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January 13, 2004
BMW of Laptops
If you have been wondering why I have been so quiet lately, the reason is that I've been busy setting up my new laptop. Until several years ago, I had kept upgrading both my desktop and laptops, and the cost of replacements were getting too prohibitive. So, I decided not to buy both, and given my travel needs, I went with the exclusive laptop strategy. It has worked OK for awhile, but I have always been frustrated by the wide performance gaps between laptops and desktops. Also, given the short battery life (about 2 hours), it left something to be desired even in terms of mobile computing.
Well, last week, I took the plunge and got the latest Thinkpad T41p from IBM. This laptop has a certain number of features that bridge the gaps. The laptop features a new Intel Centrino 1.7 GHz CPU that extends the battery life, and with the 9-cell battery that came with the laptop, I'm able to get close to 7 hours away from AC. Furthermore, with L2 cache of 1 MB, the 1.7GHz machine feels more like a 2.4GHz machine. The laptop came with 512 MB 333 MHz DDR SDRAM, but I added additional 512 MB to make it 1G.
The laptop comes with a new Hitachi 60GB 7200rpm ATA hard drive. Typical laptops use 4200 rpm or 5400 rpm disks to conserve battery life, but that makes the system too slow for me. The new hard disk is both fast and silent. The screen is a gorgeous 14.1" SXGA+ (1400x1050), and now I can view and edit documents directly on my laptop (with XP's Cleartype, documents look print quality). The laptop also comes with built-in Bluetooth, Wi-Fi (802.11b), 2 USB 2.0 ports, and the Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit Ethernet connector. I know 802.11g is the wave of the future, but I'm not ready to upgrade to it yet. Besides, if I want to, I can get the mini-PCI a/b/g card from IBM and simply replace the current 802.11b card. I'm glad that IBM made this user replaceable. So, if another Wi-Fi standard comes out in the next year or two, I'll be ready to upgrade.
The T41p also comes with the 128MB ATI Mobility FIREGL T2 graphics card (you heard me right, 128MB). I usually don't play games and do 3D design work, but I'm ready if I want to do more heavy graphics or multimedia work in the future. The ATI Mobility FIREGL graphics card features a high-speed DDR memory with 128-bit memory interface.
Finally, the laptop comes with the IBM 16X/10X/24X/8X Max CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo Ultrabay Slim Drive. So, now I can watch DVD or burn CD's while on the road or at home.
All in all, it's quite an impressive machine and can definitely be classified a desktop replacement. The best news of it all is that it only weighs 5.4 lbs (typical desktop replacement laptops weigh somewhere between 7 to 9 lbs and to me that's too heavy to travel with). Two thumbs and toes up for me.
Comments
Actually this is the Ferrari notebook. http://global.acer.com/products/notebook/fr3000.htm
Posted by: riffola at January 13, 2004 11:28 AM
Ah! I've forgotten about that. I've heard of it when it was first introduced, but I guess Acer is not usually in my radar screen when it comes to laptops (I had a bad experience with Acer a while back). OK I'm changing it to BMW instead of Ferrari. Thanks.
Posted by: Ken at January 13, 2004 11:41 AM
T-series rocks!!!
I must say Funny thing that Acer was mentioned... since Acer makes at least one of the lower-end Thinkpads (not the Ts)
Posted by: Bob at January 13, 2004 6:33 PM