Worth it to upgrade to T42p or T42 with 14.1" SXGA+ scr

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naro · #1 Post by **naro** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 9:09 pm

hi all,

i'm currently using a T42 with ATI Radeon 7500 32mb and a XGA screen..

i feel like upgrading to a 14.1" T42p or T42 with an SXGA+ screen.

do u all htink it is worth it to upgrade?

asiafish · #2 Post by **asiafish** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 1:17 am

Only if you need the higher resolution and better video card, otherwise there is no benefit.

If you play high-end games the card in the T42p will make a huge difference, but it is still not a true gaming laptop.

dr_st · #3 Post by **dr_st** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:21 am

For gaming consider waiting for the T60/p - the X1400 and V5200 will be much more capable than the 9600/T2 in the T42/p.

XGA->SXGA+ : ask yourself whether you need the extra space. IMO, SXGA+ is very nice, but better suited for 15" screens.

naro · #4 Post by **naro** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:53 pm

i want to get the best of all first..

i intend to use it for the next 2 or 3 yrs...

Intel's new Duo Core will take some time for all laptop manufacturers to produce.. i'll be happy with a T42p... hehe

naro · #5 Post by **naro** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:56 pm

dr_st wrote:For gaming consider waiting for the T60/p - the X1400 and V5200 will be much more capable than the 9600/T2 in the T42/p.

XGA->SXGA+ : ask yourself whether you need the extra space. IMO, SXGA+ is very nice, but better suited for 15" screens.

i still like the T42 series... not a fan of the new T60, not too sure why though...

dino · #6 Post by **dino** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:27 pm

I'd suggest that you use a 14" sxga+ before you upgrade. Sxga+ is too small for my eyes and I'm looking to "downgrade" my lcd to 1024*768. There are a bunch of posts about headaches and eye strain.

mysbca · #7 Post by **mysbca** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:55 pm

dino wrote:I'm looking to "downgrade" my lcd to 1024*768. There are a bunch of posts about headaches and eye strain.

Have you tried changing the DPI settings or using a scaling program like Liquid View?
http://personalcomputing.portrait.com/u ... rview.html

naro · #8 Post by **naro** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:20 pm

dino wrote:I'd suggest that you use a 14" sxga+ before you upgrade. Sxga+ is too small for my eyes and I'm looking to "downgrade" my lcd to 1024*768. There are a bunch of posts about headaches and eye strain.

i've seen before and i liked it...

naro · #9 Post by **naro** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:21 pm

upon 2nd thoughts, after reading a bit on T60, it doesn't seem that bad afterall...

asiafish · #10 Post by **asiafish** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:59 pm

The T60 should prove to be an excellent machine. From the NBR review, it sounds like build-quality has not suffered at all, and they suspect actually improved a bit compared to the T4x. The only complaint I would have is purely asthetic, in that I don't like the look of the new ultranav, but that is such a minor issue as to be irrelevant were I buying today. The simple fact is that for gaming (the most demanding thing anyone is likely to do on a laptop) the T60 will likely blow away any T42p or T43p.

That said, the T42p is an excellent machine, and I use mine for gaming with great results. It looks good, is powerful, fast and runs forever on the batteries (4 hours 6 cell, 6 hours 9 cell). SXGA+ on the 14" (I have the Hydi panel) looks terrific, and the keyboard (Thai) is outstanding.

I'd stay away from the T43. Its not a bad machine, but it is definitely a transitional machine. In a way, the T60 is transitional too, though it is farther along in the process. With the Sonoma chipset of the T43 Intel introduced expresscard slots and SATA drive support, but the T43 itself doesn't fully implement SATA, using an ATA bridge. The T60 is a much more complete implementation with actual SATA drives, if I'm not mistaken. I believe the "work in progress" nature of the T43 is the reason behind the fan noise and drive error message problems that people compain about on this forum. It is for that reason that when I decided to trade my X32 for another T-series that I went right back to the 14" T42p instead of getting the newer and similarly priced T43p or placing an order for the as-yet unproved T60. The T42 is a known quantity with a great reputation for reliability and quality.

dr_st · #11 Post by **dr_st** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:27 am

Upgrading a T42 to a better configured T42 just seems to small an upgrade for me to justify. Same with the T43, and in fact it might be a downgrade in certain aspects. With T60 you get lots of new technologies at once - better CPUs, better video cards, true implementation of SATA, new generation of WLAN, WWAN, better HD protection. That would be one heck of an upgrade.

bzzz · #12 Post by **bzzz** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:51 am

from NBR review of T60:

"I have the 9-cell battery with the T60 being reviewed. It adds a bit of weight over the standard 6-cell and sticks out but if you want close to 4 hours of battery life with the 15" screen model you'll need this size. In using the T60 without Wi-Fi and at medium brightness (3rd notch of 7) it got 3 hours 42 minutes of battery life when used lightly (typing review, or idling)."

it's almost 21W! withiout wifi!! lower than medium brightness!!! used lightly!!!! it's very poor result, IMHO.

asiafish · #13 Post by **asiafish** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:56 am

T60 screens have much more powerful backlights than the older models, and that was a 15" Flexview, both size and screen technology are power hungry.

A 14" non-flexview (they all are) will use less power and thus last longer on the batteries. Not sure if the 14" T60 is as bright as the 15" (probably), but if so, dimming the screen will still give you a brighter image than the T4x series and use the same power.

Not sure about the processor and video in terms of power consumption, but as this was a priority of the design, I'd guess its better than the Centrino/Sonoma architectures.

pete0r · #14 Post by **pete0r** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:19 am

I've got a 14 inch sxga+ screen, and it's niiiice.

It's fine for my 20-year-old eyes. I know my dad has a hard time with it though...

It's really nice having all that space to mess around with. I don't think i could deal with 1024x768.

I don't know if it would be a big deal upgrading, though. I'd wait a little bit more for the dual core intels to make their way into our thinkpads.

asiafish · #15 Post by **asiafish** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:02 pm

My almost 40-year-old eyes like SXGA+ on the 14" as well. XGA is nice on a 12", but a bit jaggedy on a 14".

crashnburn · #16 Post by **crashnburn** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:53 pm

SXGA+ on the 14" (I have the Hydi panel) looks terrific, and the keyboard (Thai) is outstanding.

How do you find out if it is Hydi or other screen?

Worth it to upgrade to T42p or T42 with 14.1" SXGA+ scr

Worth it to upgrade to T42p or T42 with 14.1" SXGA+ scr

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