To buy or not to buy?

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dkchen · #1 Post by **dkchen** » Fri Aug 29, 2008 1:36 am

Yeah,

So I have a laptop for about 2 years and a few months. Its a 1.86 Centrino duo (not core 2 duo yet) Sony VAIO. I have yet to have problems with my VAIO other than my bluetooth is loopy. All my siblings' VAIO's have had problems in the past years except for mine. I'm getting scared about my VAIO that it will crash on me one day.

I'm debating spending the money to buy a new T400 or try to wait a year (give or take a few months) for the new Core i7 to reach the mobile platform.

I was really impressed with what I saw on the thinkpad that my brother got. I'm just not sure if it'll be wise on the investment. I'm currently doing a lot of software development using VM's, etc. So what made me attracted to this was the fact that I could use 8 GB of ram (whenever that comes out).

Thanks

MGD_drinker · #2 Post by **MGD_drinker** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 4:03 pm

I'd say wait 1year 4months if you can.

Around that time 4 things will happen that will mark a huge step up in notebook performance.
- SSD drives will offer more capacity at a cheaper price, I'm holding out for 200GB SSD on a thinkpad for around $1000
- Display Port will be widely available
- USB 3.0
- Intel Core i7 that you mention, or the chip after that, I can't remember intel's chips names or when they arrive.

- finally windows 7, might be available.

Course there's always good stuff coming on the horizon. 2years isn't too bad of a lifespan for your current vaio. I like to obsess about what new technology is comming though, that's why I still use a Thinkpad X40

Afty · #3 Post by **Afty** » Sat Aug 30, 2008 8:56 pm

The other thing to consider is that the new T400s use DDR3 RAM, and DDR3 RAM is currently very expensive. If you are interested in getting 8 GB, it's going to cost you an arm and a leg right now. I agree that you are better off waiting if you can.

dkchen · #4 Post by **dkchen** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 12:05 pm

Thanks for the reply the advice is greatly appreciated.

I have to think about some of the projects that i'll be working on because it'll be nice to have a good viable laptop when i go work on certain projects.

I'm still thinking about it. I never thought that USB 3.0, but will the displayport really become more popular in the future? All my monitors are currently DVI. I don't plan to change my monitors anytime soon.

Hopefully 4 GB ram sodimm will become cheap in the future.

#5 Post by **archer6** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 12:40 pm

MGD_drinker wrote:I'd say wait 1year 4months if you can.
that's why I still use a Thinkpad X40

Your suggestion to wait, is great advice that I agree with 100%.
As far as the comment on your X40, I might edit that line, removing the word _still_ as I think you're being far too modest. The line should read:
I use a ThinkPad X40

Why? because I bought one new when they were first released, used it daily (trouble free) for a very long time, until giving it to a family member. I can say from personal experience that the X40 is a fantastic machine, one of my all time favorites, and _still_ is.....

Cheers!

wswartzendruber · #6 Post by **wswartzendruber** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 4:28 am

I'd give them some time to work out the keyboard issue. Honestly, I'm liking mine more and more each day. It's not perfect. It's better than my T60 in some ways and worse in others. IMHO, the T400 is still a [censored] fine machine, and worthy of the ThinkPad logo it carries.

The SL series on the other hand...

dkchen · #7 Post by **dkchen** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 7:36 am

Yeah,

I could always get a cheap version of the T400, and have it tacked on as a business expense to make it cheaper over the long run.

On my brother's t400, i haven't had the opportunity to really play around with the keyboard. But from what others have told me that NMB is supposedly the best one. And that you can't tell if the keyboard is poor unless you use a better one.

emorphien · #8 Post by **emorphien** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:13 am

I disagree on the waiting. There's always something new around the corner, if you need it now, get it now.

dkchen · #9 Post by **dkchen** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:35 pm

Well, some of the benefits of being able to get the laptop now would be...

Battery life (my laptop right now like lasts the typical 3 to 4 hours and maybe 6 hours if i turn off everything)
Durability
Business expense
Speed
8GB of ram (at least when its economically feasible.)

Some of the things going against my decision is just the idea that I might want to upgrade again in two years. I was already planning on not jumping onto the core i7 quickly mainly because it'll have some issues when it first releases like being expensive and more expensive on that. And I think it'll be a few months before the T series will update after the release of core i7 (I may be very wrong with this one)

I think I'm going to wait a little bit more before I make my final decision because right now I'm in the "I want to join the thinkpad fan club" mood, which can be a very expensive mood.

Thanks

emorphien · #10 Post by **emorphien** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:04 pm

dkchen wrote: Some of the things going against my decision is just the idea that I might want to upgrade again in two years.

That's a possibility regardless of what you buy!

#11 Post by **archer6** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 5:22 pm

emorphien wrote:I disagree on the waiting. There's always something new around the corner, if you need it now, get it now.

I could not agree more. The keyword being _Need_
If you do indeed _need_ it now, then by all means place your order and enjoy your new ThinkPad....

#12 Post by **archer6** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 5:25 pm

dkchen wrote: right now I'm in the "I want to join the thinkpad fan club" mood, which can be a very expensive mood.

I think, personally that the "I want to join the ThinkPad Fan Club mood" is indeed a great mood! A bit expensive, true, but Oh... So... Satisfying...

dkchen · #13 Post by **dkchen** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 9:33 am

Just thinking about it. I can think of plenty more expensive hobbies than getting a thinkpad. The nice thing though is that I can get the laptop business expense through work stuff.

I just wish that display port would be available for the T400 and a better video card. I'm almost just waiting till a T500 with LED screen comes out. But I don't know when that'll happen.

Oh a question if someone can answer. Should i get a 6 cell battery and the ultra bay battery thing or get the 9 cell battery only or get the 9 cell plus the ultra bay battery?

Aroc · #14 Post by **Aroc** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 5:38 pm

There's nothing wrong with a 2-year upgrade cycle.

Buy what you need when you need it.

dkchen · #15 Post by **dkchen** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 6:09 pm

Too late I'm going to BUY it!!!

I just put the order in the purchasing department. They're going to get it for me, and then I'll be ready to go.

I'm going to try out the keyboard, and see if I can stand it. Though, I hear that newbie thinkpad owners like myself won't be able to tell the difference until they buy the better keyboard.

Who knows.

I'll keep you all posted on what happens.

#16 Post by **archer6** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:05 pm

Aroc wrote:There's nothing wrong with a 2-year upgrade cycle. Buy what you need when you need it.

I'm too impatient to wait 2 years. My "upgrade cycle" is whenever the mood strikes me....

Crunch · #17 Post by **Crunch** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 3:00 pm

MGD_drinker wrote: - Display Port will be widely available
- USB 3.0
- Intel Core i7 that you mention, or the chip after that, I can't remember intel's chips names or when they arrive.

- finally windows 7, might be available.

Quick couple of questions: I noticed that Display Port on the W700 as an option. I've also seen Displayprt+SST What exactly are those?

As for the Core i7. What wonderfulness will that entail?

Thanks...

wswartzendruber · #18 Post by **wswartzendruber** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 6:33 pm

Crunch wrote:As for the Core i7. What wonderfulness will that entail?

Thanks...

Four cores with each one being hyperthreaded. Later models are supposed to include eight hyperthreaded cores. Each core is on its own power cycle, so they can throttle up and down as necessary. This will also be the first time Intel integrates the memory controller with the rest of the unit, instead of the front side bus.

To buy or not to buy?

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