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Reliabilty of IBM

post #1 of 59
5/28/04 at 9:19pm
Thread Starter 
As it comes closer for me to buy myself a laptop, I am thinking that my best bet may be to get an IBM Thinkpad......

Just wanted to know, how ar etheir thinkpads in terms of reliability? Do they tend to come with lots of bad pixels? I am going to get one that has a 15 inch screen.

Any experience with IBM? Obviously I am not a gmaer, so that's no biggy! The only thing I wish it had was a widescreen but I can live without it.

The specs on the system is:
INTEL PENTIUM M 1.6GHZ
15SXGA 256 60 XPPRO CENTRINO B
WIRELESS 802.11B/G built in
3YR DEPOT REPAIR

UNIVERSAL POWER TRAVEL
ADAPTER
GRAND Total after taxes and free shipping
1879.47
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post #2 of 59
5/28/04 at 9:25pm
The overwhelming consensus is that if you want a quality, reliable notebook you should buy an IBM Thinkpad. They're built to work for a lifetime.
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post #3 of 59
5/28/04 at 9:37pm
Thread Starter 
well, that is good to know. all my dad's co workers basically said the same thing.
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post #4 of 59
5/28/04 at 9:44pm
please please PLEASE do yourself a favor and upgrade to 512 ram...at a minimum.. if you run only 256 your gonna see windows take up a huge chunk of that... you'lll gain alot from jumping up to 512
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post #5 of 59
5/28/04 at 10:54pm
I was running XP with only 256mb for over a year. When I upgraded to 1GB, the performance increase was incredible. I believe XP takes up 128mb of your system memory. 512mb is the norm for most mainstream computers this day in age.
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post #6 of 59
5/28/04 at 11:35pm
my friend has the tinkpad t40 and even with a 14.1 inch screen it is truely beautiful, exactly 1 inch thin, and uber portable, the keyboard feels great for typing and the system even games with a subpar 32mb vram
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post #7 of 59
5/28/04 at 11:35pm
I've had 2 thinkpads so far and they're awesome - particularly the T-Series....

ditto on the 512 ram minimum...you'll want that.
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post #8 of 59
5/28/04 at 11:55pm
i would have went with a t42 if i had an extra 1000 bucks to shell out, went with asus, there also very reliable
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post #9 of 59
5/29/04 at 12:30am
for reliablity IBM rains supreme while others are able to out perform them ibms will last 10x longer. If you dont care about heavy gaming then go for IBM.
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post #10 of 59
5/29/04 at 12:31am
ibm does have options for good gpu's that will handle most games you throw at them very well.
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post #11 of 59
5/29/04 at 1:28am
The only thing I don't like about IBM is their Alienware-esque prices, but for an IBM, you truly pay for what you get. The build quality is phenomenal. In my opinion, no other notebook company can come close to the consistent level of quality that IBM supplies.

There's a reason NASA continually buys Thinkpads.
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post #12 of 59
5/29/04 at 1:17pm

15% discount

If you are using a VISA/MC/Discover to purchase a Thinkpad, they have a 15% discount promotion with IBM. Go to the CC's site and navigate to their special offers section and you will find it. I used it to get a T42p with the following specs for $2634.15.

1.8 Dothan Pentium M
512 MB RAM
80 GB 5400 HD
15" Flexview Screen 1600x1200 resolution
ATI FireGL T2 128MB vram
Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth
802.11 a/b/g
3 year depot warranty
2X DVD Burner

Pricey but I think a fair price for a well built notebook.
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post #13 of 59
5/29/04 at 1:19pm
just for paying with the above mentioned credit cards? Thats totally amazing!
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post #14 of 59
5/29/04 at 2:23pm
Thread Starter 
Wow...the highest credit card limit that I have is a grand.....lol.

I have a checkcard which I would use as a credit card though I think....and it is a VISA....will that count?????? My credit history is infantile so I cant really get any card over a grand....hehe, that fifteen percent would be great though!!!!

I was planning on buying third party RAM from cruci8al or one of these other places instead of upgrading from IBM.....

My Dell desktop runs XPPro with 256 with no major problems......but I do plan on getting more ram for th enotebook.

Also, whats the resale value of th eibm thinkpad? Just wonderin'
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post #15 of 59
5/29/04 at 7:36pm
Generally speaking, I think the resale value is higher based on reputation.

I just went to the site and saw that you can get a model with the specs you mentioned for 1,529.10 (R50 - model 1836BBU).
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post #16 of 59
5/29/04 at 7:42pm
Hazel - Your check card if it's a Visa should work. I've gotten discounts from other vendors taht were credit card specific when using my Debit card. I don't see why it would be a problem at IBM.

As far as resale value is concerned...check out ebay. It retains its value very well.
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post #17 of 59
5/29/04 at 8:19pm
Thread Starter 
cool...thanks for the information. hey exaserian, can you give me the link??
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post #18 of 59
5/29/04 at 10:40pm

link

Here's a link to the IBM page with Visa discount:

http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/st...catalogId=-840

I actually typed in http://www.ibm.com/businesscenter/visa/ and it redirected me to this site. Other cards probably have a similar URL. I got this tip from forum.thinkpads.com - take a look over there for other helpful tips!
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post #19 of 59
5/30/04 at 2:12am
I checked the visa link, and "pretended" to check out with an American Express card (which was NOT supposed to be included).
It appeared that it would give the 15 percent discount to AMEX as well.
Andrew
Austin, TX
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post #20 of 59
5/31/04 at 3:42am
That's what I HAD thought, but then I started "lurking" at the thinkpadforums, and found that:
Thinkpad T series (the best quality series) owners are griping about fan noise, dead pixels, and keyboards that they have to stuff napkins under to quiet down, etc.
Seems like the Thinkpad owners have the same kinds of issues as other notebook owners. (actually I was kind of surprised about the keyboards and napkins, etc. since I thought the Thinkpad keyboards were #1.)
Andrew
Austin, TX

Quote:
Originally Posted by ackRite
The overwhelming consensus is that if you want a quality, reliable notebook you should buy an IBM Thinkpad. They're built to work for a lifetime.
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