R51 vs T42: Help me decide

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sab2624 · #1 Post by **sab2624** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:04 pm

Well I am about to buy a new laptop and need some advice. I can get a r51 (RIU) with almost equivilant features of an T42 (Q4U). The T42 comes with a 3 year warranty vs 1 for the r51. The r51 does have a 15 inch screen......The T42 has a slightly higher speed HD and ethernet port. r51 is cheaper, but when you add the warranty upgrade it is a wash on the T42 proces. T42 is lighter.......Tough decisions.....Thoughts?

#2 Post by **daeojkim** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:17 pm

I would incline for T42. If the price are similar with same warranty definitely go for T42.

Actually if you tell us the specifications and model number of T42 and R51, and your use habit (e.g. travel much with it?, what kind of work will you be doing with it) it wil be easier to give a recommendation.

JK

Website · #3 Post by **tfflivemb2** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:17 pm

I have neither one, but from what I have read, I would recommend the T42. Lighter is always a plus!

Furthermore, the T42s seem to be more common...which will mean in the future if you need to replace a part on your own, there will be more parts available...which also means cheaper.

Just my 2 cents.

sab2624 · #4 Post by **sab2624** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:26 pm

Ok...The R51 is: 1836Q4U. The T42 is 2379R1U. Everything is the same, processor, video, HD size, Optical device, except: R51 has 15 inch screen vs 14. T42 has 5200 RPM HDD vs 4200. T42 has faster ethernet port. R51 is $809. T42 is $1000. T42 has fingerprint reader...not big deal to me. It will be used primarily used around the house for general work, MS Office and internet work / play.

gforce · #5 Post by **gforce** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:35 pm

@sab2624:
Are you referring to this model?
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... yle=lenovo

#6 Post by **Kyocera** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:38 pm

I bought a 15" t42 about a year ago for work, I carry it from customer to customer during the day, in and out of the case, plopped down anywhere I can connect to the network. I met up with a fellow tech who had a 14" one day and started thinking about lugging the 15" around. Now I have a nice 14" T30 and it is great for work, portability, etc. I guess my point is for portability the 14" is king, but it is nice to have the larger screen 15" to surf the web, read, look at pics, etc.

My two cents :-}

sab2624 · #7 Post by **sab2624** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 5:41 pm

R51 is: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... yle=lenovo

T42 is: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... yle=lenovo

#8 Post by **daeojkim** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 6:35 pm

In this case definitely go with T42.

#9 Post by **K. Eng** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 7:05 pm

T42. Lighter, smaller, sturdier construction.

gforce · #10 Post by **gforce** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 8:19 pm

daeojkim wrote:In this case definitely go with T42.

Second that.

kyrotech · #11 Post by **kyrotech** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:18 pm

Agreed, go with the T42 model, better, lighter, nicer

ddutta · #12 Post by **ddutta** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:28 pm

Between the R51 and the T42, I would prefer the T as I had it for a month (before I gifted it away to my Dad). Its as good as it gets. The screen was brighter and sharper than my own T42 (2378R1U). In fact it was brighter than a SXGA+

PS: The differences between the R52 and the T series are less (other than weight)

#13 Post by **thePCxp** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 10:50 pm

Between the R51 and the T42, I prefer both.

asiafish · #14 Post by **asiafish** » Mon Oct 24, 2005 11:55 pm

Definitely the T. The R series are bulky and don't have the same panache as the T series, which are downright luxurious, even the cheaper models.

Forget the R, it is an ordinary consumer machine, where the T series are definitely premium products.

christopher_wolf · #15 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:32 am

I would go with the T for sure.

AIX · #16 Post by **AIX** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 1:59 am

>> R51 is $809. T42 is $1000

For such a small amount of money - T is the answer. (..but personally I'll go with the T anyway

)

It's lighter and has a better construct (magnesium, titanium, etc.)

sorry for my broken english..

#17 Post by **thePCxp** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 2:06 am

asiafish wrote:Forget the R, it is an ordinary consumer machine, where the T series are definitely premium products.

I also wanted to say that I didn't buy an R because it was low priced, I could have bought a T but I decided to buy an R instead because after I used a R5x (which was an R50) I then wanted to get one.
I also think that the R series is as good as the T series.

sab2624 · #18 Post by **sab2624** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 7:42 am

Well after getting to the store and looking at both, The T42 won the day. Out the door for $996. Regularly $1399 on IBM's web site. Thanks for the feedback.......

asiafish · #19 Post by **asiafish** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:00 am

thePCxp wrote:
asiafish wrote:Forget the R, it is an ordinary consumer machine, where the T series are definitely premium products.
I also wanted to say that I didn't buy an R because it was low priced, I could have bought a T but I decided to buy an R instead because after I used a R5x (which was an R50) I then wanted to get one.
I also think that the R series is as good as the T series.

Well, you think wrong. The electronics might be as good, but I've never heard of anyone describing flimsier construction, bulkier size and heavier weight as an advantage.

Face it, just because you own an R series (which is not a bad machine), does not make it equal to a T series. The T series is the high-end corporate model, designed for light weight, thin and small dimensions (especially the 14") and sturdy construction. It costs more because magnesium and titanium are more expensive than plastic, and because IBM/Lenovo knows that many users will pay extra for a higher-end laptop, even if the hardware specs are the same.

Personally, I'd take the bottom-end 14" T42 over the top of the line R52p, as size, weight and panache are more important to me than raw speed.

The R series always has been and remains designed to emphasize a low price. It is very competitive at its price point, but it is not in the same class as the T series.

#20 Post by **GomJabbar** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 8:58 am

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=16687

#21 Post by **thePCxp** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 12:04 pm

asiafish wrote:
thePCxp wrote: I also wanted to say that I didn't buy an R because it was low priced, I could have bought a T but I decided to buy an R instead because after I used a R5x (which was an R50) I then wanted to get one.
I also think that the R series is as good as the T series.
Well, you think wrong. The electronics might be as good, but I've never heard of anyone describing flimsier construction, bulkier size and heavier weight as an advantage.

Face it, just because you own an R series (which is not a bad machine), does not make it equal to a T series. The T series is the high-end corporate model, designed for light weight, thin and small dimensions (especially the 14") and sturdy construction. It costs more because magnesium and titanium are more expensive than plastic, and because IBM/Lenovo knows that many users will pay extra for a higher-end laptop, even if the hardware specs are the same.

Personally, I'd take the bottom-end 14" T42 over the top of the line R52p, as size, weight and panache are more important to me than raw speed.

The R series always has been and remains designed to emphasize a low price. It is very competitive at its price point, but it is not in the same class as the T series.

It's not just because I own an R series. I already know why the T series is more expensive, what material its built of, and other stuff (I know about ThinkPad's). And I would also like to own a T series too.

Well, you think wrong. The electronics might be as good, but I've never heard of anyone describing flimsier construction, bulkier size and heavier weight as an advantage.

Can you explain what you mean by this?

#22 Post by **daeojkim** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 3:19 pm

There is no need to argue about this.

The bottom line is that for this case, even though they both had exactly same specifications (CPU, graphic card, screen, etc), the T42 came with 3 year warranty vs. 1 year on R51.

So basically the question was when you factor in the warranty, the T and R asked on this thread were almost the same price. Given that condition, one should go for T, due to better construction and material used, weight, and form factor.

please close this thread, it looks like it will go into an ugly full blown argument closing to personal attacks.

Rahula · #23 Post by **Rahula** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 4:05 pm

[quote="sab2624"]Well after getting to the store and looking at both, The T42 won the day. Out the door for $996. Regularly $1399 on IBM's web site. Thanks for the feedback.......[/quote]

The 2370-R1U T42 that you bought for $1,000 is an amazingly low price. I found it on the Lenovo web but it was for $1,399. Can you please show me where you got it at that amazing price?

I was about to place my order for the 2373-H6U which many people on this forum considered a very good value for $1,500, but your selection is too good to be true. I'm anxiously waiting for your reply and hold back my order. Many thanks.

gforce · #24 Post by **gforce** » Tue Oct 25, 2005 5:53 pm

You just can't compare the R1U with the H6U. The latter provides more features like an SXGA screen, a Radeon 9600 card, Bluetooth etc.

Coming back to the original topic, it seems that for the same price, the T42 is a much better buy since you get a more portable screen, a fingerprint reader and a faster hard drive. Add to that the *generally* higher resale values of the T series and you have a almost perfect concoction.
I'm glad you took the correct decision.

R51 vs T42: Help me decide

R51 vs T42: Help me decide

where did you buy the 2370-R1U ?

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