What is the best Thinkpad? Desiding on upgrading or buying

[dacp]

Ok rookie question here, I have fallen in love with the Thinkpad. With little knowledge I have of the Thinkpad I have come to believe the T series are the best for performance. I am not interested in the newer series but looking at particularity the T43 with the 1.8 processor and 2 g's of ram. Not sure if that is better than the T42, also not sure if I should just keep what I have and upgrade it to equal the capabilities of the T43, but not sure if that is possible with regards to the graphics. I can not upgrade the graphics of my R51. Any suggestions? Thanks

[ajkula66]

I don't think that there's such a thing as "the best" ThinkPad...it all depends on one's needs and preferences.

Nothing wrong with a good T43, apart from nagging "2010 error" on boot when a non-approved hard drive is installed, and fan than can be noisy which tends to annoy quite a few people.

Although you are likely to notice some difference in speed, it will not be tremendous. The same goes for graphics performance. Unless you're doing a lot of CAD and playing 3-D games, your Intel integrated graphics are quite sufficient for everyday use...

If you told us more about your particular needs, we might get a better idea of what advice to offer...

[dacp]

I use my laptop for basic everyday use, I am not a gamer, I am mostly an ebayer and web browser.

I don't think that there's such a thing as "the best" ThinkPad...it all depends on one's needs and preferences.

Nothing wrong with a good T43, apart from nagging "2010 error" on boot when a non-approved hard drive is installed, and fan than can be noisy which tends to annoy quite a few people.

Although you are likely to notice some difference in speed, it will not be tremendous. The same goes for graphics performance. Unless you're doing a lot of CAD and playing 3-D games, your Intel integrated graphics are quite sufficient for everyday use...

If you told us more about your particular needs, we might get a better idea of what advice to offer...

[RealBlackStuff]

The T43 is a bit sleeker looking and thinner than your R51.
But your R51 is more than adequate for your needs with 2GB RAM and if you replace your HD with a 5400rpm model.
That slow 4200rpm HD is your bottleneck!
Why waste more money?

[dacp]

Makes since thanks all for your input

The T43 is a bit sleeker looking and thinner than your R51.
But your R51 is more than adequate for your needs with 2GB RAM and if you replace your HD with a 5400rpm model.
That slow 4200rpm HD is your bottleneck!
Why waste more money?