sought help choosing T41 - 3 years later seek upgrade advice

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doylnea · #1 Post by **doylnea** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 6:44 pm

I've been reading the forums for quite a while and have somewhat narrowed down my needs, but when looking through the tabook, I'm still a bit overwhelmed. I plan to use the notebook for law school for the next three years and plan to carry it to and from class each day. I'd like to buy a T-series notebook with the following options.

*at least 1.5Ghz PM
*256/512 MB RAM (is it generally cheaper to purchase the T from IBM with 256 and upgrade to 512 aftermarket, either with another 256 chip or a single 512 and sell the 256?)
*30/40GB HD - not very important, have 560GB of space on my server
*14.1" screen XGA is fine - no need for Flexview
*a/b/g wireless (is IBM or Intel wireless preferred?) - never owned a Bluetooth device
*cdrw/dvd-rom
*3 year warranty

I found a T41 2379DKU for $1691 with 1.6Ghz/512MB/40GB/abg/cdrwdvd/3year which seems like it's perfect. But I don't want to overbuy/underbuy on a $1700 purchase.

Does anyone have suggestions on other models I should look into/at?

thanks very much, especially on my first post to the forums.

jsmit86 · #2 Post by **jsmit86** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 7:34 pm

That is a good deal.
This model is $1879 on the IBM web site, so your price looks very good.

I got my 2378DUU at CDW and added 256MB of RAM (512 total) for approx $1670. The differences on your 2379DKU are a/b/g wireless, and the 3 yr warranty vs. 1 year on mine, and the 2379DKU includes 512MB of RAM.

Hard to go wrong with this!

doylnea · #3 Post by **doylnea** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 10:00 pm

jsmit86 wrote:That is a good deal.
This model is $1879 on the IBM web site, so your price looks very good.

I got my 2378DUU at CDW and added 256MB of RAM (512 total) for approx $1670. The differences on your 2379DKU are a/b/g wireless, and the 3 yr warranty vs. 1 year on mine, and the 2379DKU includes 512MB of RAM.

Hard to go wrong with this!

Thanks for the reply. The DKU isn't necessarily my first choice, just the one that seemed come close to fitting the bill. Are there any other models that would get me to the same endpoint at a lower price?

Folks here seem to know the various models back and forth, as if there is some pattern to the alpha code (I haven't figured one out), In any case, as I described above, I'm curious also whether people prefer the IBM WiFi to the Intel WiFi.

primedude · #4 Post by **primedude** » Sun Aug 08, 2004 10:14 pm

I also bought my Thinkpad for use during law school, and operated by a similar set of criteria.

I bought the 2373FVU through the shareholder purchase program for a bit over $1600. Upgrading the warranty and adding the Thinkpad Protection Program as well as an extended battery added $400 to the price. Tax was another couple hundred. I then bought a 60 GB 7200 rpm drive and another 512 MB of RAM, so I put quite a bit of money into on top of the base cost. But nor could I be happier with this machine. It's absolutely perfect.

Anyway, since my most costly requirement -- hard drive space and a 7200 rpm drive -- isn't one of yours, you might take a look at the 2373FVU. It would probably fit your bill quite nicely.

I too am a bit curious about the IBM and Intel adapters -- I suspect they're virutally equivalent, and I've heard the Intel ones have insane low power usage. But that may also be true for the IBMs.

stgreek · #5 Post by **stgreek** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 2:59 am

People prefer the IBM to the Intel wifi because the IBM wifi card will match most (if not all) AP/Routers perfectly, with good signal and speeds. Intel's cards on the other side are very "unstable" - they might or might not work with access points that even have the same serial number! (yes, it did happen to me

). I do not know about power consumption, but I suspect the difference is not significant enough for people to ditch IBM/Cisco for Intel.

sktn77a · #6 Post by **sktn77a** » Mon Aug 09, 2004 1:49 pm

I got the 2379DKU for daughter #2 in February. Paid $1900 for it. She's been very happy with it - works well with wireless. No gaming, but word processing/spreadsheets/web browsing/IM/CDburning, etc.

Of course, a T42P with DVD-R would be very nice.....................

doylnea · #7 Post by **doylnea** » Tue Aug 10, 2004 9:12 am

Thanks for all of the replies. Thanks especially for the note about the IBM/Intel wifi cards - interesting stuff.

I guess I'll look into the FVU a little and see if I can find as good a deal on that one as on the DKU.

edit - I found the FVU for $1664. On the positive side, it has the PM 1.7 (which I think is the Dothan chip right?), and the 64MB 9600 video card. On the other hand, it only has 256MB RAM (which is anemic in XP) and the intel 2200 wireless, and a 1-year warranty.

For what I'm going to use this for, I don't think the Dothan or the upgraded video card are important. Though can the video card be easily upgraded in the future - assuming I find a IBM pulled video card?

I'm going to buy it today, so Iill let you all know what I end up with.

doylnea · #8 Post by **doylnea** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 10:37 pm

My DKU arrived today, after UPS thought they lost it...but that's another story.

I'm a pretty anal person (okay insanely anal about computer stuff, especially on $1775 computer purchases) and haven't found any of the flaw people complain about. I do have the Sanyo battery (but it fits just fine for me), I presume I have the Chinese keyboard (as opposed to the Thai version) and it works just fine.

All in all I'm a happy camper. Now, I just need to order the recovery CDs, which I still don't understand not sending them with the computer at the outset.

thanks for the help. I'm glad I found this forum.

doylnea · #9 Post by **doylnea** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 10:40 pm

actually this was a serious question, though not as important right now...

can the video card be easily upgraded in the future - assuming I find a IBM pulled video card? [/b]

Leon · #10 Post by **Leon** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 10:55 pm

no, it's welded (I mean soldered) in.....

doylnea · #11 Post by **doylnea** » Fri Aug 20, 2004 8:11 am

Leon wrote:no, it's welded (I mean soldered) in.....

I've been known to unsolder things in the past, but, not one day old notebook things. Guess I'll look into this more in the future. Thanks for the help.

Dirky · #12 Post by **Dirky** » Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:02 am

doylnea wrote:All in all I'm a happy camper. Now, I just need to order the recovery CDs, which I still don't understand not sending them with the computer at the outset.

thanks for the help. I'm glad I found this forum.

You can create your own recovery CD's, in fact I'm doing that right now as I type. Mind you, I'm on my 3rd disc and it's taken about 45 mins so far!

Mike

Dirky · #13 Post by **Dirky** » Sun Aug 22, 2004 6:26 am

Dirky wrote:
doylnea wrote:All in all I'm a happy camper. Now, I just need to order the recovery CDs, which I still don't understand not sending them with the computer at the outset.

thanks for the help. I'm glad I found this forum.
You can create your own recovery CD's, in fact I'm doing that right now as I type. Mind you, I'm on my 3rd disc and it's taken about 45 mins so far!

Mike

OMG!
Make that 7 CD's and about 2 hours!
Finally it is done!

Mike

doylnea · #14 Post by **doylnea** » Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:31 am

but that's on a T42 right? I've read that the T41 doesn't have the capability to make the CDs.

Plus, give that I paid a pretty penny, I'd like IBM to send them to me and not have to spend 2 hours of my time making them...since every other computer manufacturer sends you the software you purchase.

doylnea · #15 Post by **doylnea** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:15 am

Long time away from the forums.

I'm interested in upgrading my DKU a bit these days, as it's getting a bit long in the tooth.

My primary concerns are screen resolution - can I buy a new screen, install it, and install the proper drivers and be off and running again?

And, I'd like to upgrade to a new wifi card. I've found the IBM a/b/g card to have terrible reception, and low performance. My GF's iBook picks up for better reception than does my DKU. I admit I haven't updated the drives in ages, but I wouldn't guess that would make a difference.

I look forward to your suggestions and comments.

Thanks.

#16 Post by **bill bolton** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:29 am

doylnea wrote:but I wouldn't guess that would make a difference.

You guessed wrong.... update all your drivers!

Cheers,

Bill B.

SHoTTa35 · #17 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:01 am

ouch, from 2004? Wow... well welcome back and yeah update those drivers!!!

The Atheros cards get the best reception there is.

pianowizard · #18 Post by **pianowizard** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:13 am

doylnea wrote:My primary concerns are screen resolution - can I buy a new screen, install it

Absolutely. Go to this page to see what parts you need to get. It might cost less money if you just buy an SXGA+ T series and sell your current T41 though.

#19 Post by **bill bolton** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 6:36 pm

SHoTTa35 wrote:The Atheros cards get the best reception there is.

You left out the "sometimes".

Cheers,

Bill B.

The Spirit of X21 · #20 Post by **The Spirit of X21** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:25 am

doylnea wrote:but that's on a T42 right? I've read that the T41 doesn't have the capability to make the CDs.

Technically, that is true. By default the T41 cannot make its own recovery discs. However, installing Rescue and Recovery from Lenovo's website will give you this ability.

rhema83 · #21 Post by **rhema83** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 11:36 am

Installing WinXP from scratch gives the best performance, period. Bloatware does not sit well with our 3-year-old T42's.

sktn77a · #22 Post by **sktn77a** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 5:32 pm

Yes, update your drivers first (and remove Access Connections)! The IBM a/b/g card is generally considered to have excellent reception (although I don't see any difference between the Intel and IBM g cards in our computers) so I'm not sure what's going on there. Could you have pulled one of the antenna wires off, if you replaced the internal memory card?

I don't think you'll need a different driver for the new screen as the driver controls the graphics chip only. The Radeon 7500 chip in your DKU will drive the higher resolution scren just fine, although I find 1400x1050 too small for me on a 14" screen.

I updated my daugters DKU to a 2.0GHz Dothan, 1GB memory and a 7200rpm drive. She's happy as a clam and this should all be good for another 3 years! (fingers crossed).

fasterbybike · #23 Post by **fasterbybike** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:51 am

sktn77a wrote:The Radeon 7500 chip in your DKU will drive the higher resolution scren just fine, although I find 1400x1050 too small for me on a 14" screen.

Try changing the font size to run the 1400x1050 at 105 dpi or above. You'll love the results the finer dot pitch gives.

BTW, my A21p has a 1600x1200 screen (the best screen I've ever seen on a laptop) which runs at 120 dpi. This produces an equiv resolution of 1280 x 960 on a 15" screen. A wonderful balance between resolution and display quality.

doylnea · #24 Post by **doylnea** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:16 am

bill bolton wrote:
doylnea wrote:but I wouldn't guess that would make a difference.
You guessed wrong.... update all your drivers!

Cheers,

Bill B.

Updated to the latest drivers from the IBM site, and still seemingly poor reception. I've been using Access Connections primarily - a post later in the thread suggests uninstalling AC all-together. I'll try that and see what happens.

I just installed Adobe CS3 this evening, and boy do I need to find a 1GB stick of PC2700, 512mb is anemic, even with only InDesign or Illustrator running.

doylnea · #25 Post by **doylnea** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:18 am

The Spirit of X21 wrote:
doylnea wrote:but that's on a T42 right? I've read that the T41 doesn't have the capability to make the CDs.
Technically, that is true. By default the T41 cannot make its own recovery discs. However, installing Rescue and Recovery from Lenovo's website will give you this ability.

Luckily I called and requested the recovery disks, 3 years ago when I posted the thread initially. Otherwise, I'd be using a copy of XP Pro and the COA.

doylnea · #26 Post by **doylnea** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 12:43 am

sktn77a wrote:Yes, update your drivers first (and remove Access Connections)! The IBM a/b/g card is generally considered to have excellent reception (although I don't see any difference between the Intel and IBM g cards in our computers) so I'm not sure what's going on there. Could you have pulled one of the antenna wires off, if you replaced the internal memory card?

I don't think you'll need a different driver for the new screen as the driver controls the graphics chip only. The Radeon 7500 chip in your DKU will drive the higher resolution scren just fine, although I find 1400x1050 too small for me on a 14" screen.

I updated my daugters DKU to a 2.0GHz Dothan, 1GB memory and a 7200rpm drive. She's happy as a clam and this should all be good for another 3 years! (fingers crossed).

Thanks much! As I posted above, the drivers are all up to date now. I've never even had the keyboard out, so I doubt I've disconnected one of the antenna wires, though I suppose anything is possible. I'll remove Access Connections and see if that improves things at all - I presume then, I rely on Windows Wireless Networking to manage connections?

I may have found a UXGA screen - if the 7500 will drive it. If so, for about $100 (ram and screen), I'll extend the life of this T41 by many years. I need to find a copy of that PDF that circulates that lists the specs of various machines - I presume from there I can determine which processors are compatible upgrades?

sktn77a · #27 Post by **sktn77a** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 8:36 am

Did you update the BIOS, also? While the card is compatible with the original BIOS, some of the new drivers require a BIOS update. Did you ever try wireless when the computer was new and, if so, was it OK then? I get great reception/performance in my daughters DKU with the latest BIOS and original drivers (after uninstalling AC).

doylnea · #28 Post by **doylnea** » Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:36 am

sktn77a wrote:Did you update the BIOS, also? While the card is compatible with the original BIOS, some of the new drivers require a BIOS update. Did you ever try wireless when the computer was new and, if so, was it OK then? I get great reception/performance in my daughters DKU with the latest BIOS and original drivers (after uninstalling AC).

Yes, the BIOS was updated at the time I updated all of the other drivers. I've always found the performance to be less than stellar - friends of mine with Dell's were always able to pick up stronger and a greater number of wireless signals when we were sitting next to each other.

I've just now removed Access Connections, and will try a few different wireless signals to see how the performance responds.

sought help choosing T41 - 3 years later seek upgrade advice

sought help choosing T41 - 3 years later seek upgrade advice

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