Thinkpads Forum

Greetings,

I am interested in buying a T60 as I believe from reading another post that it was the last to offer a PCMCIA slot. I have an ageing but very reliable audio card (RME Multiface) that I want to continue using and have heard good things about thinkpads. So where to purchase one?

I've seen the Lenovo refurb ones for sale at Staples for $176.99. Would you recommend those? I am uneasy with the state of ebay these days, should I be? Craigslist is another option also.

Thank you for any suggestions, warnings or recommendations.

Matt

T60/p and T61/p offer PCMCIA, FWIW. The T61/p offers newer hardware but the infamous nVidia defect plagues them - depending on when the unit was produced. The 15" T60p 4:3 offers an IPS display option.

Post a thread in the wanted subforum here; I'm sure there are some members who have some to sell. I don't have issues buying things on eBay, but everyone's preferences are different.

Welcome to the forum!

seedmuse wrote:
I've seen the Lenovo refurb ones for sale at Staples for $176.99. Would you recommend those?

I'd pass. That's a lot of $$$ for a 7-8 year old machine refurbished by an unknown third party.

You'll definitely do better - in more ways than just one - by purchasing a system here on the forum.

And no, I don't have one to sell you...

Happy hunting.

Thank you very much! I will go presently to the wanted subforum and hopefully some kind person will alert me to the "nVidia defect". I've also never had problems with ebay either but this is kind of an older machine and I might be better off staying where the knowledge is.

"nVidia defect" refers to a problem with the graphics processor which causes video corruption. It's said that T61 Thinkpads made with the nVidia chips with production date code of 08/08 (August 2008) or later will have the "fixed" version. My guess is that these will be hard to find on the used market; people aware of the problem will probably not want to give up their system. T61 systems that used an Intel graphics processor do not have this problem, but then again, the Intel chip isn't as "fast" as the nVidia. If all you are doing is browsing the internet or doing light office productivity tasks, then the Intel should be fine.

I would download a copy of the withdrawn Thinkpad PSREF that covers the T60 series: http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/ltwbook_2013.pdf

You can see what came standard with the system, as well as see some limited model types that have either the Intel chip or nVidia. If you are looking at a system that is not listed in the PSREF, plug the 7 character model type into the search engine here: http://sm.krelay.de/tp/index.php (link is also at the top of each forum page, named MTM). That will give you the major options that were installed at the factory.

Sent you a PM with a couple of T60 options I have for sale.

seedmuse wrote: T60 as I believe from reading another post that it was the last to offer a PCMCIA slot.

Too late, but... T60 series is not the last thinkpads with PCMCIA. As noted before T61 also can have PCMCIA. But my W500 also have PCMCIA. I don't have T400 - but i believe it can have PCMCIA. T410 series have only 34mm ExpressCard slot.
Why "can have"? There some options for thinkpads one of them was ExpressCard/PCMCIA cage and other options was ExpressCard + SmartCard reader or ExpressCard + Card Reader.
T400/500 series have intel or ATI video so there is no NVidia bug and slightly modern hardware. If you not stuck with 4:3 screen ratio and have enough funds - i'll suggest search for 4(5)00 series.

Thank you Ray for the "nVidia defect" details. Looks like I avoided it by purchasing a T61 with Intel graphics from the Marketplace! I will have to upgrade the Hard Drive and possibly the Ram. Does anyone know where to find the definitive thread on SSD upgrades for a T61?

seedmuse wrote: Does anyone know where to find the definitive thread on SSD upgrades for a T61?

Let us know how big of a drive you need, and how much you're willing to spend and we'll take it from there.

SSDs come and go. What was a great option two years - or even a year - ago, may very well not be available anymore.

Honestly George I'm not really sure. Let's start at 250GB and max ram I can get into the machine. For the audio applications I'm using more ram is better. I will run Win764bit if possible but will need to buy a Win7 install disc too. The laptop I bought has the Middleton Bios. From what I've read so far I'm going to need that. And thanks BTW for pointing me to the Marketplace as I've had a happy outcome!

- Matt

seedmuse wrote:Honestly George I'm not really sure. Let's start at 250GB and max ram I can get into the machine.

Fair enough.

My pick in the 250GB segment would be this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... gnorebbr=1

As for maxing out the RAM, that's going to be a fairly expensive proposal. 2x4GB DDR2 is likely to run you around $150, and that's on feebay...

Please do note that I advise against using "no name" and "value RAM" offerings, hence the price that would reflect an offering from a well-known/trusted manufacturer such as Crucial/Micron, Elpida, Hynix, Samsung, Mushkin etc.

Happy shopping.

Okay, thanks. I'm off to go shopping. Agreed about brand name ram. Anything I need to know further? Just plug and play?