T41, T42 or HP nc6000 ??

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#1 Post by **aamsel** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:56 am

I am down to the following, after absolutely deciding that I only want XGA. Nothing else works for me, so the following choices are all regular XGA, with a 5400rpm 40Gig and 512MB.
I am not gaming on this notebook, so the video card is not very important.

1.) HP nc6000 Dothan 1.7, a/b/g, 64MB ATI 9600, 14.1" screen
2.) T41 2379DKU, Banias 1.6, IBM 802.11 a/b/g, 32MB ATI 7500, 14.1" screen.
3.) T42 2378FZU, Dothan 1.7, Intel b/g, 32MB ATI 7500, 15" screen.

I again, don't care that these are all XGA, and I don't want higher resolution.
What I do want is:
1.) THE BEST OVERALL BUILD QUALITY, and quiet operation.
2.) The best regular XGA screen I can get, if a T is 15" just too big???
3.) The best keyboard, I read some of the T series not as solid.
4.) (battery life, less important, I know the nc6000 wins this one)

Your comments greatly appreciated.
I have been deciding on a notebook for far too long, but it took me months to realize that XGA was perfect for me (don't know why it did!)

Thank you in advance!!
Andrew
Austin, TX

p.s. Also, I don't see any T42 14.1" XGA models with Dothan and b/g or a/b/g wireless ???

nesen · #2 Post by **nesen** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 6:40 am

hi aamsel

1.) quiet operation, don't know because i don't have a t41/t42/nc6000, but the build quality is likely to be way better with the thinkpads, a schoolmate has a HP notebook (nx7010) and the build quality isn't great at all, also the support is not worth to mention, sent his NB to repair, got it 2 weeks later and had to send it back because the support turned a screw through the cheap ABS plastic!
may be another case with the nc series or other countries

2,) dunno

3.) if you head for a good keyboard, well, the nx7010 keyboard is crap compared to the t41, i don't think that the nc6000 keyboard is such a huge step forward to be comparable with the t41 one...

4.) you're sure? http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/hardware/n ... 705,00.htm

also, if you get a 9 cell battery AND a ultrabay slim battery, battery life will be around 9-10 hours, dunno if that's possible with the HP notebook.

personaly i wouldn't go for a 15" screen with XGA, therefor the t41 seems to be the best choice out of the 3, but the t41 may have a loud fan, don't know if the t42 also has a loud one.

as for the resolution, if you work with an operating system (and that's pretty likely...), you shouldn't have problems with the text size on a SXGA+ either, and images/text look much sharper, so if you didn't compare them in real life it'd be wise to do so, otherwise you may regret your choice for years.

sswany · #3 Post by **sswany** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 12:34 pm

I've used all three models. The nc6000 is very nice compared to the other HPs that I've used. The screen is very nice and they seem to be built better than the older HPs and Compaqs.

I bought a T42 (FVU) and love it. The screen is great, I just wish it had bluetooth (but that's an easy add-on). I have never really liked HP laptops, even if they are built well. I trust IBMs support more.

#4 Post by **aamsel** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 4:57 pm

PLEASE don't tell me that I will be fine with SXGA+ on a 14.1" or 15". I have spent ages tesing stuff (and my eyes) with tweaking Windows font and DPI settings, and trying 3rd party utilities like LiquidView and LiquidSurf. Hi-resolution just isn't going to work for me, because you can't get absolutely everything larger. There is still text in apps, etc that remains small, even when you tweak. I don't know of any way around this.
Andrew
Austin, TX

nesen wrote:...as for the resolution, if you work with an operating system (and that's pretty likely...), you shouldn't have problems with the text size on a SXGA+ either, and images/text look much sharper, so if you didn't compare them in real life it'd be wise to do so, otherwise you may regret your choice for years.

geobel · #5 Post by **geobel** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 6:56 pm

Completely agree with you Andrew,
Nothing higher than XGA works for me on screens smaller than 17". However I would suggest to go for 14.1" XGA. 15" XGA sometimes looks too blocky even for me. I am happy with my 15" XGA LCD at work, but one is usually somewhat closer to laptop. Believe me or not but when I am close to 15" XGA, subpixels (particularly red) become visible and disturbing. White is no more white: it is red/green/something... (my eyes do not resolve blue subpixel, but do resolve red and green)... Same thing with other colors. Even if you do not actually see subpixels on it may be due to you brain smoothes/reworks image, that is doing extra work. Look on LCDs with magnifying glass and you will better understand what I am talking about...
Finally 14.1" models look so much more stylish than 15".

Gosha

jsmit86 · #6 Post by **jsmit86** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 10:35 am

If you do not need the Dothan, you may also consider the 2378DUU express model at $1599, and upgrade the ram for about $70.
You can save a few bucks if the 1.5 Pentium M will do the trick.
I got mine at CDW, and they installed the ram free.

#7 Post by **aamsel** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 1:09 pm

Thanks everybody!

I would really like a Dothan.
I only see one 14.1" Express model with XGA, and Dothan 735, which is the 2378-FTU.

Is this correct??

Also, what about claims by others here that the keyboards are not as good on the 14.1" T42 as the 15" T42 ??? And, if that is the case, would I be better off forgetting the Dothan, and going for a T41 ???

Finally, I realize I am around "Thinkpad people" here, but would any of these REALLY be better than an HP nc6000 with 1.7 Dothan, XGA and Bluetooth???
If the Thinkpad really is better, can you explain why the HP nc6000 has been getting better professional reviews than the T41/T42 lately???

Sorry, but I have to ask, since these are now the 2 models I am down to (a T41/T42 or a nc6000).

Andrew
Austin, TX

akerman · #8 Post by **akerman** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 1:31 pm

Well I had the nx7000 for a couple of weeks, and I thought the quality was excellent - on par, or even better than that of my T41p (the t41p has places where it squirks/creaks when I press the plastic, the hp didn't).

geobel · #9 Post by **geobel** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 5:21 pm

aamsel wrote: Also, what about claims by others here that the keyboards are not as good on the 14.1" T42 as the 15" T42 ??? And, if that is the case, would I be better off forgetting the Dothan, and going for a T41 ???

I am not absolutely sure, but 14.1" T42 and T41 likely have the same keyboard. However keyboard can be manufactured in China or in Thailand. Second seems to be better. If you happen to get China keyboard just call IBM and ask for replacement with Thai keyboard.
Gosha

rhema83 · #10 Post by **rhema83** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:12 am

There is actually one more alternative - the Toshiba Tecra M2-S720. Fits your bill and I find Toshiba support a tad better than HP. I used my girlfriend's HP nx9000 before and it was crap. Changed to an X31 and non of the previous problems appear again. (Like weird XP problems, very noisy fan and stuff like that.)

Guest · #11 Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 12:15 am

It is so hard to analyze the quality of computer systems when buying. There are so many factors, at least for me. I know for sure that my sister's HP laptop is crap. But it is not a business model. The business models of all companies are made better than in store models. I love Toshibas and have a quality Toshiba notebook but I have heard only good things about the Tecra M2-S. However never had to use Toshiba's tech support too often so can't really rate it. I have heard so much about IBM for several people that it is clear they are doing something right. So if it is by company or computer consider some of those important factors. I feel that support service is should be way up there on a list of buying a computer.

#12 Post by **aamsel** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 1:51 am

Thanks, I agree completely on the support issue.
Having owned several notebooks, I have seen really good service and really bad service.

I will check out that Tecra before making a final decision, but, I had understood that the Tecra M series did not get great reviews, and that the keyboards had a good bit of flex, but that may have been another model.

Thanks,
Andrew
Austin, TX

Guest · #13 Post by **Guest** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 2:33 pm

I have heard about the flex but other than that cool and quiet.

T41, T42 or HP nc6000 ??

T41, T42 or HP nc6000 ??

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