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IBM has taken the wraps off two new ThinkPad mobile workstations that push the limits of Intel's Pentium M processor and ATI Technologies' graphics cards, IBM says.

The new ThinkPad R50p and T41p raise the performance ceiling of IBM's notebook product lines, says Bill Iori, IBM's worldwide ThinkPad product manager. The models, available now, are built on the same chassis as the other R series and T series notebooks, but offer a number of features designed to improve the experience of mobile professionals who work in demanding environments, he says.

Notebook Specs

The new notebooks use ATI's Mobility FireGL T2 graphics card, which comes with 128MB of video memory. When combined with the 1600-by-1200 UXGA display on the R50p or the 1400-by-1050 SXGA+ display on the T41p, users will be able to create three-dimensional product blueprints or show potential customers detailed project plans, Iori says.

The R50p comes with a 1.7-GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of 333-MHz PC2700 DDR SDRAM, a 60GB hard drive, and a CD-RW/DVD-RW drive for a starting price of $3799. The T41p comes with the same specifications except for its CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive and has a starting price of $3449.

The R50p weighs 7.1 pounds with an optical drive, while the T41p weighs 5.4 pounds with the optical drive. Both models come with the Bluetooth wireless networking standard built in. Either Intel's 802.11b Pro/Wireless 2100 chip or a multiband 802.11b/802.11a/802.11g chip is available on certain models.

Target Markets

IBM is targeting the two notebooks at engineers, industrial product developers, and other workers who need a combination of high performance and mobility in a rugged package, Iori says. These workers also need access to specialized software such as CAD/CAM applications that are generally certified only for high performance machines, he adds.

IBM has certified several of those applications for the T40p, and is working with industrial software developers to bring them to the T41p and R50p, Iori says.

Other PC companies have released high-end notebooks that come with Intel's latest mobile processor and that cater to the scientific and design communities. Hewlett-Packard sells the Compaq Nw8000 notebook for a base price of $2999 with a 1.6-GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of PC2700 DDR SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, and no wireless chip. That model also uses ATI's Mobility Fire GL T2 graphics card with 128MB of video memory and comes with a 15-inch SXGA+ display.

Dell's Precision M60 mobile workstation comes with a 1.4-GHz Pentium M processor, 256MB of DDR SDRAM, a 40GB hard drive, Intel's Pro/Wireless 2100 chip, and a CD-ROM drive for a base price of $2668. It uses NVidia's Quadro FX Go700 graphics card with 128MB of video memory, and comes with a wide-screen 15.4-inch SXGA+ display.