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General discussion

Dissappointed withT42 had to return it..any alternatives?

Sep 27, 2004 11:08PM PDT

I had to return the T42 I just purchased it was 60 GB with Bluetooth and Centrino...but can u believe it the actual space was only 51 GB and about 4GB went to XP...also the CD/RW drive did not shut properly...only 2USBs and no firewire..the speakers were not clear..the resolution of the 15"LCD was not good since the font was smaller...and I paid a whopping 2300 bucks..i was so dissappointed i returned it..but now i need to buy another laptop.

Can somebody please suggest alternatives based on the config i need below? Ken since you are the expert any suggestions....


Display: 15.4"(AT LEAST) WXGA TFT OR XBRITE or TRU BRITE
OS: Windows XP Home or Professional
Memory: 512MB (at least)
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, 64MB (AT LEAST)
HD: 80GB
Optical Drive: DVD+/-RW Drive
Communication: 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth
Ports: 4xUSB2.0, VGA,S-video,FireWire,FIR, Audio Ports

Discussion is locked

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Re: Dissappointed withT42 had to return it..any alternatives
Sep 27, 2004 11:24PM PDT

The 60GB drive is in Billion Bytes which Windows reports in "binary bytes" and the usual consumers will balk at the difference. Here's an article about it -> http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/tb/capacity_measure.html

As to your list, I wish you the best of luck. The Emachine e6810 or nearby model number may come close.

Bob

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Re: Dissappointed withT42 had to return it..any alternatives
Sep 28, 2004 4:26AM PDT

All hard drives have a usuable capacity less than the stated capacity so you probably won't improve any there.

The Compaq X1000 (sister to HPZT3000) notebook I have has a free upgrade to a 80gb 4200rpm hard drive from the cost of a 60gb 4200 hard drive if you want to get another 20gb in hard drive size (but you may be better off ordering the 5400rpm 60gb hard drive which is 50% faster in seek time for $25 more than the 60gb 4200).

At any rate the Toshiba M35S456 (see other recent posts on this board) is an outstanding prebuilt notebook (at Circuit City on sale this week and Compusa on sale this week -- closeout pricing on this particular prebuilt model). Compusa has it for $1749 for remaining models and I think Circuit City's price may be $1700 (see other recent posts here on the Cnet notebook forums). This is fully loaded with the Trubrite LCD, multiformat DVD drive (all formats), 512mb PC2700 RAM, 80gb 4200rpm hard drive, etc. It has everything you want, weighs 6.2 pounds (15.4" widescreen). It runs a bit warm around the touchpad area so try it in the store but that is about it and they are going to be gone after this week. Since you want a DVD burner this s a great value for you.

The only thing missing from your list is that the Toshiba M35S456 has 64gb dedicated Nvidia graphics and the HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 series I have has 64mb dedicated ATI 9200 graphics.

Both of these are slower than the ATI 9700 video card. If you really want this you need to look at the Dell 8600 which has the 128mb dedicated video card ATI 9700 (and also 7200rpm hard drive option which is very fast) or the Acer 2000 series (also has 128mb ATI 9700 video option) .. the Dell has a lousy keyboard and its case is too wide and heavy but it has the components you want. The Acer is a good value but it can only be bought as a prebuilt online but check that out as it has what you want.

However, if you are willing to stick with 64mb Dedicated video somewhat slower than the ATI 9700 get the Toshiba M35S456 (where you get the Trubrite -- Dell or Acer does not have this yet) or custom order the HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 (they just got HP Briteview online -- not in stores yet).

See X1000forums.com for all the discounts and best specifications on the HP. Before, the HP didn't have the Briteview or the multiformat DVD burner (only DVV+) but now you can get a multiformat DVD burner in 2 speeds online. Also, you can order 256mb RAM and add your own 512mb PC2700 RAM (example: Kingston notebook RAM PC2700 for $79.99 after rebates this week at Best Buy) for much less.

And, you can get a $100 custom order rebate for any HP or Compaq custom order notebook through 12/1/04.

Grab the Toshiba M35S456 quickly retail if you want that or look at hpshopping for the HP/Compaq if you want that.

Otherwise, get the Acer 2000 series but that will put you over $2000 (Toshiba is $1700 fully loaded with Trubrite and the HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 can come in around the $15000 mark after rebates/discounts especially if you order less RAM upfront).

For the Toshiba, look at www.notebookforums.com (a few Acer posts there as well).

For the HP/Compaq X1000forums.com/hpshopping.com

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Re: Dissappointed withT42 had to return it..any alternatives
Sep 28, 2004 5:38AM PDT

Note:

Be careful on which resolution you choose as LCD's have one native resolution but if you are getting the HP Briteview or the Toshiba Trubrite LCD that is XGA only (1024x768 widescreen equivalent is 1200x800). You can order custom SXGA or UXGA resolutions at HP but they are smaller of course (and don't have Briteview).

All of the notebooks I mentioned have 3 USB 2.0 ports and the 4 pin firewire (not the 6 pin powered as on Apples).

Also, you can add internal Bluetooth as an option to the Intel2200b/g wifi card for an extra $50 on the HPZT3000 or Compaq X1000. The priced used to be a bargain $19 add on but they just raised the price as this internal bluetooth option is becoming more popular (eliminates the need to attach a USB 2.0 Bluetooth external module).

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Re: Dissappointed withT42 had to return it..any alternatives
Sep 28, 2004 5:54AM PDT

As always Ken thank you...you are truly the notebook guru....you mentioned the 4 pin firewire for Toshiba..
1)Does that mean 4 pin firewire is not compatible with the Apple iPod?
2)Also you said S456 is going out of stock does that mean they will stop manufacturing it?
3)Is it possible to add a internal bluetooth card to the toshibaS456?
4)The Acer 2025 looks good but I havent recieved a lot of reviews ...i heard they had issues with customer support etc? Also another problem is you cannot touch an Acer until you order one...

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Re: Dissappointed withT42 had to return it..any alternatives
Sep 28, 2004 6:35AM PDT

1) The extra 2 pins on the firewire for the Apple are the power connections. This means you have to get an adaptor to externally power the firewire device (hte Ipod) on IBM notebooks with the 4 pin firewire but it will work fine otherwise.

2) Note that the Toshiba M35 series and HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 series are a continuing line. They keep introducing new models in the prebuilt arena. The Toshiba M35S320 was out when I bought my Compaq X1360US for example (Toshiba didn't have Trubrite yet and HP didn't have Briteview and also these were the Banias Pentium M cpus -- now all have Dothan cpus with double the L2 system cache -- 1mb to 2mb

2) No, I don't think you can get internal bluetooth on the Toshiba and you can't custom order the Toshiba online with Trubrite (but you can custom order some models) The HPZT3000/Compaq X1000 internal bluetooth option (add on to wi-fi card) went from $19 to $50 very recently and can't be obtained on prebuilt models either

3) Go to X1000forums.com -- you will find a thread in the general section that shows photos of the Acer 2025 and it is identical inside to the Compaq X1000 and HPZT3000. Compal in China makes all these notebooks. That is a plus for Acer as that means that they have been making thousands of the base platform for HP/Compaq (since about July 2003) Some people at X1000forums.com like the Acer as it has the ATI 9700 video card option with 128mb dedicated video -- there are some other differences though so read the Cnet review (keyboard not as good, etc).

Basically, for a prebuilt value the Toshiba M35S456 fits your needs and for a custom value the HPZT3000 or Compaq X1000 fits your needs but both have 64mb video dedicated maximum on slower video card options than the ATI 9700.

I really like X1000forums.com though as it is a continuing dedicated forum to the 3 sister machines only and it helped me fix my only operating problem by alterting me to a necessary notebook bios upgrade (at HP/Compaq website).