What ThinkPad should I get?

[thePCxp]

I am trying to decide what ThinkPad I should get. The ThinkPads I am thinking of getting are: a T60, an R60, a T43/p, an R52, and an X60/s.
I want to know what the price ranges for each ThinkPad are and the pros and cons of each ThinkPad.

[Harryc]

Well, that's quite a range of machines. Do you want a portable laptop or will it sit on your desk most of the time? What do you do with a computer, and what applications do you run? Do you have a preference for widescreen or 4:3 aspect ratio (squarish) LCD's? Do you want a machine with a warranty?. Some of the models you mentioned would be difficult to find with one still under warranty (T43's, R52's). What is your budget?

[thePCxp]

I don't really care about portability. For the T60, I want a 14 inch in standard screen. For the R52 I want a 14 inch. For the T43/p I want a 15 inch. And for the R60, it can be a 14 or 15 inch. I don't really care about the warranty. All I want to find out are the pricing and pros and cons of each ThinkPad, because I want to make my decision based on those things.

[ajkula66]

That's quite some homework that you're giving us...

All in all you're somewhere in $300-550 range. The lowest-priced will be R52, which you can likely locate for under $300 since you're looking for a 14" model and these came as XGA only. For most practical purposes, these are identical to T43s, and have the same issues: noisy fans, hotter than earlier T4x/R5x units and give "2010 error" on boot if an unapproved HDD has been inserted. Some of this can be minimized using TPFC and 120GB Fujitsu drives which don't trigger the error.

T43/p in 15" format are the only machines with IPS FlexView LCDs on your list, and expect to pay a premium for that. In my book it's well worth it. You are unlikely to find a good 15" SXGA+ standard T43 for much under $400, and "p" models will be likely in $500-600 range, depending on specs and warranty. Be advised that the latter run quite hot because of V3200 GPU.

R60 can likely be located for around $400, and T60 for $500, once again depending on the specs. Intel graphics and XGA LCDs will command lower prices than ATI GPUs and SXGA+ screens.

X60/s also fits in this price range, from high $400 to low 600...

Apart from possible GPU problems on ATi-based T43/R52, there are really no major issues to be discussed.

If LCD quality is your main objective, the only logical choice is T43/p with IPS FlexView.

If the budget is on the lower side of spectrum, R52 in good shape won't disappoint you.

Should you need ultimate portability and battery life, X60/s is the way to go, and trust me when I tell you that even early Core Duo ones are fast enough for most applications.

T60 as well as R60 will prove to be great "overall" machines if you have average requirements...

Now, if you tell us more about your specific needs, and software/programs/applications that you're intent on running, we could probably narrow this group even more...

Hope this helps.

[thePCxp]

Yes, that helps. Thanks.