Worth the wait
Written: Nov 24 '02 (Updated Dec 03 '02)
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Pros: Keyboard, screen, build-quality, warranty, that "ThinkPad Look"
Cons: Absolutely none
The Bottom Line: Get a used T20 and say goodbye to "Laptop Envy" forever!
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| lawman67's Full Review: Lenovo ThinkPad T20 (264746U) PC Notebook |
I used to do computer consulting and support as a sideline business, and two years ago had a job which involved installing Windows 2000 and a brand-new IBM T20 and configuring it for the company's network. I had just bought a brand-new Toshiba Satellite 2675 days before, and immediately felt laptop envy the moment I touched the casing of that T20. Installing the software was a piece of cake, and I filed the wonderful experience in the back of mind, wishing that someday, I too could afford a T20.
I've been through two other laptops in those two years, both of them Toshiba Porteges. Don't get me wrong, I really love ultralight laptops, and in that category, I consider Toshiba Porteges to be, along with IBM's X-series, the very best. I would have kept using my Portege 3480 for a few more years, but I was asked to configure a classmate's T23, which is essentially identical to the T20, only faster, and my laptop envy returned, in full-force.
This time, however, I COULD afford a T23 of my very own. T23? Isn't this a review of the T20? Well, I was about to order a new T23 from CDW, when I did a quick search on eBay and found a "Like New" T20 at less than half the price of the T23. After getting the serial number from the seller and finding that it was still under IBM factory warranty, the deal was set and I bought a T20 with 14" screen, 700MHz screen, Windows 98, 128MB ram and a 20GB drive.
First off, my purchase was an example about but what to, and not to do when buying used. I did my homework and verified that the machine was under warranty, however I didn't ask enough questions about condition, and simply took the seller's "Like New' description to mean what it said. The machine arrived with a sticky keyboad, very flexible chasis and washed-out, yellow-tinted screen. The seller was very uncooperative, having just offloaded his problem laptop, so I called IBM tech support (and filed fraud charges on eBay).
IBM came through, and this 26-month-old computer was sent to them with a laundry list of problems, returning three days later as an essentially new computer. They replaced the LCD, the keyboard, the hard drive (was noisy) and tightened up all of the screws on the inside and out. They also replaced some interior chasis parts that had warped or bent over two years of hard use, and even changed the top cover, so that all that is left of the original machine is the bottom plate (very clean) and the motherboard, which tested perfect. My T20 is now, in every sense of the term, "Like New", and is simply a delight to use.
First off, when my T20 returned from IBM, there were a few changes I had to make immediately. I dislike WIndows 98. Actually, dislike is far too mild a word, I HATE IT. DOS-based Windows is simply too buggy and unstable for me to risk my data on, so any computer that comes with Windows 95, 98 or ME, immediately gets the "New OS" treatment. A new OS for me is either Windows 2000 Professional or either version of Windows XP. IBM's website is terrific here, as they have a chart for each of their series of laptops, cross-indexed by all supported operating systems. Find T20 on the top, then go down to each category, such as video or sound, and pick the driver for the OS you want to use. I decided to install Windows XP Professional on my T20, and everything was very easy to find and install. MY ADVICE HERE: Do not do an "Upgrade" install, but rather bite the bullet, wipe the hard drive and install the new OS "Clean", from scratch. Upgrades never work well, and always introduce stability problems down the road.
Since I was installing a new OS anyway, and wanted lots of space to play with images from my new digital camera (Canon S200 Digital Elph, review coming soon), I ordered a larger hard drive on eBay while the laptop was being fixed by IBM. When the laptop came back, I installed a 40GB IBM Travelstar hard drive, which is the same drive that comes with the new T23, and added $100 to the price. I also wanted more than 128MB of ram, so I ordered a pair of 256MB modules, maxing it out to 512MB (60. Lastly, while my computer came only with DVD, I still wanted bootable floppy and CDRW, so I ordered both drives to fit in the ultrabay 2000 port ($40 floppy, $60 CDRW). My grand total was $260 for accessories/upgrades and $650 for the laptop = $910. I sold the 20GB drive for $50 and the 128MB module for $10, making my net cost for a 700MHz T20 with 512MB RAM, 40GB drive, DVD, CDRW and floppy drives $850. That new T23 was selling for $1685, with only DVD, 20GB and 128MB RAM.
With Windows XP the T20 is a delight. It boots up quickly and does everything smooth and fast. Of course, XP is very stable on the T20, as this is a "Corporate-class" laptop, meaning only stable, tried-and-true components were used, with correspondingly mature nad stable drivers. There is no flakey video or any other erratic behavior on a T-seies ThinkPad, because the vast majority of such troubles on other laptops comes from poorly written divice drivers. Everything here simply works. The best example I can think of is hot-swapping drives. Pull the small eject lever and IBM's EasyEject utility AUTOMATICALLY tells the OS that you will remove the drive, and by the time you grab the handle that pops out automatically for that purpose, the system tray tells you that the device is ready to be removed. INsert the new device and by the time you can click "My Computer" to open it up, the system tray tells you it is ready. Every laptop should work like this, but they don't.
As for the physical stuff, well IBM keyboards are legendary, and this one fully deserves the reputation. It is crisp and firm, while quiet. They keys are more responsive than anything else you will ever touch, except, of course, another IBM. My wife owns a ThinkPad 570, and this is just as good, better than any of the Toshibas I've owned, with the possible exception of the Portege 4000, which is very "IBM-Like".
The screen is simply gorgeous. I've always used smaller laptops with 11 or 12 inch panels, so moving up to a 14" TFT is a dramatic difference for me. My Portege 4000 with its 12" screen was a beautiful machine for multimedia, but with the 14" T20 next to it, there is no comparison. Most impressive of all, despite the much larger LCD and a bigger keyboard, the T20 is thinner than the Portege, shallower, though a little bit wider. It also only weighs a half-pound more, making it every bit as portable.
The TrackPoint mouse is typical IBM, and considerably better than Toshiba's similar accupoint. Cursor control is fast and accurate, and at least for this user, represents about the best pointing device available on a laptop. There is no need to move your fingers away from typing position, and unlike touchpads, no chance whatsoever of accidentally clicking with the fleshy part of your thumb.
Finally, compared to more modern laptops, like the T23 or even the new T30, very little is given up in buying a used T20. 700MHz is so fast that you probably won't even notice the difference unless you edit video or play high-end video games. Of course the newer laptops have better video chips and higher resolution screens, so if you do work in graphics, an older machine will likely not meet your needs. For me, it is perfect. I do typical office type work, word processing, email, web browsing and video conferencing, all of which are accomplished extremely well using the T20. Even DVD movie playback is every bit as good as the newer laptops, with no distortion or jitters, just a smooth, high-quality picture and awesome sound, even from the built-in speakers, which are mounted in the center of the front panel - an unusual location.
In conclusion, I believe we have reached one of those technological plateaus where the hardware has advanced much faster than the needs of the software. The result is that even two or three year old laptops are still entirely satisfactory in terms of performance. My desktop is an AMD K6-2 at 450MHz, and it runs Windows XP Home very well indeed, with no need for any more power. I am totally satisfied with my T20, and suffer laptop envy no more.
***Update 12/03/02***
Well, I've been happily computing on my T20 for over a month now and can honestly say that this is by far, the nicest PC I've ever used. Dead reliable and very fast, it simply continues to delight.
The digital camera conects seamlessly, appearing as another drive in My Computer. The CDRW burns successfully every time, and even my "difficult" DVD, a Korean film called "2009 Lost Memories" plays beautifully.
I did have a problem wiht the modem/ethernet combo card, and IBM just overnighted a new one to me - now that's service.
With my 3Com X-Jack 802.11 wireless PC card installed, it even has seamless wifi integration. Not bad for a 1999 model laptop bought on the cheap.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 850 eBay*
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 601-700
Screen Size: 14 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 31-40
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Epinions.com ID:
lawman67
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 in Computer Hardware |
 - Top 200 |
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Member: Andrew F
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 210
Trusted by: 63 members
About Me:
Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl but she doesn't have a lot to say.
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