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I already ordered a laptop but I can change my order if I the other one is a better deal
We had two choices IBM's R51 or IBM's T42
I ordered the R51 mainly b/c of money. I just want to know if its worth the money to get the T42..like if there is enough of a difference to get the T42

R51
Warranty 4 year
Processor Intel Mobile M 1.5 GHz
Memory 256 MB DDR SDRAM
Display 14.1" XGA TFT
Disk Drives 40GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive
24*24*24*8x CD-RW/DVD combo
Graphics 32MB integrated Intel
Audio: 16 bit audio with integrated speaker and microphone
Communication Devices Integrated IBM wireless 802.11 a and b and g
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
Internal 56K Modem
Weight 6.1
Battery life 4 hours
MS Office 2003 Professional, Windows XP and more
The cost is 1774.00

Now the T-42
These are the differences
Intel Mobile M 1.7 GHz
Memory 412 MB DDR SDRAM
Display 15.1"
Disk Drives 80 GB Ultra ATA hard Rive 16*4*24/DVD-R/RW/RAM 2x/8x
Graphics 64MB ATI Radwon 9000
Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
average battery life 4.5 hours
weight 5.6
Cost: 2464.00
I honestly don't know what half the stuff is that I wrote ..so I need the advice of some people who know about computers..Help would greatly be appreciated

By Jason817 (Jason817) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 03:47 pm: Edit

where are getting this from? I recently ordered a computer better than the T-42 for $100 less (including shipping and tax) from www.ibuypower.com. It had over a gig of RAM, a mobile M-1.8, and a radeon 9700.

By Screwed4life (Screwed4life) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 04:06 pm: Edit

This is from the school-UNC-Chapel Hill..yeah i heard the prices they are giving are kinda high

By Drusba (Drusba) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 05:57 pm: Edit

1. Intel 1.5 GHz v. 1.7. The T42 has a faster processing chip that affects speed of activities. It also has the the new "dothan" model of the Pentium M chip which has a larger "cache" than the other M in the R51 which can also affect speed. However, for most everything you will be doing at college you are not likely to notice any significant difference in those processing speeds; both are fast.

2. Random Access Memory 256 v. 512 (you said 412 but it has to be 512). This is a difference of significance. RAM affects your actual speed of your programs. The more the better. Programs you will use need RAM. Just to run Windows XP requires a minimum of 128MB. When you open up anything else you need even more. Nevertheless, for most things 256 will be enough although you would notice the 512 is faster. Where it is weak (and 512 better) is if you are doing graphics work, have multiple programs running at one time, or games. Also, if you are going into engineering, computer science, math, architecture, or are going to be doing video creation and editing get more as programs there can need a lot of RAM. One problem with only 256 is that it may not be enough for a long term future. It is a fact of life that companies keep creating new programs that require more and more RAM. Four years ago 128MB was enough for everything (the first Macintosh that was created back in the 1980's had, for the time period, an "amazing" 2MB of RAM). Three to four years from now having only 256 may be a problem. Note, however, you can always buy more RAM and install it(not real difficult).

3. Display's differ in size between the 14" diagonal as opposed to 15. 14 is OK (and also means your laptop is smaller).

4. Grahics 32MB v. 64MB. Another difference of some significance. This effects graphics and screen viewing. 32 is OK for most things. However, if you want to play games or do video creation, etc, the 64 is fast becoming the bare minimal. Here again is the issue of whether you will have enough for new things that will be coming out 2 to 3 years from now.

5. 40GB hard drive v. 80 GB hard drive. The computers permanent storage space. The T42 is obviously double the R51. However, that may not mean much. It takes a lot to fill 40 GB (I have a 3 year old laptop with 20 GB's and still have 16 left) and likely you will never get there unless you are intending to stick with the same computer for many years. However, if you intend to be storing videos or downloading and holding thousands of songs, you can use up space a lot quicker. Of course, you can always buy later an extra external hard drive and store things in it. One thing you do not mention is the RPM of the hard drive. I believe that R51 is 4200 and that T42 5400 (I am not sure on that). That affects how fast something uploads and downloads. Not a difference you should be overly concerned about but one that can be noticed bewteeen the computers.

6. CDRW/DVD v. DVD R/RW (which is also CDRW). This is the disk bay. The R51 allows you to download to and erase and rewrite on CD disks (for songs, papers, etc.) and play DVD movies. The T42 allows you to also download and then erase and record over movies on DVD disks. (R means you can record onto a disk, RW means you can erase and write over on a disk). Also, the download speed on the T42 is faster. That 2X/8X means for movies you would download at about twice the speed the movie plays at and for music about 8 times the speed.

7. The 10/100 Ethernet v. 10/100/1000. Ethernet is what you use to hook up to the internet and 10/100 is standard today. The 1,000 will provide higher speed once it becomes more standard. And even if you find a thousand somewhere, your 10/100 still runs on it.

8. Average battery life 4 hours v. 4.5. Don't believe either. Where the computer industry is woefully behind today is coming up with a darn battery for laptops that lasts a long time. Expect more like 3 hours on the T51 and 3.5 on the other and be overjoyed if you get more.

9. The 802.11 a,b,g integrated wireless card v. you don't say (but it may be the same or just b,g). It is the way you hook up to the internet without any wires as long as there is wireless on the campus (or in your room) and refers to the frequency. b is today's standard, g which provides faster speed particularly for download will become the standard; if you have g, b also works on it. a is as fast as g and more stable but is just not becoming a standard and is unnecessary unless your college has it (some do in addition to b).

10. 56K modem v. you don't mention but most likely the same. It is for hooking up your phone line to the computer. Before high speed internet came into being it was the way you got into the internet (and died a slow death watching the little basketball spin forever).

11. Microsft Office v. you don't say. This may be a difference of significance in favor of the R51 if that T42 does not have it(and you would need to add). That gives you not just word for doing papers but also the Excel database and Powerpoint. Typical home computers come with word and a cheap database and no powerpoint and you need to add (and should for college). Office costs close to $270 although there is a student version for about $150 which has the same stuff but students and teachers can get the discount version as long as the purchaser swears he is in fact a student or teacher. (Kind of makes you realize what Bill Gates' margin really is on the regular priced version.)

12. The 4 year warranty v. you don't say (if no upgrade on warranty it is only 1 year). 4 years is good and having multiple years is advisable. Upgrading from 1 to 4 can often cost $200 or more. The Audio you mention for the 51 is standard and the 42 likely has the same although maybe somehwhat better. It obviuously is the computer's sound.

Note those prices from NC for IBM models are really quite a bit lower than if you bought by not going through the college.

By Screwed4life (Screwed4life) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 06:06 pm: Edit

Thanks so much for the in-depth comparison! It helped a lot! The stuff i didn't mention for the T42 was b/c it was the same as the R51 i just didn't feel like typing it over..lol I am curious as to which one you would choose.

By Demingy (Demingy) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 06:07 pm: Edit

"Note, however, you can always buy more RAM and install it(not real difficult)."

This is not necessarily true on laptops. I will honestly say that I am not very familiar with these two particular models, but there are many laptops that can't take a particular type of memory, and many of them also have limits that aren't as high as desktops (example, my laptop can only max out at 512 because of the type of memory it takes, but my desktop can go all the way up to 4GB of memory-of a type that can be found almost anywhere).

I think that most of the time your best bet would be to purchase the laptop with the maximum amount of memory available. There are times when you can get the memory itself cheaper elsewhere, but if you aren't too computer savvy that really isn't a good idea.

By Demingy (Demingy) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 06:13 pm: Edit

I would like to add that my previous post doesn't necessarily mean that you should automatically buy the laptop with the most memory. You really need to take into consideration what you are planning to use the laptop for. Do you need a desktop replacement, is portability important to you (believe me, you will notice about a half pound difference if you are constantly lugging it around), are you planning on putting a lot of stuff on it (bigger hard drive +), etc?

By Screwed4life (Screwed4life) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 06:19 pm: Edit

Thanks so much for the in-depth comparison! It helped a lot! The stuff i didn't mention for the T42 was b/c it was the same as the R51 i just didn't feel like typing it over..lol I am curious as to which one you would choose.

By Screwed4life (Screwed4life) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 06:24 pm: Edit

oops sorry for the double post. How would I know if my particular laptop could have extra memory installed.

By Demingy (Demingy) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 07:09 pm: Edit

Ask the company. That is the best way to check. Also, make sure you ask them where you'd be able to purchase the memory or at least ask what the specs are.....carefully note all of the specs and then do a search to see if you find any hits.

By Drusba (Drusba) on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 07:15 pm: Edit

If you are going to NC and this is an NC deal with IBM you should consider getting one of them and not going elsewhere. Ibuypower, mentioned above, has somewhat decent prices (but look again: for example is Microsoft Office on it, something that is very useful for college). But what will service and warranty be like? I know nothing of Ibuypower; will it still be in existence 3 years from now when you may need warranty work? With IBM through NC as a college program and 4 year warranty (which I heard also includes accidental damage insurance), you are likely going to have a place or places right on or near campus to take the computer to for warranty work.

As to which one I would choose, my philosophy for computers is to buy as much you can afford when you do buy so you have the best chance that the thing will not be obsolete in 4 to 5 years so you can keep it longer before it becomes necessary to buy another. However, also look at what you need. I do not download lots of music or record movies and never will so the CDRW/DVD disk bay is all I need now or for a long time. Likewise, for the same reasons, I would not need 80GB of hard drive. Ethernet speed 10/100 is fine and is not going away (1000 includes it). I like the higher RAM and the 64MB Graphics on the 42 and those on the 51 are where I would be most concerned that my next necessary purchase date may be before that 4 to 5 year period runs. You can add RAM to both (up to 1GB in the 51 and I believe up to 2GB in the T42) but I do not know how easy is the install for that one (Dell and Gateway are fairly easy; screw open a compartment on the bottom).

But ultimately what you can afford is the deciding point (and you need to consider extras for that -- printer, possible extra battery,external speakers, a wireless hub for room if room not already wireless, etc.)

By Rono_G (Rono_G) on Monday, June 07, 2004 - 12:44 pm: Edit

Buy Macintosh.

Apple was that who gave man wisdom.

By Savedbythebell7 (Savedbythebell7) on Monday, June 07, 2004 - 09:33 pm: Edit

um check out pcmall on the internet, i cant post the exact website...but its that name at www.______.com.....remember _____ =pcmall

By Rajat_0013 (Rajat_0013) on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 12:33 pm: Edit

e-machines..cheap and reliable