Prospective Thinkpad owner appeals for advice

[PirateLawyer]

Hi, I'm new to the boards, and I must say this seems like a great community. If (hopefully when) I get my Thinkpad, I will definitely stick around.
I'm already set on purchasing an IBM notebook, based on research done on the internet and testimony from reliable sources about the unbeatable quality of these machines. The trick is, I have to decide which model is right for me. I will be moving across the country to attend law school this fall, and I'm planning on having a notebook as my sole computer, rather than as a supplement to a desktop system. That being said, portability is important to me, since the law school facility is wi-fi enabled, and every student I have talked to says that bringing it to class for taking notes, and even writing essay tests, makes life much easier. I don't have very strenuous demands of a potential machine, since I do virtually no 3d-gaming, no heavy database work, no graphics editing. I just need something to browse the web, watch dvds, word process, etc.

I'm posting this in the T Series forum because I have stumbled across what seems to be a very good deal:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDe ... 013&depa=0
It's a T40, model 237372U, Pentium M 1.5 Ghz, 256mb RAM, 40 GB HD, DVD/CDRW, 802.11b, etc., with a 3-year warranty. I'm extremely tempted by this model, since it has the weight and size advantage, basically all the features I want (I'd probably augment it with another 256 mb of RAM), and because it's significantly cheaper than the same model at IBM.com (to the tune of $350).
So, is there any reason why I might not want this particular model? It's priced at the upper end of my budget, so I can't go much higher, but can anyone point out a better alternative? I like Newegg, but I'd consider an equally reliable dealer; I've also looked at some R series models, and they're cheaper with more functionality, but this laptop purchase has to last me through three years of law school, so I'm tempted by this one's warranty; are there any features present in the T41 (or indeed, a higher-end R model) that are absent from this T 40?
I'm a very hesitant shopper, especially with an outlay of this magnitude, so any and all input will be extremely welcome. Thanks in advance.

[csv96]

For about the same price, you can get this T42:

http://www-306.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... ry=2378DUU

Same specs except it only has a 1 year warranty, but it does have the Intel 11b/g adapter instead of just 11b, faster hard drive, and faster CD-RW/DVD Combo drive.

[Chun-Yu]

If you go though a credit card discount, you can get a much better deal - for example, for just $25 more:

http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... logId=-840

That one is a 1.7 GHz with b/g wireless, but only a 1 year warranty. If you'd rather have a 3 year warranty and don't mind slower wireless and CPU:

http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/store ... logId=-840

That is the model I have had since the T41 came out, and I really like it. Since you are going to school, I'd recommend a T series instead of an R, since they are quite a bit lighter. I carry mine everywhere on campus with me. If you are likely to play any games on it in the future, I would probably get the T42 above and see if the warranty can be extended (look around in this forum - there was a thread about this recently). Otherwise, a T41 should be enough (UT2004 actually does run decently on here, but if you want to play any new games in the future, a T42 with a radeon 9600 would be much better choice).

EDIT: just saw that you don't play many games - even so, I would still recommend one with at least a radeon 9000 because they have SXGA+ instead of XGA displays, which I find to be much more usable for web browsing, having lots of IM windows open, etc.

[G-Man]

Looks like a good price, but you can get a much faster, better ThinkPad T42 for $1725 if you have a Visa, Mastercard or Discover card. Check out this model. It has the new Intel Dothan CPU, 64MB ATI 9600 video card, Intel b/g wireless. The only downside is that it has 1 year warranty, but you can upgrade it anytime you want.

Visa card discounts: http://ibm.com/businesscenter/visa
Mastercard discounts: http://ibm.com/businesscenter/mastercard
Discover discounts: http://ibm.com/businesscenter/discover

Regards,
G-Man

[G-Man]

You can also get a price quote from Bill (the host of this forum), Bill@ThinkPads.com. No tax (IBM does charge you, depends on which state you live).

Regards,
G-Man

PS: I like when everybody answers the same question simultaneously.

[akerman]

Just wanted to add my own input :
T40: thinner, lighter, magnesium-reinforced version of the R40
T41: a T40 with the harddisk airbag - not a pivotal feature imo, but cool
T42: a T41, but now comes with 15" too, and uses the dothan pentium-m (lower power consumption, 21w vs 25w)

The problem I see with the T40 you've selected, is the harddrive.. it doesn't say the speed of it, but when it doesn't say, it's usually 4200rpm - this will be a definite bottleneck, even when just doing light work in windows. Try one of the above models with 5400rpm instead.

[cynic]

Don't forget to check with your law school about purchasing it through them. Many University IT groups get discounts through IBM and law schools are especially in love with thinkpads (I think the general serious look is really appealing to lawyers... and their future clients)

[PirateLawyer]

Wow, thanks everybody! This has brought a lot to my attention, let me see:
Cynic: I checked, and my school only has a purchasing deal with Dell, which doesn't help me. Good thought, though.
Akerman: Thanks, I've never been fully clear on what the differences between these designations really were. I looked on IBM.com for the model number of the notebook I'm thinking of purchasing from Newegg, and it actually is a 5400 rpm HD. I gather this is not something I should compromise on, though?
G-Man and Chun-Yu: Wow, I was completely ignorant of those credit card-based discounts. That definitely changes things for me, since Newegg's selection is limited. Many thanks for bringing that to my attention.

So, it seems I've got some more shopping to do. But I do have a new question: G-Man, you said that warranties can be extended after the purchase of the notebook. Are there limitations or caveats for this procedure? Because that would suit me very well, if I could sink the cost of the extended warranty into the actual notebook now, and upgrade that later when the budget permits.
Thanks again, everybody, I don't think I've ever seen such a polite, helpful board.

[JHEM]

The warranty can be extended or upgraded for relatively little money anytime during the period of the original coverage.

E.g., if you purchase a Thinkpad with a 1 year warranty, you'd have to purchase the extension/upgrade before the end of 1 year.

Regards,

James

[DonkeySmiler]

Great post Pirate! I am pretty much in the exact same situation as you (looking for a good laptop for law school).

The information everyone supplied has been very helpful, thank you.

Just curious Pirate, which law school will you be attending?

*edit - A question for you knowledgeable folks - Is it easy to upgrade/add more RAM to the T42 model? It seems to be cheaper to get the base 256mb and get another 256mb from somewhere else.

[Conmee]

In addition to cynic, akerman, etc comments, the main tech differences beetween a 14" T40 and 14" T41/T42:

1-Banias CPU in T40/T41, Dothan CPU in T42
2-PC2100 (DDR266) in T40, PC2700 (DDR333) in T41/T42
3-Active Protection System (hard-drive 'airbag') in T41/T42
4-Radeon/FireGL 9000 in T40, Radeon 9600/FireGL T2 in T41/T42

I would spend up to $400 difference to get a laptop with Mobility Radeon 9600 or FireGL T2 just for the advanced DirectX9.0b support, as the Mobility 7500/9000/FireGL 9000 in the T40 models is DirectX8.1 compliant, and doesn't support the latest graphics features and games (games will still play, just won't take advantage of the latest pixel shaders, etc). Even if you don't play video games or do CAD, it's cheap insurance up front to buy the best graphics you can in your laptop... as that is really what ages fastest in a notebook computer. And the fact that video/graphic card can't be upgraded (except in a couple Dell or Alienware notebooks), it's better to put in the extra cash up front, IMHO. For daily web surfing and email and Word, true, the benefits won't be noticed, but I still think, if you can scrap together the money to get a T41/T42 with Mobility Radeon 9600 or FireGL T2, it'll be worth it.

Daniel.

P.S. Here are my 3DMark2001se and 3DMark2003 benchmark results for my various T Series...

T42 (15" SXGA+, MR9600 w/64MB) 3DMark01=9377 3DMark03=2509
T40p (14" SXGA+, FireGL 9000 w/64MB) 3DMark01=7227 3DMark03=735
T41 (14" SXGA+, MR9000 w/32MB) 3DMark01=4982 3DMark03=<500
R40 (14" XGA, MR7500 w/16MB) 3DMark01=1534 3DMark03=n/a

3DMark01 tests DirectX8.1 performance
3dMark03 tests DirectX9.0b performance

[cooljw]

I just ordered a 2378FVU (the link above Chun-Yu posted) and it is on the way via UPS (see thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=605)

As far as I can tell, this model is clearly the *best buy* of any Thinkpad right now (after using the 15% credit card or other discount). You get the new Dothan CPU, high-res screen, and great graphics card. True it only has 256mb RAM and 1 year warranty, but you can upgrade these for much less than if you were to buy any Thinkpad that came with them:

It is very easy to add more memory. Budget $40 for 256mb more and $95 for $512mb more. I am buying a 512mb SODIMM to put in myself. (IBM website charges $75 for 256mb more, and $152 for another 512mb module!)

It is very easy to extend the warranty. I called IBM and extended mine after I purchased the unit, it costs $118 to make it a 3-year depot warranty. (wierd thing was, the salesperson said they can't sell the warranty extensions in CA. But if you give them a different "shipping" address, it's no problem. But when buying a warranty extension, there's nothing to "ship" and it in no way affects where the warranty is valid either! Silly...*Note: if you give them an Oregon address there's no sales tax!)

[cynic]

(wierd thing was, the salesperson said they can't sell the warranty extensions in CA. But if you give them a different "shipping" address, it's no problem. But when buying a warranty extension, there's nothing to "ship" and it in no way affects where the warranty is valid either! Silly...*Note: if you give them an Oregon address there's no sales tax!)

California regards the IBM warranty extension as insurance and as such, the provider has to have an insurance license in the state. That's why you can't buy it within CA. However, insurance is not nullified when items are brought into CA, so you can buy it elsewhere if you have an out of state address

[G-Man]

PirateLawyer,

I just check the warranty upgrade prices of my T40 (came with 3 year warranty):

2 year onsite repair 9x5/next business day: $98.00
3 year onsite repair 9x5/next business day: $119.00
4 year depot repair: $110.00
4 year onsite repair 9x5/next business day: $299.00
5 year depot repair: $220.00
5 year onsite repair 9x5/next business day: $449.00

Regards,
G-Man

[PirateLawyer]

Donkey: I'll be attending Tulane Law School in New Orleans this August. How about yourself?
Conmee: You make a good case for spending a bit extra to make sure that the laptop I want to warranty for three years is actually useful for those three years. I'm strongly considering a T42 right now.
JHEM and G-Man: Much obliged for the info on warranty extensions; if it's that simple to take care of, then I can put off that expenditure for a year and invest that money in a better-equipped laptop.

Now, here's my latest worry: on my current desktop system, I use a 21" CRT monitor--less than that viewable, but still a darn big monitor. But I only run it at 1280x1024, which seems to suit my eyes very comfortably. The idea of a 1400x1050 resolution crammed into a 14.1" screen is worrying, to say the least. This is undoubtedly a subjective question, but what do people think about the relative merits of both resolutions? I think I'm going to have to head on down to a Best Buy or a Circuit City and see what these higher resolutions really look like on a notebook screen.
Oh, and I'd like to ask Donkey's question again: does it make more sense to take the default ram configuration on a T-series and use the upgrade slot for another, cheaper ram module, or to spring for a higher initial RAM allocation, and leave the optional slot open for future flexibility? And how would one even configure that? I see that on IBM.com there are two choices on the configure and buy screen for a 512MB configuration; what's the difference?
Thanks again for all your help, you guys rule.

[Chun-Yu]

If you are looking for a 14.1" SXGA+ display to see at Best Buy or Circuit City, I know the Sony Vaio Z1 has one.

About the RAM - if I were to buy another ThinkPad right now, I would definitely get something bigger than 256 MB. I made the mistake of buying my T41 with 256 then adding 256 more as soon as it came, thinking that would be plenty for the future. 7 months later, it wasn't, so I got 1GB (I learned my lesson about future-proofing, hehe) and swapped out the 256 that I added for a total of 1.25GB.

PirateLawyer: the difference is discussed at http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=655 - basically, there is none, except for the price.