Which ThinkPad to buy?

[jamesqf]

I hope I can do some useful brain-picking here.

I need a new machine with the following:

Core2 Duo CPU
2 GB RAM minimum.
1400x1050 display - minimum, more would be nice.
Reasonable 3D (OpenGL) performance.

And most importantly, it must be SILENT in normal use. No fans running continuously, IOW.

I do scientific/engineering software. Most of my time, I will just be editing code, and I am not willing to deal with a noisy machine while I'm doing it. Occasionally I'll do long compiles, or tests involving intensive number-crunching and/or 3D graphics, and it's ok if the fan runs then.

I recently bought (well, ordered end of May, received end of July) a T60p which I haven't been able to use due to the fan noise. I'm trying to get Lenovo to fix or exchange this. It just got back from the repair center today, with no perceptible change, and meanwhile I've got projects that need to be tested on the Duo CPU.

So, what model Thinkpad should I look at? Should I look at some other company instead?

Thanks for any suggestions,
James

[ryengineer]

Sir, I would suggest T61/p.

[NS]

R61 for you...

[jamesqf]

Thanks for the replies. I take it both of these are silent in normal use? What's the difference between the T61 and R61? They look to have similar options as to processors, memory, etc.

Also a couple of questions re acronyms. First, in the display section, Lenovo lists "WSXGA+,BT" as an option. What does the "BT" mean?

Second, most of the machines seem to have the nVidia Quadro NVS 140M as the graphics processor, but there are choices "PC Card/PCle" and "PC Card/SmartCard"? What's the difference? Does this mean the GPU is on a removable card instead of being fixed to the board?

[RonS]

BT stands for Bluetooth

Normally, a T61 comes with a PC Card slot and a PCIe slot for ExpressCards. You can swap out the PCIe slot for a SmartCard reader or a media reader. I suggest you keep with the PC Card/PCIe combo.

[Troels]

What T60p is it exactly?

You could also try the Thinkpad fan control software which let you set custom fan speed thresholds and speeds at specific temperature intervals.
If you're running Linux there are many scripts that allows setting the fan speed in the same manner as it's done in Windows.

If your primary use is Linux i wouldn't recommend ATi based video cards at all, due to their incomplete, slow proprietary drivers. That's where a T61 or R61 with nVidia will help you more.

If you don't need the latest and greatest speed in graphics, or dual core support, the T42 is also very nice and quiet - but you'll need to get it used then.

[mgo]

I hope I can do some useful brain-picking here.

And most importantly, it must be SILENT in normal use. No fans running continuously,

Do you need a laptop? Is your work done in one place, say on the job or in the office? If so, perhaps you might consider (cough, cough, ahem...) building your own desktop machine.

Using larger diameter fans with resistors in the circuits to slow their RPM and even to slow the CPU fan, it's possible to really get rid of almost all the noise. Also, there are power supplies that are super-quiet. The video card fans are noisy and they can be slowed, too. Just run a temperature monitoring program to keep an eye out for high temps.

Additionally, mechanically isolating the hard drives will get rid of the amplified vibrations caused by the computer case. Mount them in the 5 1/2 bay and use rubber bands to suspend the drives. They will be very quiet that way. That will also get rid of the annoying head clatter, which is also amplified by the metal case.

Run the case with one side open, using a screen or grill to allow for more air input. Vent the air out the back, do not push the air thru the front of the case, which can restrict flow, and you have a fan right in the front of the machine, looking at you.

These techniques work. I've done it successfully on three desktop units.

[whizkid]

My T60 is really amazingly quiet. I hope your fan noise issue is resolved to your satisfaction.

[jamesqf]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. To follow up:

I do Linux only - to the extent that when I got the machine, I didn't even try to boot the installed Windows, but wiped the disk (including the system restore partition) and installed Linux.

The machine is a T60p, model 8743-CTO. T7200 Core2 Duo processor (2 GHz) with 2GB RAM & 60 GB disk. And I just noticed on the invoice that it says "ATi Mob. Rad. X1450 128 MB", when what I ordered was supposed to have a V5200? FireGl GPU.

I do need dual core. Some of the stuff I'm working on now involves OpenMP shared-memory parallelism, while a lot of my other work is with MPI parallel code.

I need good but not extreme 3D graphics support. I'm not into games at all, but do e.g. visualization of data on 3D grids.

I do need a laptop. I work in several different places, spending a week or so in one before returning home. Beyond that, I like the convenience low power use of a laptop. My last desktop machine (dual CPUs & then high-end graphics) sounded like a vacuum cleaner, so that I kept it in a closet and used long cables.

I've never had noise problems like this with other laptops. My old Dell only runs the fan when doing serious number crunching; my (actually company) current T60 (1.8 GHz Core Solo, 1 GB, Intel 945 graphics) runs the fan quite often, but usually at so low a speed as to be inaudible. Just sitting here typing this, the CPU and system temps are about 107 F, maybe 35 degrees higher than ambient.