What aspect of a laptop matters most to you?

[bill bolton]

I voted for weight, but I would have voted for reliability or availability instead of weight had those choices been on the list.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[tomh009]

No one thing stands out as most important. I need small size, light weight, fast hard drive, fast CPU and two spindles.

I agree with JD (almost) completely. For me, I need small size, light weight, fast hard drive, fast CPU -- and a TrackPoint.

[dr_st]

Indeed, there is no one thing. In the end, I voted for "pointing device", since to me it seems the most crucial.

Processor/RAM/HD are all upgradeable in one way or another, and in any case there isn't usually a big performance difference between parts of the same generation. As long as the HD is at least 80GB and 5400RPM it will be big and fast enough for me.

Video card has become less important to me, as I found myself to play less games in recent months (years?) In any case, I plan to buy a desktop PC with a powerful video card, which will solve all my gaming needs. And for laptops I learned to appreciate the extra battery life that integrated video solutions provide.

Display is quite important, and if Flexview/IPS in laptops wasn't all but extinct, I'd rate it very high on my priority list, having been spoiled with my T42. However, since there seems to be no current alternative to low quality TN displays, there really is no choice, and you all get the same. Matte/glossy won't make or break a deal for me, and I'm pretty flexible as far as sizes and resolutions go (i.e. can work on XGA as well as on SXGA+ and adjust to both).

Internal optical drive is important, because once in a while I want to read or burn a disk and I hate externals. To me it is a big downside of the X series. However, they do offer an Ultrabase option, which allows you to have it at least as a stationary solution.

Battery life is also something that I enjoy having, but can live without. My current T42 gives me around 1:30 of battery life under normal working conditions (originally was 2:30, but battery degraded). It's still enough for me for most scenarios, because I don't have frequent flights or long train rides, and usually use it at home). I do enjoy the fact that my new T60 can give me 5-6 hours of battery life, but if it didn't - it wouldn't be a disaster.

However, keyboard/mouse ergonomics are to me the most important thing, and I would never think about owning a laptop that doesn't have a trackpoint (can't stand touchpads). Also, I can't stand non-standard keyboard layout. I was ready to throw a fit if my job would have given me an HP laptop where the Home-End-Pgup-Pgdn keys are rearranged in a column at the right. Luckily they gave me a T60.

So that explains my vote and a whole bunch of other things no one cares about.

[pianowizard]

I have fallen in love with the T2x series after I started using my T22....I am selling my T22 to upgrade to a good T23.

I was just about to ask why you would sell the T22 if you love it so much! It's a good idea to upgrade, because the T23 supports twice as much memory, has two USB ports, a better graphics card, and faster bus and clock speeds. You should try to get one with 1.2GHz PIII, internal wireless, Win XP Pro COA, and of course SXGA+. Such a T23 will stay useful for most programs for at least 5 more years.

[milstein]

Can it be a ranking instead of a 1 out of 9 all or none polling?

[Harryc]

Light weight mobility is the most important aspect of any laptop to me.