help choosing which model to purchase

[Weogo]

Hi Y’all,

I’ve been researching a laptop purchase and the Thinkpads look like they may my best choice.

I was happy to run across this site! I've been searching/reading in all the different forums.

I run live sound and need a laptop for controlling digital audio processing equipment and running analysis software at events.
I'm paricularly looking at the T23, T30 and A30P.

Some of the requirements are:
) Very reliable. Some of the sound equipment I use has front panel control for use when a computer isn't connected to it, while other pieces are 'black boxes' with computer-only control.

) Serial port on laptop. Yep, lots of very current sound equipment still uses serial connections. I prefer not to use adapters for this, as there doesn’t appear to be a single adapter that will work properly with all audio gear out there.

) At least 1MHz processor and 512 megs RAM.

) Hard drive size isn’t a big deal - a 20 meg hard drive would do. Anyway, I would likely change to a 7200RPM unit.

) Cool operation. Fan doesn’t run that often.

) Quiet, even with fan on. Quiet keyboard… Not so important at a louder show, but definitely an issue with one person speaking at a meeting.

) Audio Line-in and Line-out jacks, with full duplex operation.

) AC power supply with a two-prong plug, not three-prong. Several other sound techs say this helps minimize laptop noise getting into sound system.

) CD player/recorder.

) Easy to read screen.
My old eyes mostly work in 800x600 on a CRT with 16” visible.
It seems that the 15” UXGA 1600x1200 native LCD on the A30P would scale to 800 x 600 more smoothly than the XGA and SXGA+ screens on the T23 or T30. Is this correct? The wider viewing angle of the A30P also looks useful.
How well will 1024 x 768 or 1400 x 1050 screens work at 800x600 for word processing, etc.?
Is SXGA+ much better than XGA?

Thanks for your assistance, Weogo Reed

[DIGITALgimpus]

) Serial port on laptop. Yep, lots of very current sound equipment still uses serial connections. I prefer not to use adapters for this, as there doesn’t appear to be a single adapter that will work properly with all audio gear out there.

) At least 1MHz processor and 512 megs RAM.

Well, no matter what you'll hve to settle for more. IIRC even the original thinkpad featured more than that.

I've personally only had 1 computer with less specs (original IBM PC).

[Weogo]

Hi,

"Well, no matter what you'll hve to settle for more. IIRC even the original thinkpad featured more than that."

Yep, except the T20s and T21s, they all pretty much meet or exceed specs.
And if ya get more recent than the T23, T30 and A30P, they don't have serial ports.


The T23 and T30 are obviously rugged, and I understand the A30P is a bit less so. But are the 'guts' of the A30P as reliable as the T series?
Mostly the laptop will be carried back and forth to shows and sit on a table, plugged into AC power.

I've read that the T30s are hot. I guess this is dependent on which processor one uses, and what one thinks of as hot.
Any experience here?

Any ideas on which screen would work best for me?
One program requires a minimum of 1064 x 768, the rest are more flexible.

Thanks and good health, Weogo

[Kyocera]

I recently purchase a T30, specs below, it does run hotter than my T42 but I never notice the heat when it is on my lap, the bottom is warm to the touch but not uncomfortable, my T42 is relegated to the case for a while. I use mine daily for work and it has not given me any problems.