t60p approaching 6th bday, time to consider replacement?

[allen]

hi,
i've had my t60p for nearly 6 years as of december.
it's been great, and i haven't had to post here much.

is there a point where it might be a concern that the motherboard or cpu could stop working?
i'd like to be prepared with what to replace it with.
or maybe it seems like people are upgrading motherboards and CPUs?

i like the non wide screen, IPS panel, keyboard and all of it's buttons, and mouse trackpad and it's 5 buttons.
it seems like newer thinkpads don't have those.

i run a 500GB and 750GB in the ultrabay, 2x2GB RAM on windows xp...
it'd be nice to run windows 7, use more RAM, and the 6 yr old screen may or may not be as color accurate anymore, though i've been happy with the prints and magazines made on it so far.

i feel as it ages, my efficiency will be more limiting. for example i can run lightroom 3.6, but not 4. sometimes youtube and vimeo video's don't play smoothly.

what runs slowest is editing a lot of photographs, or large scans with a couple layers.

the new W series thinkpads seem ok, but i wouldn't really be sure.
heavier than this t60p wouldn't be so nice.

any thoughts or anything to bring me up to date?
thanks.

[SafeHarbor]

Hi, Allen,

I'm in the same situation with my T61p. Although it's been a traveling machine and never a daily user, I know that it won't last forever. Hehe - tonight I'm uninstalling Windows 8 RP and reinstalling W7 Ultimate so I can get the $40 W8 Pro upgrade on it. The 61p was the machine I wanted and still prefer. This came after a T22, T41, and R52. I'm uncertain about the newer machines. I like the nav and actually use both the top and bottom buttons, but it's connected like a mouse internally and does not have the throughput for elaborate gestures for Windows 8. That's about the only hardware limitation I'm currently facing, but I plan to play with a Motion Leap controller if it's ever released. A younger uncle just bought an ultra-wide aluminum Toshiba and the main thing I've noticed about it has been the concerning lack of vertical real estate and the low, to my eyes, the screen resolution. I made the change from 4:3 some time ago, but I doubt I'll ever want to make this change.

So I'm thinking about screen sizes and touchpads for the next machine, but I'm looking forward to USB 3.0 (for backups to a fast external drive), too. I'll let somebody experienced speculate on your hardware.

[allen]

i'm not sure that i would like gestures, or windows 8.
i turn off tap to click on the trackpad, cause i'd too often accidentally tap and drag something around.

i would consider using the waacom style tablet on the w series, for relief in wrist and shoulder pain... if the w series isn't too bulky...

[Morten]

I have just recently decided to get a T60 machine for myself. I decided the speed of the machine is far far less important to me than the display quality, and scooped a (well, actually two ) new old stock flexview monitors from the marketplace. The seller RealBlackStuff posted a note that he may be able to source more if there is a need, that might be worth looking into if yours is starting to dim.

If you go this way, look into a SSD upgrade for that system. I've been reading Johan and other's recommendations and decided to pick up a intel 520 drive myself. Photoshop likes to make use of a fair bit of scratch disks for temporary data, and the SSD may work wonders for you (but unfortunately I don't have direct experience yet). With intel's toolbox the intel ssd's are very usable in XP, but there is no reason for you not to upgrade to windows 7, and I should think you'd be able to run lightroom 4 as well when you do.

I'll guess I'll see how the 3GB max memory limitation and the general performance of the SSD T60 system works out for me, and if it doesn't, the fix will be to transplant a T61 motherboard into it and install 8GB (along with the other benefits of the T61). As far as I have learned, none of the newer full-size thinkpads will allow you to use a IPS / flexview monitor. If you need this upgrade and can't yourself I'm sure a post to the marketplace could hook you up with someone who can help.

If you need the USB3, I think there are PC-cards for that (?)

[allen]

hmmm,
sounds interesting.
if ips screens, motherboards, and cpu's can be changed...
that might be the way to go then huh? cost wise, as well as environmental wise.

it's hard to say if my flexview is going dim, or if everyone else around me has overly bright laptops screens.
maybe it is dim and warm, but maybe my eyes adjust to the screen when i'm color correcting...

the last time i used a spyder calibrator, it had been a few yrs since the previous calibration, and the calibration didn't change.

SSD does sound good, i'm currently using 110GB of the 500GB drive, and 500GB of the 750GB drive.

usb3 also would be nice. none of my devices now have it, but over the course of the next 6 yrs, i could see having a use for it, for thumb drives, memory card readers. can anyone confirm if usb3 would be upgraded with certain motherboards?

yeah windows 7 would allow LR 4. not that i use it that much, but when i do, it's handy, maybe i'll use it more if i have a faster system.

and did someone somewhere mention putting a 3rd internal drive in a thinkpad?

[ajkula66]

and did someone somewhere mention putting a 3rd internal drive in a thinkpad?

Not an option on T6x units AFAIK...

[Radioguy]

PCMCIA?

[Raceboy]

Or soldering wires to the southbridge for using mSATA drive.