Should I upgrade from my T60 to a T500?

[fefrie]

T60 3gb ram Intel 3?? SSD (I will be migrating this to any other computer)

SXGA 1440x1050

ATI chip.

Runs a bit hot.

to...

-cpu Core 2 Duo T9400 2.53ghz
-4G ram ( 2 x 2G), 160G hdd 7.2k, blue tooth, wireless,
display port
-ATI Radeon 3650 1680x1050, 15.4"LCD, DVDRW,
WEBCAM, 3 x usb
-Windows Vista OS *but easily upgradeable
- Excellent cosmetic condition overall & runs well

I'm not keen on the fact of the Windows Vista, although I could make due with it or upgrade to windows 10 if it's still the free upgrade, but I'd actually prefer windows 8.1

The owner is asking $85, and the only downside is that it doesn't have a fingerprint reader, but I assume that I can get one fairly easily.

The t60 seems to chug along just fine. I run opera 12 so it's a bit slow in that regard, but where there are website issues, I just run chrome for sites such as youtube.

I rarely do anything intensive, except for the occasional video editing, which is a bit tedious and can only barley handle 720p, but most of the encoding I shift onto another laptop on the network.

My cons to upgrading is that the t60 works just fine and I'm used to it, it's integrated into my daily routine and my ultimate upgrade is to the t520, of which, hasn't hit that magical price point for me yet.

I'm not a big stickler on CPU power since 99% of the time the computer is idle. I'm more concerned about cache size of the CPU and the Ram speed.

So should I upgrade? Or no? I guess this is more philosophical than anything else.

[brchan]

That T500 will be much faster than even a top spec T60p.

However, there are some common issues with 15.4" T500/W500 models:
- The left hinge, lcd frame, or both may snap after heavier use
- The magnesium frame near the VGA port often cracks and causes significant play when moving the lid

Hinges are also more wobbly than the T6x in general. If the laptop is in good condition and doen't have any of the problems above, then $85 is a decent price.

[dr_st]

- The magnesium frame near the VGA port often cracks and causes significant play when moving the lid

Interestingly, this happens on T60 as well (but mostly on 15" models, whereas OP has a 14.1").

[brchan]

- The magnesium frame near the VGA port often cracks and causes significant play when moving the lid

Interestingly, this happens on T60 as well (but mostly on 15" models, whereas OP has a 14.1").

Yes, and this is even more common with the heavier and stiffer lids of 15.4" models. Surprisingly, the only 15.4" thinkpad that did not have frame problems was the z60.

The 14.1" T60 is nearly perfect in construction and durability, if it weren't for the loose hinges.

[MisterB]

I've moved my business and work computing from a 14" 1440x1050 T60 to a 1680x 1050 W500. It is faster and has more memory but the display is just a wider version of the T60's. I haven't had any problem with broken parts. The switchable graphics is a nice feature. I use Windows 7. Vista is rapidly loosing browser support or I would have kept on using it. I might eventually replace the T42p I'm posting this on with one of my retired T60s.

The T500/W500 is still fast enough for most things. Mine has a T9400 and it is more than enough for anything that isn't CPU intensive. I upgraded the ram to 8gb and I really have to try to use up the memory. The 4gb memory modules for the T500/W500 are cheap which is another advantage.

I have a W520 as well but it has way more power than I need to run MS Office and a few browsers and I prefer the 16:10 display on the W500 for my day to day computing.

The fingerprint reader is on the palmrest and you just need to replace the palmrest with one with a fpr. Shouldn't cost more than $20-30 and there are only four screws holding it in.

[brchan]

The good thing about the 15.4" models is that you can drop in a nice 200-nit Dell Ultrasharp WUXGA screen. Viewing angles aren't as good, but CR, colors, and sharpness are great.

[Pete B]

Is that a Sharp panel that you're talking about for the 200-nit Dell Ultrasharp WUXGA?
Are you talking about the Sharp WUXGA (1920x1200) LQ154M1LW2A or LQ154M1LW02 that RBS often mentions? Is the Sharp LQ154M1LW12 as good?

[TPFanatic]

The LG WSXGA and WUXGA displays that came with 15.4" Thinkpads are also really good. I got an LG WUXGA pulled from a T61p for my W500 with a dim Samsung wsxga, and the colors and brightness are better than my T500's Sharp, although the Sharp is obviously aged more.

[MisterB]

I had a WUXGA W500 but I found I preferred the 1680x1050 display and sold it. As I said, one of the attractions was that it was a wider version of the display I was used to working with on a T60. The WUXGA display was also a bit dim and, overall, I was disappointed with it.

[Khipata]

Yes you should and keep T60 for the collection. Typing from my T500 right now

[Hans Gruber]

I had a WUXGA W500 but I found I preferred the 1680x1050 display and sold it. As I said, one of the attractions was that it was a wider version of the display I was used to working with on a T60. The WUXGA display was also a bit dim and, overall, I was disappointed with it.

I too have a W500 as well as a couple of T500's. I agree with you. The WUXGA screen is a bit dim compared to the 1680x1050 displays. I have the 3.06ghz CPU in my W500 and 2.8ghz in my T500 models. I would suggest the OP get a 2.8ghz processor T500. The screen ratio on the T500 is the great selling point.

[MikalE]

I would do the upgrade to the T500. Not just because I have one, it's just a faster machine all around. Some, like mine have hinges with play in them, but I don't use it often so i don't worry about it.

Mine is running on 8GB ram, 320 GB HD and Win 7 Pro 64. Mine was also a Vista machine but I sprung for the Win 7 OS so all of my machines were running the same OS's.

[Pete B]

The LG WSXGA and WUXGA displays that came with 15.4" Thinkpads are also really good.

My wide T61 had a VERY dim display, in fact all of my Thinkpads have VERY dim displays.

Do you have part numbers handy for the LG WSXGA and WUXGA displays that you mention?

Thought I'd just add another advantage of the T500 is that it is based on the Montevina platform: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrino# ... .282008.29 which supports a 1066 FSB and the P series lower power processors. These combined with Intel graphics should run cooler with longer battery life. Please correct me if I'm wrong here as I don't own one at this point but am looking.

I happen to have an X9100 processor is it supported in the T500 BIOS?

[Frobe70]

I have bought a W500 with WUXGA screen, and updated it with a T9900 CPU (3GHz), 8GB RAM and SSD.
My kids are using this W500 and a T520 to play Minecraft, while I am using my Frankenpad T61 for surfing and Office.

The newer machines are nice, but not nice enough to tempt me to switch. They may be a bit faster, but if I require speed or raw power I would use my desktop PC.
*(My Frankenpad is probably a bit quicker than your old T60, and the QXGA IPS screen is difficult to replace...).

If you can afford the T500, try it.
If you don't like the TN screen you will know why many people still prefer their old T60.

[thinkpadcollection]

T9900 is too expensive to worth upgrade around 80, so I went with T9800 which is about 35 plus shipping to go into my Toshiba. I already sold my T500 to my friend who don't need wild specs.

If you should, I suggest T510 at mininum with i7-640m upgraded later or T520 (much better on battery and vast better performance even on i5-2520m, go for i7 even and 16GB than fixed 8GB limit on T500/T510.

Cheers, thinkpadcollection

[brchan]

Is that a Sharp panel that you're talking about for the 200-nit Dell Ultrasharp WUXGA?
Are you talking about the Sharp WUXGA (1920x1200) LQ154M1LW2A or LQ154M1LW02 that RBS often mentions?
Is the Sharp LQ154M1LW12 as good?

Yes, I was referring to those screens. Not sure about LQ154M1LW12 ones in particular, though.

[ac12]

he he
I'm having that debate in my head right now.
I have a T61, maxed out at 8GB RAM + 500GB HD.
Rather than putting another $100 into a SSD, and still be stuck with the slower processor, RAM and drive interface, I decided to go for a used T520/530 or W520/530. But I'm putting the new computer off as long as I can, to get the most out of the T61 before I upgrade. I do have a quad core i7 desktop for my normal stuff, so the importance of the T61 upgrade is not as hot as if the T61 was my only computer.

The 520 vs 530 issue is that USB3 is not on the 520 (would need an express card adapter), it is on the 530. This is important for data backup, as there is a SIGNIFICANT speed difference between USB2 and USB3. The USB2 backups on my T61 is painfully slow (max 20MB/sec), compared to a USB3 to USB3 on another PC (50-150MB/sec). All drives involved are 7,000rpm drives, no SSDs to distort the comparison.
But the keyboard changed to the chicklet keyboard on the 530. OK the Lenovo chicklet keyboard isn't as bad as some other chicklet keyboards, but it does not have the nicer feel of the 520 and older keyboards.

[RealBlackStuff]

You DO know that you can now put a Tx20/Wx20/X220 keyboard in a Tx30/Wx30/X230 machine?

[MisterB]

The 520 vs 530 issue is that USB3 is not on the 520

The W520 has USB 3.0. So does the W510.

[TPFanatic]

My wide T61 had a VERY dim display, in fact all of my Thinkpads have VERY dim displays.

Do you have part numbers handy for the LG WSXGA and WUXGA displays that you mention?

I got some info from Thinkwiki http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/TFT_display and a forum post which I can't find but I made some notes and I'll copy them here

LP154WU1-TLB1 (1920x1200)
W500 / T61p LG also search for 45N3310 and 42T0361

LP154W02-TL10 (1680x1050) LG

edit: Have to say tho, the 1680x1050 is waaaay brighter than the 1920x1200. The 1920x1200 is actually kinda dim, just the LG is less dim compared to Samsung, and has better colors than my Sharp. If you're looking for brightness at a good resolution, get an LG 1680x1050. I believe it also ages slower than the Samsung contemporaries.

[ac12]

You DO know that you can now put a Tx20/Wx20/X220 keyboard in a Tx30/Wx30/X230 machine?

CRUM, I did not.
Is it a simple swap, or it is more involved?

[RealBlackStuff]

Read the forum!
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=120776