12-01-2006, 08:30 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 10,981
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Looking for Advice on a Laptop
After 4 solid years of use, my Thinkpad T30 has finally called it quits. I was hoping that my laptop would hang on until the new year and I could grab a new pre-loaded Vista laptop. However, my luck seems to have run out. It all started a couple months ago when the built-in WiFi card stopped working. Then the PCMCIA WiFi card stopped, followed by some keys on the keyboard and a nice little twitch on the TrackPoint. At first, I thought it was software related, so I backed everything up and reformatted. It had been a couple years, so it was due for a fresh build anyway. Unfortunately, that didn't fix any of the issues. In fact, things seem to be getting worse. I'm not even trying anymore. I figure 4 years is good for a laptop.
The problem is, I don't know what to replace it with and I was wondering what you guys would suggest. I don't care for Dell's laptop offerings. Toshiba's always seemed a little slower and heavier than a similar product from a competitor. I've always used IBM ThinkPads and have no idea what to expect from Lenovo. Most of my time is spent doing email, web, meetings, and some programming. I'm thinking of a tablet, or a ultra portable type machine, but that doesn't mean I'm against a regular laptop. I would like room for lots of RAM (I use Virtual PC/Server a fair amount) and a significant size hard drive, say 80+ GB. One of the things I really liked about my ThinkPad was the video card. It supported higher than normal resolutions - doing 1400x1050 on a 14 inch screen.
So, what's hot on the market today? What are you using and how do you like it? If it was your hard earned money that was spent to buy it, would you buy it again?
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"I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein |
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12-01-2006, 08:56 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 99
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I always get good advice on CNET
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12-01-2006, 10:11 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 281
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My last 2 notebooks have been from Toshiba. I get a new one every 2 years and give the replaced one to my mom. Right now I have the Toshiba Satellite P105 6014 and love it. Neither of the notebooks have given me any problems.
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12-01-2006, 10:46 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 60
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I have the same as you the T30 before that a T21. You could replace the internal wifi card with a new one and replace the keyboard with a new one its pretty easy. So for about 50 bucks on Ebay you could revive you computer. What I always like and it was important for me was the warranty. Ibm drops off a box same day you send it in and you get your laptop back in 4 business days. I like the 3year warranty also. Personaly I would hate to be without my laptop for more then a week. Yeah other manufacturers are less expensive but its worth it. If you don't care about the warranty here is some used ones.
http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/st...goryId=2576396
PS running Vista Beta version on my laptop with no problems.
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MPX200, MPX220, SMT5600Cingular 2125, Samsung i607
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12-01-2006, 11:24 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,183
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My wife's last 2 notebooks were Toshibas ... they basically fell apart on her after 2 years of constant use.
My last 3 machines have been Dells. All still work fine ...
I just bought a E1705, with 17 inch 1920x1200 screen, 200Gb HDD, 2Gb RAM, 2GHz Dual2Core chip, 256 Mb nVidea graphics ... very nice, but rather larger than your intention.
My wife loves her Toshiba tablet. She's now on her second M200. The current model seems to be an M400, which has a 1400x1050 screen option. If you are not a heavy user, they are nice machines, and maybe the M400 is better built than the 200???
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12-02-2006, 12:01 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 26
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My Inspiron 300m died a few months ago, so I replaced it with a Vaio SZ330 with a 2GHz Core2 Duo. It was a little pricey, but I have been satisfied with it so far. It is MUCH faster than my T40 that I use for work.
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12-02-2006, 12:24 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 19
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I know this is below par of some of the stats you wanted, but I figured it was worth mentioning: Woot has a $600 Gateway tablet today:
http://www.woot.com/
40GB drive and only a CDRW, but... not a bad deal, considering.
/MacBook_user
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12-02-2006, 03:30 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 10,981
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by stumpy
I have the same as you the T30 before that a T21.
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Cool! I had a T390 before this one. Still runs good too. My daughter uses it for games and surfin'.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by stumpy
You could replace the internal wifi card with a new one and replace the keyboard with a new one its pretty easy. So for about 50 bucks on Ebay you could revive you computer.
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Well, from what I understand, this isn't actually a keyboard/wifi issue. It's more of a burned out system board. At least that's what I've been told. I'll take a spin on ebay, though. It would be good to get another couple months out of it. I've bought a cpu fan and battery replacement off ebay in the past. It's a good place to shop for parts. 
Quote:
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Originally Posted by stumpy
What I always like and it was important for me was the warranty. Ibm drops off a box same day you send it in and you get your laptop back in 4 business days. I like the 3year warranty also.
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Yeah, that's pretty sweet. I've sent mine in 3 times over the course of the last 4 years. All for the same problem - one of the memory slots dies. The memory is fine, but the slot no longer worked. Ironicly, I haven't had that problem since the warrenty expired and it's not what seems to have done in this machine. :?
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"I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein |
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12-02-2006, 03:34 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 10,981
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by SteveHoward999
I just bought a E1705, with 17 inch 1920x1200 screen, 200Gb HDD, 2Gb RAM, 2GHz Dual2Core chip, 256 Mb nVidea graphics ... very nice, but rather larger than your intention.
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:drool: That sounds nice...
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Originally Posted by SteveHoward999
My wife loves her Toshiba tablet. She's now on her second M200. The current model seems to be an M400, which has a 1400x1050 screen option. If you are not a heavy user, they are nice machines, and maybe the M400 is better built than the 200???
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I'm certianly not the heavy user that I used to be. But I like to know that it can handle it if need be. Even if it's a little slower than some. It's not like I'll be doing it for a long time.
That one seems to have a nice screen res. Most tablets have a crap screen on them.
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"I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein |
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12-02-2006, 03:37 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 10,981
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by mja8105
My Inspiron 300m died a few months ago, so I replaced it with a Vaio SZ330 with a 2GHz Core2 Duo. It was a little pricey, but I have been satisfied with it so far. It is MUCH faster than my T40 that I use for work.
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What's everyone's take on the whole Core2 Duo? I've heard some mixed issues with them not being very stable - at least the dell models.
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"I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein |
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