From: Alan Jaffray (jaffray_at_pobox.com)
Date: Sun Jul 08 2001 - 22:03:54 EDT
Hi, everyone.
I've had three ThinkPads. My first was a ThinkPad 600, P2/266, 64MB RAM,
4GB disk, 13" XGA screen, running Linux. I loved it. Then I dropped it.
Oops. My second was the exact same model, except it's been upgraded to
128MB RAM and 30GB disk. I love it, but it's starting to feel a little
slow for Mozilla and GIMP, and the lack of enough VRAM to run 24-bit XGA
is bugging me now that I'm doing more photography and image editing.
So I recently splurged on a ThinkPad T21. P3/850, 256MB RAM, 30GB disk,
ultra-cool 14" SXGA+ screen, Win2K and Linux. I like it. Mostly. I love
the screen, and the general quality, and the speed. But a couple of things
are bothering me.
First, the keyboard. It's still one of the best laptop keyboards I've
used, but I'm extremely fussy about keyboards. I've had severe RSI in
the past and still have symptoms, and the keyboard is the most important
part of the machine for me. I could type all day on the TP600 with nary
a problem, but after several hours on the T21, my wrists start hurting;
after a few more hours, they're hurting more, and my right pinky starts
killing me. This has happened several times. Is my keyboard defective,
or have other T2x owners noticed the same thing?
Second, the heat. I don't notice it for the first hour or two, or at all
if I'm wearing jeans, but after 2-3 hours it is no longer something that
I can comfortably have on my lap. Eventually the keyboard also heats up
to an annoying and slightly uncomfortable level. This happens even if I
set the processor to the lower clock setting, and even when the machine
is relatively idle. (Though I'm usually running Win2K, and I'm not sure
whether that might affect things, compared with Linux...) The 600
occasionally gets warm, but not nearly as bad.
I'm considering selling the T21 and picking up a 600X with a faster
processor, a P3/500 or preferably a P3/650. Do those machines have the
exact same keyboard as the 600? How are they for heat?
Thanks,
Alan
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