T43 - High Definition Audio

[CantabRich]

I generally hold my notebooks for around 4 years. I have for nearly 5 months held off buying a new notebook so that I could take advantage of the 915 mobile chipset. My thinking was that, by delaying my purchase, I would benefit from:

1. better performance;
2. hopefully, better battery life
3. high definition audio (potentially useful for digital dictating)
4. PCI Express functionality; and
5. the ability to upgrade to faster chips at some stage in the future (the new chipset "future-proofing" my purchase.

The 915 mobile chipset has now been released in the T43. If I have understood correctly, the T43 models announced so far have slightly worse battery life, not noticeably faster performance (save for graphics) and no HD audio. I would therefore be grateful for advice/comments on the following:

(a) if I purchase one of the first T43 models, will the HD audio functionality be able to be added as a later upgrade? Or is this a hard-wired, motherboard matter which cannot be upgraded?

(b) does the upgrade path for the T43 stop at a chip speed of 2.26Mhz? It seems that, once Intel reaches that speed for the Dothan chip, then they will be switching development to the Yonah platform (at which point the T43 can no longer be upgraded, since the Yonah will require the 945/955- equivalent mobile chipset, and will not plug into the 915 chipset).

If HD audio will not be available on the T43 that I purchase (even by way of an upgrade), and if the upgrade path is so limited, then it seems to me that I should simply purchase a mid-range T42 and resign myself to an upgrade in two years time, rather than 4 years time.

Please let me know if I have misunderstood the position. This will be my first Thinkpad; I am converting from a Toshiba.

[Cavorite]

I've yet to find a notebook worthwhile for good audio out of the box, the closest i've seen is the Sony A series with it's multimedia dock. I really just suggest getting a laptop for whatever other specs you need then getting a little firewire or usb sound I/O device, more options, worthwhile interfaces, and no worries about disturbance in the audio signal from the components of the laptop.

-C-

[DavidE]

Another option is to add an Audigy 2 ZS Notebook card to your ThinkPad: http://www.creative.com/products/produc ... duct=10769 .

DavidE
www.davidenglish.com

[CantabRich]

Thanks to each of you. The Audigy product looks interesting; would I be correct in understanding that there is no way to upgrade the [motherboard] itself?

[DavidE]

No way that I'm aware of. And while the Intel chipset supports high definition audio, that doesn't mean notebook manufacturers will take advantage of it. Why should a notebook manufacturer upgrade the internal audio components if very few buyers will notice -- or care about -- the difference?

DavidE
www.davidenglish.com

[sugo]

If a laptop does support it, like new Sony S in Japan, the vendor can make it a selling point.

Not many people list what a product does NOT support in their brochure. They are not cheating either. Intel indicates that many of sonoma features are optional.

[CantabRich]

Thanks to each of you; points noted and understood. Thanks!