL of their list. I've owned DELL's - theyve never broken on me. I have had - however - Thinkpads crack and break on me from normal use.

I test drove the 700M - small keyboard yes, but its really not designed for use like a T series thinkpad. It does however have an incredible screen, and built in optical drive. The case is made out of plastic, but didnt feel "cheap" at all to me. After about a week of use (friend let me use it for a trip), I was very familiar with the keyboard, and it didnt feel cramped at all.

If youre looking to broaden your scope - I'd check out a TOSHIBA Satellite. They are pretty light, some do come included with optical drive, and have a superb keyboard (personal tested a few). And they look sleek as all heck. OFFICE DEPOT should have a deal on a couple you can get for unuder 700 - 550 for one after rebates (at least here in California).

I look at it this way, I like to collect laptops, especially old Thinkpads. I have some very old Thinkpads (and even Toshibas) that are still running. I have yet to see a Dell that is older than 5 years old that is still running, muchless near decent physical shape.

I have a 701CS ('95), 730T ('97)...not to mention 760's and 600's...all still chugging along.

As for the previous post mentioning Toshibas...I do like the build quality, but they are a nightmare to work on.

TarzanBoy, would you be willing to sell your "broken" T22 to me? I happened to have a mobo I can replace it with. Unless you want to buy the mobo.

Boricua. Que onda, homes?

I'd be interested in buying that motherboard from you I guess.

Send me a PM?