For my work, I'm looking for a laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo
processor. It will be used mainly as a mobile replacement of a desktop
system for scientific research (image processing, programming,...). So
it's not intended to be used for gaming. (I also want to be able to use
the laptop for office and multimedia applications (playing DVD and other
videos, pictures,...) at home, but that is not the primary task.)

I narrowed down my search to only three candidates. But now I don't know
which one too choose. (The prices are almost the same.)

Lenovo ThinkPad R60
- Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83 GHz
- 15" TFT 1400 x 1050 (SXGA+)
- ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 128 MB

I read everywhere that the ThinkPad line has a very good reputation and
a very solid construction. That could be important because the laptop
has to travel a lot between home and work (by bike and train). But the
other features are less compared to the next two.

Lenovo 3000 N100
- Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83 GHz
- 15.4" TFT 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+)
- NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 TurboCache 128 MB

This is a very similar system to the ThinkPad, but does not seem to have
the same construction advantage (or am I wrong here?). On the other side
it has an nVidia card (which is slightly lower rated, but I'm a little
bit biased towards nVidia, because all my current systems are nVidia and
because of the better linux support) and a widescreen TFT.

HP Compaq Business Notebook nx9420
- Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2 GHz
- 17" TFT 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+)
- ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 256 MB

This one also looks interesting (fastest processor and fastest graphics
of the three), but has an ATI card. I'm not so sure about the 17" TFT.
I've never worked with a laptop before, but I can imagine the 17" screen
and the numeric keypad are nice to have for daily work. But its larger
size makes transportation more difficult I guess.

I believe the "Turbocache" name means that 128mb of the video memory is
shared with the processor. The video card has another 128mb dedicated to
it.

Check for any differences in the warranty between the systems. Price
them out with equivalent extended warranty to at least three years.

Check if only one of the Lenovo systems has a trackpoint. I've used one
for a long time and find it much easier to use that the touchpads that
most laptops use today. Other users don't like them at all.

Weight and battery life are other factors to consider. If you plan to
use the system for trips (ie. flying cross counry) you should check the
battery options for ways to extend run time when using batteries.

Phil Sherman


Jef Driesen wrote: