College Bound - TP Recommendations

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#1 Post by **Harryc** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:22 am

My son is off to college in the fall, and I want to get him a TP that will last a few years. I have $500 or less to spend initially, but don't mind getting my hands dirty with upgrades later on. I had wanted to get him a T41P, but that did not work out. I am looking for advice on what machine is best to get in that price range, and with upgrades may last 3 or 4 years. I've been looking at T42's, T41's, T40's on EBay. 'P' models in that range are generally more than $500. Am I in the right neighborhood?
Thanks
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#2 Post by **tomh009** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:46 am

Will he carry it to all his classes or not? If not, I think the T4x path is the right one. If he will be carrying it everywhere, though, I would suggest going with the much-lighter X series. X31s can be located in the $500 range, and provide very good performance (especially when equipped with sufficient memory and a fast disk).

#3 Post by **Harryc** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:53 am

You know, it's funny that you should mention X31's because I was looking at their specs and it does seem to be a good lightweight machine. I think he'd want to carry it around campus, so I will look into those a bit more. Basic research says they have a soldered CPU (so no drop in replacements), can take up to 2GB RAM, and are fast runners with a 7K100 HD. I'd also consider getting an X3 ultrabase for it. Any downsides/pluses to the ultrabase? Downsides to the X31 itself?

pianowizard · #4 Post by **pianowizard** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:55 am

The main determining factor is going to be whether your son needs an internal optical drive. If he doesn't, then I agree with Tom that the X31 is the best choice. If he does, the T40 is the lightest among the T series and you should also buy a travel bezel for it because sometimes he may want to minimize the weight of the laptop by taking out the optical drive. A nice T40 can be had on eBay for under $350 shipped. Don't spend any money on upgrades initially, because for most applications, 512MB RAM and 5400rpm HDD should suffice. Get additional RAM and a 7200rpm HDD when he needs more performance later. By then both will be very cheap.

#5 Post by **Harryc** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:01 am

Good points Pianowizard. My thinking on the X31 with an ultrabase was to put a DVD/CD/RW in it so that he could burn disks in his room at least. Also that way he could use an external LCD and keyboard/mouse with it. Anyone know the specs on an ultrabase with the X31 as far as max external LCD resolution?

pianowizard · #6 Post by **pianowizard** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:09 am

Harryc wrote:Any downsides/pluses to the ultrabase?

The biggest downside is that these ultrabases are major eyesores. There is nothing that I detest more than ultrabases. I recommend getting a slim and light USB DVD burner instead. The VGA port on the X31 itself can be used to drive an external monitor. According to the Tawbook, the highest external resolution supported is only 1280x1024 (commonly found on 17" and 19" standard aspect ratio LCD monitors), which doesn't sound right because even the X30 can support 1600x1200 externally.

#7 Post by **Harryc** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:13 am

1280x1024 is nice. That's what I run on my 19" LCD with the T60 in a port replicator. Thanks for the information.

#8 Post by **underclocker** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:24 am

Great advice above, it is a tough call.

As you found, the issue with the X31 is the 12" LCD. You'll need an external display for all the work in school.

T4x's are only 4.5 lbs. with the optical removed and a blank filler inserted. An X31 weighs 3.5 lbs.

With the T4x, you may not need an external LCD, at least not right away.

As you noted, the T4x's are more upgradeable.

I'd ask my son which he prefers. If he is a weight freak, X40's are in that range, too, but 7200 rpm drives are out.

T40p and T41p's can be snagged in your price range. And X31's are super machines. You won't go wrong with any.

Of course, if your son doesn't care about IBM's, this Dell (or one like it, as they change deals nearly daily) is a no brainer;
http://www.dealigg.com/story-Dell-Inspi ... 0605171218

Dual core, 2GB RAM, 120GB drive, DVD burner, warranty, etc. for $599.

ducky2802 · #9 Post by **ducky2802** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:41 am

as a college student, Id prefer two really cheap laptops to one really nice one....and by nice, I mean anything in the $500+ range! I like the T4x series, but it seems that for my needs, unless I had to run massive CAD FE analysis models, a nice little X2x series and a T2x series seem perfect. I prefer two laptops simply because it was much more convenient to have a carry everywhere computer, and a larger stay at home setup. While its easy to argue that the T series in just about any variant, is fairly portable, the one pound or so (seems like more) that I save on the X series, plus its easy to store size, makes it ideal for the 3-4miles I have to walk everyday around campus. I recently upgraded from an X24 to a T60, and I still miss the portability and BATTERY LIFE of my old X, as I rarely need all the screen real estate or performance while in class.

pianowizard · #10 Post by **pianowizard** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:24 am

ducky2802 wrote:as a college student, Id prefer two really cheap laptops to one really nice one.... I prefer two laptops simply because it was much more convenient to have a carry everywhere computer, and a larger stay at home setup.

For some reason few people on this forum have made such a recommendation, and I think it's an excellent one. I have a Dell Inspiron at work, and an R50p and a Dell desktop at home, so that I never have to transport a laptop to and from work everyday. I just carry a 4GB Sandisk USB drive all the time.

If Harryc would like to go this route, an X22/23/24 with built-in wireless card and maxed out RAM would be a good and inexpensive (under $250) choice. For the more powerful computer at home, a standard Pentium 4 or Pentium D rig with a 20" 1680x1050 LCD would be nice.

#11 Post by **tomh009** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:36 am

pianowizard wrote:The biggest downside is that these ultrabases are major eyesores. There is nothing that I detest more than ultrabases. I recommend getting a slim and light USB DVD burner instead. The VGA port on the X31 itself can be used to drive an external monitor. According to the Tawbook, the highest external resolution supported is only 1280x1024 (commonly found on 17" and 19" standard aspect ratio LCD monitors), which doesn't sound right because even the X30 can support 1600x1200 externally.

Hmm, I'm quite happy with my X3 Ultrabase (which I use as a docking station). It gets rid of all the cabling (bar the audio cable) when docking, and has an optical drive to boot. But I would never carry it around.

And, yes, 1600x1200 is definitely supported on the X31 (I'm typing this on a Dell 2001FP panel). You can pick one of those up relatively inexpensively now.

#12 Post by **underclocker** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:46 am

Two laptops is a great idea, my personal machines are a T40 and an X40 - one for home, one for travel.

However, for someone just going to school, two machines for $500 will result in two Pentium III machines. While they aren't bad with XP and 384MB RAM or so for basic computing, I'm not sure they'll make it another two or three or four or five (like I needed) years. Or if they'll work for today's college assignments.

The peer pressure is huge in college, I'm not sure how cool whipping out an X22 will be on campus. I'm sure many kids will have 17" HP's and Dells w/cameras, burners, etc. Then again, they may call it old school, which is cool.

pianowizard · #13 Post by **pianowizard** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:08 pm

underclocker wrote:The peer pressure is huge in college, I'm not sure how cool whipping out an X22 will be on campus.

Well, it's the second most beautiful Thinkpad I've seen (with #1 being the 570E), and also one of the most modern-looking Thinkpads. It'll make classmates and roommates jealous. In fact, I think any ultraportable laptop would make them jealous, because most of them use humongous Inspirons that weigh 6 to 8 lbs.

Performance-wise, an X24 with 1.13GHz PIII, 640MB RAM and 5400rpm HDD should be good enough for 4 more years.

qviri · #14 Post by **qviri** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:20 pm

I'd go with something with Pentium M personally. Faster, potentially better hardware support, newer, easier to get parts (new batteries, more RAM, 802.11 upgrade) for (!), and they really aren't that expensive these days.

What program in college are we talking about? Is homework going to be completed in Word, Visual Studio, or AutoCAD?

#15 Post by **Harryc** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:27 pm

qviri wrote: What program in college are we talking about? Is homework going to be completed in Word, Visual Studio, or AutoCAD?

He's going to be a business Major, so I don't think AutoCAD capability is a concern.

#16 Post by **underclocker** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:32 pm

pianowizard wrote:Well, it's the second most beautiful Thinkpad I've seen...

Performance-wise, an X24 with 1.13GHz PIII, 640MB RAM and 5400rpm HDD should be good enough for 4 more years.

Totaly agree about the beauty, I've had X20, X21, X22, X23 & X24's.

However, an X24 spec'd like that will cost more than 1/2 the $500. You'd be lucky to pick up a suitable T20 for the differnce. And neither machine will have USB 2.0 or wifi G. Another four years will be tough.

#17 Post by **Harryc** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:51 pm

Guys, thanks to you all for the advice. After speaking to the student in question

, we decided to go for a T41 that was generously offered for sale by a member here at a great price.

ducky2802 · #18 Post by **ducky2802** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:27 pm

The T41 is an excellent machine which will no doubt last for a while. In response to the peer pressure though, I find that the simple, business professional thinkpads, demonstrates a student serious about their work. Good luck and enjoy!

pianowizard · #19 Post by **pianowizard** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 4:36 pm

Harryc wrote:we decided to go for a T41 that was generously offered for sale by a member here at a great price.

Awesome. Don't forget, Bill Morrow offers escrow.

Spimoles · #20 Post by **Spimoles** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:42 pm

I'm in the market for a second TP as well. Since I'll be going off to school lugging my A31p class to class isn't very practical so I'm looking for a slim upgrade to carry while I use my A31p as a desktop in my dorm. Really leaning towards a T40 unless I find an unpassable deal on a X31+ series laptop.

College Bound - TP Recommendations

College Bound - TP Recommendations

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