CNET T43 Review

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Leon · #1 Post by **Leon** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 9:26 am

CNET gave it a 6.5 out of 10, saying "The ThinkPad T43 puts new components inside its tried-and-true case, but the updated parts didn't produce a significant speed or battery-life boost.". They have 0 user reviews if anyone cares to differ.

rocketman · #2 Post by **rocketman** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 9:29 am

I read the review. I really don't know why the Sonoma chip doesn't provide at least somewhat of a performance boost, perhaps it's the particular configuration Cnet tested. Also when they reviewed the T42 they said the prices were good, now they say the T43 is more expensive than the competition.

Steve007 · #3 Post by **Steve007** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:12 am

As a rule of thumb, Cnet = a load of [censored]. Always have been.

#4 Post by **K. Eng** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:20 am

I don't think CNET is all that bad, but I think they underrated the T43. The limited set of benchmarks they ran doesn't show the performance boost that the T43 should provide in applications that require lots of bandwidth (move to 533 MHz FSB). CNET also failed to mention that the new Dothan Pentium M has EDB (execute disable bit) which can prevent some virus attacks.

I can agree with CNET that Sonoma overall doesn't improve battery life and that performance generally is about the same.

fefland · #5 Post by **fefland** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:37 am

I'd like to make a few comments about their review. When they talk about price, yes it's true the IBM retails for more than Dell. However, I am getting my IBM though EPP. Also, even with Education discount, the IBM is price competitve. As far as price goes, configure a latitude with 3 year warranty and m770 processor and theirs gets pricey as well. As for the bad being 2 USB ports, that's good if that's all they could come up with. As for battery life, I use mine at work or home. I chose T43 because it is lighter than my A21p, which will be kinder to my shoulder. As for T43p over T42p, I wanted the latest available. I will have this for some time. Plus every little bit of bandwidth I can squeeze out is good since I will be running an IDE, Web server and/or Application Server on it.

brianfu13 · #6 Post by **brianfu13** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:47 am

fefland wrote:I'd like to make a few comments about their review. When they talk about price, yes it's true the IBM retails for more than Dell. However, I am getting my IBM though EPP. Also, even with Education discount, the IBM is price competitve. As far as price goes, configure a latitude with 3 year warranty and m770 processor and theirs gets pricey as well. As for the bad being 2 USB ports, that's good if that's all they could come up with. As for battery life, I use mine at work or home. I chose T43 because it is lighter than my A21p, which will be kinder to my shoulder. As for T43p over T42p, I wanted the latest available. I will have this for some time. Plus every little bit of bandwidth I can squeeze out is good since I will be running an IDE, Web server and/or Application Server on it.

Hi, Does the fan issue bother you?

#7 Post by **BillMorrow** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 10:58 am

since i now have some T43 and T43p in stock, send me a copy of the test suite and i'll open a new one and run tests..

(this will give me an excuse to open one)

stgreek · #8 Post by **stgreek** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 11:06 am

Steve007 wrote:As a rule of thumb, Cnet = a load of [censored]. Always have been.

True, but the review verdict is absolutely true. The new chipset does NOT give any performance boost, the T42 is just as fast. The "new" T43 line has offered absolutely nothing, apart maybe from the new graphics at the T43p.

tttttada · #9 Post by **tttttada** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 11:24 am

So the general consensus is that the T42 is a better choice right now?

fefland · #10 Post by **fefland** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 11:38 am

brianfu13 wrote:
Hi, Does the fan issue bother you?

I don't know yet since I don't have one.

If the fan is that big of a deall I can return it. As far as performance, I would hope that it is as fast or faster than T42p.

Either will be faster than my A21p.

#11 Post by **K. Eng** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 12:16 pm

Yes and No. It depends on what you are using the notebook for.

If you are running mostly business applications and don't need the fastest machine possible, I'd say the T42 is a better choice because of lower cost and longer battery life.

If you are running applications that require the absolute best in computational firepower, the T43 is probably the best. The 533 MHz FSB should make a difference in content creation applications, video editing, etc.

tttttada wrote:So the general consensus is that the T42 is a better choice right now?

jmt · #12 Post by **jmt** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 12:32 pm

After having both the T43 and T42 I must agree with CNET. I also found the fan noise very annoying on the T43. Guess which one I sent back.

nikemen · #13 Post by **nikemen** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 12:50 pm

it has long been known that cnet is in bed with DELL from many angles. Everything DELL is so over inflated with praise, it is obvious.

combustion · #14 Post by **combustion** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 4:37 pm

nikemen wrote:it has long been known that cnet is in bed with DELL from many angles. Everything DELL is so over inflated with praise, it is obvious.

didnt the t42 make editors choice?

Leon · #15 Post by **Leon** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 4:41 pm

Yes, the low rating on the T43 is their judgment (of which I don't strongly disagree), that the T43 does not offer a significant advantage over the T42.

dukajoe · #16 Post by **dukajoe** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:43 am

Yeah, the T43 is getting a refresh in may, so they might try and fix some of these things. Anyone have any idea what the refresh will entail?

w0qj · #17 Post by **w0qj** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 2:18 am

For those who are buying with their own money (not for company), it may be a better idea to wait for:

a) 64-bit Windows Longhorn (end-2006 target)
b) 2nd generation of Dual Core Mobile Pentium CPU's

I suspect that the first generation Dual Core CPU's for notebook computers would use a lot of power, and improved power consumption in the 2nd generation Dual Core mobile Pentium's.

Above don't apply, if you:
i) buy for company (lucky you!)
ii) you buy your new notebook computer every 1 year or so

pipspeak · #18 Post by **pipspeak** » Fri Apr 22, 2005 5:00 pm

Then you're suggesting folks wait at least 2 years to buy a new computer? Nah!

And as for CNET... useful, but only to keep up with what's new. I know a couple of their reviewers and, to put it bluntly, they don't know jack about what they're reviewing. So we end up with some fairly useless reviews geared for the layperson.

Still, the T40-series is getting a bit long in the tooth. Anyone know what the 50s are due??!

emorphien · #19 Post by **emorphien** » Sat Apr 23, 2005 11:12 pm

w0qj wrote:For those who are buying with their own money (not for company), it may be a better idea to wait for:

a) 64-bit Windows Longhorn (end-2006 target)
b) 2nd generation of Dual Core Mobile Pentium CPU's

I suspect that the first generation Dual Core CPU's for notebook computers would use a lot of power, and improved power consumption in the 2nd generation Dual Core mobile Pentium's.

Above don't apply, if you:
i) buy for company (lucky you!)
ii) you buy your new notebook computer every 1 year or so

Well that's all well and good if you don't mind waiting a year an a half or more. For those that need a laptop now (such as myself) it's not particularly good advice.

The T43 should help in some applications that like the extra bandwidth, and if you can get a good deal on em you might as well. I agree the first dual cores probably won't offer a huge boost, except maybe in multitasking. But I need a laptop now and I do a fair amount of media stuff so the T43 would hopefully be a better investment. Also I will be waiting until after the May update and if anyone else has a similar situation as mine I think they should too. The fan issues should be cleared (I hope) and some other small changes might take place.

rhema83 · #20 Post by **rhema83** » Sun Apr 24, 2005 12:05 am

Wait for the May update. If nothing impressive comes out of it, get a T42. Still the best bang for your buck at this point in time.

IMHO, always go for technology that is not at the cutting edge. You save yourself a lot of money and trouble.

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