X41-- better than X32 or X40, or simply newer?

[drewzer]

Hello,
I am sure I am missing something here, but what makes the X41 better than the X32 or the X40? I am looking through the tabook but I am not coming to any conclusions. Is the X41 just newer and sleeker? Are the X32 and X40 series ending? Are the newer Intel mobile processors a lot better and less power hungry (but the X40 also has the M758)? Some aspects cuch as hard drives even seem to be a step back; the X32 has 5400rpm drives while the X41 has 4200rpm. What gives? I know I have a lot of questions, but if you could put me on the right path I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for the help,

Drew

[wackydan]

Hello,
I am sure I am missing something here, but what makes the X41 better than the X32 or the X40? I am looking through the tabook but I am not coming to any conclusions. Is the X41 just newer and sleeker? Are the X32 and X40 series ending? Are the newer Intel mobile processors a lot better and less power hungry (but the X40 also has the M758)? Some aspects cuch as hard drives even seem to be a step back; the X32 has 5400rpm drives while the X41 has 4200rpm. What gives? I know I have a lot of questions, but if you could put me on the right path I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for the help,

Drew

The x-41 is a refresh from IBM/Lenovo of the x-40. The key differences are higher available processor, and more models with the 60gig drive. They are the same chassis. When Lenovo comes out with another refresh it will be called the x-42 - if they change the chassis on their next ultra-portable, then they will call it the X-50. It's how the model naming scheme works. So the X-41 is newer, and offers a bit more power at the higher price range.

The X-32 was released about the same time as the X-41. THe X-32 is a complimetary product of sorts. It's part of the legacy X-30 series ultra portable line. The main difference between the X-41 and X-32 is that the X-32 is targeted at customers who want an ultra portable but also don't want to sacrifice porformance as much as they would with the X-41.

The X-32 offers faster processors, discreet graphics from ATI, and faster/larger drives.

The reason you see the difference between hard drives between the X-41 and X-32 is because the x32 uses a 2.5 inch drive at 5400 rpm, and the x41 uses a 1.8 inch drive. The 1.8 inch drives are currently limited to 4200rpm and 60gig. Expect them to bump to 5400/80gig by year end. we'll see if they add those to the X-42/43 at that time.

[sugo]

For the X41 non-tablet, GMA 900 is probably the most significant improvement.

[drewzer]

So for a student who may occasionally run some statistical software, which IBM ultraportable series would you recommend?

Are there any differences in the quality of keyboards?

Would one pereceive a difference between the 4200rpm of the X41 and 5400rpm drive?

My frame of reference is a 3 year old IBM T23 1.13 GHz PIII with 768mb of RAM.

Thanks for the help.
Drew

[Sandtigrr]

So for a student who may occasionally run some statistical software, which IBM ultraportable series would you recommend?
*snip* Would one pereceive a difference between the 4200rpm of the X41 and 5400rpm drive? *snip*

It would depend on the amount of number crunching you plan on doing daily. If you plan on doing a lot of number crunching I would lean toward the non-ULV (Ultra low voltage) processor models. However for occasional use any of the x40 series would be ok. A 5400 RPM HDD would be benefitial however I am currently running a 4200 RPM drive without any problems. Granted it helps to have as much memory as you can afford (1GB on my work system).

[blackomegax]

also consider the x40 series is a more modern chassis than the x30 series.

which is better? i dont know