How to Shop for a Core Duo Laptop, Part 3

Okay, time to wrap up...

What have we learned?

We’ve learned that, in terms of user satisfaction, Apple and Lenovo are tops and Toshiba is average. Everybody else (Dell, HP, Sony, etc.) is either average or crap.

We’ve learned that Dell is not to be trusted. A price differential of $800 is highly suspect.

We’ve learned that Lenovo is very, very expensive and we do not have any idea why this is so.

We’ve learned that Toshiba is my favourite laptop brand because I am such a smart consumer.

Now let’s move on to our final judgment: The Mercedes of Core Duo Laptops...

Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (200772U)
2.0GHz Intel Core Duo
15” display 1400x1050
ATI Radeon X1400 w/128MB
1GB memory
100GB hard drive
DVD burner (unknown speed)
1.2” high
5.4 lbs
WinXP Pro
Fingerprint reader, 3 USB 2.0, DVI out, ExpressCard, Bluetooth
$3,419

(See this review of the ThinkPad.)


Toshiba Tecra A7 (PTA71C-LL201E)
1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
15.4” Widescreen display 1280x800
ATI Radeon X1400 w/128MB
512MB memory
100GB hard drive
DVD burner 8X
1.4” high
6.0 lbs
WinXP Pro
Fingerprint reader, 4 USB 2.0, FireWire, RGB, S-video, 5-in-1 card reader
$2,299

Frankly, I prefer Widescreen and that ALONE favours the Toshiba. But the Toshiba is also $1,120 cheaper!!! Plus, the 4 USB ports and the card reader are nice.

The ThinkPad has double the memory, is marginally faster (9%) and is a little more portable. There is reason to believe that the ThinkPad has the highest quality construction and durability, thereby justifying its high price.


An honourable mention goes to:

Apple MacBook Pro
2.0GHz Intel Core Duo
1GB memory
100GB hard drive
DVD burner 8X
15.4” Widescreen display 1440x900
ATI Radeon X1600 w/256MB
1” high
5.6 lbs
OS X
2 USB 2.0, FireWire, DVI out, ExpressCard, Bluetooth
$2,899

If you don’t need Windows, the MacBook Pro is $500 cheaper than the ThinkPad and the specs are similar. Too bad the Apple doesn’t have a fingerprint reader, though.


So, what’s your pick for the Mercedes of Core Duo Laptops?