The T42 is the Place to Start
Written: Jul 21 '04
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Pros: Powerful, Relatively Light, Good Battery Life, Good Value, Amazing Engineering
Cons: No dedicated 'Windows' shortcut key. I hate that!
The Bottom Line: Buy the Thinkpad T42. The value is good, the engineering is great, and the features are rich. You'll be glad in the longrun.
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| jantin's Full Review: Lenovo ThinkPad® T42 (2379dxu) PC Notebook |
When I set out to research a new laptop, I quickly had the reaction that many in my position probably do: nausea. There are so many laptop brands, so many proprietary technologies, so many marketing ploys - it's a thicket. The chain stores (Best Buy and the like) are little help, full as they are of largely ignorant sales people and incomplete information. The tags on the laptops I saw there never seemed to include the information I needed - most notably weight and battery life.
So coming upon IBM's Thinkpad line was a real relief to me. Once I began to read about them I realized there was no real reason to go any other way. Now I've purchased a Thinkpad T42 and I couldn't be happier with the choice. If you're in a hurry, here is my review in a nutshell. For more details, keep reading:
The Thinkpad line is so well engineered, it blows away the competition. They've thought of everything from a Magnesium case to metal hinges to a tiny LCD light to illuminate your keyboard in the dark. The T42 offers a variety of features in a compact and relatively light (~5.0 pounds) package. Performance isn't stellar, but I'm comfortable with it. I wanted a good compromise between thin, light, and long-lasting battery on the one hand, and performance on the other. I've found it - and with a great choice of extras to boot. Finally, with the T42 line IBM is bucking its reputation as an overpriced brand. Comparison shop - you'll find out the Thinkpad T42 line is a pretty good value.
The Guts
My T42 has a Pentium M 1.7 chip, 512 mb of memory (2gb max), and a 64mb dedicated graphics card. First to the Pentium M chip. Here's the rub: Pentium M and Pentium 4 M ARE NOT THE SAME.
Pentium 4 M came first and is a variant of the Pentium 4 chip, which was never meant to work with a laptop. The Pentium M is the first Intel chip ever designed from the ground up specifically with laptops in mind.
Likewise don't be fooled be it's processor speed (the 1.7GHz part). Add about .6GHz to the speed of a Pentium M to compare with a Pentium 4 M chip.
The combo of processor speed and graphics was important to me, and with its 64mb ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 card, the T42 delivers with very good performance.
Finally, why did I choose the Pentium M 1.7 chip? Simple. First I figured out how I was going to use it. I carry my laptop around a lot - I want to work in coffee shops where I don't necessarily have access to a power source. So I needed a relatively light machine with relatively long battery life. If I was going the 'desktop replacement' route, I might have chosen a Pentium 4 M or Pentium 4 chip - but they come right along with a heavier package and reduced battery life.
Thinkpads also come in an 'R' line (heavier and cheaper), and an 'X' line (lighter and more expensive). I found that the T series laptops, especially the T42, was a great compromise, especially for someone with my needs. I didn't want to compromise comfort and features for a few extra pounds, and I certainly didn't want to be lugging around a 9lb laptop all day.
The Other Stuff
You can get a T42 in a variety of configurations. I've got a hefty 80gb hard drive, integrated wireless (Centrino), gb Ethernet, and an integrated DVD-RAM drive. The screen comes in a variety of flavors - mine is 14.1 inches SXGA+, and has mighty fine resolution. If you buy your Thinkpad from the IBM site, you can customize, but if you shop around on the net, you can probably find the configuration you want for cheaper.
Engineering
The Thinkpad line is well known to be among the most well engineered laptop lines ever. They really have thought of everything. The case is tough Magnesium instead of the plastic most laptops use. It has metal hinges that are durable and smooth. The keyboard is well known to be the most comfortable of any laptop.
It's also the little touches: the Thinklight, which is embedded just above the screen and illumiates the keyboard in the dark. The T42 comes with both a trackpad and a 'pencil eraser' style mouse. There are even three little finger shaped indentations in the case in front of the arrow keys to help you find them without lookings. It's that kind of thing that makes it a pleasure to use my T42.
Cost
Thinkpads have the reputation for being expensive in the laptop market. Check it out. That's not necessarily true. I shopped around and found out that even with all the extra touches aside, the T42 I bought was in the same price range as those from most other laptop makers - even the mail order folks like Dell and Gateway.
How to Shop
My recommendation is this: if your user needs meet the specifications of a T42, go online and print out its spec. sheet from the IBM website. Take it with you when you shop, and use it as a starting point. If you don't come upon something that's better, buy the Thinkpad. Remember that it's all the little things that make it easier to use for the next years that you'll have it.
People Who Should Get the T42:
People who want a good compromise between performance and size/weight/battery life.
People who travel a lot
People who abuse their laptops
Professionals who need a laptop for presentations and professional/office use
Students
People Who Should Not Get the T42:
People who want a 'Desktop Replacement'
People who want an 'Ultraportable'
Heavy Duty Gamers
(No, I have not been paid by IBM... I just think the T42 is great!!)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1950
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
jantin
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Member: Judd Antin
Location: Baltimore, MD
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 10 members
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