Looking for advice

[wxlidar]

I am hoping to purchase a Thinkpad in the next few weeks (or days) and am looking for some suggestions/advice. I am definitely going with an ultraportable so I am trying to decide between the X31, X32, X40, and X41.

I am returning to college this fall to teach and attend grad school. My uses for the notebook include general office and internet stuff, remote logins to linux/unix boxes, playing music. General stuff, no heavy computations here. I'll connect an external monitor in my office/home if I am going to be using the machine for a long period of time.

Being an ultraportable, I will be taking this thing with me to meetings, library, classrooms. So I want it to be quiet! I've noticed some of the reports about the 915 chipset machines running the fan continuously, and somewhat noisier. I worry about noise with the X41 and the new chipset. One poster remarked they could feel hot air coming out off the X32 but had to place their ear to the table to tell the fan is running. This is what I am looking for. But the X41 is so sexy!

I am also concerned about battery life, especially with the new chipset. 4-5 hours would be great.

I can't find much info on the IBM site about the X32 or X31. They seem to be focusing on the X41.

I'm somewhat hesitant to buy a machine that was released over a year ago (X31 was released Feb 2004).

I like the X32 because of the memory expansion and 2.5" drives. But does it really matter based on what I will be using this thing for?

I can get educational discounts of varying degrees:

can't find much in the way of X40's on my schools site.

X41 2526-54U $1402 (not in tabook but same specs as 2525-5ZU)
X41 2525-6NU $1546

X31 2884-5KU $1529

X32 2884-A2U $1169 (express, need to extend warranty)
X32 2884-M5U $1349 (express, need to extend warranty)

So any suggestions? The X41 2526-54U price being offered by my school seems like a really good deal (they say the web price is $2399). But the deals for the X32's seems good too.

Thanks,
Dave

[rayfranco]

Read the X41 v. X32 poll or thread:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=10050

It is a good comparison of the X41 v. X32. This thread has been read approximately 5000 times so if anyone had anything to add they would have done it by now. You might also want to sent an email to Scud, who is on page two of the tread. He has both and X40 and a X32.

I purchased the X32 - 2885-K4U, and I couldn't be happier.

[wxlidar]

Thanks Ray! I did read over the X32 vs X41 thread. I think it was that post that helped me understand the differences between the two machines. There are advantages (or are there?) to each machine.

I can see that you really enjoy the X32. Would you worry about using it in a quiet environment, such as a meeting? Am I correct in thinking that you don't feel limited by the graphics card?

I'll send an email to Scud to see what he thinks. His last post on the thread was in May.

-Dave

[azX32]

X41 2526-54U $1402 (not in tabook but same specs as 2525-5ZU)
X41 2525-6NU $1546

X31 2884-5KU $1529

X32 2884-A2U $1169 (express, need to extend warranty)
X32 2884-M5U $1349 (express, need to extend warranty)
Dave

The X32 prices for those models are the same as they are to the general public under the current credit card promotions, and if options are priced accordingly with your educational discount, adding a 3-year depot warranty to them would cost $112

However, the X41 prices for the two models you listed are considerably lower than those same models under the credit card promo. And I see that the 6NU has both a 60GB HDD and bluetooth, which none of the others you listed has. If you favor the X41's style over the X32's, and don't mind paying the highest of the prices among these four options, I'd say the 6NU may be the best deal.

On the other hand, if you feel the 32/41 dilemma is a tossup and want to go with the lowest price, you should be able to get the X32 A2U w/ 3-year warranty and add a 512MB memory stick yourself all for a pre-tax total of about $1340. You'll still have a very nice (and super-quiet) machine.

[rayfranco]

Wxlidar,

I can't speak for the other machines, but really have to be stressing the CPU in the X32 to get the fan to come on. There is no way your going to get the fan to come on in a meeting unless you have been playing a DVD for 15 or 20 minutes. The Power Manager on the X32 has seven (7) fan sound level settings, which allows you to adjust when the fan comes on, and how loud it is.

I often use my X32 in meeting with attorneys. I do a lot of expert witness work, and I got tried of carrying boxes of depositions and hundreds of pictures to their office. I have yet to have the fan come on in a meeting.

The graphics is fine, but I don't play games, and I rarely need 3D. I did have someone transfer a training course from a VCR to DVD. The playback was jerky on the Windows Media player; however on the winDVD player that came with the X32 the playback was smooth. I don't know yet, if I do not have the Windows Media player set up to take advantage of the graphics card in the X32 or the winDVD player is just better. On standard DVD movies, both are smooth, and I cannot tell the difference. The LCD display on my X32 does seem to be a little sensitive to the vertical viewing angle. I have looked at other laptops (Dell and Gateway) and they too are sensitive to the verticial viewing angle, but they are a little sensitive than the X32. I would be surprised if the X40/X41 screen was different. Also the display is hard to see in direct sun light. Furthermore, in my opinion the dated ATI graphics card in the X32 has to be better than the integraded graphics with the shared memory in the X41, plus you are paying a penalty in battery capacity for the new chipset.

At one time, I though the X40/41 was sexier, but after I received my X32, I changed my mind. That is, it looks and feels better than the pictures I saw. I have even come to like the double latches; you have to use two hands, but it feels more secure.

I believe you are looking at the wow factor vs. power. I personally wanted the power. Not that I will be using all it today, but software has a tendency to bloat. In my opinion, the extra speed and power of the X32 will make it do what I need it to do for a longer peroid of time than the X41; hence, it will last longer. However, with the dual cores and possible 64-bit around the corner, they may both soon be outdated.

The reason for all of the hype on the X41 and X41T is that they are new machines with a lot of changes, while the only change on the X32 was the CPU update. I assume IBM decided, if it was not broke there was no reason to fix it with something that consumed more power.

[wxlidar]

Thanks azX32 and Ray. I am defintely leaning towards the X32. For one, I think I can get it cheaper than the X41 and have a more powerful machine. From what Ray states is sounds like the fan noise isn't too much of a problem and that makes me feel more comfortable.

I'm not planning on doing any 3D graphics either. I do play games but I have a desktop for that purpose.

I am somewhat tempted to move up to a T42 because I worry about working on a small system for long periods of time. But I figure I can always make a small notebook bigger (external monitor, keyboard, mouse) but I can't make a big notebook smaller.

-Dave