Advice? T60, T43, or Z60?

Hello,

I've been researching Thinkpads, and am trying to decide the best one to acquire.

I recently got rid of my home desktop, and am looking to replace my Fujitsu laptop with a Thinkpad. I'm set on a Thinkpad primarily because of the quality of the keyboard.

The laptop I'm accustomed to has a 13.3" screen and is maybe 4-5 lbs. I'd like a bigger screen, but also a notebook light enough overall to do some websurfing on the couch without it getting uncomfortable from weight or heat.

I was going to go with the new T60's, but it looks like they are likely a few months out from delivery. So now I'm looking at the T43 and Z60. The fact that they are cheaper and readily available is a plus. I don't plan to do any gaming - just Office applications and a bit of Photoshop and other Adobe graphics programs.

I'd like something with a faster harddrive - 5400 rpm+ - as well as 80+ GB of space.

I like that the Z60 has the wide screen and looking at the specs, it seems as though certain models are brighter.

I went into an Office Depot today - one drawback I noticed on the Z60 is the there is less surface space below the keyboard - I have big hands, so typing seemed like it might be more comfortable on the T43. Having said that, the T43 had a 15" screen, and the Z60 was 14", so maybe they'd even out if the screen sizes were the same? If anyone could provide some onsight on that in particular, I'd really appreciate it.

Anyway, if anyone has any input, that would be great. The new T60s sound really cool, but I don't know that I need that much more power either. I've "overbought" on PCs many times, and then never use the extra horsepower...

Jason

 

I just bought a 15" T43 with the Flexview SXGA screen, primarily to have a good screen for photoshop work. This screen rocks, very consistant with great viewing angles.

 

If you want something cool and quiet, might want to check out the T42 with the Dothan Pentium M. They run cooler and are less noisy.

 

That's actually why I'm looking forward to the new T60. The extra fan on the chassis should prevent it from heating up. The dual core chips in the T60 should also help cut power consumption.

If I were you I'd wait for the T60. I don't think that the T60 is an overbuy. But if you can find a t42 with a 1400X1050 display I'd also recommend that. (I don't know if they sell those anymore.) With all these great options I would stay away from the Z60 and T43.

 

i would not recommend waiting. when the t60 becomes readily avaible, new things will ALWAYS be cooking up and you'll just spend the rest of your life always waiting for new stuff.

i'm actually trying to decide between a 14 inch t42 and a 14 inch widescreen z60t

i like z60t's wide screen (i will use mainly for office work/programming, but it's nice to have it when watching dvd occasionally)
however, i heard z60t's screen is dimmer than the t42's (someone please confirm this) so that's why i'm unsure.

 

What you say about waiting for the next model is generally true. The only reason why I recommend the T60 is because of the nice high resolution screens. (If you want to use Photoshop and Office applications.) I currently don't see any T42 models with those nice 1400x1050 screens. (They were probably phased out.)

When it comes to screen space, I don't like the idea of a widescreen notebook (Z60) because their 1280x768 screens. They provide less pixel space and I find that the only thing they're useful for is watching DVDs.

The only reason why I didn't recommend the T43 is because of the heat issue. But that should be fixed in the T60. (extra heatsink.)

 

The Z60m (15.4" widescreen) is one nice laptop, but it's bulkier and heavier than 15" T42/T43/T60 models. The Z60t is small, but that is a disadvantage as well. Mainly because you can't get a nice screen, and then there's this palmrest thing you mentioned that bothered you.

I think that even a 15" T-series laptop will be quite comfortable size-wise. A 14" will be better in terms of portability, but you won't get the nice Flexview screen.

 

your arguement has truth in it.


but on the subject of widescreen, i thought they were suppose to have more pixel space than a regular 14 inch or was i fooled?
if not, probably t42 will work good (for the poster, the higher resolution will matter for photoshop) but for me, gonna use it for programming and word processing so i want the text nice and big

:buyIBM:

 

There are a lot of people who get fooled. Look at the difference in pixels.

http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...18425011252&dualCurrId=1000073&catalogId=-840
http://www-131.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...yId=2049168&dualCurrId=1000073&catalogId=-840

 

Well, comparing SXGA to WXGA isn't exactly fair. A 14" WXGA screen will give you greater pixel density than a regular aspect 14" XGA screen. Unfortunately, the Z60t doesn't come with a WSXGA screen, so it can't compare with all T60 models.

 

do I have an abnormal T43? it does not get hot to the touch at all, the fan sometimes runs at it's lowest speed, sometimes not at all.

 

The heat/noise issue is present on some T43, but definitely not on all of them.

 

But it's the fact that the Z60t doesn't come with WSXGA is a good reason not to get the Z60t. 14inch T60 more pixels than 14in Z60t. I know which one I'm buying.
:buyIBM:

 

So I finally decided and ordered today - the T60 (2007-76U).

Guess now it's all about the waiting... He said about 5 weeks.

Jason

 

I think a lot of noise is made about T43 heat issues and fan volume, but I haven't read a comment like that in any of the PC trades, and the T43 has been widely reviewed. People in my office have T43s and we've never had a problem with one...heating, noise or otherwise.

In response to the orginal posters question...

If your need to replace your current laptop isn't urgent, then I'd wait and get a T60. Keep an eye on this page: http://www-131.ibm.com/content/home/store_LNV_PublicUSA/en_US/Special_Offers.html for any Lenovo deals.

 

Ha! That's almost the same T60 as I have in mind. A 7200rpm harddisk is not that necessary for me. So it makes the 2007-72U the most possible candidate...