Dell 8600 or IBM T42?

[Grailyn]

IBM T42

1.8 Cpu
64mb radeon 9600
15" SXGA

Pro's IBM quality, Already have spare power adapter. Lighter String IBM support .
Cons Performance 64mb 9600 1.8 cpu

Dell 8600

2.0 cpu
128mb radeon 9600
15.4 WUXGA


Pro's 2.0 cpu, 128mb Vram. With leftover cash I can buy a spare battery or something.
Cons Dell case quality. Heavier, Weak Dell support

All non-listed parts are the same, 1 gig ram, 60gb 7200 hdd cdrw/dvd etc.. Not sure which has more battery life, but that would be an issue if I could get some solid numbers.

I tried to look at Sager and Acer and such but I either had trouble finding just the right config, or I can't seem to get more than a 1 year warentee and for a primary work machine I just can not like with a short poor warentee.

 

[CombatChuk]

International Business Machines...

IMO IBM quality is worth more than the faster DELL components

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: Grailyn
I tried to look at Sager and Acer and such but I either had trouble finding just the right config, or I can't seem to get more than a 1 year warentee and for a primary work machine I just can not like with a short poor warentee.

Have personally dealt with this reseller, who provides a few more options than most regarding warranty offerings. Very professional and courteous staff, and very customer oriented. Though certainly only one facet of the decision making process, ResellerRatings can be found here.

Good luck.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Definitely IBM. 2.0 Dothan is nice, but the downgrade to a 1.8 is worth the performance hit IMO. 128MB VRAM would be nice, but I wouldn't imagine this is going to be a dedicated gaming machine. Therefore I would choose higher overall quality. GO IBM!

 

[dcdomain]

Go IBM. I have a T42, buy from Bill @ Thinkpads.com!
By the way the Dell is large and heavy compared to the T42 =T. If you care about size and weight that is. I went from a 3 lb, .75" Toshiba to my 5 lb. 1" T42.

 

[jkresh]

Depends on what you want the machine for. If you want to carry it around allot, need it to have 99.9999% uptime and don?t care about gaming go with the IBM. If the extra weight doesn?t bother you (8600 isn?t that heavy or bulky), you don?t need 100% uptime and you want to play games like doom3/hl2... get the dell. Also how long do you plan on keeping it, 2 years or less dell should be fine 4-5 years or more go with IBM. Both machines are good, just depends on your needs/wants and cash flow. I ended up with an 8600 as I figure I will pass it down in one year (probably go with IBM then, or maybe a voodoo depending on how much I am carrying it and how much I want/need 64bit) and so far have been happy with it (though not with ordering parts, as my order had an issue and they didn?t include the Bluetooth adapter and 5 weeks later I still don?t have it). I also got a very good deal on the dell, more then 20% off which made it about 700-900 cheaper then a similarly configured ibm, which is a fair amount (dell came to 2000, ibm was about 3100-3200 though I could have goten 10-15% off of that)

 

[EvanAdams]

wow the IBM for sure

 

[Abhi]

IBM... If you can live without the widescreen in 8600

 

[DaFinn]

Huh, was that a question? You are actually comparing IBM and Dell? Since the specs are so close, IBM ALL THE WAY?

 

[MrCraphead]

IBM all the way. The vid card is rather moot, unless you realyl do intend to some hardcore gaming on your laptop. Leave that for the desktop.

IBM quality AND tech support wins the day.

 

[slyedog]

Ibm. excellent service. light and fast. not for big time gamin. 8600 are fine but so heavy

 

[jeffbui]

Is price a big consideration? Spend a little more and get the IBM in the config you want. Get a T42P with the 2.0 and the FireGL T2 128MB card. You can choose between the 14.1 SXGA+ or the 15 UXGA Flexview (beautiful) screen. That way, you're not compromising.

 

[cirthix]

wuxga is amazingly nice res

 

[Mika83]

some people say flexview ghosting is terrible