ibm thinkpad t42 laptop review

Ibm thinkpad t42 laptop review

IBM's new ThinkPad T42 series comprises the mainstream T42 and the workstation-class T42p. As well as featuring the new Pentium M Processor 735 (1.7GHz), 745 (1.8GHz) and 755 (2GHz), plus a range of wireless connectivity options, the T42 series will be the first ThinkPads to offer a 15in. display. Another first for the range is a 9.5mm multi-format DVD burner, the snappily named ThinkPad Multi-Burner UltraBay Slim Drive.The standard T42 is a far more basic model than its ibm thinkpad T42p sibling, but to be fair it’s also significantly cheaper. The chassis is the same as the T42p I looked at, but there is one major difference as soon as you open it up – the 15in screen sports a native resolution of only 1,024 x 768. Now there was a time when 1,024 x 768 was a great resolution for a notebook, but things have moved on. These days the average 14.1in screen will have a native resolution of 1,400 x 1,050, so a 15in display with 1,024 x 768 looks a little odd to be honest. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the screen on the T42 – it’s bright and evenly lit, while the colours are vivid. But the 15in physical dimensions seem like overkill considering the resolution.

The 2.4kg (15in. screen) or 2.1 kg (14in. screen) T42 comes with either a Dothan processor featuring 2MB of Level 2 cache or the older 1MB-cache Pentium M running at 1.5GHz. Graphics are handled by ATI's Radeon M10 (with up to 64MB of video RAM) or M7 (with up to 32MB) chipsets, while hard disk sizes top out at 80GB (5,400rpm).

Wireless networking options for the T42 include single-band 802.11b or b/g, dual-band a/b/g or "wireless ready" (i.e. no wireless module fitted). IBM uses two antennae fitted in the screen bezel to provide isolation from electromagnetic interference. Gigabit wired Ethernet is standard on all models, as is infrared (not a given these days), while Bluetooth is offered on selected models.

The lightweight (5.4-pound) Ibm thinkpad T42 is incredibly thin--just 1.1 inches tall with the 14.1-inch screen closed--and offers IBM's great keyboard with both eraserhead and touchpad pointing devices, each with their own smoothly working mouse buttons. The ThinkLight, an LED in the lid that a keystroke combination activates to shine a light on the keyboard, is a useful feature that helps when working in dim light.

Powering the ThinkPad T42 is the Intel Pentium M 735 (1.7GHz) that provides an excellent mix of power and battery life. Matched to this is 512MB of PC2700 DDR memory allowing it to run through the most applications without any problems.

Storage is not one of the strong points for the ThinkPad T42. It comes standard with a 40GB hard drive. Thankfully it has a higher spin rate of 5,400 RPMs for inproved performance. It also uses the APS system to protect data during shocks or bumps. A 24x CD-RW combo drive for CD burning and DVD playback is also standard.

Connectivity:

My ThinkPad came with the Intel 2200BG wireless card. There is no off/on button but can be switched using keyboard controls. When I first got it, I still had an 802.11b router. It worked well with that. I have since upgraded to an 802.11g router and it works well with that too. I really only use it co share my internet connection so the 802.11b standard is more than enough for my 400k DSL line. My ThinkPad also came with Bluetooth. I purchased a Bluetooth enabled Kensington Pilot Mouse to use with it. It works well and finds it right away when I turn it on. One of the few faults I can find with my ThinkPad is the lack of connection options. It has two USB ports and that is it. It has no firewire or card reader. Not that I use those all that much, but they would have been nice on such an expensive laptop. They could have gotten rid of the parallel port to add them because they are rarely used anymore.

Optical Drive:
Most ThinkPads come with a CDRW/DVD combo drives even though DVD burners are common on a lot of other laptops. Newer T43s are more likely to have a DVD burner. Mine came with a Hitachi-LG 24x/8x drive combo drive. ThinkPads have a super slim modular bay. There are only a few drives that will fit in there. I decided not to get one with a DVD burner because IBM burners are slow and expensive. The burn quality on the drive is not very good either. I have the modular battery and like to keep it the bay, so an external seemed like a good choice. I purchased a NEC ND-6500A from NewEgg and a case for it from Centrix Intl. The burn quality on the NEC is the best I have seen on a laptop drive and it is much faster than the 2x Panasonic drives offered by IBM. The case it a little cheap and platicky, but seem to work as described. It is USB powered so thankfully I do not have to carry an adapter.

Audio:
It is a laptop so using it's speakers to listen to audio will do in a pinch, but a good pair of headphones is a must. I use the ones that came with my Creative Labs Muvo2. It uses a SoundMax chip.

Ibm thinkpad t42 Battery:

I have the larger nine cell and the modular bay battery. I haven't done any scientific testing, but with both batteries full charged it goes between six and seven hours on medium settings with wireless on which is excellent considering the larger screen. More often than not, I stop using it before the battery runs out.