Thinkpads Forum

Hi yall!
Just got a T61 Manufacturer Refurbished with the Original Motherboard and a 08/08 nVidia Model!!!

2GB RAM, 160GB Scorpio Blue WD-HDD, Fingerprint, 14" - Wide, New Keyboard, very good hinges, noo Fan noise, Manufacturer Refurbished CPU Fan with new Fan and Thermal Paste.
Even the Intel, Windows and nVidia Sticker are still on it and look new lol!!!
Outside it has only very light wear!
Inside Looks Brand new - no marks - nothing!
Has a DVD/CD-RW.

Overall Condition 7.5 / 10
1= looks like SH*T xD
5= Normal used laptop - normal wear and tear
7= Great Condition - light mark on the unit
8= Excellent Condition - very few light marks
9= Not new but looks like Brand new - No Marks - NOTHING!!!
10= Brand new

What you you guess, would be it's value right now?
What you be it's value after following upgrades??

-4GB RAM
-T8400 CPU
-Replace ALL Plastics (except bottom - was replaced with brand new one by manufacturer)
-Wireless N-Card
-DVD-RW / DVD+RW
-Add some Original Parts (All original stickers, switch all screws with new ones)
-Some new parts (speakers / new HDD Cover)

If you want to sell it (even hypothetically speaking), forum rules require you to mention a price.
You cannot expect us to value something that looks OK/GOOD/GREAT/SUPER in your eyes...
We don't know what looks good in your eyes, as it might look crap in our eyes.
We also don't know what you consider/accept as an original motherboard.
And on what do you base a 08/08 nVidia chip?
Too many unknowns, no evidence/proof from you. What do you expect?
If you are happy with what you bought, then it is good value to YOU. You should leave it at that.

Lol no im not selling it - just want to know the average value of such a machine - Serial number and date sticker match Bios # and no evidence of removal.....also I don't think that Lenovo / Microsoft Authorized Refurbishers would do such a thing....also it says Revision A2 and the device looks almost like new.
I want to compare the value to newer models.....just a little curious
Condition: Imagine you buy a new laptop and use it for 3-4 months - thats the condition if you know what I mean but since I'm not intending of selling it in any way I don't think that pictures will be necessary. Love this machine...one of the few kinds left....

Just to make sure I checked serial number and Bios with Lenovo Updater to make shure that it's not any edited Model number. (Update Model Number)
Does that guarantee a original motherboard?


Just wanna make sure I'm not doing anything wrong!

hoax32 wrote:just want to know the average value of such a machine

Since this machine doesn't at least have a 4:3 display, the only remaining incentive to still acquire a T61 is simply not there anymore. For those who wouldn't mind to purchase a wide screen Thinkpad anyway, it would be much more interesting to get hold of a T400 or even T500, which are a bit more technically advanced and even slightly more powerful than any T61. If you compare current average prices for an at least equally performing T400/T500, then you would probably be safe to assume some still to be defined percentage below this price as its remaining money worth.

Personally, if i wouldn't be insisting so much on a superior IPS/Flexview UXGA screen, i probably wouldn't bother anymore sticking to a T61 mainboard contained in a 15" T60 chassis, which is equipped with such a display. Apart of offering slightly more powerful CPU options, newer Thinkpad revisions offer considerable technical enhancements over the older T6x generation, like SATA II out of the box also on the Ultrabay and very much cheaper DDR3 RAM offerings, which would be much more preferable for people not bothering about the IPS/Flexview display goodness. Since prices have come down so much, a T400/T500 provides a much better worth for the money than any wide screen T61.

Since the OP is looking for a number, based on what I know (don't know about the exact CPU, LCD resolution or inclusion of AC adapter, BT or webcam), I'd probably pay $125 tops, assuming it actually works.

As others mentioned, unless this one has a webcam, there really are more desirable models for similar money with much less risk.

A typical 14.1" widescreen unit with average specs goes for about $200, a unit with descrete graphics and the 08/08 date is worth considerably more. As for the 4:3 vs widescreen debate, a lot of the "oldschool" thinkpadders prefer the 4:3, but in the general laptop buying market they are perceived as outdated or oldfashioned, so a widescreen might sell higher in that market, after all, nearly every laptop maker didn't switch to W/S because people hate them, they did it because they sell... virtually all TV and Movies are W/S, so this is where the technology is headed.

So a good clean well kept unit like you purchased for $300 is a fair price in my opinion. Without the 08/08 date I'd say about $100 is all I'd pay.

If it was a 15.4" unit, it would be worth considerably more, but the market is flooded with low-end 14.1" units and they aren't as nice as it's bigger brother in my opinion.

ps. Wasn't to long ago I had some high-end 15.4" 08/08 units in excellent to like new condition for $350. They went fast and I can't buy them at that price now.

TuuS wrote:So a good clean well kept unit like you purchased for $300 is a fair price in my opinion. Without the 08/08 date I'd say about $100 is all I'd pay.

So just the 08/08 date is worth $200 to you? Wow.

dr_st wrote:So just the 08/08 date is worth $200 to you? Wow.

I didn't say I would pay $300, simply because I don't want a 14.1" unit, but being how rare that date is, it's a fair price.

Given two identical units, one (08/08) is likely to run for 5-10 years, and the other is likely to need a new system board at some point, so I'd have to consider that and adjust the price accordingly.

Based on the OP's thread title, "How much would you be willing to pay for this T61?", I responded $125. It may not be fair, but it's actually what I would pay, based on my needs, current fleet of machines, likes, dislikes, etc.

As far as value, I still say $125, not knowing any more about the machine. I'm assuming the memory, hard drive and LCD are good.

Fair, may very well be double what I would pay, but that's another question.

A very interesting thread indeed...

As for most ThinkPads, there are fans and opponents of T61/p generation...

Personally, my opinion is closest to numbero's - if I wanted a 16:10 ThinkPad, a T61 would have to be *very* loaded and *extremely* inexpensive to make the cut...given the competition of later T400/500 and W500 units and their current price range...

Of course, there are users who see this generation as the "last real ThinkPad" and will pay prices that TuuS is referring to for a good example with proper specs and dates...

I'd be *very* hard pressed (think .45 ACP or larger) to pay more than $150 for an average 14" widescreen nVidia-powered T61, regardless of date on the bottom. Webcam, Penryn, WXGA+...could bring the price up but not tremendously. I didn't like T61/p range when they were first introduced, and haven't grown any fonder of them as they've aged...

My $0.02 only...

I think most of you are very cheap ... lol.

only a T9300 cpu by itself costs about 100 bux, lol. Not to mention the increased prices of HDDs these days.

a good 14" T61 with cpu like that and integrated graphics, with some 2GB ram and 250gb HDD, is worth somewhat around 300 if not more, considering the battery is "good".

check out ebay - crappy units that are pretty worn out are sold for about 200.

I must have missed the T9300 CPU and integrated graphics....

My understanding is that we're discussing a machine with a nVidia GPU and CPU *weaker* than T8100...since it was supposed to be an upgrade....

sorry, I was just giving an example of what the prices look like in general, in response to those who said like 150 or 125 or something like that...