HP TouchSmart tm2-2100 VS.ThinkPad X201 Tablet

balanovich

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Hi I need help deciding witch tablet pc to buy.

I'm in Canada so these are Canadian prices in Canadian dollars.

tm2-210:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/webca/LenovoPortal/en_CA/catalog.workflow:category.details?current-catalog-id=12F0696583E04D86B9B79B0FEC01C087&current-category-id=00B3DA2D5BBC4041B5E919E107C26B0D

X201:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/en/ho/WF05a/321957-321957-3329744-3835813-3835813-4247583.html


I need it to run smoothly with either Quartus or Microsoft visual studio opened. Add to that a couple of PDFs, some MS word docs too, Ms one note and a few browser windows. I'm in college and I want to do my homework on it.


I know there is a huge price difference. Especially if I customize the X201 to match the tm2's specs. That's my problem, it doesn't make sense.


The tm2-210 is 900$ And the X201, with 4G of RAM and a multi-touch screen is 2000$.


The tm2's harddrive is bigger and faster, it has an HDMI port. (Although I don't really care about either.)

The X201 is lighter and it has a better CPU. (These two, I care about)



The CPU is the big difference!
i3-380UM VS i5-520UM, i5 is better no doubt. But how much better?

I checked http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html for benchmarks.... and the i5's superiority is clear but not overwhelming.

Why is HP so cheap ? Is it junk? Is it going to break in 3 years ?

I just don't get how there can be such a big price difference; I must be missing something.

Thank you
 

subasteve5800

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Compared to the tm2t that Lenovo is a ripoff. The same specs cost over twice as much.

The tm2t is a well built machine. I have had one for around 6 months now and the only complaints I have are that the track pad blows and the viewing angles are poor. It's too bad you didn't want to order a few months ago, I got my tm2t with the i5-430um and the ATI 5450 discrete graphics card but it looks like HP isn't offering those configurations anymore. Maybe you could pick one of those up used if you look around eBay or craigslist.

If you are really budget conscious I would say drop the touchscreen. It is kind of a cool feature and I use it a lot when I'm just browsing the web in bed or wherever but otherwise its an expensive extra and much less precise than a mouse. Also, I would look at laptops with full powered CPUs in them not the low power "UM" variants. You'll sacrifice some battery life but it seems like processor power is what you really care about.

Additionally, some new laptops are coming out now with Sandy Bridge CPUs (i5/i7-2xxx series) in them. You might want to hold off for a week or two and research those. They are a good deal faster than the previous generation i5s and i7s.
 

balanovich

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I've done more research on CPU power and even the i3-380UM should be enough.
...
unless someone has a counter argument.

I don't want to wait for Sandy Bridge; if you wait for the next promising thing, you'll spend your whole life waiting.



The thing is, thinkpad have a good reputation. One of being reliable and durable. And that's more important than anything.

Everytime I saw a really really old laptop, it was a thinkpad.
I needed a laptop running Win 98, my mother's boss gave me his. It was a thinkpad.
The only laptops I've seen work past there tenth year are thinkpads.

I'm going to be carrying it in my backpack, in the bus and the subway. It's going to be squeezed and shake when I run to catch a bus. Some idiot might trip over my bag in the subway.... I'm gonna walk with it in minus 20 degree weather.

And specs aren't everything.
A friend of mine ran a bunch of benchmark on his laptop when he bought it. He ran them again, right after a fresh formating, and there was an average 10 to 15 % drop three years later. Ok, it is an Acer so you know it's junk, but it shows the importance of quality.

There is also screen quality, touchscreen preciseness and responsiveness. The X201 has an accelerometer that automatically adjusts the screen.
 
It sounds like you're sold on the Lenovo. Spec wise, yeah the HP has a bit more to it for the price. However, with Lenovo you are getting a far more reliable machine in my opinion. HP doesn't make the best laptops in my opinion, i.e. they do not last.
 

subasteve5800

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Well any really really old ThinkPad you saw wasn't made by Lenovo. Lenovo bought the ThinkPad name from IBM in 2005.

I hate to disagree with a Moderator and I'm sure he has a ton more experience with computers than me but in my experience the Lenovo ThinkPads have been poorly made and prone to breaking. I went to Uconn (Graduated in 2009) and the school issued ThinkPads to everyone in the Business School so a lot of my friends had one. They were almost universally hated. Out of the 30 or so people I knew who had one I would say 10 had to have them replaced in under 2 years and another 10-15 had issues with the hardware. Specifically, the keyboard would randomly not be recognized on start-up and they'd have to reboot the computer several times for it to work. Others had the same problem with the built in speakers or the track-pad not being recognized. Other people had issues with the screen breaking or the hinges on it failing.

That experience kind of soured me on the ThinkPad brand. Admittedly, these were the 2007-2008 models so maybe Lenovo has gotten better since then. Plus they were owned by college kids who didn't take the best care of their notebooks but from the sounds of it you are going to need a laptop that can take quite a beating.

As far as waiting for Sandy Bridge, I looked around and there are Sandy Bridge laptops available for purchase right now. The only waiting you'd have to do is if the specific model you wanted was out of stock. I'd really recommend going with one of the new processors. All reports say they are much faster, as well as cooler. I don't know if I could justify spending $2000 on last generation hardware when there is newer tech available.

If you are willing to forgo the touch screen you could check out Clevo. That is a very well respected laptop brand. For $2000 you could build a crazy fast laptop with a Sandy Bridge CPU and a big SSD.

Just my opinions though. If you feel strongly about the ThinkPad then go for it. In the end it is your money and your decision.
 

balanovich

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I was more or less sold on the lenovo before I saw the HP. And the price difference troubled me.(And also, agreeing doesn't make and interesting debate. )

I know that lenovo bought IBM's laptops division but during five years they managed to uphold the reputation.

there are Sandy Bridge laptops available for purchase right now.
Some tablet pcs ?


I could of posted my question in brand section of the forum since I'm more or less asking to debate between HP and LENOVO.
But I was hoping for some objective hardware-related argument to help me understand. and choose.

I'm asking myself "why is this one sold at twice the price?
The answer is "because people are buying it."
"people have been doing so for quite some years"
"It can't be ripoff or else it wouldn't of lasted."
"My argument is solid. So I should buy it !"
And there I busted my logic! If I buy it because others do,then I have to assume they might be doing it because they think others did. It kinda short circuits the argument.

 

subasteve5800

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If you are sold on the Lenovo then go for it. I personally don't like the ThinkPads as a brand but if you have had a different experience with them...

I can't figure out a reason for why the Lenovo is priced so much higher than comprable notebooks though.

As a side note, there are full sized Sandy Bridge equipped laptops available right now. For example: Sager