Prospective Thinkpad owner seeks advice

Hey, board members. Still doing research on a laptop acquisition, and I am impressed by the reviews I have read of IBM's various product lines. They seem to have the ergonomic benefits and reliability that I'm looking for, though at a premium. Now, I'm having trouble narrowing down which model is right for me.
I'm tempted by the T41, since size and weight are an important criteria for me (I'll be lugging this to school day in and day out). But, I'd certainly have to pay for that feature, and so I'm also looking at the R-series as a compromise between size and battery life, and price. Has anyone had to make the same choice, and can anyone give testimony as to the difference between a 14.1" and 15" screens? Any and all input is greatly appreciated.

 

15" screen with 1400x1050 is awesome. great clarity and probably at least 25-30% more screen real estate than 1024x768. i just got this R40 from newegg, which seemed like a great deal. the keyboard and ergonomics of ibm are simply the best, imho, and i'm very picky about that as i do a lot of typing.

if i were getting 1024x768 resolution, i would probably opt for 14.1" over 15" because, though i have no hard data to confirm this, it just seems logical to me that smaller screen with the same resolution will have better clarity. it probably wouldn't be enough to consciously notice, but it might make the difference between some eye fatigue and not having fatigue after a lot of work hours. [/unfounded opinion] [ ]

 

Have you looked at the R51?

http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=-840&storeId=1&langId=-1&dualCurrId=73&categoryId=2302836

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been doing more research on the Thinkpad line, and now I'm absolutely certain that I want to go with IBM. This is the current deal that I'm thinking about:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=34-146-013&depa=0
It's a T-series, so it's got the size and weight bonus going for it, it has the wireless capability I need, (most importantly) it's got the full three year warranty (the budget won't permit getting a new laptop for a loooong while), and it's a full $250 cheaper from newegg than if I were to buy it direct from IBM.
Notebloke, that R40 you pointed out does have a nicer screen than the model I'm looking at, which would certainly be an advantage since I'm not planning on having a desktop machine when I move, but I'm willing to make the tradeoff for the warranty and a slight edge in portability. I too enjoy a great deal from newegg, and I think that if I do purchase from newegg, the T40 I'm looking at better suits my needs.
Run1track, thank you for the heads-up on the R51 (which doesn't seem to be offered by Newegg). That's also a tempting model, since there's a comparably-equipped model with the better screen for cheaper than the T40 I'm looking at. But, I notice that I can't order an extended warranty; is this IBM's way of saying that the R series is less sturdy than the T series? Because, if so, that's probably not the way I want to go.
Thanks very much to the both of you. This is a stressful decision, since I'm hoping this notebook will be able to last me through three years of law school, and I don't want to make a decision I'm going to regret.

 

The model you are looking at at Newegg only comes with 256mb ram.
Just keep that in mind, as most people want at least 512mb ram.

Here(link below) is what ram upgrades will cost you from crucial.com:
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=IBM%2BThinkPad&mfr=IBM&cat=RAM&model=ThinkPad+T40+Series+%28Type+2373%29&submit=Go

Hope that helps!

 

and make sure you are absolutely sure that's what you want before ordering from newegg. they don't give refunds for notebooks, but only allow exchange for the exact same item.

p.s. the R series are less sturdy than the T series -- or imo the better way to say it is that the T series are more sturdy, meaning that R is pretty much "standard" industry sturdiness (more really, in my estimation), while the T series goes up a notch and gives even more sturdiness (if any of that makes sense [ ]).

according to the IBM guy i talked to, the T-series uses titanium alloy throughout the entire chassis, while the R series only has the titanium in the bottom panel. but titanium only in the bottom is to my knowledge still more than notebooks from most other manufacturers have, hence my comments above about R being more sturdy than most others (subjectively feels very sturdy, also). another thing you may or may not be aware of is that the T series also has the hard disk shock absorber protection mechanism thing, which is not in the R40, but is in the R50/51. i guess that could go to the issue of sturdiness/durability.