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This thing is awesome. I have been playing and configuring it for almost a week now and i cant rave enough about it. I waited almost 4 months for it. The news release was on Feb 25 and i purchased it on Feb 28 (but i already knew about this in Dec). Anyway when i opened the box i was impressed with the quality of the box (its one of those really heavy boxes that can withstand quite a bit of abuse. In taking it out you realize how streamlined the initial setup is. IBM takes you through the whole process, which takes several minutes. Windows update was a little longer.

Specs:

CPU: Pentium m 770, 2.13 Sonoma chip.

15 inch screen. uxga 1600-1200 resolution.

Fingerprint reader

Firegl v 3200 gpu.

1043 system memory.

60g 7200rpm hard drive

Accessories:

Mini dock II

Second 9cell battery.


Synopsis:

First thing you notice is the build quality. The chassis is a combination of titanium corbon fiber metal which blows away any other laptop i have owned or used (yes including my alienware area 51). This thing has no flex, it is extremely light, and can be handled like a true mobile laptop should be handled (one handedly).

Body:

This thing is very well build. Port-wise, it sux. Only has two usbs, I parallel port, Svideo out, 1 audio, 1 headphone, 1 VGA, 1modem, 1 Ethernet. It has modular bay that works great. It takes 2 seconds to pop out your DVD rewrite drive and pop in anything you want (hard drive, battery). What sux bigtime is that it doesn't have a firewire port and a couple more usbs. What also impressed me was the placement of the fans. The fans are placed on the side of the laptop(left) this way if i want it on my bed or lap i don't have to worry about it overheating or choking. Did i mention that it doesn't get hot. I'm talking not hot at all Not on the bottom nor on top. this to me is refreshing especially when coming from an alienware laptop that i travel with. The only hot air i can feel is when i place my hand over the fan when I'm using the laptop intensively.

Keyboard:

The keyboard is unbelievable (it took me no time to get used to it plus the trackpoint is invaluable). The mouse pad has five programmable buttons that i set up just like my external mouse. First thing you realize is that the keys are wide apart and fully sized thus the transition between your desktop keyboard and this is very small. On top of the keyboard there is a role of Function keys that does everything you want: turn wireless/bluetooth on/off, increase/decrease volume, Brightness key, keyboard light key (yes it has a light that lights up the keyboard), and various other power buttons(sleep, hibernate, battery power manager, etc). And a last buttom that is totally cool. Its called the Access IBM which does everything from reseting your laptop to factory settings, restores stored info (option to backup whatever you want), driver update (this thing records all the hardware/software on your hard drive and updates all the drivers).

Screen:

The screen is very beautiful. Fonts are bright and clear and multimedia junk play excellently. I just watched a DVD and the screen is excellent. The only thing is that this screen is a wide viewing angle screen so you wont get much privacy (people besides you can see what your dong). I also played game and had no problem with the screen ( i read someplace that it has 20 ms response but i don't know the validity of this but its fine for me since my favorite game on the place is chess ).

The Machine:

This thing is quiet. I read some horror stories of certain machines have a loud fan and getting very hot. My machine does none of these. The fan only gets loud when loading something or when i have full CPU usage, which is rare (in fact even when i have maximum performance running and playing Command and conquer" Generals ( the game I'm currently playing now) the fan does not go on loudly(you have to stick your ear by the fan to hear it).

The lid closes nicely. The way it closes leaves nothing to be desired. The screen goes over the body thus there is no gap between the screen and the keyboard part (no paper or other junk can slip imbetween). When you grasp the laptop with one hand (no matter where you grab it) the body feels very sturdy and no flex (yessssssssssssssssss). The only problem people might find is the 9 cell battery which protrudes from the back (about 1 inch). The 6 cell is flushed with the system but not the 9 cell. Which to me is no problem because i get close to 5 hours on one charge (when playing a game i think i get around 3 hours but haven't really clocked it). But i do know that i get 5 hours when surfing the net and listening to online talk radio and news. Which to me is impressive since i have the power management to maximum performance.

Overall remarks:

What impressed me while running the machine is the speed. This thing restarts and runs excellently. In fact there is very little difference between this and my Pentium 2.66 MHz desktop. I haven't placed this against my game machine (Amd 64 bit 3800 since i have this totally decked out and overclocked). I like the DVD rewrite drive because it players everything i throw at it without being picky. Its also allot more quiet than my desktop drive. The trackpoint rawks. This thing works like a joystick (which works nice in games). Also what i should mention is that this thing is totally configurable. everything can be tailored (and i do mean everything). Also when i bought this thing i was afraid that i wouldn't be able to upgrade it but that was a useless fear. Man to take out the keyboard and get into the body takes literary a few minutes (I'm new at this so it took me longer but once you do it all the other times takes less than one minute). The harddrive and memory modules can be upgraded by your grandmother thats how easy it is (one screw and your done). Did i mention that the screen is also easily upgradeable or replaceable. No work whatsoever (IBM even has movies for doing it).

Concluding specs

Model: 2668H2U

Warranty: 3 years global warranty covering everything including purchased (meaning software bought at IBM). software support. Everything is paid by IBM including shipping (box arrives at your door the next day).

Price: out the door $3,753
Laptop price $3,199 Docking station: $169 2nd battery: $49 Tax $249

Overall I'm very happy and would do it again in a hardbeat(edited im such an idiot{dont do work while typing] i mean heartbeat).

Oops forgot to mention that i called tech support to see how it goes and was happy to get connected within 2 minutes with a person in the great USA (Georgia). Cool

Great review! I hope my new T43 shows up cool & quiet!

It should. Based on the reviews i read throughout the net (especially thinkpad.com) people who received laptops with problems were few and far in-between. So i didnt stress out too much.

IBM don't use titanium for the case since t40, don't you know what? all t-series are using Magnesium now.
That's copy from IBM.com: "Cover material Magnesium composite"

Hmm my pdf says:.Case material
15.0" models (WxDxH): 13.0" x 10.6" x 1.2-1.4"; 329mm x 268mm x 31-36mm
with optical drive and battery: 15": up to 5.9 lb (2.7 kg)
Magnesium composite in the top cover, titanium-reinforced CFRP in bottom cover
Lithium Ion 6-cell / intelligent / supports unique 2nd battery in Ultrabay Slim
Up to 4 hr; Optional 9-cell: up to 5.9 hr; 9-cell plus Ultrabay Slim battery: up to 7.7 hr
Dimensions3
Weight2

Darn it didnt mean to copy the whole pdf line sorry. Anyway it states that the top half is alloy and the bottom is titanium. So there (j/k).

Great review... I ordered the exact same laptop, but with a 14.1 inch screen. I wanted my laptop to be more portable, so I did not want the 15 inch screen, and there really is not a huge difference between a 14.1 and a 15 when you are looking at it.

Great review. I just ordered mine as well, Mine is 2687E4U since it's customizable and cheaper. This is my specs

2.0ghz
15 inches UXGA 1600x1200
512mb ram (with another stick shipping seperately - cheaper)
60gb 7200rpm
cdrw combo drive
ATI Fire GL 128mb
IBM a/b/g wireless

Out of door, 2,172 bucks. Gotta love it!! Now I have to wait for it to arrive.

If only they had a 17 inch screen. Has anyone seen the new toshiba qosimo G25. 2 60 54--rpm GB hard drives. Just came out 2 days ago in circuit city and best buy. bult in tv tuner................................... looks good.

Where did you order it from?

through fed govt EPP since i am federal employee.

Whoa, federal employees also get a great discount? How nice!

Yep. I saved like almost 800 dollars. And its on way. found out that it got delayed being left in ups warehouse in KY by accident. idiot UPS.. it supposed to come yesterday but got delayed from cancelled flight in Korea then supposed to come today but delayed by being left in warehouse. So I hope to get it tomorrow.

Hey i jsut ordered my t43 p a couple days ago.......i had been searching for the right laptop that would carry me thru school adn all........... i never even looked at IBM till my brother in law offered me his EPP discount......... and man the discount is wild up to 35%!!!!!

this is what i got t43p 2668g7u

Pentium M 770 2.13 GHz - 14.1" TFT
# Dimensions (WxDxH) 12.2 in x 10 in x 1.1 in
# Weight 5.1 lbs
# Built-in Devices Stereo speakers, wireless LAN antenna, fingerprint reader, Bluetooth antenna
# Processor Intel Pentium M 770 2.13 GHz
# Cache Memory 2 MB - L2 cache
# RAM 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR II SDRAM - 533 MHz
# Hard Drive 60 GB - 7200 rpm
# Optical Storage DVD-Writer - plug-in module
# Display 14.1" TFT active matrix SXGA+ (1400 x 1050)

one of the things that stumped me was the tonnnns of different models.
I was looking at 2668 g6u/g7u/g5u/g3u/g2u/g1u and ther all were the same... i even chatted with some one online and they said that they "appeared" to be the same...... once i called them they basically said that the entire systems wer essentially the same only minor diff such as in the g7u it has a dvd writed and that the wireless wasnt made by intel but some other company that is labeled as IBM.....(ofc the labeled one is better) and some of the others had a few options dropped out; ie finger printing, infrared etc etc

the retail on this machine off ibm direct : $3449........

me w/ EPP : $2241

I was amazed at the discount.........over that i was a lil frustrated that it would take 2 weeks to ship.......but to my surprise 2 days after ordering i got an email sayin that it was shipped!!!.

so im jus waiting for my 3 bizness day shipping to end

so i can finnnnnnnally start using the machine


On a final note i had a question........i know lenovo has been handling the personal computing dept of IBM for some while and that the recent sale just made it official.......it has been rumored that now since lenovo has taken over we will see a dramatic drop in the quality we expect from IBM...... both in product and in customer service.

how much of this is BS and how much is actually true

Epp Rocks

Most is BS. There won't be any change for quite awhile - 3-5 years...

well thast good to know......

........took me 3 excuciaaating months to decide on it......hate when people hate on other people like that