Sale ending tomorrow...opinions needed!

[hayob]

Hi all, quick question...I'll be needing a laptop for when I go back to school in the Fall, and I currently love my work-issued T43. The 25% off everything sale ending tomorrow is a screamin' deal.

I'd certainly like to get the best system (within a reasonable price, say under $3K) for when school starts. My question is, should I jump on board this sale for a great T61 (fully loaded for approx. $2.3K), or would it be best to wait for the new T to appear?

Any and all comments are greatly appreciated!

[hart22]

In my experience to get the best bang for your buck buy a new computer (ThinkPad or otherwise) as late as possible. If you don't need the machine, wait, because newer technology will always be pushing down the prices of existing components, just as the nature of the industry as a whole pushes down prices of all computers. Everyone remembers a few years ago when $2.5-3k was the typical price of a good laptop, and now you can easily get a good one for $1.5k.

The new T is likely going to appear when the Montevina (Centrino v2) platform debuts, which will be in June (Google Montevina or Centrino 2 for sources). Even given 2-3 months between order and arrival date you would have that by Sept when school starts.

I've often heard this advice on this forum and I will repeat it: buy now if you need the machine, otherwise wait. There is no point waiting for the latest greatest technology if you have a need now because new technology is constantly appearing, but from what you're describing you don't have an immediate need for a new machine. Centrino v2 promises to be a significant upgrade, unlike for example Penryn which was simply an evolutionary step in processor technology.

As far as Lenovo deals go, whereas it is true that the current 25% off sale is good, Lenovo always has a sale of some kind, 365 days a year. Chances are you would be best served waiting, as you'd probably be able to get a more sophisticated machine at a likewise reasonable price.

[RealBlackStuff]

From what I read on the Lenovo Forums, the T61 ain't all that great.
Get another T4x or a T60.

My $0.02

[pianowizard]

Order through eCoupons (scroll up for the link) to save an additional 4%.

I'll be needing a laptop for when I go back to school in the Fall

So you still have 5 months before school starts. There will be at least two more huge sales during that time period.

[underclocker]

Two points...

1) There will always be another sale.

2) The price of computers only goes down while performance goes up (trend since 1981 anyway). In other words, you always get more for your money as time goes by.

[hayob]

Thanks, everyone. It's just tough to wait when I see the system I previously configured being $700 less!

It's going to be a long 5 months....

[j-dawg]

The current sale has been extended at least four or five times. It just grew by another week. I was also about to jump on a new system but I realized that the sale will never end--Lenovo cannot hope to sell the same computer for $500 more than they have been charging for months now. The market prices have been driven down by this endless sale; if Lenovo were to ever end it, their sales numbers would tank. I don't think we have to worry about this generation of Thinkpads getting more expensive.

[Aroc]

The real question is why are you waiting until the fall to start school? See if there are any summer courses offered!

(I agree with the others about waiting to buy the computer)

[tfflivemb2]

From what I read on the Lenovo Forums, the T61 ain't all that great.
Get another T4x or a T60.

My $0.02

I beg to differ. I really like my T61. Most issues with the T61 aren't related to the T61 itself, but rather to the OS...Vista. There are plenty of threads showing people how to tweak Vista to work properly.

[hayob]

The real question is why are you waiting until the fall to start school? See if there are any summer courses offered!

(I agree with the others about waiting to buy the computer)

Full-time MBA programs typically only allow students to begin enrollment in the Fall.

And besides, summer classes would interfere with my summer goal of taking 2 free months to get REALLY GOOD at video games!



Now, the question is, should I wait for the quad-cores to make their way into the laptop market, and if I should wait until reasonably-priced/capacity SSD's are available?

[Troels]

Now, the question is, should I wait for the quad-cores to make their way into the laptop market [snip]

With a TDP of 45W for the upcoming quadcores i can't consider it anything else than a joke from Intel. Notebooks will require a larger HSF area to dissipate all the heat, which in turn means a larger, heavier, noisier notebook.
45W TDP is just wrong in a notebook, especially since smaller notebooks are all the rage it seems, and people don't want a small 1 hr of battery life or heaters as the P4-M were at their time.