Help! Need new Thinkpad

[Jim Wilke]

I have been a loyal IBM/Lenovo customer for years. Have had numerous units and still have a T-20, T-41 and a couple of T61s but the time has come.....

Time for me to buy a new one and I need some help.

The T-61 I am using now has the 15.4" screen and an excellent keyboard, would like to keep those features. Size is not a huge issue although lighter is always better.

What do I do with it?

1. I live in Alaska so I take a lot of long flights, watch a lot of movies. A big bright widescreen is a must.

2. I do some writing via Dragon Voice Recognition so need some power and memory. 500GB HD is probably enough.

3. I still use a DVD writer/drive from time to time, doesn't need to be Blu-Ray.

4. Solid 'classic' IBM-style keyboard is a must with pointy stick. I was at the Apple Store yesterday setting up an iPad for an employee and they had me work with a coool new MacBook Air. Nice machine, I suppose, but certainly not for me. Didn't like the keyboard or the layout and the touchpad is a sad joke.

5. Needs to be reasonably tough - I travel and throw it in the bag, in and out of overheads and cabs.

6. Strong wi-fi radio for hotels.

7. Don't neccesarily need Win 8, 7 is fine.

Cost is not a huge factor. I can buy new if that's what is best or used if that's the preferred alternative.

T530? W530? Or something else?

What's a better machine than my old T61 6460 66U?

[Neil]

Welcome to the forum, Jim.

From your description of what you want, and what you do with your computer, it seems to me the T61 you currently have ticks all your boxes.

What is lacking about the T61 that has sent you off looking for a new(er) machine?

I don't have any personal experience with anything newer than a T61...so can't really offer any valid recommendations. But, just curious about what you need/want that the T61 doesn't have.

[RealBlackStuff]

T61 (6460-66U)
T7300(2GHz), 1GB RAM, 160GB 5400rpm HD, 15.4in 1680x1050 LCD, 128MB nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ether, UltraNav, Sec Chip, FPR, Turbo Mem, 6c Li-Ion, WinVista Business
Do a few upgrades:
- T9300 CPU
- 3-4GB RAM (up to 8GB with a 64-bit OS)
- 256GB SSD
- keep Vista with all Service packs (disable UAC), or get Windows 7
- apply Middleton's BIOS to get SATA II speed
and keep the T61.

[Latios]

If you're bent on getting something new and really want the nice old keyboard, I think the T510 or T520 would work out beautifully and be on an affordable side of the playing field now. The only challenge there is hunting down one with a HD+ or above display and Intel WiFi card

[wkw]

The T430/T530 do not have the classic IBM keyboard, but a new one. Might want to stay away from that in such a case

[Jim Wilke]

That's the issue with buying most Lenovos, you never see one until it comes out of the box and its yours.

I want a faster, lighter machine - who doesn't? - with a brighter display. Better battery life wouldn't hurt, either. Brand new Lenovo 9 cells were $220 the last time I checked so I buy the copies off of eBay which likely aren't as good. End up carrying 2 or 3 spares on long flights.

I suppose a hot-rodded T-61 is probably what I need but I am afraid to invest too much time and money into a 6 year old machine with a questionable motherboard.

[TTY]

I want a faster, lighter machine - who doesn't? - with a brighter display. Better battery life wouldn't hurt, either. Brand new Lenovo 9 cells were $220 the last time I checked...

Your reasons for wanting a new notebook are comprehensible, but battery cost shouldn't have to be one of them. New Lenovo 9 cell batteries for your notebook are USD 88,00 + shipping at Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834995033

[Radioguy]

- 256GB SSD

Glad to see you agree!

[Tim-ANC]

Jim,

I'm like you. Loved my T60 for travel then upgraded to the T500. Was even better. In fact when working from home I still use my T60 with an extended monitor and link it to my T500 using mouse without borders. Effectively have 4 screens. Now my kids want the T60 so I'm looking to buy too. Thinking T530 with SSD but concerned about wkw's comment about the key board.

[hellosailor]

I'm in a similar boat as the OP. I could fix my T61P (hinge broke) but it would need some $300 in parts to catch up with everything and for that money, even the cheapest new i3 notebooks can run rings around it.

Problem being, it doesn't seem like anyone makes real keyboards on laptops any more. Does a T5xx have the new chiclet keyboard like everything else?

Instead of screwing around with a processor and BIOS upgrade (not alien territory to me, but I just don't want to start messing around) I'd just keep the old computer happy if that's the only way to get/keep a real keyboard.

--Red

[ZaZ]

You could pick up a T520. That'll get you the old style keyboard and Ivy Bridge isn't a huge performance leap over Sandy Bridge so you won't miss much.

[hellosailor]

Thanks, Zaz. Apparently those are also discontinued, so I'll have to chase around the web trying to find one with the hires screen and any other specs I'm interested in. Can't just "order" one anymore.

Lenovo confirms that they have switched all current production to the chiclet keyboards. I guess this is Dvorak's Revenge for the world insisting on sticking with werty keyboards.

[ZaZ]

If you don't mind the one year warranty, the outlet is an option too.

[hellosailor]

Zaz, I posted a message asking about that last night. If I buy a new Lenovo with a one-year warranty, I can buy an extension for it. But one from the outlet, in theory an identical machine covered with an identical warranty, and I can't buy the extension.

Which proves the Chinese suffer from the same corporate idiocy as the US. Or, someone is very much intentionally punishing customers who dare to bottomfeed from the outlet instead of paying full retail.

It just makes no business sense.

Not to mention, I've used waranty service more than once on eery laptop I've owned, so I know the lack of warranty will probably raise my real price by $500 over the first three years.

[JaneL]

If I buy a new Lenovo with a one-year warranty, I can buy an extension for it. But one from the outlet, in theory an identical machine covered with an identical warranty, and I can't buy the extension.

I don't think you could do that when the logo on the outside read "IBM" either.

[hellosailor]

Dunno, Janet. But consider if you will, IBM dumped their computer sales business, dspite it being a business that Lenovo proved could be highly profitable. IBM's retail business expertise, or sense, were never praised. And their service/repair operations were never on the same level as DEC. Who, also, couldn't figur eout how to market their way out of a paper bag. (They sat on the original PC, the DEC Rainbow, for years without putting it on the market because "No one would want their own computer".)

Well, what is, is. Maybe Lenovo could do like BMW does, you know, offer an overseas pickup option? You go to China, tour the plant, pick up your computer and then put some miles on it, bringing it home "used" to avoid some tariffs? <VBG>

[underclocker]

Back to the OPs request. I vote for a T520 with an HD+ LCD, which happens to be my current home machine. It has the last of the non-chiclet keyboards, it's extremely fast with any SSD, it runs cool, it's solid and it uses the 65w or 90w AC adapters (dependent on config), unlike the W520. And, there are multiple battery options, including 9 cell plus 9 cell slice for up to 12 hours runtime.

They can still be found new and the warranty can be upgraded to 5 years.

[hellosailor]

"with an HD+ LCD,"
I'm not sure what "HD+" means but a fast look around for merchants with leftover stock shows 1336 resolution not 1920, so those machines have fully 1/3 less resolution, or the W520's and W530's have 50% more resolution, depending on which way you count.
The power supply is a mixed issue, the W5xx machines are supposed to run on the smaller power supplies but just throttle back the cpu if necessary. Necessary will depend on how bright the screen is, how charged the battery is, how intensive the tasks it is running are.
If the T520's all have the lower resolution screen--they'd be out of the running for me. Finding a 520 with a 3rd gen cpu in it, no easy task either.<G> Good thing I started asking questions here, the photos of the w530 look like old-style keyboards. I could have easily oopsied on that.

[Neil]

Here are the T520 display options:

15.6" TFT display with 1366x768 (HD)
15.6" TFT display with 1600x900 (HD+)
15.6" TFT display with 1920x1080 (FHD)

[hellosailor]

Thanks for the translation, Neil. Back when mine was new, none of those acronyms were used. WXGA, UWXGA, other much more sensible ones were the craze back then. (Sure.<G>)

[underclocker]

Finding a T520 with a 3rd gen cpu in it, no easy task either.

Were there any? I thought the 3rd gens are only in the T530 models?

[hellosailor]

I don't know if they were made, or if they exist. It reflects very badly on ecommerce programming, when you try to give it specifics in a search string, and pretty much everyone's web site generates really irrelevant hits, i.e. searching for "lenovo t520" will show two computers plus fifty accessories, which have nothing to do with "t520".

Right now I'm probably going to buy a stripped down used T61P, swap my hard drive over, and just use the "conveniently pre-assembled repair parts" in that form. Then take my time to try playing with the new keyboards while trying to find some of the last machines with the real ones, and see what's up. "Make haste slowly" as they say. And whatever the used machine costs me, I know I can probably get back next month, if I don't decide to keep it as a spare.

[pianowizard]

Right now I'm probably going to buy a stripped down used T61P

You seem to like your 15.4" 1920x1200. The last Thinkpads with such a screen were the T500 and W500, successors to the T61 and 61p respectively. If you don't mind paying a little more, upgrading to a T500/W500 would be better than getting yet another T61p. However, I vaguely recall that some T500/W500's had bad keyboards, although they can be replaced with keyboards from the T61/61p.

[hellosailor]

PW, that's what I had planned to do. But this is the wrong time for me to start loading a new computer, which typically will take two days for my trasnfers & installs, even if it doesn't want four hours to download updates. I installed Win7 to a computer two months ago, i took almost 24 hours on broadband to get all the OS and hardware updates that it wanted, then over the next two days kept finding more. And just last week did an XP install on an old system, and that also took over 13 hours just to download XP upgrades post-SP3. (It was an SP3 slipstream install.)
So a new computer? No, I have other things to do, and now year-end stuff on top of the list. Where with another T61P I can just move the hard drive over and worry about scrounging a new computer in a couple of weeks, if there's any stock left. Or, learning to use a FisherPrice keyboard on a real new one.
Maybe I can get a pair of lightweight gloves with acceleration sensors in each fingertip, and just use an "air keyboard" over the machine without ever touching it. Oooh, wait, that would solve the keyboar problem on the iPad and let them make all the computers flatter and cheaper too. Sorry, gotta run to the Patent Office now.<VBG>