Lenovo ThinkPad T43 - Pentium M 750 - 1.86 GHz - RAM 512 MB - HD 40 GB - DVD-ROM $1,299 Free Ship

[akshatp]

Hot deal for an awesome laptop. HD and Ram a little low, but still a great price!

Lenovo Thinkpad

 

[cw42]

You can get a loaded dual core Latitude D620 for about the same price.

edit: i felt in a good mood and decided to pull it up,

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/...us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=d620hi&s=bsd

$1,283 + tax + ship
D620: Core Duo 1.6, 80GB HD, 1GB ram, 24x CDRW, 6cell batt, WXGA+ widescreen, WinXP Pro, 3yr warranty.

The only bad part compared to the T43 is worse vidcard, and keyboard if u prefer the thinkpad.

 

[weepul]

haha, i can't believe you compared a dell to a thinkpad. thinkpad comes with reliability and stability that dell laptops can only dream of.

//krunk (^_^x)

 

[cw42]

ah yes, here come the dell bashers. you obviously didn't even look at the specs of the compared laptops...

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: cw42
ah yes, here come the dell bashers. you obviously didn't even look at the specs of the compared laptops...

I am actually typing this on my Dell laptop, but it ain't a Thinkpad. Actually it's roasting my nuts this very minute.

 

[masteraleph]

Originally posted by: cw42
ah yes, here come the dell bashers. you obviously didn't even look at the specs of the compared laptops...

It has nothing to do with bashing Dell. In the world of laptops, the absolute best for reliability and durability are Panasonic Toughbooks (which start at ~$2500 and go up). After that are Lenovo/IBM Thinkpads. After that comes the business grade stuff from every other brand.

 

[jakedeez]

Originally posted by: masteraleph

Originally posted by: cw42
ah yes, here come the dell bashers. you obviously didn't even look at the specs of the compared laptops...

It has nothing to do with bashing Dell. In the world of laptops, the absolute best for reliability and durability are Panasonic Toughbooks (which start at ~$2500 and go up). After that are Lenovo/IBM Thinkpads. After that comes the business grade stuff from every other brand.

check out powernotebooks.com - or other such sites:

Let's talk about the concept of 'Name Brand' as it applies to laptop computers.

Virtually none of the "Name" brands manufacture their own laptops, with the about the only exception being Asus.

Instead they buy their laptops from what is called an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM). These ODMs sell their computers to several different OEMs (like DELL, Toshiba, IBM, HP, Compaq, Sager, PowerPro, Sony and many others) who then install the Hard Drive (usually a Seagate, Fujitsu, Hitachi or Toshiba), an Intel or AMD Processor, and System Memory. They then put their label on it and market it.

For example:

An ODM named Clevo makes the Sager NP9890 and the Alienware Area-51 m7700, the Voodoo Envy u:703, the Hypersonic Aviator EX7, the Falcon Northwest FragBook DR 6800, and they are all the same computer (although Sager usually has the more advanced and exotic technology).

Of course the Sager models have a much sweeter price tag!

An ODM named Compal makes some of the DELL, Hewlett Packard and Compaq line of laptops, among others, as well as the PowerPro M 5:6.

ASUS, famous worldwide for their top quality motherboards and other components makes their own laptops and call them their "Ensemble" line. They also sell their "Built-on-Asus" line to many different OEMs including PowerNotebooks.com. These models are the PowerNotebooks.com PowerPro A 2:21, the PowerPro R 6:15, the PowerPro C 2:20, and the PowerPro C 3:14.

The Dell Latitude and the Sony Vaio are made by Quanta, who also makes many of the IBM laptops, and the now-discontinued PowerPro C 3:16, and the new PowerPro G 3:8. Quanta is well known as the best and highest quality laptop ODM in the world.

Other ODM names are Mitac, FIC, AOpen, and Uniwill, among others. Not exactly what you would call "Name" brands, and yet it is their laptops that end up with the "Name" brands on them.

Well, you get the idea.

Some call this the "Dirty little secret of the Laptop Industry".

 

[Cruisin1]

Originally posted by: cw42
ah yes, here come the dell bashers. you obviously didn't even look at the specs of the compared laptops...

Not about specs my friend. My home laptop which isn't a thinkpad (compaq) has way better specs than my work laptop (thinkpad). The Thinkpad just feels way more solid, never has issues, and it will last me forever. When it comes to a laptop thats important to me. I dont' really care about all the fast procs and super cool video cards. I want something that will let me do my work when I need to and not have to worry about it being too heavy or crashing on me.

 

[probzy]

Nice post.

 

[goofy4ever]

Originally posted by: Cruisin1

Originally posted by: cw42
ah yes, here come the dell bashers. you obviously didn't even look at the specs of the compared laptops...

Not about specs my friend. My home laptop which isn't a thinkpad (compaq) has way better specs than my work laptop (thinkpad). The Thinkpad just feels way more solid, never has issues, and it will last me forever. When it comes to a laptop thats important to me. I dont' really care about all the fast procs and super cool video cards. I want something that will let me do my work when I need to and not have to worry about it being too heavy or crashing on me.

I'm trying to decide between IBM T43, Dell D820 and a Compaq model.

Since you use Compaq and IBM, can you be little more specific about any "issues" you encountered? For example, has your Compaq laptop ever crashed (if yes, how often) vs. IBM? I used to have a T23, and although it was good, I didn't think it was any better than Dell Latitude in terms of quality or stability.

 

[masteraleph]

Originally posted by: jakedeez

check out powernotebooks.com - or other such sites:

Amazingly enough, reliability and durability don't have everything to do with the internal components, but with the cases and such. Although Dell Latitudes have improved greatly, they're still not quite up to Thinkpad standards. The Thinkpads also have an outstanding suite of business grade software, and their keyboards and trackpoints are the best out there (the keyboards are actually made by mulitple manufacturers, some better than others). Thinkpad warranties are also top notch, though obviously that varies based on what you get.

For most laptops, your tests should be (note that the Latitudes now pass many of these though they haven't in previous generations):

1) Press on the wristwrest. Does it flex? If it does, that's a potential point for breaking.

2) Attempt to twist the screen. It should be well anchored with strong hinges (historically one of the high points for thinkpads). If ripples appear, this is a big problem.

3) Press on the back of the screen. If the case is sufficiently strong, you shouldn't get light patches.

4) Put it on your lap. See if it burns. (This is obviously not such an issue for a DTR notebook but is good otherwise).

Like I said, the Latitude has made huge strides in many areas with the D610/810 and D620/820 lines (note that the D510 is still a flimsy piece of junk). I certainly wouldn't push anyone away from buying a 620 if the Thinkpad is vastly more expensive (or if they want widescreen), but particularly with some of the sales that have shown up and such, the T43 and T60 aren't vastly more expensive.

 

[Cruisin1]

Originally posted by: goofy4ever

Originally posted by: Cruisin1

Originally posted by: cw42
ah yes, here come the dell bashers. you obviously didn't even look at the specs of the compared laptops...

Not about specs my friend. My home laptop which isn't a thinkpad (compaq) has way better specs than my work laptop (thinkpad). The Thinkpad just feels way more solid, never has issues, and it will last me forever. When it comes to a laptop thats important to me. I dont' really care about all the fast procs and super cool video cards. I want something that will let me do my work when I need to and not have to worry about it being too heavy or crashing on me.

I'm trying to decide between IBM T43, Dell D820 and a Compaq model.

Since you use Compaq and IBM, can you be little more specific about any "issues" you encountered? For example, has your Compaq laptop ever crashed (if yes, how often) vs. IBM? I used to have a T23, and although it was good, I didn't think it was any better than Dell Latitude in terms of quality or stability.

My compaq quality wise is just crap. I dropped the laptop like two feet and it destroyed the back where the USB port is. Before I dropped it I had to have this laptop totally replaced because the monitor died on me. Compaq support after they were bought out by HP is just rediculous too. Not helpful at all.

 

[ShotgunSi]

Agreed with everything said in this thread. Thinkpads a just built differently. I've only been using one for 3 months but man what a difference. The hinges that connect the LCD to the main base are made of metal! The keyboard doesn't flex when you type on it, and the screen doesn't distort if try and twist or push on the LCD. I think this is the first laptop I did NOT uninstall all the crappy software that comes preloaded. The feature that shutdowns your hard drive, if it detects motion or shock to the system, is cool. And the wifi connection manager is top notch too.

Let's be honest, Dell's are a good bang for the buck, but you get what you pay for.

 

[goofy4ever]

thanks for the info. I am now thinking of getting Toshiba Satellite M105-S3004.

 

[znaps]

Dells are to Thinkpads what Camaros are to BMW M3s. There's a place in the market for both. This is a very good deal on the Thinkpad - I bought a similarly spec-ed one last year for $1800.

 

[weepul]

my friend who interned at intel several summers ago was in charge of testing which laptops could survive a 10 ft drop. he was more interested in the cpu surviving than the other parts, but IBM Thinkpads (X and T series) came out on top followed by Panasonic Toughbooks. You'd think Thinkpads (with their slim bodies and lightweight) wouldn't stand a chance, but because their old bodies are made with titanium composite and their new bodies are made with magnesium alloy (i think is actually about the same strength, but lighter than the titanium counterpart), they're made to actually withstand quite some abuse.

Let's just say Dell laptops didn't stand a chance.

Every single laptop manufacturer buys OEM parts INCLUDING Asus. Intel/Amd for the CPU, ATI or nVidia for the graphics card. Sound cards and harddrives and network cards are no difference. Probably even the LCD panel is OEM. I doubt Asus makes all of those items on their own.

Where the actual difference comes in is the motherboard that binds all these things together and the actual shell that cases these hardware. Let's just say IBM has done a fantastic job of making laptops that don't suddenly crap out on you over a few years, which I've seen many Dells, HPs, and Compaqs do. I'm not saying that all Dells etc crap out after a few years and I'm not saying that no IBMs crap out after a few years. I'm just saying if you compare what %age of IBMs and Dells crap out after a few years, you'd see that the %age of Dell is a lot higher.

This could mean one of 2 things: IBM owners take care of their laptop better than Dell users or IBM makes better laptops than dell. I think it's a mixture of both.

From http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050495,39351607,00.htm
Even the significantly more powerful ThinkPad series from Lenovo, which has stronger corporate features and impact resistance, has a slightly lower price tag. Though the made-in-Japan ToughBook has higher production cost than the China-made ThinkPad, the popularity of budget notebooks has made consumers price-sensitive, which Panasonic recognizes has made its ToughBooks a niche product.

//krunk (^_^x)

 

[akshatp]

Originally posted by: cw42
You can get a loaded dual core Latitude D620 for about the same price.

edit: i felt in a good mood and decided to pull it up,

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/...us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=d620hi&s=bsd

$1,283 + tax + ship
D620: Core Duo 1.6, 80GB HD, 1GB ram, 24x CDRW, 6cell batt, WXGA+ widescreen, WinXP Pro, 3yr warranty.

The only bad part compared to the T43 is worse vidcard, and keyboard if u prefer the thinkpad.

I can buy a loaded Honda Civic for half the money I would pay for a BMW. They both have four wheels. Both have 4 doors. Both have engines. Both serve the same purpose. But if an 18 wheeler were to come crashing into you, which one would you rather be in??

Dell Latirude = Civic
IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad = BMW

 

[EKKC]

Originally posted by: cw42
ah yes, here come the dell bashers. you obviously didn't even look at the specs of the compared laptops...

i use thinkpads at a client and my business laptop i use a latitude d610 (actually a precision m20 but same thing)
on the contrary of what many may think (thinkpad owning dells), i think the latitude line is catching on pretty quick. the latitude line is aimed for business and is getting better and better while prices are way cheaper than thinkpads. now that thinkpads have been sold from ibm to lenovo, i don't know if their reliability will be kept at the same 'IBM' level (no im not bashing a chinese company, i'm actually chinese, but what im saying is that their support and performance cannot be compared yet since they're still really young). now the inspiron line is another story since that's aimed at the home user. and i think many of you already know, the latitude/precision lines come with standard 3 year support, which cost a premium on the inspiron, so you're pretty much secured there in terms of warranty. (also, i believe small business support is american-based, not overseas)

i really wanna get rid of my m20 and get the new d620/M65 for the dual core. but then the conroes are coming soon... i guess i'll wait