Question about T42

I am considering to buy either the Compaq X1000 or the T42. I am curious which one you guys think is better. Also, another question. I read some reviews which state the T42 has horrible battery power, in the range of 2.5 hours, is that true?? Also, i heard some bad stuff about the 15" display. Aren't both of the 15" displays offered by IBM flexview displays, do they both have ghosting problems and should it be avoided, and stick to the 14" display. Thanks for any info. Oh, and i will be using it for school, so i will need portability and power.

 

I usually get over 4 hours of wireless surfing on my T42 with a standard 6 cell battery.
Mine is an XGA 14" screen. It does a good job. The 15" flexview does have a bit of lag. It is designed to do presentations so that more people can view your powerpoints.


IBM T42
2378-DUU

 

Do you have the higher resolution 14" or the lower resolution one? Which one would you recommend? What don't you like about your laptop?

 

Hi borgit,
Not to put down the Compaq as it has it's place in the marketplace, but there is no comparison. It is like comparing a Kia to a Lexus. From what you say, you must have read the user review that was put up on this site a couple of days ago, I think this particular unit had some display problems as I have the exact same model 2378DXU and my display after even closer inspection after reading the review has very minimal ghosting...ie. you really have to look for it and if you read my post after the review you will see that my battery life with the 6 cell battery is right at 4 hours. I could not be happier with my T42, had an R40 before that it was very good as well. I really like the 15" and am glad I picked it over the 14 as I did not know at the time that the 14's don't have the flexview screen. The other thing with the 14's is that the top cover is kind of flimsy for some reason. When you shop for a notebook, look at as many reviews as you can on each unit and read as many user comments as possible and also go to the forums and what issues people are having with them. I really think the T42 review posted here does not represent the typical T42 as I don't have the short battery life or ghosting issues he has; and from all the reading I've done at www.thinkpads.com forums and anywhere else I could before buying the T42 these issues were never mentioned. If you can afford a T42 over the Compaq X1000, then go for it, you won't be disappointed.

Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by borgit

 

One more thing. Here are some of the things I really like about my T42.

The keyboard...IBM makes the best keyboards.

The trackpoint(pencil head pointer), using it with the middle button of the touchpad is great and after a little practice is faster than a mouse. Also like the forward/back buttons on the leyboard for surfing.

The build quality, built like a tank, look at those metal hinges and magnesium alloy cover.

The keyboard light is great and it uses very little power.

The battery life is very good and the display is great.

The security features, with the security chip and passwords enabled, even the FBI cringes at the thought of trying to get the data off the notebook. With these features turned on the notebook would be useless to anyone who steals it as it won't work and there is no making it work unless they put a new motherboard and harddrive in it.

Last and surely not the least is IBM tech. support, they are great. After going through their menu system to get to notebook hardware support, in the 4-5 times I've called them; they have always answered by the 3rd ring with never any hold time. They're very knowledgeable about their products. They are also the only computer manufacturer that has not outsourced their support to the far east, yes they are here in America. I suppose if your in Europe and call for support, you will get support from your area as well.

There you have it, the main thing I really like about the T42.

Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

I can second all of the points bootleg made.
IBM keyboard, battery life, build quality and ergonomics are all outstanding.

I have a 14" 1024x768 xga display. I mostly use this pc for Email, web use and some DVD movies. I do a bit of Excel and Word too. For me, the higher res screens were not really much of a benefit, and the smaller font sizes were probably a slight negative. You should look at some screens to see what you will be dealing with. If you go to Best Buy or Circuit City, most of the notebooks you see will have 1024x768 XGA screens. Compare some of the higher res screens. You will see clearer, but smaller text. If you are editing large photos, or need applications that take advantage of the higher screen real estate, then by all means spend the additional money.

Regarding screen size, 14" was actually my MAX! I previously had a Thinkpad 600, I think the screen was 13". Size and portability was very important to me, so I chose the 14. While the footprint of the T42 is slightly larger than my TP600, the T42 is thinner, and weighs less.

Another misconception is that Thinkpads are much more expensive compared to others. Actually, a lot depends on how you configure the unit. Mine (2378DUU) is an express model. It came with 256BM RAM. Intel 2200BG wireless and a 40GB hard drive. It was $1599 at CDW. I added an additional 256MB to bring my ram to 512MB for about $70. If you do not need intensive graphics, this is a great machine, and is quite affordable.

IBM T42
2378-DUU

 

I reviewd a T42, and I've used my friend's X1000 for brief periods, and they're both fine computers.

Which is better? The T-42.

Which is the better value will depend on your budget and needs.

The Compaq will probably cost several hundred dollars less than a similarly equipped T-42, but for the extra money, the T-42 will give you a great keyboard, and IBM's rock solid case, customer support, etc... (A better comparison price-wise might be the X1000 and IBM's R51 series).

I wouldn't call two-and-a-half hours a horrible battery life, but there are thin-and-light notebooks that are better, including other T-42s. I use my computer for hours at a time away from a power source, and found the Flexview with the six-cell battery just wasn't cutting it. Too often I found myself at meetings trying to take notes while hoping desperately that the battery wouldn't die before the end.
Other people have reported better battery run-times though.

What screen you want might depends on what the computer is for. If you're just word processing, web surfing, etc., the standard IBM screen should be fine, 14 or 15 inches. If you do much photo editing or a lot of work with images, you'll appreciate the Flexview.

The Flexview display is gorgeous, but uses more battery power than a standard IBM 15-inch screen. A 14-inch screen will give you even more battery life.

I was disappointed with the ghosting I saw on my T-42, but some others have noticed little or no ghosting on their Flexviews. I also think the non-Flexview IBM screens look slightly pale and washed out compared to the best of some other brands, but they're still miles ahead of the Lcds on those $600 eMachine at Best Buy or whereever.

The X1000 is a decent computer, too, and will probably get you more for your money, sans the awesome keyboard and the other touches that separate Thinkpads from other computers.

 

How come on IBM's web site, the selection is so limited when you choose to Customize the laptop. For example, it does not allow you to pick 1.8 Pentium M cpu with a 14 inch screen. Also, you are not allowed to choose wheather the screen is flexview or not?

 

.... because those combinations are not available!

There are a lot of limits, but I doubt that anyone other than IBM offers as many combinations of configurations. These same limits are in place on other sites, take Gateway for example. The have a 320 series that is similar in size to the T42, but if you want a 14" screen, you will be limited to Celeron-M processor.

Consider what you really need. A 1.8Mhz processor seems like a good idea, but can you get by with less? In my case I originally wanted 1.6-1.8, but settled for the 1.5. The machine is plenty fast for the apps I use, in fact, I usually am down-stepping due to the power management features. I just checked now, and I am currently at 239Mhz. This saves a ton of power. If battery life is a concern, the slower 1.5MHz chip may actually be a benefit.


IBM T42
2378-DUU

 

jsmit86,
You said your cpu way running at 239Mhz due to the power mgmt features. How do you know what the CPU speed is? Is there a menu that shows this for you?

Thanks
Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

My Computer ---> Properties

IBM T42
2378-DUU

 

Thanks jsmit86,
I set power mode up to set the CPU to "very slow" and had downloaded 2 different programs to check CPU speed and both reported a speed of 599Mhz, but the properties box lists the CPU speed as 209Mhz....
Wonder which one is real?

Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

Bootleg -
I read somewere ( here?) that when the CPU is adaptive simply running the speed reporting utility may kick up the CPU a notch. In any case, the PC seems plenty fast, and the battery lasts a long time!

IBM T42
2378-DUU

 

Hi jsmit86,
That could be, and for the battery lasting a long time; I found a way to increase my battery life by quite a bit. I now can get close to 7 hours on my 9 cell battery instead of the 6 I was getting. What I did was enable the ATI powerplay software that I thought was useless and disabled earlier. What it does is sense what sections of the GPU are being used and turns off the sections that are not being used. Afterall if your not gaming there is a lot of 3D related areas of the GPU that are just wasting power, very cool.

Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by bootleg2go

 

Hi Tim,
Send me your email address to [email protected]
I'll attache a copy of my services list, and what is running in the background thru the msconfig command. In your email send me these same items of yours and I'll look over them as well. It may take a day or two to get thru this as there are other settings we need to compare as well. Remember to get 7 hrs. I had the 9 cell high capacity battery running at a screen brightness level of only 1. This is pretty unrealistic case except for at night at home with only the normal lighting in our home turned on, then I can easy run at display brightness of 0 and it is plenty bright, but from the poer measurements I've done, I should be able to get +6hrs. on the 9cell battery.

Jack

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" (Ben Franklin)
http://pbase.com/joneill