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    My IBM T42 Review

    Discussion in 'Notebook News and Reviews' started by Goren, Apr 15, 2005.

  1. Goren

    Goren Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    I've spent many weeks contemplating on what kind of laptop I should buy and one could find my many (a vs b) topics I created in order to find what is the best for my needs.

    Use: To travel around with it, at school, work, etc so It should be reasonably light

    Requirements: I didn't want something too small like a 12 inch, but the 15'4's were too big for my taste..so a 13'3 or 14 was suitable. Plus I would like some dedicated video memory because I never had that on my desktop and wanted to play games such as battle field 1942 w/all the bots on (400), often one would only find dedicated video memory and video card on bigger models anyways, not on smaller 12 inch laptops.

    What I considered:
    Fujitsus - they were one of my first choices as they are claimed to have IBM quality build but much more style. Unfortunately only their heavy weights had a dedicated video card, their comparable models i.e S7010 or S6000 series lack this card.

    Toshiba Tecra M3 - I also considered this, it also had a pointing button too! The silver exterior was nice however reviews have put this model as pretty noisy, and Toshiba has had a history of misleading specs on their site. Furthermore if you read what I got for the IBM, the IBM was a better deal.

    LG LS50 - This was ultimately my main alternative to the T42.. it's modern, LG is a good company, and had the specs I needed. Granted its a 15', it is pretty light. I went as far as ordering it but cancelling it simply because my friends kept trying to convince me not to buy Canadian (as LG doesn't sell to the US but does sell to Canada)..I'm still remorsing if whether or not I should've stuck with them.

    and finally my IBM T-42


    I got:
    1.7ghz Pentium M
    40gb HD
    DVD-Rom/CD burner
    ATI Radeon 9600 with 64 mb dedicated memory
    512 ram (256 x 2)
    14' SXGA screen
    IBM Nylon bag
    IBM Optical Mouse

    Pics
    [​IMG]
    The Front

    [​IMG]
    The Left

    [​IMG]
    The right with the easily removable DVD Rom-CDRW

    [​IMG]
    The IBM Bag

    Before I start my review, I would just like to add that while I have used other people's notebooks, this is my first. I'm no expert on notebooks, or a hardware buff, just your everyday student.

    Good:
    -The Keyboard is really really firm, I really like it! I can type away easily
    -The use of both a touch pad (3 buttons, the middle being for scrolling) and the pointing stick is very cool. While many prefer a touch pad, I personally prefer the pointer as for one, my palm is still in rest and does not require me to shift it down to tap the touch pad.
    -The cd bay is easily removeable with just a switch, I could replace it with other things
    -Volume control buttons, some notebooks require you to press Fn to control the volume
    -The whole unit feels pretty firm and strong, I can press on the back of the lid and there's no affect on the screen
    -metal hinges
    -Battery life seems decent. Yesterday I took it to an 1h15m class, started at 99%, ended at 70%, mostly at full brightness taking notes and occasionally a few card games or two since it was pretty slow.

    What I didn't like
    -only 2 USB ports and they're on the left. It's a minor but sometimes annoying issue. I would prefer 3, one for my mouse (that has to be wrapped around the back of the computer since I am right handed), one for a game controller, and one free for my mp3 player, etc
    -1 dead pixel
    -it would be nice if it had an SD card reader, although I'm not dying over it

    Some notes:
    -3D PC games run really really great on this, I'm amazed.. but what is shocking is that my emulators (SNES, and NEO GEO) run a little slower or choppier, I am comparing this to my desktop which had a pentium 4 2.0ghz processor with 512 mb ram and intel extreme graphics.

    As for the IBM Bag:

    There are 2 main pockets, one that could be lockable (obviously for you to put the notebook in). There are two thinner pockets for your papers. There is one compartment on the left of the bag where you could put your small IBM mouse, However while i could fit the mouse, I found that it couldn't really fit the wires with the mouse, so I put my mp3 player there instead.

    Well that's my review :)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 6, 2015
    Goren, Apr 15, 2005
    #1
  2. SLICER

    SLICER Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hey! Thanks for your review. The specs look almost identical to what I want -- where'd you buy?
     
    SLICER, Apr 15, 2005
    #2
  3. Goren

    Goren Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    <blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by SLICER
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 8, 2015
    Goren, Apr 15, 2005
    #3
  4. LaZzZy_Dude

    LaZzZy_Dude Notebook Evangelist

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    go for a LG LM70...you won't regret it!!!!!!!!
     
    LaZzZy_Dude, Apr 15, 2005
    #4