Which laptop to choose: Lenovo ThinkPad R60, Lenovo 3000 N100 orHP Compaq Business Notebook nx9420?

For my work, I'm looking for a laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo
processor. It will be used mainly as a mobile replacement of a desktop
system for scientific research (image processing, programming,...). So
it's not intended to be used for gaming. (I also want to be able to use
the laptop for office and multimedia applications (playing DVD and other
videos, pictures,...) at home, but that is not the primary task.)

I narrowed down my search to only three candidates. But now I don't know
which one too choose. (The prices are almost the same.)

Lenovo ThinkPad R60
- Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83 GHz
- 15" TFT 1400 x 1050 (SXGA+)
- ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 128 MB

I read everywhere that the ThinkPad line has a very good reputation and
a very solid construction. That could be important because the laptop
has to travel a lot between home and work (by bike and train). But the
other features are less compared to the next two.

Lenovo 3000 N100
- Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83 GHz
- 15.4" TFT 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+)
- NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 TurboCache 128 MB

This is a very similar system to the ThinkPad, but does not seem to have
the same construction advantage (or am I wrong here?). On the other side
it has an nVidia card (which is slightly lower rated, but I'm a little
bit biased towards nVidia, because all my current systems are nVidia and
because of the better linux support) and a widescreen TFT.

HP Compaq Business Notebook nx9420
- Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2 GHz
- 17" TFT 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+)
- ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 256 MB

This one also looks interesting (fastest processor and fastest graphics
of the three), but has an ATI card. I'm not so sure about the 17" TFT.
I've never worked with a laptop before, but I can imagine the 17" screen
and the numeric keypad are nice to have for daily work. But its larger
size makes transportation more difficult I guess.

Jef Driesen wrote:
> For my work, I'm looking for a laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo
> processor. It will be used mainly as a mobile replacement of a desktop
> system for scientific research (image processing, programming,...). So
> it's not intended to be used for gaming. (I also want to be able to use
> the laptop for office and multimedia applications (playing DVD and other
> videos, pictures,...) at home, but that is not the primary task.)
>
> I narrowed down my search to only three candidates. But now I don't know
> which one too choose. (The prices are almost the same.)
>
> Lenovo ThinkPad R60
> - Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83 GHz
> - 15" TFT 1400 x 1050 (SXGA+)
> - ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 128 MB
>
> I read everywhere that the ThinkPad line has a very good reputation and
> a very solid construction. That could be important because the laptop
> has to travel a lot between home and work (by bike and train). But the
> other features are less compared to the next two.
>
> Lenovo 3000 N100
> - Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83 GHz
> - 15.4" TFT 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+)
> - NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 TurboCache 128 MB
>
> This is a very similar system to the ThinkPad, but does not seem to have
> the same construction advantage (or am I wrong here?). On the other side
> it has an nVidia card (which is slightly lower rated, but I'm a little
> bit biased towards nVidia, because all my current systems are nVidia and
> because of the better linux support) and a widescreen TFT.
>
> HP Compaq Business Notebook nx9420
> - Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 2 GHz
> - 17" TFT 1680 x 1050 (WSXGA+)
> - ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 256 MB
>
> This one also looks interesting (fastest processor and fastest graphics
> of the three), but has an ATI card. I'm not so sure about the 17" TFT.
> I've never worked with a laptop before, but I can imagine the 17" screen
> and the numeric keypad are nice to have for daily work. But its larger
> size makes transportation more difficult I guess.

Why not a laptop for work, and a desktop for home ? And an external disk
for syncing between home and work. If you drop the disk on the ground,
there would be less economic damage, than if a whole laptop was
dropped (transport by bike). (You read too many sad stories here, of
when people drop a laptop and bust the screen.)

Western Digital Passport WDXMS600TN 60GB 5400 RPM USB 2.0 External $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136057

By avoiding the transport issue, you can get the larger screen. Make
sure your desk drawer is big enough to lock it up :-)

Paul