anyone have t41 and t43?..noticible difference?

[Cliff]

I'm considering buying another TP to run linux...i currently have a T41 2379-DJU and am considering a T43 2686-E7U. A summay of specs is below. I know i should see a difference in speed because of proc and hd...also upgrading to 2GB ram on the new one, but doubt that will make a huge difference.

Can anyone comment on build differences (case, keyboard, etc) from the 41 to the 43?..any insight, no matter how small, is appreciated.

Current system:

P M 1.6GHz
512MB RAM
40GB 5400rpm HDD
14.1 SXGA+(1400X1050) TFT LCD
32MB ATI Radeon 9000
16x10x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD
Intel 802.11b wireless(MPCI), Modem(CDC), 1Gb Ethernet(LOM)
UltraNav, Secure Chip(TCPA), 6 cell Li-Ion battery, WinXP Pro

Considering:

IBM ThinkPad T43 2686 - Pentium M 750 1.86 GHz
14.1" TFT SXGA+ (1400x1050)
256 MB RAM (will upgrade to 2GB later)
60GB 7200rpm
9 cell battery
3 yr depot repair
Intel Pro Wireless 2200 B/G
XP home (will format and be running linux)
DVD/CD-RW Multiburner

Thanks for any help

[mdntridr]

Well we have T41 and T42 at work, and since T42 and T43 are so similar I think it's a good comparison. There's some minor cosmetic differences but unless you really need the fingerprint thing or the fast CPU/FSB, then I personally wouldn't bother. Unless you're rich, in which case, you definitely should upgrade

--Greg--

[stgreek]

You shouldn't see any major difference. Your T41 already has a nice SXGA+ screen and a capable graphics chipset so it should be just fine. Mind you, the X300 acceleration is not yet fully supported under Linux, even using the ATI drivers, while the 9000 runs fine even on kernel drivers. IMO, the biggest change you will see will be from the 7200 drive, so if you want to save some cash just replace the drive and get another 512 MB memory. I can tell you that between my 1.5 T40 with 1 gig/7k60 and a brand new T42 2378-FVU (1.8, 5400 drive) I would definitely go for the T40. The difference is just not big enough.

Stavros

[carbon_unit]

OK, so if someone was looking at buying a T4x for use with linux what should they look for?
What would be the sweet spot for price vs. performance with the most compatible hardware?

[stgreek]

OK, so if someone was looking at buying a T4x for use with linux what should they look for?
What would be the sweet spot for price vs. performance with the most compatible hardware?

If you play games, the 2378-FVU T42 is the best price/performance IMO. If you do not play games extensively, any T40 or T41 with the ATI 9000/SXGA+ combo offers excellent price/performance. The difference between the CPU speed is not obvious (unless you compile a LOT of code) and the other components are pretty much the same (and very compatible with Linux). On Linux, what will make the most difference IMO is pairing a 7k60 with a filesystem like ReiserFS, the speed difference will be more than any CPU upgrade can offer.

Stavros