I?m hoping some of the guys in the brain trust here might be able to give me a little help in my predicament. I have a ~18 month old Gateway CX210S. I added a lot of options when I built in, and I got this particular one because I was looking for a convertible tablet with discrete graphics. Well, now I don?t use the tablet functionality anymore (long story) and some of the ?compromises? of its design leave me wanting and searching for a replacement. My complaints are
A) Weight
B) Battery placement (the 12 cell main not only sticks out from behind the screen but protrudes ~.75 in on the bottom too. Makes it a pain to get into my case and also complicates things on an airplane
C) Screen hinge: It seems to be much more prone to movement than a traditional hinge system.
I found someone who is willing to take the Gateway off my hands, and with what I am looking to replace it with (Thinkpad T61), I would pretty much break even. I?m not really sure if it?s worth the plunge or not.
Gateway Configuration (what I have now):
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5500 (1.66GHz, 667MHz, 2MB L2) 1
3402543 1024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-512MB modules) 1
3402234 80GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive 1
3402787 Cyberlink CDRW and PowerDVD Solution 2-Channel 1
3402237 14.0" WXGA TFT Active Matrix w/ Executive Stylus 1
3402687 Chassis w/ ATI 64MB graphics, 945PM Chipset&IEEE1394 (VPR-C)
3400446 90 Watt AC Adapter and Power Cord 1
3402443 Integrated Intel 802.11a/b/g Wireless Networking 1
3402445 Bluetooth Wireless Networking Module 1
3403029 8x Multi-Format Double Layer DVD Writer (DVD¦R/¦RW/CD-RW)
3402024 Primary 12-Cell Lithium Ion battery for M280/CX200/E-7500
2522558 Mod. 6-Cell Li-Ion battery w/ battery bay cover (VPR/VPR-C)
Thinkpad configuration:
Processor: Intel® Core? 2 Duo processor T8100 (2.1GHz 800MHz 3MBL2)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
Operating System Language: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium - US English
Display type: 14.1 WXGA+ TFT
System graphics: nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M
Total memory: 2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard US English
Pointing device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
Hard drive: 80GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Optical device: DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim
System expansion slots: PC Card Slot & Express Card Slot
Wireless card: ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe US/EMEA/LA/ANZ
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion Battery
Power cord: Country Pack North America
Language Pack: Language Pack US English
The only real concern I have on pulling the trigger is
A) Will the thinkpad be any lighter
B) How much battery life am I going to be losing??
The thinkpad (as configured) will have a 6 cell main and 3 cell modular. The gateway has a 12 cell(!) main and 6 cell modular. The charge capacity seems to be fairly similar (5200mah on the primaries for both, 2700mah (thinkpad) vs. 3600mah (Gateway) on the modulars) although the thinkpad?s voltage is lower.
As far as weight goes I?m not really sure about what difference I might see between the two, especially because I am looking at nonstandard battery configurations. I think (from doing a little searching) that the thinkpad should tip the scales at about 6lbs and I would bet the Gateway is pushing 8 although without a scale for both of them, side by side, I really am not making more than an educated guess.
Comments? Criticism? Opinions?
A) Weight
B) Battery placement (the 12 cell main not only sticks out from behind the screen but protrudes ~.75 in on the bottom too. Makes it a pain to get into my case and also complicates things on an airplane
C) Screen hinge: It seems to be much more prone to movement than a traditional hinge system.
I found someone who is willing to take the Gateway off my hands, and with what I am looking to replace it with (Thinkpad T61), I would pretty much break even. I?m not really sure if it?s worth the plunge or not.
Gateway Configuration (what I have now):
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5500 (1.66GHz, 667MHz, 2MB L2) 1
3402543 1024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-512MB modules) 1
3402234 80GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive 1
3402787 Cyberlink CDRW and PowerDVD Solution 2-Channel 1
3402237 14.0" WXGA TFT Active Matrix w/ Executive Stylus 1
3402687 Chassis w/ ATI 64MB graphics, 945PM Chipset&IEEE1394 (VPR-C)
3400446 90 Watt AC Adapter and Power Cord 1
3402443 Integrated Intel 802.11a/b/g Wireless Networking 1
3402445 Bluetooth Wireless Networking Module 1
3403029 8x Multi-Format Double Layer DVD Writer (DVD¦R/¦RW/CD-RW)
3402024 Primary 12-Cell Lithium Ion battery for M280/CX200/E-7500
2522558 Mod. 6-Cell Li-Ion battery w/ battery bay cover (VPR/VPR-C)
Thinkpad configuration:
Processor: Intel® Core? 2 Duo processor T8100 (2.1GHz 800MHz 3MBL2)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
Operating System Language: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium - US English
Display type: 14.1 WXGA+ TFT
System graphics: nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M
Total memory: 2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard US English
Pointing device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
Hard drive: 80GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Optical device: DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim
System expansion slots: PC Card Slot & Express Card Slot
Wireless card: ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe US/EMEA/LA/ANZ
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion Battery
Power cord: Country Pack North America
Language Pack: Language Pack US English
The only real concern I have on pulling the trigger is
A) Will the thinkpad be any lighter
B) How much battery life am I going to be losing??
The thinkpad (as configured) will have a 6 cell main and 3 cell modular. The gateway has a 12 cell(!) main and 6 cell modular. The charge capacity seems to be fairly similar (5200mah on the primaries for both, 2700mah (thinkpad) vs. 3600mah (Gateway) on the modulars) although the thinkpad?s voltage is lower.
As far as weight goes I?m not really sure about what difference I might see between the two, especially because I am looking at nonstandard battery configurations. I think (from doing a little searching) that the thinkpad should tip the scales at about 6lbs and I would bet the Gateway is pushing 8 although without a scale for both of them, side by side, I really am not making more than an educated guess.
Comments? Criticism? Opinions?