Lighter toughbook with core 2 duo and higher resolution, prefer pop out cd rom & led

Being a fan of the fully rugged models going from cf 29 to cf 30 im now getting old and instead of lugging the 30 back and forth i decided i need to step away from the full rugged and just get rugged so looking for a model to carry around

My requirements are just to have a C2D

Checked out the 7 series, apparently the Y7 as the cool dvd rom and high res unfortunately not sporting the led screen, i suppose i could add that in later

Just wanted to get some thoughts on those that have these models

The benefit of the Y7 is the high res and dvd rom, the T7 has the touch screen and longer battery life, the W7 has semi longer battery life and the dvd drive

The higher res speaks to me, so probably the Y7 for me

Cant find the W7 on ebay, the T7 is available for around $120 with the Y7 around $200 hmmm decisions now

 

I haven't messed with the Y series yet, but I have messed with T1, T2, T5, W2 and W5. I still have both of my T and W5 models. I have seen the T8 and W8 coming down too. The 8 series has official windows 7 support but you could probaly match up the drivers to work no problems. The only bad thing about the 5 series is it still has IDE hard drive(but the versions with core duo and 945 chipset work and battery life even on used batteries is good, the 7 up series is SATA.

I still need to do a little more research and finish it up but here you go to compare.
~Toughbook Talk~ Toughbook Discussion • View topic - TBT Business Class Machine Thread

Personally I find the W series more useful than the T series because of the dvd drive. The Y series up to the 4 series was fanless. The T and W series was fanless up to the 5 series.

 

what about the F8 ? highres, dvd, 14.1, fast cpu, light. not sure about LED, but it should be. or the newer F9.

 

So the new models arent fanless anymore?
Are the 7 series using sata 2?

cause i was hoping to put in an ssd without any extra work or ide to sata adapters

the only reason i want the dvd is just cause it looks cool, in this age dvd drives are not used its all about flash storage now
i even install windows 7 from usb drive now, barely use dvd

That sucks that even though the 5 series has core duos they still used ide thats backwards technology and a bottleneck

f8 i found for about $600 so ill wait for that to drop

thats a cool list, i was hoping for something such as that

i wish there was a list of every single TB model ever made

 

Well come to think of it we do have one but where it is now is a good question...ADOR , do you know where it is ??

Found it...couple years old but it list a lot of them.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic/468364-toughbook-model-list.html

 

I have both a T5 and T8 and it is amazing how much more powerful the 8 is really.
I have been running Win7Pro on it until I stuck Win8 on it a few weeks ago like a total MORON!

I love the machine,hate 8.

I can't see how the DVD built-in matters either way unless you want to watch commercial DVDs all the time?
I easily plug in a USB drive when needed and they are pretty portable now too.
On the other hand I loves me that touch screen and would much rather have that than any optical drive and the weird split palm rest which I don't really trust.

I am sure I will have a big SSD in the T8 before long too.

I also carry a CF30 around so I know what you are saying there.

Honestly my favorite form factor so far in Toughbooks has been the CF73 I think.
Plenty rugged but much lighter weight and just slicker to me.
I need a Touchscreen so if I think about the CF53 it would be a top spec model with touch.

Too many Toughbooks too little Time,and Money of course!

Ed

 

Trust me you really want a CF-53. It's just the right size and weight. I have the non-touch model with the i5 ,W7 64bit, 16GB memory and a Intel 160GB SSD...16-18 seconds boot...love it

 

Yep, the IDE hook up is my only real complaint on that. The T5 has several trips to Saudi Arabia on it so far. I mainly play NES games on it and watch movies on it while I am inter netting on the other one.

The 74 model is one to check out also. Look for a mk3 or 4. Semi rugged, 13.3 screen, pop out DVD, 4/8 GB ram, sata hook up. I just got mk3's for my youngest three kids.

That list needs a slight up date. I will see if I can work it in soon. Working on a let's note list and a CPU and chipset list for the models.

 

I've put in an SSD into my CF-W8 (as well as previous W7). It's a straightforward swap over.

 

I really do like the cf-74's so far. Still have a slew of 29's and 30's and cf-51's but lug my cf-74 from office to office. Have a couple I picked up and was going to work on them but haven't quite made time to do it just yet..Driller

 

Sounds like toughwiki.com needs an update.

 

I was waiting on it. wondering where the 74 folks were. The CF-74G and up..fits your specs. I like the way the bad news # 1 (the battery) angles the unit upwards in the rear for typing on a table or desk. bad news = special battery. Bad news #2 for others is a limited number as in 1 only usb. (on the G) I haven't seen a MK4 YET.
Looks a little racy, WWAN available, light weight, sd reader. And the G model in Ubuntu is very quick. I'd sell mine 'cept for the hole in the lid. Took a pretty good hit and still ticking.
#3 the edges are a little sharp...like a late model Winchester. Another negative but off-set by full size keyboard and best of all in Ubuntu....the Synaptics touchpad. Slick and quick and carpal tunnel friendly.

 

LoL, My buddy just picked up at CF-74E (CF-74ECE03BM) the other night I am working on this morning. I really like it and am just figuring it out. He paid $95 for it and it is cherry!

 

I may as well just get all models Fully, Semi, and Business lol and then the Tablet and Convertibles too

I just got the T7 in got it for $90 because of a dim screen, will either replace the CCFL or put in led

The unit is loud as heck not silent as my 30, and its blowing probably 90f air out so obviously needs to be opened no
Said it needs a fan due to it not having a giant bottom heatsink oh well

Although i still need the Y7 since i wanted high res

 

I use a Y7 every day. I'd like to buy a newer system but have not yet found one better. I also have and use a W7 and W8, but for extensive work, like programming and document composition, the screen size and resolution of the Y7 are much better. I have not used an SSD, and so have not cared and do not know whether it is 3 Gb or 6 Gb SATA (but suspect that it is only 3.0 Gb). I have looked at the newer TB systems, but do not like the F, S or B models and do not think they are as good at the Y7.

Good luck,
Dave