Thinkpads Forum

Hi everyone, I'm considering buying a new T60 from Lenovo and I'm a bit confused between two models offered.

The first model is the 8741-4SU, with a RETAIL (CDN) of $2779. Specs are as follows:

Intel® Core 2 Duo T7400 - 2160MHz
Genuine Windows XP Professional
1024 ram
120 gb hd (5400)
15.4 WSXGA+ TFT 1680x1050
ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 HyperMemory
9 Cell Lithium-Ion


The other is the 8744-J2U (T60p), with a RETAIL (CDN) of $2329. Specs are as follows:

Intel® Core 2 Duo T7200 - 2000MHz
Genuine Windows Vista Business
2048 ram
100 gb (7200rpm)
15.4 WSXGA+ TFT 1680x1050
ATI Mobility FireGL V5250
9 Cell Lithium-Ion

Now, if my understanding is correct, the T60p has a better video card, more ram, faster HD, while having a marginally slower processor. Does the processor alone justify such a huge difference in price?

Now, I'm not set on a T60 yet as I still am deciding what to do with my T42 and its dead mobo. Since T60 was introduced under the Lenovo regime, is there any loss of build quality? And is there a successor to the T60 coming anytime soon (T61, T70 perhaps)? How much can I expect to get for parts for my T42 (735 dothan, 100gb 7200rpm, 2gb ram avail plus additional 512mb stick, etc.)?

And in regards to the v5250 card, how does it fare while playing games etc? I've read some posts about the v5200 with omega drivers running games just fine, I'm assuming it will be the same with the v5250?

Thanks in advance for reading/responding to my long post

Moderator edit: Please do not post EPP pricing as per the rules of the road.

I just received my 8744-J2U, so I'm a bit biased, but I did a ton of research prior to ordering so I felt like I should chime in. I really doubt you will notice the difference in speed from the T7200 to the T7400, but if you are running Vista you will definitely notice the improvement going from 1GB to 2Gb of RAM. I feel like the T60P is a more balanced powerhouse and would be an excellent laptop right out of the box - fast processor, plenty of RAM, fast HD, better vid card, etc. I don't know what the pricing difference is, but if it isn't too great then I would definitely go with the T60P.

I haven't had a chance to play any games on mine yet, but I did read a lot of posts about people successfully playing modern FPSs and other games at high frame rates with the FireGL cards. There are a lot of people saying that workstation cards won't cut it, but there are just as many people that actually have workstation cards that claim they play just fine. I tended to believe the people that actually had the workstation cards more than the people who were just stating their opinions.

The performance differences between the T7200, T7400, and T7600 are pretty minor - you are really set with any of them so I don't see the reason to pay a premium for a slightly faster processor. I'm a software engineer that does a lot of compute-intensive tasks such as compiling large projects and I feel like the T7200 is more than adequate for my needs. If you are doing extremely CPU intensive work, then you might see some benefit but I think 99% of computer users would be content with any model.

Just my $.02

The T60p is the better buy based on physical specs alone, and its having Vista would also make it easier for you to sell the laptop in the future.

Looking at those specs, the difference in processor speeds doesn't jump out at me as much the hard drive speed does. I'd much rather take the 7200 rpm HD over the 2.16GHz processor (the difference between it and the 2.0GHz are minimal). The other big difference between the two models is the amount of memory. Personally, I would go with 1024 and then buy extra RAM and install it myself put some of the money toward and external hard (to make up for getting a 100 GB 7200 rpm HD over the 120GB 5400 rpm HD). Are these your only two options? I ask because I would recommend trying to mix and match these two models. As far as the graphics card goes, I have the 5200 and have not used it for gaming, but I do use it with some heavy-duty visualization programs and have had no issues. The specs on the 5200 and the 5250 are almost identical, so if others have used the 5250 for gaming I don't see why the 5200 would be any different.

for me, i will choose the second one, a bit lower of the CPU frequency won't affect the performance too much, but the v5200 graphic chip will be much better than the x1400, and also the graphic chip is un-upgradable in the future. therefore a better graphic chip would outweighs all other considerations for me.

EricRC wrote:for me, i will choose the second one, a bit lower of the CPU frequency won't affect the performance too much, but the v5200 graphic chip will be much better than the x1400, and also the graphic chip is un-upgradable in the future. therefore a better graphic chip would outweighs all other considerations for me.

Well said, I made the mistake of going with a powerful laptop that lacked a powerful video card in my last purchase and really ended up regretting it. It was a great laptop for 90% of the things I needed it for, but the weak video card really hurt me in the long run. That is the main reason I went with the FireGL in my T60P.

Of course, if battery life is important, a less powerful graphics card is the way to go.