What would you do..

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Nomad-Man · #1 Post by **Nomad-Man** » Fri May 13, 2005 8:23 am

New R52 series with a 15" screen and x300 64 video card, 4500 rpm HD. Longhorn proof
18496VU IBM site visa site has it for 1349.10.

or

T42 series 15"screen 7500 32 video card, 5400 rpm HD. Probably not longhorn proof
2378FZU for about 1450.00 from a online retailer, Ibm doesnt list the the FZU any longer on their site for sale.

Each has a one year warranty.

Used for basic office tasks, no gaming. Used on desk 90% of the time, will probably be transporting it from work to home at least 4 times a week if not 7.

#2 Post by **jdhurst** » Fri May 13, 2005 10:40 am

What do you mean: Longhorn proof? The specifications for the R52 says (in part):
------------------------
The following operating systems are supported on the IBM ThinkPad R52 systems:
Windows 2000
Windows XP Professional
Windows XP Home
Notes:

Previous versions of these operating systems are not supported.
Operating systems other than those preinstalled on the systems may not provide full-feature functionality
---------------------------

That seems to say that Longhorn won't be supported on this model.
... JD Hurst

Nomad-Man · #3 Post by **Nomad-Man** » Fri May 13, 2005 10:56 am

JD..
Was thinking in regards to the the video card, as it was my impression that longhorn would need a DX9 compatiable card.

Everyone speaks so highly of the T series, The newer T series are a little out of my price range, while the newer R and the older T are compariable in price but yet, the T42 would have the older video card.

Operating systems other than those preinstalled on the systems may not provide full-feature functionality
---------------------------
That seems to say that Longhorn won't be supported on this model.

Thats interesting then, I missed that. Guess the whole longhorn thingy then is just a big crap shoot.

slagmi · #4 Post by **slagmi** » Fri May 13, 2005 11:11 am

No gaming- Go for the T with the 7500 video.
Don't buy for an OS that's not out yet, it may be awhile...and noone but Microsoft has written any drivers yet and what exactly they will/will not end up including as far as drivers is anyones guess. At whatever point in time the new OS is actually released, manufacturers generally will provide drivers only for current products.

egibbs · #5 Post by **egibbs** » Fri May 13, 2005 1:37 pm

jdhurst wrote:Previous versions of these operating systems are not supported.
Operating systems other than those preinstalled on the systems may not provide full-feature functionality
---------------------------

That seems to say that Longhorn won't be supported on this model.
... JD Hurst

As a rule IBM only officially supports a machine with an OS that the machine was sold with. Unless they someday sell that EXACT model with Longhorn on it it will never be an OFFICIALLY supported OS for that model.

That doesn't mean they won't provide drivers, updates, helpful tips, etc. for that OS on that machine - just that if you call with a problem they will tell you to load a supported OS and call them back.

Whether Lenovo follows the same policy remains to be seen.

Ed Gibbs

feejeean · #6 Post by **feejeean** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:06 pm

... T42 ... R series is IBMs budget range

chbone · #7 Post by **chbone** » Fri May 13, 2005 9:16 pm

I prefer to the T42, light and solid. You use it for at least 2 years without any problems. For R52, it won't buy you more for a future OS.

#8 Post by **thePCxp** » Sat May 14, 2005 12:21 am

I prefer both the R52 and T42.

asiafish · #9 Post by **asiafish** » Sat May 14, 2005 12:26 am

Definitely get the T42. The R series just aren't built the same way, and chances are Longhorn will run just fine on even the lowest-spec T42, just without some of the eye-candy.

Personally, I think most eye-candy is just a waste of resources anyway, but who knows until it ships a whopping 18 months from now.

slagmi · #10 Post by **slagmi** » Sat May 14, 2005 8:26 am

18 months or more! I'll take 26 months. Just don't even make it a big consideration when buying now. You'll want a new notebook by then. With a 400GB SATA drive.

Snowball, Chicago, Memphis, Cairo, Oddesy oops Neptune oops Whistler...

We know the drill... let's just hope it's not Longhorn oops Blackcomb!

asiafish · #11 Post by **asiafish** » Sat May 14, 2005 8:47 am

Don't forget, even when Longhorn eventually ships, it will still be some time before most of us want to use it. While Microsoft is pretty good about getting most needed drivers onto the install CDs, many developers will take a while to update, or worse yet, charge for new versions of their software. Also don't forget the ever-popular version 1.0 bugs.

When XP came out in late 2001, I upgraded immediately, then downgraded back to Windows 2000 for about 7 months. Longhorn will be a much bigger upgrade than XP was, so I don't expect it to be completely smooth.

That said, sometimes they get it right the first time. Apple's last two revisions of OSX were largely bug-free and useable right from the starting gate, as was Windows 2000, which was a DRASTIC upgrade from both Windows 98 and Windows NT, so it is possible.

Nomad-Man · #12 Post by **Nomad-Man** » Sat May 14, 2005 10:38 am

Ok guys thanks for the input, Makes me feel more comfortable about buying that model with the older video card.......T42 it is then.

I found the following in a ZDnet article. However I cant find the link right now so if anybody is enterested ill try to dig it up later..

"When will Longhorn arrive?
Microsoft has promised that Longhorn will be widely available on computers for the 2006 holiday buying season.

Also
The richest view, code-named Aero Glass, sports the fanciest bells and whistles, such as translucent windows that come to life when opened or maximized. That's where the heftiest graphics requirements come in, but Allchin said recent tests show it might not require as much horsepower as originally thought.
Another view, Aero, will have slightly lower requirements and offer many, but not all, of the features. Finally, a minimal user interface will look fairly similar to current versions of Windows.
Allchin said the company is continuing to tinker with different interfaces and their requirements, "but clearly we want as many machines as possible to have Aero Glass because there is a lot more we can do in that."

18 months or more! I'll take 26 months. Just don't even make it a big consideration when buying now. You'll want a new notebook by then. With a 400GB SATA drive.

So with longhorn being out at the holiday season of 2006, I may very well want a new one at that time. However the way ibm makes notebooks this thing will probably last me forever.

Don't forget, even when Longhorn eventually ships, it will still be some time before most of us want to use it.

This is probably true as I still have 2 computers running win98 and another 2 running xp. And since "Allchin said recent tests show it might not require as much horsepower as originally thought." Then all the concern for the aging video card may or may not be worth it....

asiafish · #13 Post by **asiafish** » Sat May 14, 2005 10:45 am

Even the lowest-spec T42 (or even T40) will run Longhorn just fine, though some of the eye-candy won't work. Personally, I won't pay over a thousand extra dollars just for Microsoft's eye-candy. The reason to buy a higher-spec machine is because of applications you want to run NOW that require it.

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