T42 vs Z60t ?!

T42
1.8GHz Pentium
14.1" SXGA+ dispay 1400x1050
40G / 5400 drive
256MB ram
CD-RW / DVD
9 cell LiIon battery
3 yr warranty
XP Pro OS

vs

Z60t
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 740 (1.73GHz)
xp pro
ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless; Bluetooth
14.0" WXGA TFT (1280x768)
512MB DDR2 SDRAM
80gb 5200rpm
DVD Burner
7 cell lithium
3 yr warranty


the Z is about $300 more but then again i would def. upgrade the ram for the T42 so price is really not an issue

my main concern is the overall build of the laptop - which one has the sturdier build and, hence, will last longer?

also which screen is better the 14" WXGA or the SXGA?

all in all, which one is the better computer with a total package?

 

I'd go for T42 any day - it's lighter and better built. In my opinion the Z-series is a mistake and should have never been released under Thinkpad brand. You didn't mention if you get Bluetooth or wireless on the T42 but even if you don't you can buy parts on eBay later.

T42 build quality is unmatched, only bettered by the original T40 Also I'd happily swap the larger hdd on Z60 for 9-cell battery. In fact the only good thing to me about the Z60 above is the DVD burner.

SXGA screen will give you more resolution but it's not wide aspect.

Hope this helps.

 

T42
Integrated communication
Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit Ethernet and 56K V.92 designed modem (Standard)
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN
Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG (Standard)

no bluetooth - but im guessing that the previous means it has wireless

 

Yes, you've got wireless, 54 Mbps capable. I think Bluetooth can be purchased separately and it is a user replace-able part. You can find more details in the T42 maintenance manual.

 

whats the main difference between the t42 and t43?

 

Gup, I and my wife own 6 thinkpads, two of which are T43 and Z60t, which are our workhorse computers. I have no major complaints with either computer. Although, from using both, I would say the T43 is a little faster machine. It has 768MB ram and the Z60t has 1GB.
I haven't noticed any real difference in build quality.
Keyboards feel the same and they are both quite sturdy.
The advantage I see to the Z60t is that overall, it is a smaller footprint machine, but still with the full size keyboard and the wider display. Although, in total, the T43 displays more data at once on the screen.
I think the decision between T and Z is more of a computer size/style decision because the major difference is the form factor.
If you like a bigger screen, go T, if you want a smaller footprint, go Z.
Personally, my next machine will be a T60 later this month.
Good Luck!

 

thanks for the replies...i was also wondering about this T42's future...will I be able to use Vista? or any other **** ms throws out?

 

Depends on if the bios will need updating to support Vista and whether Lenovo updates it or not. Hard to say right now.

 

in addition to what seeone said above you may want to check this article. I assume that you're worried if it can run Vista's AERO Glass user interface with 3D effects. For that you need to ensure that you have discrete graphics (and as far as I can remember T42 were mostly made with dedicated ATI graphics ie. Radeon 7500 or Radeon 9600) but you do need to check if you have at least 64MB memory.

By the time Vista arrives I believe Microsoft would have ensured compatibility with as many devices as possible.

 

I doubt that Aero will run on T42, because the video card has only 32 MB of RAM.

My concern regarding the $1099 T42 is that it has a SXGA+ 14.1" screen. Isn't that too much for Office applications?

 

You mean too much resolution making fonts look too small? You can always change font size or DPI of the screen (or both). Having more screen real estate is more often than not better in my opinion.