T43 Fan problems a deal breaker???

[projectx]

Hi!

My company is about to buy a bunch of new laptops for our sales people. We are a software company and our sales people are on the road often to demo sofware to (potential) customers.

Important for us is a big, clearly visible screen, good strong design of the laptop, good power so the demo software runs fast, the laptop must be light and thin.

We've done quite some research into the purchase. Before we had Dell laptops and it was just one continuous nightmare. Horrible quality cases, and even worse customer support (in Europe).

Reviews of the ThinkPad T43 are fantastic and have convinced us that the ThinkPad T series is the way to go.

However, when I discovered this forum, it really scared me. Especially the fan/heath problems. They're not really mentioned in any of the reviews but by some of the members of this forum seems to be a big and common problem of the T43 series.

My main question is:
Are the fan/heath problems a deal breaker? Should we consider a different brand? Or is this just a minor problem?

My second question:
We're considering the UC384NU model as it seems to have a very strong price/performance balance. It does not however seem to have a fingerprint reader. Will we miss this? Or is this just a kewl gadget that you'll play with in the beginning and after a few days not use anymore.

I still remember that many years ago Apple came with a voice recognition authentication system (in the old OS 9 days). After playing with it for a while, I just turned it off as it was slower and more inconvenient to use as a simple password.

How many of you actually still use the fingerprint reader?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,
Projectx

[mdntridr]

We have T42 and T43 here at work, and I just ordered a T43 for personal use. Certainly, T43 is louder due to the extra heat generated by the faster components, but I've barely noticed, and I don't find it intrusive. If you're particularly concerned, T42s are still selling and in some ways are superior (clearly superior in battery life and marginally superior in heat and noise).

For me personally heat/noise/battery life are less important than faster FSB, CPU and other things, so it was a no-brainer.

Good luck!

[Greg Gebhardt]

I came from a t42p to a t43 and the noise in not a big deal. In a very quite room I can barely hear it. With any background noise at all the only time I hear my fan is when my computer first boots.

I think that you are hearing from a few who are not happy while the vast majority of the t43 users have no complaints.

I think you company will be more than happy with the t43.

[AndreasMeier]

This was a simple No go for me in my decision process.
I made my desicion up and bought a T42, because heat and fan problem is not THAT point. Of course you have also a fan running on this machine, but with less power in the machine, you have a quiet running fan on level 1.
My T42 is a 1,7GHz Dothan, 1GB RAM, 40GB HDD and a ATI7500 supplying a 14" screen.
The performance is good, well good enough for me, dont know your software demo

Hope that helps.

[projectx]

Thanks for the input guys.

Would also love to get some more input on the finger print readers.

Thanks in advance!

[Inky]

Hi!
My company is about to buy a bunch of new laptops for our sales people. We are a software company and our sales people are on the road often to demo sofware to (potential) customers.

Important for us is a big, clearly visible screen, good strong design of the laptop, good power so the demo software runs fast, the laptop must be light and thin.

My main question is:
Are the fan/heath problems a deal breaker? Should we consider a different brand? Or is this just a minor problem?

My second question:
We're considering the UC384NU model as it seems to have a very strong price/performance balance. It does not however seem to have a fingerprint reader. Will we miss this? Or is this just a kewl gadget that you'll play with in the beginning and after a few days not use anymore.
Projectx

ProjectX,
I believe the fan noise that people are talking about is something that disturbs (certain) people working in a quiet environment--for instance in a quiet classroom, or while working in a bedroom late at night.

But in a work/office setting while someone is giving a presentation about the software, the sound of the laptop fan coming on is unlikely to be noticable enough to be a distraction.

For thin and light IBM's T series is the way to go, but for you the most important consideration will be to choose a model with the 15" screen which incorporates what IBM calls "FlexView" technology. This increases the brightness and contrast of the screen, deepens the saturation of colors, and makes the screen readable from a wider range of viewing angles than is the case with the 14" screens.

To make sure the audience can see it clearly I'd stay away from the UXGA (1600x1200) resolution (unless the software you're demoing involves CAD software with super intricate diagrams and blueprints) because UXGA will make everything on the screen very tiny so people watching from a distance won't be able to make out the details.

The SXGA+ (1400x1050) resolution should be fine on a 15" screen, and if you can get it with one of the better graphics cards (the 128 Mb ATI fireGL or at least the Radeon 9600) so much the better.

As for the fingerprint reader, unless the laptop contains valuable data such that it could harm your company if the data were stolen, I wouldn't give the fingerprint reader too much importance.

-Inky

[Kel Ghu]

Yeah, the fan shouldnt be a problem. Some people are just to sensitive to noise.

Unless your demo is CPU intensive, the heat shouldnt be a problem either. But is there a laptop that doesnt get hot with CPU intensive apps? well no...

The fingerprint reader is not only fun but very useful imho. But you tend to forget your password with this kind of gadget.
Inky is wrong about the stolen data. The data will be easily accessible if the stealer takes out the hard drive and connects it else where. The fingerprint reader is here solve the problem of forgottent passwords and to make administrators' work lighter.

[ewthompson]

I use the fingerprint reader quite a bit. I have noticed some apparent incompatibility with certain sites however, which is frustrating. This is not the norm, however. My T43 is surprising quiet considering the bad press it's fan has received at this site. I do notice it kicking into higher gear when I perform moderate to heavy audio editing on the computer (I'd compare this to graphical stuff on your end) but the noise is not work-prohibitve, though I do notice it.

EWT

[Inky]

Inky is wrong about the stolen data. The data will be easily accessible if the stealer takes out the hard drive and connects it else where. The fingerprint reader is here solve the problem of forgottent passwords and to make administrators' work lighter.

Kel Ghu is WRONG about Inky being wrong.
According to IBM the fingerprint reader integrates with the "Embedded Security Subsystem" which makes it possible to keep data on the HardDrive secure even if it falls into the wrong hands. Putting the drive in another ThinkPad won't get around that, at least not according to IBM.

It's true that you don't absolutely have to use ESS--either the HardDrive Passwords or data encryption--and you can if you wish, use the fingerprint reader as nothing more than a substitute for the Windows log on password. If you don't make use of the integration with ESS to secure the hard drive in THAT case the extra level of data security obviously won't be there.

As for it making life easier, that may be a mixed bag--some people have reported frustrations like occasionally having to run their finger over it repeatedly to get it to work right. So, for those who find it easy to remember and type a password, (and who aren't planning to use the reader with ESS for added data security) the fingerprint reader might seem like a mixed bag.

Edited to add: I must confess there IS a certain "coolness factor" about the fingerprint reader. If your presentations are not only to show HOW your software works, but are of a SALES nature, selling something then a little extra coolness can't hurt. It can give the impression that you're using the latest in cutting edge technology and that impression may become favorably associated with your company and your products.

-Inky