Thinkpads Forum

what is the best thinkpad series to get

That is entirely your call. One person's best is another person's bain because of specific application requirements. Post what you will do with a new ThinkPad and what networking/communications requirements you have and people here will tell you what they use. ... JD Hurst

Thats like asking what is the best car to get, give us some information, what do you use it for, what do you want to pay, what screen do you want.

xeye wrote:what is the best thinkpad series to get

You really need to be moe specific for YOUR needs.

Is it going to be a desktop replacement?
Will you be on the road a lot?
What are you going to use it for?
Your budget?

However, I think most well balanced is the T series.

If you want portability, T series or the smaller X series.

If more of a desktop replacement that isn't going to be moved much, then R series or G series.

If you want portability, then chose the R, T(which can also be desktop replacements and are the "twin" ThinkPad's), or X series(which is the ultraportable and the samaller and lighter ThinkPad).
If you want a desktop replacement then chose the G series(which is an alternative desktop replacement and the bigger and heavier ThinkPad.)

Buddy, just because you own an r.... they aren't twins... the r is a great machine, but it isn't built to be portable all of the time, the t is built for portability and is much lighter and compact and just has an all around more apealing design (i think this and i don't even own one of either) My local shop has both instock (refurbs) and there is a very noticable difference. The R is more budget kinda like my old A20M granted the r is much more sleek than the a series it is only 2 spindles. There is very little in common between the t and r

i need something that has a p3 1ghz and a good video card

Are you going portable with it? what size of screen? do you need a cd drive?

xeye wrote:i need something that has a p3 1ghz and a good video card

Go and get an 30/31 of the T, R or A Series, you don't find a p3 in a new notebook. If can live with a p-m get a T42p or a G41.

I never saw a mention of a new machine, I personally like to get older machines, as much as I WANT a new x40 or t42, the x20 is more than enough power for my mobile use, for my desktop i have a gutted hp(picked it up for 300 with a 15"lcd) p4 2.4 768mb 120gb barracuda cdrw dvd radeon 9800 pro I use it and my XBox for games, and the desktop for when I need or want the horsepower, a p3 600 does the job for web surfing, file transfers, remote admin, email, and messaging. What do all of the p-m's run at most of the time..... 600 maybe??

thePCxp wrote:If you want portability, then chose the R, T(which can also be desktop replacements and are the "twin" ThinkPad's), or X series(which is the ultraportable and the samaller and lighter ThinkPad).
If you want a desktop replacement then chose the G series(which is an alternative desktop replacement and the bigger and heavier ThinkPad.)

The R series is definitely built to a price, while the T series are the high-end luxury machines. Yes, the same company makes them and they look similar at a distance, but a Volkswagen (R-series) is still no Audi (T-series) despite having a strong family resemblance.

Like another poster said, just because you own an R, doesn't make it into something that its not. The R is a consumer machine, made of consumer-grade materials, for a less-demanding consumer audience. The T is a professional grade machine, made of professional grade materials, for the demanding corporate customer (or the consumer who is willing to pay more for higher quality).

They are definitely NOT twins.

Andrew

1GHz PIII and high-ed video are mutually exclusive on ThinkPads to the best of my knowledge.

The T23 had a 1GHz or faster PIII, but even for its day the 16MB S3 SuperSavage was hardly high-end. I think that to get a high-end graphics chip you won't be able to get any slower or older than a T40p.

Problem there is that a used T40p will likely cost almost as much as a new T42 with the Radion 9600, and while th T40p will have a better graphics card, it may not be enough better to overcome the improved architecture and faster processors of even the low-line T42s, not to mention the new ones have a full IBM warranty.

and then there is the a30 series with the ati mobility radeon and available 15" sxga+ and uxga displays, don't forget the x22-24 and x30 series also with radeons and roughly a 1ghz p3

True, but the A series are large and heavy, and the X lacks an optical drive. Personally I love the X series, but most of the uses I would have for a high-end video card (games) would also require the optical drive.

The A could do that, but the size and weight penalty is just too much.

asiafish wrote:True, but the A series are large and heavy, and the X lacks an optical drive. Personally I love the X series, but most of the uses I would have for a high-end video card (games) would also require the optical drive.

The A could do that, but the size and weight penalty is just too much.

You can get software that will copy games from an external CD/DVD to a virtual CD on the HD.

true the a is heavy, not as heavy as the g.... but we have yet to establish the functino of this notebook, is it for a desktop replacement.... AKA the A series, or portability, X and T series...

It may not suit your needs but the X series is best.

The X series are sweet, I regret ever selling the X21 that I used to have. The T22 that replaced was just a bit too bulky, so hopefully the T42p I just ordered will be a happy medium in terms of size and weight.

I can live without the optical drive and large screen for normal daily use, but on the long trip, its worth the extra 2lbs to have the optical and 14" LCD.

hello,

some of you have posted that the materials of the t-series are superior.

i know that the t-series is is built using titan-composite and i like the portability and lightweight.

but here in germany, there are being sold many many used t22, t23, ... with 1) cracks in the body, often near/above the DVD drive
2) fine scratches (bright spots) on the display, caused by rubbing beetween display and keyboard while lid is closed

are these problems solved with the newer models?

regards

glotzi

T has a titanuim composite COVER... the portion that cracks around the drive is plastic, completely different design in the t30 and 40's
The bright spots were caused by pressure put on top of the machine, i've seen 3 year old t series with perfect screens, but i've also seen my uncles dropped t23 and the screen was nasty. It all depends on how you care for your machine, a thinkpad will last through quite a bit of abuse... they won't stay looking pretty though, but a compaq or a dell won't even survive.

I totaly agree with you, but xeyes should answer us to help him recommend a good noteook that fits his needs.

what about the G thinkpad are they big i have a t20 and a 600x now

As long as you have a chiropractor and good insurance.... knock yourself out

Seriously though.... they are not portable..... what is the term i'm looking for.... right Luggable, Compaq would be proud

The ThinkPad G series are big and heavy(but I don't care). They are like an alternative desktop replacement and they have desktop processors and some G41's have floppy drives.(and I think that all G40's have floppy drives).

not the geforce models.... only the inegrated video g41's... check with tabook

T series..

but others..X series for really a mobile user

IMO, the T22 is an incredible deal, you can find almost new condition used machines for $400, that gets you a 900MHz processor and a DVD player. (Finding a machine with 512MB RAM instead of the stock 256B is a good idea, since RAM for the things is $50 for a 256MB stick, and if you get a machine with 256MB in it, you may find it's two 128MBG sticks.)

That's enough horespower to run Win XP and most apps that aren't highly CPU or graphics intensive (you really wouldn't want to render video on it).

The extra $110 to $150 you'd pay for a T23 gets you a 1.3 P3 and a 30MB HD instead of a 20MB, not sure it's worth it.

The biggest downside to the T22 is no integrated wireless, but if you don't mind using a PC card....

I'd love to have a T30, but I can't justify spending an extra $400 for processor power that I really don't need.

Nolonemo wrote:The extra $110 to $150 you'd pay for a T23 gets you a 1.3 P3 and a 30MB HD instead of a 20MB, not sure it's worth it.

T23s are commonly available for the same price as T21s and T22s.

Even if you do pay a little more for a T23, you can easily make up the difference on RAM upgrades as the T23 uses commonly available PC133 sticks and isn't fussy about lo-density RAM like the other T2Xs.

You can put a GB of RAM in a T23 for less than what it costs to put 512MB in one of the other T2X models.

Regards,

James