Review: Lenovo vs HP Notebook

The Lenovo ThinkPad T43 and HP Compaq nc6230 are very similar in most aspects. They both offer sexy looks, great performance and trouble-free portability. A closer look reveals a slight difference which is worth noting for your next notebook purchase.

Both the HP and Lenovo have created a notebook with a smooth look and feel. The HP Compaq nc6230 is designed with a strong magnesium alloy and the ThinkPad T43 is also strong using titanium composite to fortify the cover with steel hinges which prevents flexing. These tough exteriors give both laptops durability, which makes them more portable and easy to manage.

Their weight slightly differs with the nc6230 weighing in at just 2.5 kilos, which is just 400g less than the T43 of 2.9 kilos. Both are light and easy to carry in your briefcase, as well as give you plenty of room to spare. Their screen sizes are both 35.8cm and their resolutions are both an impressive 1400 x 1050, which give excellent viewing even at night.

A closer look at speed reveals that the HP Compaq nc6230 is slightly faster with its Pentium M 760 (2.0 GHZ) and ATI Mobility Radeon X300, compared with the HP ThinkPad T43 which has a Pentium M 750 (1.86 GHz), DDR2 533 memory and PCI Express graphics. On the surface, the ThinkPad T43 appears to be a poorer performer; however, the enhanced graphics should result in a much closer speed comparison overall.

Battery running time is probably the most significant difference. The T43 comes with an extended battery (9 cell) and has a running time of 5 hours, which is significantly longer than the HP nc6230’s running time of 4 hours. This difference puts the Lenovo in the lead.

The HP Compaq nc6230 has three USB ports. It offers an SD slot and quick launch buttons for things like presentations and Web and applications. The Lenovo ThinkPad T43 has a replaceable optical drive and Express Card slot, however, it lacks devices that can take advantage of these features. It only comes with two USB ports, an S-Video port and a VGA port and there is no memory card reader.

Both these Lenovo and HP notebooks come with a smart-card reader and Trusted Platform Module, which is a built-in chip on the motherboard that protects your passwords and authenticates the user at the hardware level. This is a great security feature.

All in all, both the HP Compaq nc6230 and the Lenovo ThinkPad T43 provide you with many useful features. Closer scrutiny puts them in a very similar light and ironing out their differences can prove quite tricky. Ultimately, if you want your computer to last the distance without having to plug it in then the Lenovo ThinkPad T43 is the winner.

Lenovo ThinkPad T43 vs HP Compac nc6230: Specs

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