first time lap top purchase...im on the fence!

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corleone · #1 Post by **corleone** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 1:07 pm

Starting law school on August 16... never owned a laptop but am excited about purchasing my first! I was initially consiering the x-40 but have since decided on one of the T's...probably T42...

I am reaching out to you all to see if you can help me decide. I will give a brief synopsis of my computing needs/uses. I have $2000-2500 for total purchase

I dont really use my computer to play games... but if i wanted to i would like to have a decent video card.... something middle of the road or "good" doesnt need to be the best one out by any means

Plenty of room for MP3's (iPod owner) and the occasional movie

Must have Pentium M and be EXCELLENT for internet applications (general web browsing and research)

Some minor HTML work (i do the upkeep for a municipal website)

Great picture for watchin DVD's

And i guess thats about it... i jsut want it to be dependable, comfortable, and last me A MINIMUM of the 3 years of law school....

With that (limited) understanding of my needs... can anyone out there recommend a specific model of IBM thinkpad that will fit my needs (or even exceed them....."more bang for the buck" in my ~$2500 maximum total purchase)

thank you all in advance for your assistance!!!!!

C.

Skywing · #2 Post by **Skywing** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 1:50 pm

the 2373-3VU or 2373-3UU would more than meet your requirements, i have the 3VU and absolutly LOVE it. the display is perfect for what you need it to do and the 80GB drive has more than enough space.

gte204i · #3 Post by **gte204i** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 1:54 pm

I'm entering law school too, and I'd suggest that whatever system you get make sure and add the 3 yr. next day on-site service. Law students use their laptops for practically everything, and we won't have time to diagnose problems and send our laptops in for repair. Being without a laptop for even 3-4 days will be unacceptable. This will add ~$100-200 to your total price, but it will be well worth it. You should still be able to get a good T41/T42 at that price. You will probably want the 80 Gig drive and 64 Mbyte video card. I think any pentium M (1.4 GHz and up) woud be fine. Look in the TABOOK to find one for your needs. Get a wireless LAN card if your law school supports it.

corleone · #4 Post by **corleone** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 3:22 pm

thanks for the info guys~ GTE what laptop are you going to be using? where are u goin to school?

C.

PirateLawyer · #5 Post by **PirateLawyer** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 3:24 pm

I'm another entering 1L, and you raise a good point, gte. Do you happen to know if the next day on-site service is available as a warranty upgrade? I ask because I'm planning on purchasing my Thinkpad through a distributor (not Bill or the IBM site), and I'd still like the security of that warranty.

And where will you guys be attending this fall?

Edit: Whoops! Forgot to answer my own question. I'll be going to Tulane Law School.

corleone · #6 Post by **corleone** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 3:38 pm

Pirate, which system are you looking at?

Albany Law School class of '07

PirateLawyer · #7 Post by **PirateLawyer** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 3:54 pm

At the moment, I'm leaning towards the 2378DHU T41, P-M 1.4 Ghz, 256MB, 40HS, 1024x768, etc. It seems like the closest thing there is to a bargain Thinkpad, but it's good enough for me and it agrees with my budget. I'm probably going to buy it from Newegg, because I like their service and because I can buy another ram module for what I would have paid on sales tax through IBM.com. And Bill doesn't sell Think Express models, so that's not an option for me either.

gte204i · #8 Post by **gte204i** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 5:06 pm

corleone wrote:thanks for the info guys~ GTE what laptop are you going to be using? where are u goin to school?

C.

Vanderbilt

I got a 2373-9xu. It arrived the other day, and it's really great. You won't regret your purchase. It has a good quality feel to it as compared to other Dell, Sony, HP, etc. laptops I have used in the past. IBM has great engineering and attention to detail. Your laptop won't be 120 degrees like some others, and it will be pretty quiet. Most importantly, it won't fall apart during law school. And I love the fact that IBM doesn't package in a crapload of bundled software so that your computer is basically crawling by the time you get it (Can you say Sony?). Good luck.

Skywing · #9 Post by **Skywing** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 6:00 pm

i got the 2374-3VU which has same specs as the 2373 except is has 3 year on site, and it was only $70 more

PirateLawyer · #10 Post by **PirateLawyer** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 6:39 pm

Had to look those models up in the tabook. Turns out I wasn't aware of any educational Thinkpads. Are these deals available through your individual law schools, or does IBM have offers for students in general?

jephhy · #11 Post by **jephhy** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 7:21 pm

I have a T40 with the 1024x768 screen (personal) and a T41 with the 1400x1050 screen (work). After using the higher res screen, I can't go back to 1024x768...it looks jagged in comparison. Spring for the higher res screen if you can...

Jeff

UbiMea · #12 Post by **UbiMea** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 10:00 am

corleone wrote:Starting law school on August 16... never owned a laptop but am excited about purchasing my first! I was initially consiering the x-40 but have since decided on one of the T's...probably T42...

I am reaching out to you all to see if you can help me decide. I will give a brief synopsis of my computing needs/uses. I have $2000-2500 for total purchase

I dont really use my computer to play games... but if i wanted to i would like to have a decent video card.... something middle of the road or "good" doesnt need to be the best one out by any means

Plenty of room for MP3's (iPod owner) and the occasional movie

Must have Pentium M and be EXCELLENT for internet applications (general web browsing and research)

Some minor HTML work (i do the upkeep for a municipal website)

Great picture for watchin DVD's

And i guess thats about it... i jsut want it to be dependable, comfortable, and last me A MINIMUM of the 3 years of law school....

With that (limited) understanding of my needs... can anyone out there recommend a specific model of IBM thinkpad that will fit my needs (or even exceed them....."more bang for the buck" in my ~$2500 maximum total purchase)

thank you all in advance for your assistance!!!!!

C.

How do you plan to hook up your Ipod to an IBM T-42? Plan to include a Firewire card and some added inconvenience along with that to get your Ipod to work.

cynic · #13 Post by **cynic** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 2:38 pm

iPods work just fine with the T series using the built-in USB2 ports. Absolutely no inconvienence at all and just as quick transferring files.

jephhy · #14 Post by **jephhy** » Fri Jun 18, 2004 3:00 pm

cynic wrote:iPods work just fine with the T series using the built-in USB2 ports. Absolutely no inconvienence at all and just as quick transferring files.

Agreed, my iPod works great with the USB cable on my T42. Can't charge it with USB of course, but the iPod AC adapter is small enough when I want to take it on the go.

Jeff

first time lap top purchase...im on the fence!

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