ibm thinkpad t42/t42p vs sonyvgns170

[whatsinthename]

hi ppl,

i am stuck with the decision of taking a laptop for engg college.

i have a tie between ibm thinkpad t42/t42p and sony vgns170.

the t42/t42p i am planning ot take is with p4m 735 1.7ghz, 40gig hdd, 256mb ram, 64mb ati 9600, 14.1 sxga+. weighs 5-6 pounds. for around 1800 bucks.

the vgns170 i am planning to take is with p4m 735 1.7ghz, 60 gig hdd, 256mb ram , 64mb ati 9700, 13.3 xbrite screen. for around 2200 bucks

has anybody used a sony before? comments on both?

thanks

[stgreek]

If this will be your only computer, get the T42. If you also have a desktop go for the (much lighter) Sony, or even better for an X series Thinkpad. The laterst Sonys are quite good, but have a "gadgety" feeling, while Thinkpads scream quality. If I were you I'd get the T42 and use the extra $400 for a 60g 7200 hard drive and 512M extra memory.

Stavros

[sugo]

The sony has a stunning xBrite LCD. It is a wide screen which is great for watching movies. As mentioned, it's quite a bit lighter than 14.1" T42. Battery life is a bit better. Mobility Radeon 9700 outperforms 9600 as well.

You can go to BestBuy or CompUSA to take a look at the screen on the S150. It might very well be the decisive factor.

I love the xBrite screen but I found the sony to be on the thick side. With T42 I can get 1400x1050 screen. Hard drive and optical bay are modular and provide me much more flexibility.

I read an article on a visit to the Yamato Lab in Japan where modern Thinkpads are designed. In front of visitors they did a few cruel experiments on T40, including putting 50kg on the LCD cover. The LCD was intact, only with a mark from the trackpoint.

There are a lot of engineering in Thinkpads where numbers cannot represent. Unfortunately, the craftmanship of Thinkpads are no longer comparable to the old days after they moved manufacturing to China.

The S170 and T42 are both great machines. One might work better for you than the other.

[Leon]

i once ran a TP over with my car (really!)... the screen cracked, and the fan was a little crushed, but the overall Thinkpad was still ok!

[Guest]

hi ppl,


i am stuck with the decision of taking a laptop for engg college.

i have a tie between ibm thinkpad t42/t42p and sony vgns170.

the t42/t42p i am planning ot take is with p4m 735 1.7ghz, 40gig hdd, 256mb ram, 64mb ati 9600, 14.1 sxga+. weighs 5-6 pounds. for around 1800 bucks.

the vgns170 i am planning to take is with p4m 735 1.7ghz, 60 gig hdd, 256mb ram , 64mb ati 9700, 13.3 xbrite screen. for around 2200 bucks

has anybody used a sony before? comments on both?

thanks

If this will be your only computer, get the T42. If you also have a desktop go for the (much lighter) Sony, or even better for an X series Thinkpad. The laterst Sonys are quite good, but have a "gadgety" feeling, while Thinkpads scream quality. If I were you I'd get the T42 and use the extra $400 for a 60g 7200 hard drive and 512M extra memory.

Stavros

Define a "gadgety" feeling. I went to compusa two days ago and touched the 15 inch and 17 inch screens and they were WOW. The felt like quality machines. Materials they use on it feell much better than other companies . It looked clean and nice. If someone bought me one I would not refuse a sony. Only things I heard they are like other sony;s look pretty and are good but there is alway something that is better. SOny also got a bad review somewhere for tech support though because sony wants you to buy everything or send the notebooks and desktops in for repairs all the time. By looks and feels however i understand why the are more expensive than the HP's Compaq's and just alittle more than the Toshiba's. I am all for paying for what you get.

[sugo]

Leon, please report back when you ran a car over a VAIO next time

[whatsinthename]

okay...thanx for the great reply people.

i had a few more questions....

1. what are the possible workarounds for using the shortcuts like windows+e to open windows explorer and windows+f to do find in windows with a ibm thinkpad which lacks the windows key. though it is not a very big issue, still keeping myself informed will do no harm.

2. if i purchase from any other dealer like buy.com and cdw, will i still be eligible for ibm tech support and be able to order replacement keyboards and other stuff from them.

3. is it better to order online or call a csr. as from the posts i read, calling a csr always entitles you to some additional discounts. can someone narrate a few experiences if they had any with the csr's.

4. are both the memory slots easily accessible on this thinkpad or one is soldered and only one is accesible. this will decide if i should max out base ram, viz be expensive or shout i buy minimal memory and then upgrade later.

[stgreek]

okay...thanx for the great reply people.

i had a few more questions....

1. what are the possible workarounds for using the shortcuts like windows+e to open windows explorer and windows+f to do find in windows with a ibm thinkpad which lacks the windows key. though it is not a very big issue, still keeping myself informed will do no harm.

2. if i purchase from any other dealer like buy.com and cdw, will i still be eligible for ibm tech support and be able to order replacement keyboards and other stuff from them.

3. is it better to order online or call a csr. as from the posts i read, calling a csr always entitles you to some additional discounts. can someone narrate a few experiences if they had any with the csr's.

4. are both the memory slots easily accessible on this thinkpad or one is soldered and only one is accesible. this will decide if i should max out base ram, viz be expensive or shout i buy minimal memory and then upgrade later.

1. IBM has a keyboard customization program, you can figure from the name what it does.

2,3. You will buy from Bill.

4. One is at the bottom (easily accessible), the other is accessible, you just have to remove the keyboard (easy).

Hope this helps

Stavros

[jsmit86]

okay...thanx for the great reply people.

i had a few more questions....

1. what are the possible workarounds for using the shortcuts like windows+e to open windows explorer and windows+f to do find in windows with a ibm thinkpad which lacks the windows key. though it is not a very big issue, still keeping myself informed will do no harm.

> There is a way to redefine one of the other keys (ALT or CTR)

2. if i purchase from any other dealer like buy.com and cdw, will i still be eligible for ibm tech support and be able to order replacement keyboards and other stuff from them.

> Yes mine is from CDW. No problem with support or parts.

3. is it better to order online or call a csr. as from the posts i read, calling a csr always entitles you to some additional discounts. can someone narrate a few experiences if they had any with the csr's.

>Not sure, you can always call a csr to see if any deals are available.

4. are both the memory slots easily accessible on this thinkpad or one is soldered and only one is accesible. this will decide if i should max out base ram, viz be expensive or shout i buy minimal memory and then upgrade later.

>One is available from the bottom of the PC, the other requires removal of the keyboard, but it is VERY EASY to do.

[Skywing]

i wouldnt touch the sony simply because of that x-brite display, if youve ever used one you will see that it has a VERY high gloss cover over it, to the point where you can use it as a mirror.