t42 external monitor (graphics/photoshop)

[thinkpads]

is maximum hd rpm on t42 at 5400?, or will 7200 also work as well?

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-2-5-100GB-Hard- ... 3efbfaaa74

based on current ports available on t42, will most mid to high range monitors connect well?
have others used a good external monitor successfully doing photo editing with their thinkpads?
mostly photoshop work, at 1.5gb memory, with a new 5400 or 7200rpm hd.

based on photohop package requirement specs, as well as other thinkpad photoshop users, this should be decent level performance. or should I replace with more powerful custom built desktop or another laptop?

[Harryc]

Welcome to the forum. I can answer your 1st (2) questions, but am not a Photo shop user. The drive you linked to on EBay is an Hitachi 7K100. That drive will work just fine in a T42. You are not limited to it though. Any 2.5" laptop hard drive with an IDE interface will work in a T42 and speed does not matter. I think 320GB is the largest capacity you'll find. Secondly, the only video interface available on a T42 (non-docked) is VGA. So as long as the external monitor has a VGA interface it will work. If you want DVI (recommended), then you'll need a dock.

[ZaZ]

As far as Photoshop goes. it really depends on what you're doing. The T42 has a single core CPU. Any CPU intensive stuff in Photoshop like processing photos or applying filters, the T42 will be at a disadvantage as compared to a dual core CPU because it has half the processing power. It will work, but will be slower. If you're just cropping or touching up photos that should work fine.

[aco6999]

Hi! I have a T42p (1400x1050) and I have attached an 1600x1050 22" Samsung monitor and used it as an extended desktop (via VGA port). It worked OK with Adobe Acrobat, Dreamweaver and Photoshop. It does not compare with the new generation dual or quad core machines but runs better than a P4 desktop to my surprise!!! I do not think, at least to my knowledge, that Photoshop depends so much on the video card, but the processor, and the amount of RAM will make a difference. As for HDD there is a slight difference in performance with a 7200 vs 5400rpm mainly due to accessing the page file and the temporary files. If you do 3D graphics than it is a different story since some rendering is passed on to GPUs in most of the new software.

I hope this helps.

Regards!

[thinkpads]

I have a t42 23736ZU, in which specs are:

Type
Intel Pentium M 735 1.7 GHz
Data Bus Speed
400 MHz
Technology
DDR SDRAM
Memory Speed
333 MHz
System Type
Notebook
Storage
Hard Drive
40 GB, 5400 rpm
Storage Controller
Type
IDE
Optical Storage
Type
CDRW / DVD ROM
Read Speed
24x (CD) / 8x (DVD)
Display
Type
14.1" TFT active matrix
Graphics Processor / Vendor
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500
Video Memory
32 MB
Expansion Slots Total
2 ( 1 ) x memory

Interfaces 1 x docking / port replicator, 240 pin docking
2 x Hi Speed USB, 4 pin USB Type A
1 x parallel, IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP), 25 pin D Sub (DB25)
1 x display / video, VGA, 15 pin HD D Sub (HD 15)
1 x network, Ethernet 10BaseT/100BaseTX, RJ45
1 x display / video, S video output, 4 pin mini DIN

Laptop memory is at 1.5gb, I'm thinking either getting a 7200rpm Hitachi hd 100gb costs $130 + shipping.
Or perhaps build a custom pc, $700-1000, this route will have more processing power, options later on.

Based on my current laptop specs how much HDR intensive photoshop work, or what photoshop limits will my current laptop with 7200rpm drive achieve? Will working in layers/masks/smart objects be fast, normal, slow pace?

custom pc or upgrade laptop?

[RealBlackStuff]

If you are going to do a lot of photo work, my advice would be to build a new PC with Intel i7 CPU and a 1GB graphics card.
You should be able to get this under a $1,000.-

[ashat]

Hi! I have a T42p (1400x1050) and I have attached an 1600x1050 22" Samsung monitor and used it as an extended desktop (via VGA port). It worked OK with Adobe Acrobat, Dreamweaver and Photoshop.

may I ask you which model of 22" 1600x1050 Samsung are you exactly using?

A.

[aco6999]

It is an older SyncMaster 225BW which I use on the monitor analog port.

[thinkpads]

with monitors like Dell 2209wa or Nec EA231WMI-BK, are these adaptable on a t42 using mini-dock dvi port? (287810U)

or will svga max resolution somewhat output change(s) in 4:3 photo images?

[thinkpads]

what are some best suggested hard drives on t42?
speed such as rpm is not much an issue? (so no noticeable change from 5400 to 7200rpm?)

does maximum 320gb drive offer other advantages other than more storage?

[thinkpads]

has a mini dock been tried in past by other members, on a higher resolution monitor? what effects did this have on your images (if you're also a photographer)