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I have been doing my best to do my "homework" first on the t42 with the flexview 15" screen by reading through all the related threads on this forum.
There are some questions that I have relating to various aspects of day-to-day usage of the t42 and also aspects of the t42 customizing along with the issue of deciding between an R51 and the T42.
Any help with even just a few of the questions will be greatly appreciated!
I have had a chance over the last few weeks to have lots of hands-on time with the (heavier and somewhat more awkwardly-sized) widescreen dell 8600 (with a 1900x1200 WUXGA lcd) and also an R50p thinkpad; from this I've developed a much clearer idea of what I do and do not want in a laptop for myself.
1a) After the 8600 lcd, I know that I do not want a UXGA resolution; to try to get a feel for what the t42 15" SXGA+ resolution would be like, I went to a Fry's electronics today and spent a little time with a Fujitsu n-series laptop (16" lcd) with an SXGA+ resolution (at 96dpi) and two other laptops with the same resolution and dpi setting as the fujitsu. For some reason, text on the fujitsu seemed easier to read than on the other two, despite the identical resolution and dpi settings.
And with many of the posts in this forum remarking that text-size on this T42 15"screen/sxga+ resolution is just fine and, generally speaking, still easy to read/view, is it things like contrast, brightness, and maybe even pixel density that is accounting for these differences in text appearance and viewability from laptop brand to laptop brand (despite identical resolution and dpi setting) ?
2a) What I really liked about the R50p and what had me interested (prior to researching the T42) in purchasing an R51 (such as the 18386BBU or 1836BCU was the sloped palmrest. I was surprised by how it added a little bit of comfortability while using the keyboard.
Now, on the other hand, I like the fact that the T42-15"Flexview is about a pound lighter (~ 5.8lb vs R51's 6.6lb) -- I want a laptop light enough for when I'm on-the-go (I realize that the 14.1" version would be lighter, but I want the Flexview features; plus I'm tall and have large hands and I've read that the palmrest area is larger on the T42-15" laptop than on the T42-14.1" laptop).
Another big plus is the difference in case materials between T and R models.
I've only had a total of a few minutes with a T-notebook (with the 14.1" screen) -- long enough to notice that it doesn't have the noticeable sloped palmrest of the R-notebook but not enough time to be able to judge what it would be like typing during regular use with what appeared to be a flat palmrest with perhaps the slightest bit of slope to it.
If I went with a T-notebook, the only thing I'd be losing out on is the R51's sloped palmrest and also the money from the difference in cost between the T42 and R51.
So here's where I'd value your input, particularly from those who've been using a T-series notebook for awhile and comment on the comfortability-aspect of it.
(Also, another thought that I had on the matter is that an annoying thing about laptops (such as the 8600) that have a greater height (i.e. are in the 1.5 to 2.0" range) is that, being tall and being concerned about proper positioning of arms while typing to prevent sore wrists, I have to adjust my chair and position which in turn means that I have to angle the screen farther back in order to see it at the right viewing angle.
Perhaps another advantage of the T-series is that with its lower height of 1", I would have less futzing around to do with my chair, position, and screen angle ? what do you think ?)
2b) The 15"Flexview sxga+ screens of the T42 & R51 have different graphics cards (T42: 60MB 9600 , R51: 32MsB 9000); is this going to make the text and software programs look better, sharper, or better color appearance/saturation-wise, despite the 15"Flexview screen of the two units having apprently identical specs ?
I read Daniel's comments on the matter
I was wondering if someone could clarify the matter for me. I'm not a gamer, so I am still a little unclear on how the difference in the 64MB-9600 and 32MB-9000 would affect someone like me; with the idea of "future-proofing" a person's laptop configuration, obviously I don't need to get carried away and buy a laptop with a 128MB 9600 card, but I'm not clear on what and why would be the sufficient card for across the next several years of owning the laptop.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.
2c) I was extremely impressed by the brightness, color saturation and viewing angles of the R50p's 15" UXGA screen.
Is the experience with the 15"SXGA+screen comparable ?
3) With regards to the choice of optical drive, I've been weighing "future-proofing" vs. what I really need at this present time. While a DVD-recordable drive would be nice, there's the cost aspect and also the 16x CD-R and 4x CD-RW recording speeds ( http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=507 ) versus the 24x CD-R and 24x CD-RW recording speed of the DVD-ROM/CDRW drive that comes with almost all the t42 preconfigured models. I have very little experience with CD-R/RW drives and, if I probably am not going to have a need for a DVD-R/RW drive, is there a great enough benefit from 24x over 16x that I ought to pass on the DVD-R/RW drive (for now at least until prices come down down the road) ? Also, besides the reason that I can think of of being able to transfer video to a DVD, is there some other big advantage to spending the extra $ for a DVD-R/RW drive ?
4a) I was looking over the spec's (in the tabook.pdf) for the 2379-DXU and the several 2373 models. Is there any big real-world perceptible difference between a 1.7 Dothan and 1.8 Dothan Pentium M ?
And would there be any big difference in battery usage between the 1.7 and 1.8 ?
Will there be any newer R models coming out with the Dothan Pentium M ?
4b) And in a related question, I've been trying to get a handle on hard drive speed and capacity for my modest needs. I wouldn't be using the laptop for gaming and probably almost little to no chance of video editing/downloading/transfering. Plus I've read where some people notice the vibration from the 60GB 7200RPM HDD -- and I thought, well, maybe that vibration might be more pronounced and noticeable in a thinner notebook like the t-series. So what is your opinion on how to decide between the different HDD options ?
Also, if I decide to order a configuration with a lower capacity hard drive, can it be replaced (for whatever the reason at some point down the road) by the owner without much difficulty and cost ?
And is there any trade-off on an 80GB hdd ? E.g. any diff. in hard drive-longevity or heat generated (vs the other lower capacity hard drives)
5) In two different threads (# 445 and # 485) I've read about an orderable "long fan" and, all this being new to me, I can't figure out how/if this pertains to the particular t42 I am interested in.
6) With regards to the weight difference between a t42-15" and, say, a t41-14", is that difference distributed evenly in the t42-15" ? It isn't, e.g., top-heavy, is it ?
7) I am trying to figure out whether to order it directly from IBM or whether to order it from a 3rd party (similar to a company, e.g., such as Insight.com). If I can find a cheaper price through a 3rd party, then is there any potential downside ?
(And I've read about ordering through Bill, but I would want to order via credit card and apparently he doesn't accept CC's)
8) With the Dell D800/M60 (similar to the 8600), you can remove the optical drive, place it an external bay and then connect this to a propietary usb port on the side of the unit.
With the T42, can a similar thing be done ? Say, for instance, that I removed the optical drive and, in its place, put in the diskette drive or Ultrabay battery. Could the optical drive then somehow be used (while the diskette drive or Ultrabay-battery was in the Ultrabay) ?
9) Where can I find the prices for the T42 2373-JXU, 2373-CWU, 2373-CXU, 2373-CYU ? (I tried doing a search at IBM's website and also emailing IBM about this and several other questions but received a reply saying simply that I ought to telephone and talk to a sales agent)
10) I've been reading through and considering the current discussions (here and at talknotebooks.com) about the response time of the 15"Flexview screen. It sounds like this is only a concern for and noticeable by some gamers and people who regularly view DVDs on their thinkpad ? I mean, it sounds like that's about the only aspect of using the thinkpad that's being affected ?
11) I've come across some posts commenting about an awkwardness with the High Capacity Li-Ion battery (vs the regular battery). I was wondering if someone could clarify what that is in regards to: weight ? sticks out too much ? etc.
Also, when purchasing the High Capacity battery, is it shipped *in addition to* the regular 6-cell battery ?
12) I am concerned about the reported problems with the T-series notebooks: specifically, that in some instances there is a lot of flex in the arrow keys, that the entire right side of the keyboard is raised, and (in one instance that I read) that at the back of the laptop (where the lcd meets the base) the lcd is bowed. How widespread are these problems ? I am trying to figure whether or not this is affecting the T42-15"Flexview model and whether or not these problems are affecting just a small percentage of the T-series owners.
Thank you in advance for your time, help, and comments
Take care,
Matt
