T41p vs. T42

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Mortalbard · #1 Post by **Mortalbard** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 4:58 am

I can imagine how you Thinkpad veterans are sick of all the postings by newbies who can't decide which model they should get. Thus, I apologize in advance for asking you which Thinkpad I should get.

I've narrowed it down to two: A T41p (2373-GEU) or a T42 (Centrino Pentium M 1.7GHz, 512MB, 60GB 7200 RPM, CD-RW/DVD, 56K, Gigabit, wireless A/B/G, 14.1 SXGA 1400x1050, ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500 32 MB, 9-cell battery.).

They seem to be pretty much the same machine except for the processor and the video card. The T41p has a vastly superior video card, but since I'll only be using Microsoft Word, surfing the web, and watching the occasional movie on DVD, would the Radeon 7500 suffice? (Others have mentioned that Windows Longhorn will require more oomph than the Radeon 7500 can deliver. Is that true?)

Which Thinkpad would be more important for a user like me who intends to keep it for at least five years and will never play a single game - the one with the [censored]' 128 MB video card or the one with the Dothan processor with 2 MB cache? To me, it's a toss-up.

As always, your sage opinions will be treasured forever - or at least until my next post.

gcchatel · #2 Post by **gcchatel** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 9:51 am

why don't you go somewhere in between and get a t42 with the radeon 9600 card with 64mb of dedicated video memory. This is an excellent card, yet these models are still affordable. Personally, I would not make any sacrifices on video cards at this point, you just never know what you might need, this is what made my old laptop obsolete.

If you really have the choice between the t41p and the t42, by all means get the t41p, it is a great system, and the extra meg of cache won't make a big difference if you are only using it for web and email, and the occasional movie.

Hope this helped,

Gael

gcchatel · #3 Post by **gcchatel** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 9:53 am

oh and another thing, you have 1400x1050 in your specs for the t42, that video card does not offer that resolution, i believe that card has a native resolution of XGA or 1024x768.

Gael

atlacatl · #4 Post by **atlacatl** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:57 am

I think all cards support 1400x1050 - No?

It's the LCD that makes it XVGA+ XGA...I thought...

gcchatel · #5 Post by **gcchatel** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:10 pm

That's what I meant about the video card, either way, 1400x1050 is not native and will not look good on the lcd (lcd's get blurry if not in their native resolution). Just something to consider, since I got my 1400x1050, there is no going back

atlacatl · #6 Post by **atlacatl** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:39 pm

There is no going back for me ither - I think the 14" @ 1400x1050 is the perfect size/pixel ratio - Although the 15" @ 1600x1200 is pretty sweet, also - I had Dell Inspiron UltraSharp display - Very nice...

I think we mean the same thing: if your LCD is native at 1024x768, you can't go any higher - On the other hand, if you have 1600x1200 or 1400x1050, you can in fact work at lower resolutions, but everything looks blury...

kano · #7 Post by **kano** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 12:53 pm

atlacatl wrote:I think we mean the same thing: if your LCD is native at 1024x768, you can't go any higher - On the other hand, if you have 1600x1200 or 1400x1050, you can in fact work at lower resolutions, but everything looks blury...

You’re right. Always LCD native resolution is the highest one. With tricky drivers you can partially display highest resolution desktop on lowest, native resolution screen; in this case desktop will follow mouse cursor.
Regards KaNo.

csv96 · #8 Post by **csv96** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:56 pm

Mortalbard wrote:T42 (Centrino Pentium M 1.7GHz, 512MB, 60GB 7200 RPM, CD-RW/DVD, 56K, Gigabit, wireless A/B/G, 14.1 SXGA 1400x1050, ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500 32 MB, 9-cell battery.).

The T42 model you describe above is not available. The closest configurations (assuming the 60gb 7200rpm drive is an absolute for you) that are available are as follows:

2379DXU
Pentium M 735 1.7ghz
512mb RAM
60gb 7200rpm Hard Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 64mb Video
15" SXGA+ 1400x1050 FlexView LCD
CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100BG 802.11b/g WiFi
IBM Bluetooth Wireless
Gigabit and 56k V.92
6-Cell Battery
Windows XP Pro

2373M3U (coming soon)
Pentium M 735 1.8ghz
512mb RAM
60gb 7200rpm Hard Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 64mb Video
14.1" SXGA+ 1400x1050 LCD
CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100BG 802.11b/g WiFi
IBM Bluetooth Wireless
Gigabit and 56k V.92
Fingerprint Reader
6-Cell Battery
Windows XP Pro

2373N3U/2379R9U (coming soon)
Pentium M 735 1.8ghz
512mb RAM
60gb 7200rpm Hard Drive
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 64mb Video
15" SXGA+ 1400x1050 FlexView LCD
CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100BG 802.11b/g WiFi
IBM Bluetooth Wireless
Gigabit and 56k V.92
Fingerprint Reader
6-Cell Battery
Windows XP Pro

dd · #9 Post by dd » Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:15 pm

Hi

In another posting it was said that:

"MS Longhorn 64-bit Windows is supposed to *require* DirectX 9 as minimum, which means ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9600 minimum.

The Radeon 9600 is 2.5 times as fast as the 9000, plus it has DirectX 9 support. Even if you don't game alot, over the next few years the slowness of the 9000 will be noticable to you (more so than the difference in video RAM). There are "reliable" rumors that the next version of Windows will require DirectX 9 support. Now this is probably a couple of years off, but if you plan on keeping your Thinkpad this long, this may be a consideration"

So.............I would go with a decent graphic card (Radeon 9600) as a minimum............but thats just my opinion.

Bye for now

Mortalbard · #10 Post by **Mortalbard** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 7:03 pm

I appreciate all tips. Regarding the T42 I'm considering, the guy selling it says it's a custom configuration. Is that a no-no?

Regarding video cards, how about a T40p with a 64MB ATI Fire GL 9000? Will that survive the transition to Longhorn? Is the T40p's processor technology (in this case, P M 1.6 GHz) way behind the T41 T42? Thanks again.

csv96 · #11 Post by **csv96** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 7:23 pm

Try to avoid "custom" configurations. There are enough T42 models available to find the configuration you want. Definitely get a unit with the Radeon 9600 since it supports DirectX9. The Radeon 9000 only supports DirectX8.1

Mortalbard · #12 Post by **Mortalbard** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 7:27 pm

Okay, one last question and then I'll spend the rest of the weekend hanging my Thomas Kinkade collection.

Many eBay listings offer IBM Factory Remanufactured Certified Products that carry a one-year IBM warranty plus a three-year Mack International Warranty. Is the Mack warranty any good? Does it cover dead or stuck pixels? Are buyers generally satistified with these refurbished machines?

rhema83 · #13 Post by **rhema83** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 7:48 pm

How much are you paying for the refurbished system? I think you shouldn't skimp on a big-ticket item like a laptop. Usually I don't trust merchant warranty. You will want the experts at IBM to fix your laptop a couple of years down the road, especially when you don't know what went wrong.

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