R50e - looking for an honest review from the trenches :)

[apojoga]

Ordering one soon, please let me know if I'm choosing correctly? The exact model is R50e with a 1.7MHz Pentium M (400 FSB).

Does it heat up? On the underbelly? Is the heat even/uneven?

What's the "cruise" level of noise? In the dead quiet of night, is it distracting?

Does it start the fan at full blast, out of the blue? Does it keep running long/forever? I stress-tested one in a store, it seemed to leave the fan running for the 5 minutes I stuck around after the test...

Does the hard drive vibrate? Any weird noises? That periodic "parking" clank, does it happen here too?

Sorry for this level of paranoia; Reviews on the web are very scant and superficial, of course they enumerate all the features but don't discuss the most important part -- how the laptop feels in everyday use.

[MobileGuru]

Take this machine for what it is .. entry level base machine that will get the job done without all of the fancy bells and whistles, at a price than you can live with without selling your dog. The 50e is a good machine, the chassis and internals are for the most part identical to the R52 machines, but you lose some of the additional features that are concidered value adders. If you can afford to go from an R50e to an full blown R52, then go for it, but if your pennies count .. you won't find the R50e any less viable than the R52.

N.

[gforce]

Which model number are you referring to? I've used a R50e (1842SVU) and it was a pretty good machine. The only thing that you might dislike is the overall weight. But the hardware is top notch and I used to play NFSU2 and GTA:VC on it at decent frame rates.
It does heat up but that's when the machine is executing intensive applications.

Btw, I guess you're referring to the 1.7 GHz (P-M 735).

[apojoga]

Thanks MobileGuru and gforce,

I'm not sure about the model number (the retailer's website doesn't provide it). On closer look, it's a 1.8 Mhz Pentium M, not 1.7.

I would use it exclusively for programming and general Windows work... perhaps a little NFSU once a week.

I'm primarily and entirely concerned about two things: fan noise and hard disk noise (working at night rocks ). If you could provide an overview of those two issues, I would greatly appreciate it.

My current Toshiba has a screaming fan (which sometimes never turns off), and the hard drive goes "clank" every 5 seconds (the autopark feature).

[FRiC]

We have multiple R5x's at work, and my main computer is the R51.

I don't think you'll have a problem with heat if you're getting a Pentium M based system. All of our R50e's that have Pentium M run really cool. The underside is slightly warm, with no heat on the palmrest. Only the ones that have Celeron M's have more fan noise and heat on the bottom since they don't have SpeedStep.

Regarding hard disk noise, you'll have to look up the parts list to see which drive you're getting. But all newer R50e's we got have Hitachi 4K40 drives, and they don't seem to be loud at all.

The R50e is actually lighter than either the R51 or R52 since it's missing the dock and the UltraBay...

[gforce]

Thanks MobileGuru and gforce,

I'm not sure about the model number (the retailer's website doesn't provide it). On closer look, it's a 1.8 Mhz Pentium M, not 1.7.

I would use it exclusively for programming and general Windows work... perhaps a little NFSU once a week.

I'm primarily and entirely concerned about two things: fan noise and hard disk noise (working at night rocks ). If you could provide an overview of those two issues, I would greatly appreciate it.

My current Toshiba has a screaming fan (which sometimes never turns off), and the hard drive goes "clank" every 5 seconds (the autopark feature).

Hmm..are you sure that it's an R50e? If I remember correctly, all the models in the R50e series have a 1.6Ghz processor.
Anyway, the fan noise isn't as noticeable as compared to my room-mate's Acer TravelMate. I've heard the "parking" noise a couple of times but I guess that varies on a case by case basis.
Oh and btw, what price level are you looking at? Someone out here might be able to suggest a better equipped model.

[apojoga]

gforce, here is the retailer's posting:

http://www.emag.ro/notebook/thinkpad_r5 ... --pUR0S9RR

(It's in Romanian but the specs are clear to see.)

The price translates to roughly $1500, that would be my ballpark.

Thank you for the hard disk info, I think I'm set now

[apojoga]

... Actually, to reiterate one more thing!

I have this super annoying problem on the Toshiba: after somewhat heavy usage (say a game), the fan NEVER turns off.

This is widespread and affects (among those I know) HP notebooks too.

:fingers crossed: does the Thinkpad correctly turn off the fan? If you're a longtime office/home user, you would have certainly noticed. Please share!

[jshames]

I have had an R50e (1834BFG, 1.6 Ghz Centrino, 512 MB RAM, 40 GB) since Dec. 2004. I have been very happy with it . Although it is my first notebook computer, it is not my first computer in general and I don't see any reason to call this model "entry level".

Some high end features were cut out in order to lower the cost (Firewire, Ultrabay, etc) but these are things that are simply not used by the vast majority of users, either for personal or business use. Perhaps a real "power user" (ie computer geek) would consider the specs unsatisfactory, but for the rest of us there is no problem.

The 15" screen is very bright and clear, the keyboard is excellent, and the battery lasts about 4 hours if you dim the screen a bit. The model includes WiFi which works very well thanks to an antenna built around the screen.

The unit does warm up a bit if doing intensive work (ie video decoding) and the fan (not loud) cycles on/off, maintaining the core temperature about 50 deg Celcius. I do not find the noise or heat to be problematic at all.

The built in and online support is excellent, and a software utility automatically manages updates for the special notebook drivers and utilities. A special hidden partition on the hard drive keeps a mirror image of the original factory setup including windows for an easy restore, although I have not had to use it. A Windows installation disk IS NOT included, although the software allows you to burn your own restore disk. (Recommended!!)

The optical drive is not "user" swappable on mine although some models now include this. At any rate the drive can be replaced, with some disassembly of the unit. I have not missed it, again, since most people simply don't have a need for this. Mine is a CDRW/dvd-rom combo (very handy), although now I'd probably buy a model with a dvd burner.

Video performance is adequate including for watching DVD's, although gamers almost certainly would want a higher end video card than the built in Intel 64 MB adapter.

The overall finish and manufacturing quality is excellent. The built in TrackPoint is useable, but for more prolonged use I splurged on a $15 optical mouse that plugs into the USB.

The unit is not the lightest and most compact available, so if you really plan on hauling it around alot for travel, consider a smaller, lighter model. For me it functions as a desktop replacement (several hours a day) + occasional mobile use. I run mostly Outlook, Office, Explorer and SPSS.

In short, I am very satisfied. Everything just "works", reliably. I think it is an excellent choice, and , they are very reasonably priced as well.

[gforce]

:fingers crossed: does the Thinkpad correctly turn off the fan? If you're a longtime office/home user, you would have certainly noticed. Please share!

As jshames put it, the fan usually turns itself on only when working with intensive applications like games, photo and video editors etc. The only time that I would actually hear the fan running is during the first 5-6 seconds after booting up.

[jshames]

BTW, the hard drive doesn't make any appreciable noise. When the indicator lights up you can hear a very faint grinding noise, but its not really disturbing.