Buy Lenovo T61p vs. W500 vs. T500 ??

[zsolpyW]

Hello

I am a faithful fan of Thinkpads. Historically I had: T40, T43, T43P, ...... X60s came time for another change.

My expectations:

- Thinkpad
- 15 "
- Price up to 250 USD
- Possibly good quality matrix high resolution (at T43p I had Flexiview IPS type, a veritable wonder )

I would ask for support and help in choosing.

For example I found : T61p, W500 and T500:

http://allegro.pl/lenovo-t61-t61p-15-4- ... 97007.html
http://allegro.pl/laptop-ibm-t500-2-4-4 ... 77288.html

http://allegro.pl/lenovo-w500-p9600-fir ... 19222.html

As the technique of leksza left me behind, please opinions, which model is better and worth a purchase?


T61 in top version -p, how does this relate to these two other exemplary models?

I would ask even a comparison of these models in terms of graphics (for better games)

Thanks in advance

[theterminator93]

The T61p comes with either an nVidia NVS140 or FX570m - both were "nVidia defect" prone chips unless you find a system manufactured 08/08 or later.

The T500 comes with either an Intel GM45 or ATi Mobility Radeon HD 3650. Only the ATi holds a candle to FX570m in terms of performance, and you will have no GPU defect to worry about.

The W500 comes with the same graphics options as the T500 but also has the higher end ATi FireGL V5700 as an option which has double the VRAM and specialized drivers to be certified in many autoCAD type applications.

In terms of graphics performance, from slowest fastest, they rank roughly as follows:

Intel GM45. 70 performance marks.
nVidia NVS140m. 94 performance marks.
nVidia FX570m. 192 performance marks.
ATi HD3650 221 performance marks.
ATi V5700 249 performance marks.

As you can see the GM45 and NVS140m are less than half as powerful as any of the higher-end ATi or nVidia offerings. Due to the likeliness you'll find a defective chip I'd recommend a T/W500.

The HD3650 and V5700 use the same graphics core but the V5700 has twice the VRAM and a slightly different driver for certified CAD applications.

The T500 or W500 with either ATi GPU would be my recommendation. They are old enough that I don't think you'll have difficulty locating one with either of these GPUs in your price range. You can always upgrade the CPU/HDD/RAM/screen later if need be, but you're stuck with whatever GPU your system comes with unless you decide on a new motherboard. The WUXGA screens aren't IPS but they are quite good for being TN, if I may say so. In addition they natively support the 1066 MHz FSB CPUs which allows you to upgrade to the most extreme Core 2 CPUs available.

Happy hunting.

[ajkula66]

Honestly, all of these machines are a pretty poor choice for gaming. A T61p with FX570M is likely the best pick in this respect, but the nVidia-related concerns on pre-08/08 systems remain valid, especially if one is going to game on daily basis.

The best screen that one can install in any of these IMO is the Sharp WUXGA LCD that was originally found in Dells from that era. I have one in my T500 and it's arguably the finest TN panel that I've ever come across. While not a FlexView, it's a pretty remarkable panel in its own right.

My $0.02 only...

Happy shopping.

[Medessec]

I would personally recommend a W500. Although a 15.4" T61p wide would be an awesome choice, I'd rather you buy one from here instead of ebay to ensure you get the right kind of one (there's a lot that can go wrong with buying a proper T61) and they tend to go for nearly as much as W500s, possibly even more... because of how sought after and how nice they are. Because of all these factors that play into buying a T61... it's definitely easier and cheaper to just buy a decent looking W500.

As long as you buy a T500 or W500 with ATI graphics, and it's a decent looking machine that works well, it'll be a nice workstation for anyone on a budget. Now, you mention gaming... what sort of gaming? 2008-2009 era 3D gaming will work with medium to high settings, but don't expect a W500 to run anything modern.

[zsolpyW]

Many thanks for your support. Now I'm more clearly in my head
I decided on the W500, ATI V5700 249.

Please have information, what is the best processor i can replace ?

[theterminator93]

The X9000 is the fastest (3.06 GHz) mobile Core 2 Duo manufactured that you can upgrade the W500 to. I am not sure on quad core compatibility out-of-box; I know it has been done but I am not sure on specifics (BIOS mods needed etc.).

[600X]

The Quad Core mod is only possible on the T61 platform, not the T500.

[ajkula66]

The X9000 is the fastest (3.06 GHz) mobile Core 2 Duo manufactured that you can upgrade the W500 to.

Nope. That would be X9100, given the 1066MHz platform.

[theterminator93]

Yep, I only realized my error after the site went down, naturally.

[zsolpyW]

Finally I bouht W510

INTEL CORE i7-620M (2,66 GHz)
8 GB DDR 3 RAM
15,6 FULL HD 1920 X 1080
NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M - 1 GB

I'm almost happy, but I have a few questions.

I bought version i7-620M by mistake, instead of i7-Q720

What is the difference between them ?

Benchmark: https://cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cm ... &cmp[]=851
But here is no difference: http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-7 ... re-i7-620M

I'm thinking of changing CPU on Intel Core i7 Q 820 https://cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=In ... GHz&id=853

I found some offers, for example : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intel-Core-i7 ... Sw5ZBWMnm7

But there is difference in description, i7 QM 820

Are these processors Core i7 Q 820 and Core i7 QM 820 different ?
There is not in benchmark. net Core i7 QM 820 one.

thx

[theterminator93]

The i7-620M has a much higher base frequency of 2.66 GHz, with a max. turbo of 3.33 GHz. It is a dual core, hyper-threaded chip with four processing threads. It will give good performance on applications that are not optimized for parallelism or multi-threading. It has a TDP of 35W.

The i7-720QM has a relatively slow base clock of only 1.6 GHz with a max. turbo of 2.8 GHz. It is a quad core, hyper threaded chip with eight processing threads. It will not perform as well with single-threaded applications as the i7-620M, but it will be more responsive with many processor-intensive applications running simultaneously or with a single application that takes advantage of parallel execution. It has a TDP of 45W.

When you look at either of them in comparison, you need to consider whether you prefer faster single threaded performance with only two cores - or more cores with slower single threaded performance.

Personally, given a choice between the two, I'd take the i7-620M over the i7-720QM. Not everyone has the same needs as I do though, so not everyone will share my opinion...

[zsolpyW]

Thanks for your reply.

Does the i7-720QM work from 1.6 GHz to 2.8 GHz depend on load , but i7-620M work from 2.66 GHz, to 3.33 GHz ?
Is it the speed-step technology ? So i7-720QM should by coolder when work in low load.

Could you even compare the Core i7 Q 820 ??

And are any differences between Core i7 Q 820 and Core i7 QM 820 or its a one processor ?

[theterminator93]

How the processor overlocks itself is based on a combination of how hot it's running/how much power it's using and the load.

i7-820QM is slightly faster than the 720QM - a boost of 133 MHz in base frequency (from 1.6 to 1.73) and a max. turbo 266 MHz over the 720 (from 2.8 to 3.06). Otherwise the specs are the same.

[zsolpyW]

So what about Core i7 Q 820 and Core i7 QM 820 ? Are they two different CPU's or not ?

Which one is better for 3D graphics or games, i7 Q 820 or i7-620M ??

[theterminator93]

Sorry, I misunderstood. It is a different name for the same processor. The official Intel designation is i7-820QM.

Personally I'd take the dual core i7-620M over the i7-820QM for gaming - but that's because the games I play are not optimized for parallel execution. I suspect the number of newer games you'll be able to play on a W510 are somewhat limited (at least in terms of playable with decent quality settings while getting good framerates) - so I'd assume the majority of the gaming will be older titles anyway - in which case a higher single core frequency will be more beneficial to you than more cores at a lower frequency.

It really all depends how the programs you're running are optimized.

[QWERTY Andreas]

So what about Core i7 Q 820 and Core i7 QM 820 ? Are they two different CPU's or not ?

Which one is better for 3D graphics or games, i7 Q 820 or i7-620M ??

I would say 820QM. Games nowadays are optimized for quadcores, and most of those which aren't - the processor won't be the bottleneck anyway

[zsolpyW]

ThankYou all for the answers.
I invite you here now: http://www.forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopi ... 8&t=119460