T42P 14.1 Vs. 15 Inch Screen

[new2google]

I need some expert advice here, please help

I need to choose between the

T42P 2373 KTU 14.1
and
T42P 2372 KXU 15 Models.

Can someone please tell me how much thicker and heavier the 14.1 vs. the 15 is, pictures would be really helpful?

What is the IBM Native resolution on the 14.1 SXGA laptop?

Is it worth the money to buy a 15 inch screen?

All the information I can get would be really helpful

[MrBeta]

Can someone please tell me how much thicker and heavier the 14.1 vs. the 15 is, pictures would be really helpful?

What is the IBM Native resolution on the 14.1 SXGA laptop?

Is it worth the money to buy a 15 inch screen?

The 14.1" model is a nice slick machine, 1" thick (slightly thicker in the back), light, and lasts a good 7.5 hours on the 9 cell battery. It's a great machine you can easily travel anywhere with.

The 15" is a brick (and I can say this because I own both a 14.1" and 15" models), it starts at 1.5" in the front and gets thicker in the back. It's about 1.1lbs heavier than 14.1", and... and this is the killer here... lasts only 3.5 or so hours on the same 9 cell battery. Hardly world shattering.

Of the two, the 14.1" SXGA (1400x1050, to answer your other question) is a much better machine. I would only recommend the 15" UXGA (1600x1200) to someone who either absolutely NEEDS the extra resolution, or who would use this primarily as a desktop replacement, not an everyday traveling companion. It's bigger, heavier, with really sucky battery life, ie: more in line with the Dells and Toshibas out there. The 14.1" is what Thinkpads are all about - slim, slick, highly portable, still very much full featured.

Is the 15" UXGA screen worth it? It depends. If you can honestly say you will need the extra 200 pixels horizontally and 150 pixels vertically, plus don't mind the extra size and weight, never mind substandard battery life - sure. The screen is indeed very nice, on the UXGA you get Flexview which has better angle of view than most other notebook LCDs, including the 14.1" screen. Not that the 14.1" screen is bad, it just suffers from the same narrow angle of view that most any other notebook does. But if you use it as a laptop and sit in front of it, ie: not use it for doing presentations in a large room, the picture quality is excellent, so I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. Yes, the 15" Flexview is better, but overall, the 15" Thinkpad is a brick with mediocre battery life. I'd say go for the 14.1" - it's a better laptop, overall.

[hiengu]

I agree with MrBeta on this topic. I myself was in the market for a new laptop and went with an IBM T41 14.1" SXGA+ which I think was a great fit for what I use it for. The 15" I thought looked a bit thick for a T series laptop.

MrBeta, how do you get 7.5 hours on a 9 cell battery? I only get 3 hours on a 6 cell ... so I'm puzzled by all these people who claim to get great battery life ... are you on a special Battery Maximizer mode?

[MrBeta]

I get ~7.5 hours shown by the built-in battery meter if I turn down the brightness, change the profile to Super Power Saver mode, and enable Graphics Device Power Management. This is assuming battery is 100% charged, of course. (all these settings can be quickly selected by clicking on the battery meter in the status bar)

In practical terms, however, with wireless turned on, I get about 6.5 hours of usable time from the 9 cell battery on the 14.1" model, maybe a bit less if I have the brighthness half-way up.

The absolute best I can get on the 15" with 9 cell battery is 3 to 3.5 hours, which is a huge difference.

[kjarrett]

Here is the best thread on this I have seen yet. I wish more people posted pictures of the Thinkpads. Maybe we could have a forum for system photos?

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=1364

Everyone has their own opinion, MrBeta has both so his carries a lot of weight (bad pun) with me, however, I think the pictures above make it clear the difference might not be so bad.

A friend of mine got a 15" T42p from Bill, I can't wait to see it, so I can judge for myself.

Also, there has been quite a debate here about build quality on 14" vs. 15". Again, everyone has their own opinion, and mine is that there are fewer reports of problems with the 15". But, that could also be due to sales volume, perhaps they are selling more 14"ers.

I had a 14.1" T21 for the 4+ years. Now have a 14.1" T30 (in the shop! ). As of right now, until I see a 15" in real life, I'm thinking the extra size and wieght would be worth it, to me. I don't do much road work with the system and want a screen as bright and readable as possible. The Flexview appears to be just that.

To each his own I guess!

Good luck with your decision,

-kj-

[Kenn]

I have both 15" UXGA and 14" SXGA+, and first off, I recommend the 14" to just about anyone other than hardcore developers or maybe 3d/graphics designers, because in general the 14" really is a smaller, lighter, more flexible machine. The difference in size is very noticeable, I'd say it's almost on the order of going from an X40 to a T40. Also, people used to "normal" displays are much more likely to complain about high resolution than appreciate it

That said, I did choose the 15" and it's my primary system. I'm highly mobile 7-days a week and it travels with me eveverywhere (and is rarely in the same place for more than an hour at a time). The UXGA resolution is breathtaking and the flexview really makes it shine. The display is the only real advantage of the form factor though. If I had gone with an SXGA+ display, I would have gotten another 14".

On the 15", I get about 3 hours and change off the 6-cell battery and just under 4.5 hours with the 9-cell, these numbers are both averages under regular office/web usage with wireless on, display brightness lowest, and CPU on adaptive. I tend to watch my behavior very carefully on battery though, since I hate not having an AC to work with. A dim display really affects the readability of tiny uxga pixels more than sxga+!

[hiengu]

MrBeta, thanks for the info on the power settings. I'm going to try them out tonight after work. I've been running things with higher power (ie. max brightness, wireless, etc) so I guess that explains me getting only 3 hours.

[MrBeta]

Everyone has their own opinion, MrBeta has both so his carries a lot of weight (bad pun) with me, however, I think the pictures above make it clear the difference might not be so bad.

You know, that is EXACTLY what I thought too, when I first saw the pictures on this forum and by searching Google on side by side comparisons. Unfortunately, these pictures really do not convey the size and weight difference very well. In real life, when you see the 14.1" and 15" side by side, you instantly see how much bigger the 15" model is - even without stacking them on top of each other. The 15" is noticeably bigger, thicker, and heavier.

About the only images from the post you quoted that even remotely give you any idea as to the size difference are:

http://cfs.umbi.umd.edu/present/thinkpad2.jpg
http://cfs.umbi.umd.edu/present/thinkpad6a.jpg

The 14.1" looks "small" in these pictures, but I'd look at it the other way around. The 14.1" is about the maximum size a notebook should ever be for comfortable use and storage, while the 15" is quite a bit bigger and thicker. It's a monster, that's what it is. It reminds me of all those huge Gateways and Toshibas and Dells with 17" screens... which are really desktop machines, not meant for carrying around.

I do agree with everyone's comments about build quality, though. The 15" came with the Thai keyboard, the 14.1" came with slightly lesser quality keyboard from China. The 15" has no squeeking sounds on the keyboard like some people are reporting on the 14.1" models. But on the 15", the plastic above the Access IBM + volume keys feels very cheap and gives a lot to any pressure, while on the 14.1" it is solid and doesn't bend at all. It almost feels like on the 15" there needs to be some kind of support under that piece of plastic to keep it in place, and they forgot to put it in in manufacturing - any pressure to it puts a 2-3mm "dent" in the case. Nothing critical, it's not like you keep your wrists in that area for typing, so it's just a minor complaint from me and an observation when comparing these two models. The keyboard issue can be fixed by having a Thai keyboard shipped from IBM as a free replacement. I haven't experienced the "loose battery" on either of the Thinkpads though, they both fit perfectly and they are both Sanyo, not Sony.

Oh, the 15" is also very top heavy - you need both hands to open or close the screen, otherwise the bottom part (keyboard) moves entirely with the screen. The 14.1" can be opened, adjusted and closed with just one hand without any problems.

My ideal Thinkpad? 14.1" with Flexview screen. Maybe one day someone at IBM will see these posts and make one for me - and the many people who have expressed similar opinion here on these forums and other places on the net.

[w0qj]

current IBM technology makes Flexview displays VERY thick, which is a major reason why 15" T42's are so thick.
So imagine a 1.6" thick 14" T42 Flexview...

hopefully the next generation of T-series thinkpad will offer thinner Flexview LCD display (T50 in Q1'2005 with Alvisio and Somana, and hopefullly >=3 USB ports and Firewire?)

[Kenn]

The CPU side of the 15" is just as thin as the 14", it's only wider all around so it can accomodate the screen.

The display side is what adds 90% of the height and weight to the 15", not to mention the larger, brighter, battery-sucking backlight!

Still, if you compare to other 15" notebooks, the t42 is still very thin and light. Next to the Sonys, Toshibas, and Dells out there, my 15" looks like a 14"

[kjarrett]

I used a T21 for years and loved it. I agree this is the ultimate form factor.

My T30 is substantially heavier. Still OK though. I love it.

The T42p at my friends house will be sitting next to his T20. I will easily be able to compare the two.

I realize this is an indiviudal decision, but some of the factors pushing me towards the 15" are (in MY case):

- I'll hardly, if ever, travel with it (no airplanes)
- My desktop PC has a 20" LCD that runs @ 1600x1200, would be nice to "match"
- I'm always near AC power, but I'd get an ultrabay battery for times I might need it.
- I work outside a lot, the brighter screen, the better.
- I'd like my next Thinkpad to last me 4+ years. I'm thinking the Flexview is the right technology to invest it.
- Build quality. My unofficial view is that the 15" have less defects but I admit this is an unscientific, statistically indefensible position.

So, we'll see - can't wait to heft that T42p and see for myself how it feels.

Ah, the 11th Commandment, Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Thinkpad!

-kj-