Thinkpads Forum

Hi all,

My 1st post here, wonderful community with lots of good information. I have been lamenting over which system to puchase for a while now, trying to find a great deal on a T series and for some reasson right now the best deal seems to be to build direct from lenovo if you can belive that.

If you could give me any assistance as to which machine would be better suited for my purposes that would incredible helpfull.

My reason for buying a notebook is that currently I have to transfer all of my work every day from work to home when I have projects that need additional time spent. I spend all day working in Excel, Photoshop, Dreamweaver and the .Net apps and WinApps. Its not that I cant live with out a laptop, but I think it will just make my life a whole lot simpler with having one unit I work from each day.

The ThinkPad line sounds to be rated very well in terms of build quality and durability, and since this will be used nearly every day for atleast 6-8hours daily I figured a T series might just be the perfect tool.

Here are the specs and prices from lenovo:

Lenovo T60 Specs:
Processor: Intel Core Duo processor T2700 (2.33GHz, 2MB L2, 667MHz FSB) (Standard)
Operating system: Genuine Windows XP Professional
Display type: 15.0 inch SXGA+ (1400x1050) TFT (Standard) IPS FlexView
Memory: 1GBMB PC2-5300 CL5 NP DDR2 SDRAM SODIMM
Graphics: 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 HyperMemory (Standard)
Ports: 3 USB 2.0, S-Video out, External Display (VGA), External Microphone/Line-In, Headphone/Line out (Standard)
Hard drive: 100GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Optical device: 8x Max Dual Layer DVD Recordable Ultrabay Slim Drive
Integrated data/fax modem: 56K V.92 Designed Modem (Standard)
Integrated Ethernet: Integrated Gigabit Ethernet (Standard)
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN: Wi-Fi wireless upgradable and Bluetooth (Standard)
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini-PCI Express Adapter
Keyboard: ThinkPad Fullsize (Standard)
Pointing device: ThinkPad UltraNav (Standard)
Battery: ThinkPad 9 Cell Li-Ion Battery
Security: Client Security Solution and Integrated fingerprint reader (Standard)
--------------
Price: 2189.00


Lenovo T60p Specs:
Processor: Intel Core Duo processor T2600 (2.16GHz, 2MB L2, 667MHz FSB) (Standard)
Operating system: Genuine Windows XP Professional
Display type: 15.0 inch UXGA (1600x1200) TFT (Standard) IPS FlexView
Memory: 1GBMB PC2-5300 CL5 NP DDR2 SDRAM SODIMM
Graphics: 256MB ATI Mobility FireGL V5200 (Standard)
Ports: 3 USB 2.0, S-Video out, External Display (VGA), External Microphone/Line-In, Headphone/Line out (Standard)
Hard drive: 100GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Optical device: 8x Max Dual Layer DVD Recordable Ultrabay Slim Drive
Integrated data/fax modem: 56K V.92 Designed Modem (Standard)
Integrated Ethernet: Integrated Gigabit Ethernet (Standard)
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN: Wi-Fi wireless upgradable and Bluetooth (Standard)
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini-PCI Express Adapter
Integrated wireless WAN: Cingular (Standard)
Keyboard: ThinkPad Fullsize (Standard)
Pointing device: ThinkPad UltraNav (Standard)
Battery: ThinkPad 9 Cell Li-Ion Battery
Security: Client Security Solution and Integrated fingerprint reader (Standard)
----------------
Price: $2259.00

The other machine I was considering was an HP NC8430 since it seems to offer so much at a slimmer price, but its the build quality I am after and the IPS FlexView screens that are so nice to look at. In addition I really do not know what Video card would be better for an application like PhotoShop, the X1400 or the 256mb FireGL which I know is workstation based for CAD like apps.

Thank you for your time, if there is anything at all you could add to this to make my decision simpler I would be most appreciative.

Thanks!

Hi,
I could imagine that the UXGA resolution on a 15" monitor could irritate a few people with less than perfect eyes. You could use my program to calculate the amount of pixels per inch on both of these machines and compare it to the machine/monitor you have now. The higher the ppi the more birdseye view you get of everything and the greater the strain on your eyes, but you also get more workspace. I think the 15" sxga+ screen will be the best compromise between workspace and eyestrain for that monitor size.


http://www.geocities.com/vazine@sbcglobal.net/

Then click on the link "My C++ Programs"

Here's a sample run of the program (ppi.exe):



Welcome to the ppi calculator



Enter the size of monitor 1 in inches: 15

Enter the horizontal component of the resolution: 1400

Enter the vertical component of the resolution: 1050

A 15 inch monitor with a resolution of 1400x1050
has a pixel per inch ratio of : 116

Are you done (y/n)? n

Enter the size of monitor 2 in inches: 14.1

Enter the horizontal component of the resolution: 1024

Enter the vertical component of the resolution: 768

A 14.1 inch monitor with a resolution of 1024x768
has a pixel per inch ratio of : 90


Percent difference between monitor 1 and monitor 2 : 23%


Are you done (y/n)? y


So if you enter the specs of more than one monitor it will give a percent difference between it and the first monitor entered.

T60p would be my choice. Not because I have one but the 15 inch 256mb graphic card can't be ignored. I work with a notebook the entire day [for your stated reasons] and the 15 inch 1600x1200 resolution made the transition easy from a 17" desktop/monitor environment.

The price difference you stated is nominal to upgrade to t60p model.

If you can get a look at the 15" UXGA I would recommend it as some of the text will be very small though some do like it. If you aren't doing CAD or the like, the FireGL is probably way more than you need.

Photoshop may demand the extra screen real estate. I've had the 15.1 " variety since 2001 [Dell Inspiron 8100] and would not like to go back to anything smaller if I didn't have to. Plus the price difference is nominal once again. If you have narrowed it down to the two models go for the P. Get extra memory after that if the budget allows.

I found myself wondering the very same thing yesterday. For the most part, I need this laptop to work with photographs and video; Adobe Photoshop and Premiere are on almost always in the background. I'm coming from a 1024x768 display...my eyes aren't the best and never having used a 1600x1200 display before, I was/am concerned with text sizes a bit. Looked at this chart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Video_Standards.PNG and was pretty amazed at the extra screen estate I'd gain - no more scrolling around looking for lost stuff! The IPS displays are, from what I hear, very high quality and the way I figure, if the font sizes bother me, I'll either make things larger from within windows or...wear glasses like I'm supposed to, ha.

In regards to the card - the V5200 > X1400. I think it's more future proof, just in case...you know. Better to have it then not is how I see it. Photoshop uses system RAM, not video, so both cards will work just as well for you...I really think you can't go wrong with either system.

I would definitely go for the T60p. The v5200 alone with more than worth the little bit of extra money.

With Windows Vista on the horizon, you can't go wrong by buying the most powerful video card available, and you'll be able to stretch the life of your system out much longer with the v5200.