T60 or T410 ??

[stevenvh]

Hi all,
As posted elsewhere my wonderful T42P is having SB/USB issues and I suspect is about to become parts. I was pretty convinced I won't be happy with anything but a flexview screen since I've been using A31P and then T42P since @2004 and love it. When I look at other's laptops I just don't see any comparison.
As well, I'm a semi-pro photographer and want the widest color gamut I can get. And I travel for work, so I need to be portable. If it wasn't for the photo editing I'd just use my X30. It does everything else just fine. I don't do much other multimedia stuff on a laptop either at home or at work.
Currently I find clean T60Ps only as refurb's on ebay and it looks like @ $1000+ to get what I want.
After reading here and elsewhere 'til my brain hurts I started configuring at the Lenovo site. It looks like I can get a decent T410 for @ $1250 that should do the job.
Of course though it's not a UXGA flexview, but WXGA+ with discreet graphics and 4GB of memory.

So question is: Do I take a chance on ebay and pursue the beloved flexview or just accept the end of an era and buy a new T410?

Any other recommendations? I need to keep the costs as close to $1000 as possible and have always bought clean, used thinkpads and built them up to suit my needs.

tia,
Steven

[emeraldgirl08]

Personally as far as a T4x0 screen goes. I have the LG-Phillips WXGA+ w/ LED backlight and it is super bright... which is great. Unfortunately what is not so great are the viewing angles! On a letterbox movie the black borders are gray on the bottom and the colors start to polarize towards the top. I use my T400 for documents and webpages mainly so it's not a problem and if I feel like video then I have it hooked up to my external monitor.

I have yet to see a flexview but from what I read and understand about them I'd suggest you go with a flexview or get an external monitor that has great wide angle view specs.

[Navck]

I happen to own a D200 and I have done most of my post processing on a decent CRT...
Buy a W series. With the calibrator. Don't even bother to get a T410 if you're going to be picky in *any* manner about the LCD.
If you're going to force yourself to buy a T60 OR T410 you're going to hate the LCD.
Flexview panels are fairly dim due to aging of the backlight and the two transistors per panel.
TN panels will be fairly poor in quality compared to Flexview panels if you're extremely picky.
And if you're a "semi-pro" then you're going to probably hate both panels, one for being dim (Yet having great blacks, even if the rest of the image is hard to see.) with a yellow overcast and the other for having relatively "lower" quality (Mediocre viewing angles, not that this matters if you sit with the laptop) lower gamut and fairly... eh performance compared to a nice CRT or high end LCD placed on ONE'S DESK.

I have a T43 with a Flexview screen and a T410 with a WXGA+ screen, I would still prefer a high quality LCD both but given the option of a W701 or W510...
Oh and if you get a T410 with a i5-540m or i7-620m, it'll blow the T60Ps away in terms of processing power. (Just for reference.)

[ZaZ]

You certainly could post in the marketplace forum here saying you're looking for a T60 with a flexview. Plus they tend to be much more honest about what they're selling here than eBay. A T60 still offers a plenty of processing power for most things.

[Harryc]

I'd rather have an I7 T410 with an SSD over any T60. The brute power and speed is no comparison, plus I really don't mind the T410's WXGA+ LCD. Not sure why there's complaints about it. Seems bright with decent contrast to me. Forget viewing angles, there is no LCD except AFFS or IPS/Flexview that will fix that issue. If the best LCD is what you're after, go for the T60P 15" UXGA+...but again we're talking about a heavy 15" machine. Do you need portability? There's a lot to consider here. There's an X200 AFFS modification if portability is your thing, that's the answer.

[netzspannung]

There's an X200 AFFS modification if portability is your thing, that's the answer.

That's a rather cool proposal and I second that. Needs some investment AND some tinkering though.

I was in the same situation lately, searching for a decent Photoshop-friendly Thinkpad to use as my main machine after a DSLR upgrade. 14MP RAWs demand more power than 6MP, obviously

And I am rather lucky myself, having a found a barely used Flexview T60 to replace my aging T42. It runs Lightroom 3 beta pretty well, although working on Canon 7D RAW files is a little slower than I'd like it to be. files from my old 300D and Epson R-D1 are a breeze, though.

[stevenvh]

Hi all and thanks for the replies and suggestions. Although now I have another option to consider...modified X200 sounds good.
Portability is an issue, but I'm used to carrying the T42P when I travel. When at home or at work it stays on my desk, so it's just in transit when the size/weight is a burden.
I have hi-res external monitors available both at home at work, so the X200 is definitely an option and with the display mod it's very tempting.

emeraldgirl08, thanks for your input re: the WXGA+ display, very helpful.

Navck, the W-series, new is out of my price range, but a used W510 could be an option. I'm used to the flexview panels and don't mind regular calibration. I used to work on a Samsung 900NF CRT which was fantastic, but huge. I still have a barely used 700NF (in the original box!), but I like the flexview better than the 17" CRT. And yes I'm looking forward to at least a little boost in processing power.

FredGarvin, thanks and did that a few days ago. I've got an offer on an upgraded T60P, T7600, 4GB, 128GB SSD for $1100 w/1 year warranty (?) I'm considering over the ebay gamble.

Harryc, thanks!! Now I've just spent the last 2 hours learning and looking at the X200 and the AFFS Definitely an option and found one FS already modded by a forum member.

netzspannung, thanks very much for your impression of the T60 with RAW files, also very helpful. I'm currently using Pentax K20Ds which are also @14MP and the T42 is a little slow for such large image files. I was planning to upgrade to a T60P before I started having prob's, but wasn't in a hurry. Now I'm using my desktop for editing and have until August, when I should leave for work, to replace the T42.

Anybody with a W510 editing photos or video?

Considering there's both a "like new" upgraded T60P and a X200 with AFFS screen available now I'll probably buy something sooner rather than later to not miss out on those options. I'm still open to other suggestions though and appreciate any help I can get.

cheers

[ajkula66]

I'm not sending you to rob the bank, but you should honestly get both T60p and a modded X200s to cover all the bases...

Another option...X61T with a SXGA+ LCD, although I don't know whether it would have enough power in the graphics department for your needs.

[eyestrain]

Wow, over $1000 still for a used T60p!?

I found myself checking the dates on the posts here multiple times!

Didn't know you could spend so much on a T60p still. Why not just a regular T7200, wouldn't that be almost as fast as a T7600 in the real world? And a decent small-medium size SSD, and a cheap large HDD. If the backlight isn't bright enough, George above has mentioned before someone who will replace the CCFL bulbs with super bright new ones.

Could take a little work, but I would think it could be done more affordably, perhaps in a few steps. Such as buying a T60p and a T60(p) lid or LCD, and having the lcd put in, or putting the lid on yourself. (Putting a lid on is relatively easy, putting an lcd into a lid is hard.) And then selling the extra lid/lcd.

I've had mixed luck with ebay, but mostly good experiences when very careful reading between the lines, including all types of feedback. There was a post maybe a couple weeks ago with advice on ebay buying, oddly on the T60 forum I think, may have been moved. Great advice in there, some of which I had been planning to post myself but didn't need to after read that post!

[StevenD]

I'd like to ask a question, too. I'm using a T60p, which I love. Previously, a T43p. I tried the T61 when it came out, but the screen was so bad that I couldn't use it. So I've stuck with the T60p so far. Like to update, though.

I bought a MacBook about a year ago, because I needed it to write iPhone apps, but I do 99% of my stuff on the T60p. The MacBook's screen is sooooo bright. Just stupendous.

I haven't been on this forum in a long time, and haven't looked at the offerings from Lenovo in a long time. Is there anything out there that can replace my T60p and even come close to the brightness of the MacBook?

/SD

[Harryc]

Brightness yes, contrast and viewing angle no. Any one of the LED backlit Thinkpads is bright, but if you are going to compare any of them to a recent Macbook or Macbook Pro, they are not even close. I have a 2010 high resolution matte 15" Macbook Pro and it has a nicer LCD then most Thinkpads I've ever seen. The viewing angles are not quite up to IPS standards, but the quality is through the roof.

[stevenvh]

Hi all,

I wanted to update and say I made a deal with Brad here on the forum for a very nice T60P. I'm happy and the machine is super clean, upgraded to the max (T7200, 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD) and working very fine.

many thanks,
Steven