Laptop comparison question

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gnyffel · #1 Post by **gnyffel** » Mon May 21, 2007 3:28 am

Hello people. I'm new.

As things are now, I'm able to buy a T60 or a Z61m at a price I'm able to afford.

The T60 is a UY163DK, and will cost me the equivalent of ~$1750 (Danish prices. Erk. Can't be had cheaper around here, sadly) - this is somewhat higher than the Z61m (UA0H9DK), which is ~$1500.

Main differences as far as I have been able to tell:
The memory of the T60 amount to one stick of RAM, meaning that I can upgrade to 2 gigs cheaply - the Z61m has 2x512mb sticks, so upgrading here will be rather more costly (though also the base configuration of the Z61m slightly faster). Mind that upgrading the memory is not crucial. Furthermore, the warranty on the T60 is 3 years, versus just one on the Z61m. The Danish price comparison site I use cite a slight (even superficial) advantage in battery time to the Z61m, and the Z61m is something close to 600 grammes heavier than the T60.

The greatest difference, to me, seems to be that the chassis on the T60, which is, supposedly, magnesium. I'm worried about the heat dissipation on the plastic chassis of the Z61m, as one review I've read considered it particularly bad (the reviewed machine had a T7200, versus a T5500 on my part, and additionally the review model did not have a titanium screen back - might make a difference), as the T60 review on the same site had a significantly lower surface temperature. Yet another review, however, describes the temperature of the Z61m as "warm, but never uncomfortable to use" (though the CPU in question here was a T2500 - another difference to consider). Lastly, the two reviewers disagree as to the rigidity of the laptops - the critical one says it flexes in places (being acceptably rigid overall, though), while the positive one "would have no problem strapping it to my arm and going outside to play Knights of the Round Table".

Critical review:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-IBM ... 941.0.html

Critical site's review of T60:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-Thi ... 428.0.html

Positive review:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.a ... nkPad+Z61m

So, well, I'm wondering if some of you knowledgeable people might help me out figuring out whether the difference in price is fair considering the feaure gap, and which of the reviews are accurate, and on which points.

Or someone particularly trustworthy helps me bypass Danish tax officials to make use of the deliciously cheap US Thinkpads (I kid..

)

Or you let me in on some secret that'll make me save lots and lots of money. Um, anyway, hope some of you can help me out.

Please?

#2 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:35 am

There is an offer on eBay for barebone T60s at $699.- each.
See the corresponding post in our Marketplace forum.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=42901
You buy that, add your own 'ingredients', and you'd probably be a lot cheaper that way.

gnyffel · #3 Post by **gnyffel** » Mon May 21, 2007 8:51 am

Erk. You had my hopes up, there, frantically finding out where to get the spare parts within Europe. But then I notice the ebayer only ship to Continental US. Which is not Denmark. Sorry if I didn't make my location clear (if for no other reason that for hoping to buy into this offer :/)

bontistic · #4 Post by **bontistic** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:22 am

I was able to ask a question to this seller before. Apparently, he ships abroad provided the minimum order is $500, and payment by Western Union money transfer with a handling fee of 5%.

This is risky though since Western Union does not offer any protection I believe.

#5 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Mon May 21, 2007 10:42 am

Have a word with Bill Morrow (the owner of this website).
He has a new T60 for $1199.- with all the bells and whistles.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=42421

gnyffel · #6 Post by **gnyffel** » Mon May 21, 2007 10:55 am

RealBlackStuff:

I appreciate you helping me, but I'm not going to try to buy Bill Morrows laptop, and for several reasons.

- Legally, there's a 25% VAT added when importing to Denmark - this can be circumvented in various ways of questionable legality, though even then there's a risk that I'm going to end up paying almost $1400, at which point I might as well save myself the trouble and buy a Core 2 Duo back here

- Bill's not going to want to bother with shipping it all the way to Europe, when likely there's someone else on here to whom it will be more convenient to ship

- And finally, I don't really want a Core Duo with a screen of that size

EDIT: Also because US power plugs are incompatible with EU ones, though the PSU probably supports 50-60 hz, 120-260V

Um, thanks anyway.

#7 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Mon May 21, 2007 2:24 pm

No problem. Perhaps take a trip over to Germany with an old laptop bag, and come back with a new-ish TP in it?

All IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads have a universal power supply 100-240V, which only requires a local powerplug if you buy it abroad.
Don't know why people object to 'foreign' plugs... you just cut off the sucker and dump it!

gnyffel · #8 Post by **gnyffel** » Mon May 21, 2007 4:45 pm

Y'know, I hadn't considered just cutting it off. Obvious solution. But either way, it's still not worth it with duty and VAT.

Germany is definitely an option - they've a Z61m with superior specs for little more than the T60 I'm eyeing costs. Travelling there is hardly worth the effort, as the import fees do not apply within the European Union.

The Z61m is a UA0HAGE. Looks a great machine, but it's somewhat above what I'm meaning to spend. I'm not quite sure I can justify buying it over the Z61m available in Denmark. And I'll have to spend even more money on a different keyboard for it. QWERTZ makes my skin crawl.

gnyffel · #9 Post by **gnyffel** » Mon May 21, 2007 7:45 pm

FFS! Now Lenovo USA is offering Thinkpads 25% off - and they do not ship internationally. Memorial Day is not en Europe! Gah! This is not fair!

#10 Post by **tomh009** » Mon May 21, 2007 8:57 pm

gnyffel wrote:Y'know, I hadn't considered just cutting it off. Obvious solution.

Actually the AC line cord is detached at the power brick, and easily replacable. I have both North American and European cords for my X31, and I just take the appropriate one along when I travel.

And, yes, QWERTZ would drive me nuts, too!

gnyffel · #11 Post by **gnyffel** » Tue May 22, 2007 4:34 am

Didn't realise it could detach. Not all power supplies can, and I've never owned a Thinkpad before. Still, cheaper to chop off and replace the plug, and seeing as I'm a poor student, I shouldn't needlessly be spending money. It's unlikely I'll ever travel to the States, anyway, as I'm not in the least liking how it's run (specifically, my fingerprints are my own, and I'm not having them taken for no reason purely on principle).

edit: typo

jjesusfreak01 · #12 Post by **jjesusfreak01** » Tue May 22, 2007 10:00 am

bontistic wrote:I was able to ask a question to this seller before. Apparently, he ships abroad provided the minimum order is $500, and payment by Western Union money transfer with a handling fee of 5%.

This is risky though since Western Union does not offer any protection I believe.

Probably would do it through Ebay if they werent so evil to sellers.

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