here is a quick review of my fiancee's recently acquired IBM R50e + a comparo with my Compaq V2000
Specs
The R50e is a Pentium M 715 (Dothan with 2 MB L2 cache) running at 1.5 Ghz with 256 (soon to be upgradedto 768)MB pc3200 ram, 40 gb hdd, IEG2, dvd combo, 802.11b/g notebook
Performance:
The v2000 is a P-M 725 running at 1.6 gig with 768 MB Ram(256 originally)
Frankly, not much of a difference given almost exactly similar configs.....
The IBM with its 5400 rpm hdd feels slightly snapppier against the 4200 rpm HDD on the Compaq when we have a few windows open..
With sveral open apps, the Compaq obviously feels faster due to the extrs installed memory
Benchmarks
Super Pi scores were identical with 54 secs vs 51 secs ( Ibm & Compaq respectively)perhaps attributable to the 100 mhz clock difference and the extra RAM
Since both notebooks have the integrated Intel extreme graphics 2 chipset, neiither qualifies as a gamin machine though both should work fine for casual gamers...I tried only NFS-UG2 on the IBM which plays smooth ~20-25 fps (measured using FRAPS) (whic is enough for a racing game BTW unlike FPSs which ned ~60 or at least 30+).....The original UT runs nmore than fine, UT 2003 runs, but is playable only at low settings ...No gaming machine this...don't rem the fps on ut 2k3...if any1 wants to know, plz PM me, and i'';; retest and let you know
Due to the nearly identical specs, I ran the following benchies only on the R50e
PCmark 2002: (Sorry, I do't have the new versions): 5260 points
Video Encoding: Encoding a Raw DV avi file to DivX 5.2.1 codec avi 91200mbps) using winAVI video converter gave ~45 fps
Battery life
With wi-fi on and normal usage (Surfing, word processing, image viewing etc, the IBM lasted a little less than 4 hours while the compaq could manage a little more than 3 .....
Build Quality:
No comparisons here, the IBM wins hands down, the titanium reinforced casing feels like it was built to befit a rugged workhorse...the Compaq feels much flimsier in comparison....
Looks and wow factor:
No comparison here either...the Compaq V2000 wins by much more than a slim margin.....The black and silver matte finish, the widescreen and the slim form factor make it a headturner...The IBM looks boring and staid in comparison...to make matters worse, IBM perhaps chose the worst possible colors for the ports ....A purple LPT port jutting from a balck body...ugh!
ergonomics : Ahem, very subhjective thing this one.....the tactile feel of the keyboard is excellent on both.....The trackball (IBM) vs touchpad (Compaq) topic is a debatable one.....
Screen Quality : The IBM has a standard 15" LCD at 1024x768 resolution...the Compaq has a 1280x768 14" widescreen LCD....the clarity of both the screens is excellent though I personlly prefer the widescreen on the compaq....
Bells & Wistles:
IBM: The IBM has some nice touches like a small LED light to illuminate the keyboard while working at night)
Compaq: The Built in media card reader often comes of use (Alas, no CFcard support though), indpendent key to toggle the wireless to save battery life
Connectivity features:
IBM- The standard 802.11 b/g, 2 USB, 1 parallel, 2 PCMCIA, 1 VGA out
Compaq: 802.11 b/g, 3 USB, 1 PCMCIA, 1 firewire, S video out/VGA, media card reader
Other notables:
The IBM has a special accelerometer device which is supposed to sense the sudden acceleration in case of a drop and automatically park the HDD head to minimize possiblities of damage to the data/disc...nifty feature for a laptop if you were to ask me...
The compaq comes with integrated JBL pro speakers which have incredible good sound for a notebook.....way much better than any other notebook speaker that i've seen....
The IBM tips the scales at 2.7 kgs
compared to 2.5 for the compaq....
In the end, if you were to ask me to my opinion in two lines:
The IBM is like a Humvee, rugged and dependable....The compaq is like a Toyota Sera, pretty to look at and good for showing off
I would lug the thinkpad along when I go backpacking without a thought....Yet I'd love to tote the V2000 when going in for a meeting
PS: the compaw was bought for 1250 $ 6 months back...the IBM was 40.25K picked in Chennai...though it doesn't make sense to compare 6 mnth old prices, but it's gladdening to note that as the India h/w market gets more mature, the prices of notebook (as wel as other devices) seem to be converging with US prices....
Pics here:
V2000 with r50e:
Size comparo:
With lids closed:
The R50e Keyboard:
The V2000 Keyboard:
Specs
The R50e is a Pentium M 715 (Dothan with 2 MB L2 cache) running at 1.5 Ghz with 256 (soon to be upgradedto 768)MB pc3200 ram, 40 gb hdd, IEG2, dvd combo, 802.11b/g notebook
Performance:
The v2000 is a P-M 725 running at 1.6 gig with 768 MB Ram(256 originally)
Frankly, not much of a difference given almost exactly similar configs.....
The IBM with its 5400 rpm hdd feels slightly snapppier against the 4200 rpm HDD on the Compaq when we have a few windows open..
With sveral open apps, the Compaq obviously feels faster due to the extrs installed memory
Benchmarks
Super Pi scores were identical with 54 secs vs 51 secs ( Ibm & Compaq respectively)perhaps attributable to the 100 mhz clock difference and the extra RAM
Since both notebooks have the integrated Intel extreme graphics 2 chipset, neiither qualifies as a gamin machine though both should work fine for casual gamers...I tried only NFS-UG2 on the IBM which plays smooth ~20-25 fps (measured using FRAPS) (whic is enough for a racing game BTW unlike FPSs which ned ~60 or at least 30+).....The original UT runs nmore than fine, UT 2003 runs, but is playable only at low settings ...No gaming machine this...don't rem the fps on ut 2k3...if any1 wants to know, plz PM me, and i'';; retest and let you know
Due to the nearly identical specs, I ran the following benchies only on the R50e
PCmark 2002: (Sorry, I do't have the new versions): 5260 points
Video Encoding: Encoding a Raw DV avi file to DivX 5.2.1 codec avi 91200mbps) using winAVI video converter gave ~45 fps
Battery life
With wi-fi on and normal usage (Surfing, word processing, image viewing etc, the IBM lasted a little less than 4 hours while the compaq could manage a little more than 3 .....
Build Quality:
No comparisons here, the IBM wins hands down, the titanium reinforced casing feels like it was built to befit a rugged workhorse...the Compaq feels much flimsier in comparison....
Looks and wow factor:
No comparison here either...the Compaq V2000 wins by much more than a slim margin.....The black and silver matte finish, the widescreen and the slim form factor make it a headturner...The IBM looks boring and staid in comparison...to make matters worse, IBM perhaps chose the worst possible colors for the ports ....A purple LPT port jutting from a balck body...ugh!
ergonomics : Ahem, very subhjective thing this one.....the tactile feel of the keyboard is excellent on both.....The trackball (IBM) vs touchpad (Compaq) topic is a debatable one.....
Screen Quality : The IBM has a standard 15" LCD at 1024x768 resolution...the Compaq has a 1280x768 14" widescreen LCD....the clarity of both the screens is excellent though I personlly prefer the widescreen on the compaq....
Bells & Wistles:
IBM: The IBM has some nice touches like a small LED light to illuminate the keyboard while working at night)
Compaq: The Built in media card reader often comes of use (Alas, no CFcard support though), indpendent key to toggle the wireless to save battery life
Connectivity features:
IBM- The standard 802.11 b/g, 2 USB, 1 parallel, 2 PCMCIA, 1 VGA out
Compaq: 802.11 b/g, 3 USB, 1 PCMCIA, 1 firewire, S video out/VGA, media card reader
Other notables:
The IBM has a special accelerometer device which is supposed to sense the sudden acceleration in case of a drop and automatically park the HDD head to minimize possiblities of damage to the data/disc...nifty feature for a laptop if you were to ask me...
The compaq comes with integrated JBL pro speakers which have incredible good sound for a notebook.....way much better than any other notebook speaker that i've seen....
The IBM tips the scales at 2.7 kgs
compared to 2.5 for the compaq....
In the end, if you were to ask me to my opinion in two lines:
The IBM is like a Humvee, rugged and dependable....The compaq is like a Toyota Sera, pretty to look at and good for showing off
I would lug the thinkpad along when I go backpacking without a thought....Yet I'd love to tote the V2000 when going in for a meeting
PS: the compaw was bought for 1250 $ 6 months back...the IBM was 40.25K picked in Chennai...though it doesn't make sense to compare 6 mnth old prices, but it's gladdening to note that as the India h/w market gets more mature, the prices of notebook (as wel as other devices) seem to be converging with US prices....
Pics here:
V2000 with r50e:
Size comparo:
With lids closed:
The R50e Keyboard:
The V2000 Keyboard:
