Thinkpad T60P v. Dell E1405 Inspiron

[idworkin]

I purchased a refurb'ed t60p. Unfortunately, when I got it the hard drive was hosed, just got a blue screen. So, IBM is sending me a new disk.

But, in the interim, I was looking at Dell, and the have an Inspiron 1405 with the new Core 2 duo for a comparable price. Here are the specs.

Thinkpad T60P:
2Ghz Core Duo
100GB 7200 RPM drive
1GB RAM
DVD burner
Verizon WWAN card
Fingerprint scanner, bluetooth, wifi
256MB ATI FireGL Graphics
15" UXGA Screen
9 cell battery

And the dell:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB)
14.1 inch WXGA+ UltraSharp™ TFT Display with TrueLife™
1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
120GB Hard Drive
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
9 cell battery

So the IBM has the better screen and graphics card. The Dell has a larger hard drive, faster processor, and longer warranty. Cost is about the same.

Bearing in mind that this is a thinkpad forum, which would you suggest?

Ira

[zixy_tris]

DELL SUCKS PERIOD. NO QUESTIONS ASKED!

[hary]

2Ghz Core Duo is good enough for everything i guess.

20 Gb extra hdd for changing a thinkpad for a dell without a normal graphics card ? ? I don't think so ...

[FlexOink]

I purchased a refurb'ed t60p. Unfortunately, when I got it the hard drive was hosed, just got a blue screen. So, IBM is sending me a new disk.

But, in the interim, I was looking at Dell, and the have an Inspiron 1405 with the new Core 2 duo for a comparable price. Here are the specs.

Thinkpad T60P:
2Ghz Core Duo
100GB 7200 RPM drive
1GB RAM
DVD burner
Verizon WWAN card
Fingerprint scanner, bluetooth, wifi
256MB ATI FireGL Graphics
15" UXGA Screen
9 cell battery

And the dell:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T7200 (4MB Cache/2.00GHz/667MHz FSB)
14.1 inch WXGA+ UltraSharp™ TFT Display with TrueLife™
1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz
120GB Hard Drive
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
9 cell battery

So the IBM has the better screen and graphics card. The Dell has a larger hard drive, faster processor, and longer warranty. Cost is about the same.

Bearing in mind that this is a thinkpad forum, which would you suggest?

Ira

If you are planning on doing anything remotely 3D related forget about the Dell, Intel Media Accelerator sux in OpenGL and Direct3D, period.

Plus the Dell screen aint got nothing on the Thinkpad screen, its UXGA, IPS and non-glossy.

Plus I've seen some Dell machines, and the quality is ridiculous. The only thing interesting about the Dell is the 64-bit processor, but Vista isnt coming anytime soon, and will run perfectyly fine on 32-bit CPU's.

[Kel Ghu]

How dare you askin such a question?

- DELL's graphic card sucks, it's the worst graphic card you can find on a laptop.
- DELL's build quality is just... uh... eeeww...
- The CPU is just slightly faster, slightly... and you lose more power. I dont know what you plan to do your laptop, but in 95% of the case, you won't get anything more from core 2.

Except the CPU and 20gb more... That DELL has nothing compared to the T60p.

nuff said

one love

[pianowizard]

DELL SUCKS PERIOD. NO QUESTIONS ASKED!

While there are quite a few bad Dell laptops, there are also some very good ones. Yes, they aren't as consistently good as the Thinkpads, but it's unfair to say that they are always bad.

However, in this particular comparison, I agree with you all that the T60p is a much better laptop.

[archer6]

I purchased a refurb'ed t60p. Unfortunately, when I got it the hard drive was hosed, just got a blue screen. So, IBM is sending me a new disk.

But, in the interim, I was looking at Dell, and the have an Inspiron 1405 with the new Core 2 duo for a comparable price.

I can certainly understand your disappointment having received a ThinkPad with bad hard drive.

However, that said, there is simply no comparison between the two laptops you have outlined here. Especially if you are planning to use it for a year or more. ThinkPads have outstanding lifespans and are fully supported with parts and OS support for many years. You will never have a problem obtaining drivers or anything that you might need in the future.

Nothing against Dell, as I have experience with that brand. It's just that the two laptops that you are considering are for completely different target markets. This not an equal comparison. The Inspiron is Dell's consumer notebook designed for light usage. Their business laptop is the Lattitude line. In addition, Dell service and support pales in comparison to ThinkPad. A further consideration is that the Inspiron already runs quite warm (to hot) with Core Duo, the additional heat generated by the Core Duo 2 only causes the potential for more problems related to heat.

The ThinkPad is a professional business laptop that has a very rugged case design, high quality components, best keyboard in the business, and designed to last a long time under very demanding conditions. It provides the best performance, reliability and stability of any laptop available today.

So although a New Dell may be tempting compared to a refurbished Laptop, the Dell is actually the most expensive of all, since you are getting a lesser machine by a wide margin.

If you stay with the ThinkPad you may find that it's not just because we own ThinkPads and participate in a ThinkPad forum that we are pro ThinkPad. It's because of the remarkable quality and reliability that we experience with our ThinkPads. You will not be disappointed.

[creed_mty]

I'm totally agree with Archer6

[kulivontot]

What's the speed on the Dell HDD? You're also probably neglecting the fact that the T60p drive is going to be much faster than a standard 5400 or even worse 4200 RPM drive that dell supplies. Also, you don't get the shock protection that you do on a thinkpad, so your dell hard drive is far more likely to have a failure within the next few years. I had a consumer notebook and the hard drive failed on me twice because of the lack of anti-shock. While dell notebooks can be a bargain, they have to cut costs somewhere to do so. If you were to compare an equivalent dell notebook in the business line, you might have a harder decision, but frankly even a cheaper non-FireGL T60 would probably be a better choice than the dell you just quoted.

[idworkin]

Thanks for all the responses. OK, you convined me

FYI, the speed of the dell HDD is 7200rpm - but I've had IBMs for years and am a big thinkpad fan - was just looking for confirmation that a refurbed t60 was a better bet than a new inspiron.

Anyone know where I can get warranty coverage for teh t60p? (IBMs warranty on the refurbs is onlyk 6 mos)

Thanks

Ira