Thinkpads Forum

OK... i have a dilema... should i buy a:

- T61 with "the full options" 14.1" (Intel 2.4GHz, 2GB RAM, 100GB HDD, nVidia Quadro, DVDRW, FPR, Turbo Cache, Vista Ultimate, WSGA+ w/ webcam etc.)

or:

- T60p (Intel® Core 2 Duo T7600 (2.33GHz), 1GB, 100GB SATA, ATI Mobility FireGL V5250 256MB, 14.1" UXGA IPS, DVD Recordable (Dual Layer), Modem, Integrated Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR, Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, Security Chip, FPR, WXP Pro, weight: 2,3 kg.) ?

in my region i have the T60p... and the T61 that i want needs to be configured on the US website... and i am from romania... should i just buy the t60p or wait for the t61 to arrive here?... does the t61 worth to wait?

hot video card for the t60p , so fan might go off offten

14.1" UXGA IPS doesn't exist. It must be a 14.1" SXGA+, non-IPS, or a 15" IPS

romanian made screen, or maybe metric system

??

I just purchased a T60p just before the T61 series came out, and I have to say this laptop is great. From what I've seen 9-cell batteries are not available on the T61 yet so you won't get as good battery life, and I would by far prefer to have XP over Vista. (I got XP Pro.) The graphics card is extremely powerful as well which gives the system a nice oomph. I would go with a T60p still, I think they are so far more well tested and full featured than the T61 series is so far. However I'm no expert, I just know that looking at T61's they didn't have what I wanted and I don't regret getting a T60p over a T61.

But with respect to the battery at least, one can always buy a larger capacity battery later if/when they become available. I don't see the battery as a determining factor unless you need a 9 cell right now.

The T61p is just around the corner. If you are not in a hurry to have a new laptop right away, you might as well wait a couple of more weeks to see what the T61p has to offer.

Good idea. That's what I'm waiting for and also the next 25% off sale which hopefully will be around the 4th of July.

Well his question is if it's worth the wait for T61... but since nobody really knows all the features it'll have in a month or two that's a bit hard to answer. It's probably more practical to ask if a T60p fits his needs or not and whether he will be satisified with the older model. If it's missing something he wants he should probably wait, or if he would be perfectly satisfied with the T60p he should probably just get one now is my take.

Yep if you wait too long, the T60p may not be available anymore. Not configurable anyway, i'm sure there'll be some on the net.

ennma wrote:hot video card for the t60p , so fan might go off offten

I think that's been corrected on the newer T60's, for example ones which have the C2D's ?
Espeically in in the 15-inch size.

The 9-cell battery is available on the T61 with 15.4" screen.

docinthebox wrote:The 9-cell battery is available on the T61 with 15.4" screen.

Not to mention adding more weight on your back/shoulder/hands.

sb37 wrote:14.1" UXGA IPS doesn't exist. It must be a 14.1" SXGA+, non-IPS, or a 15" IPS

just take a look here: http://www5.pc.ibm.com/europe/products. ... enDocument

and for the other points of view... i do not want a 15" laptop... i like the video card on the t60p wich i think it is better than the one on the t61... i am not decided on thw WS vs. 4:3 although i think i will go for the WS... working with Adobe Suites...

and about the t61p... anyone has any ideea of it will have inside?

What you get with that T60p is 14.1", SXGA+ and non-IPS. It's one of their many misprints.
As to what to choose, i'd say the T60p since the v5250 is more powerfull, has the double amount of memory, and because resale values on p models are generally higher.
But if you're serious about the Adobe Suites and use it all day, i'm afraid your ideal choice is a 15" IPS Flexview, regardless if you choose the T60p or any T61/T61p.

You will have less pixels on the WS WXGA+ compared to the 4:3 SXGA+.
The T61p apparently will have a 570M Quadro with 256MB dedicated memory. Some models feature the 15.4" WUXGAs.

I had the same dilemma a couple of weeks ago and I live in Romania also.

My machine is a UT08JXX (XX=RR in my case) and the screen is 14.1" NON IPS, it is a Samsung display. I use it at 5 notches when plugged and 2-3 when on battery, depending on situation, sometimes even 1 is enough. Since I work mostly in 256 color 15" IPS would have been overload.

Since I'm in the CAD business and wanted a 4:3 screen, portability and max battery I opted for the T60p. A 9 cells battery is mandatory for powerful GPUs, these things have as much transistors as CPUs and thus as power hungry and unlike CPUs they are designed with only one thing in mind, PERFORMANCE. It is really no use to have a laptop that runs out of juice in the middle of nowhere and in less than 3hrs. I have to do some field work also and sometimes the closest socket is 20 km away so a 9 cell is welcome.

The 4:3 screen is ok for work but sometimes when I want to watch a movie I wish I had opted for the WS. Probably the 14.1" WS T61p is going to be a good compromise for work and multimedia. Anyway, screen wise in CAD it doesn't matter if you have 4:3 or 16:10, the only thing that matters is the size and 15" is nowhere near 20" or 24" or multiple monitors.

In my opinion if you do CAD/3D go for the "p" otherwise go for good 2D card, a Nvidia will more than enough, probably an Intel will do also and then you'll have lots of battery life.

The T60p is a great machine, I did a partitioning of the HDD and a proper install of XP and now it rocks! Sometimes the fan gets loud but it is bearable.

I have a friend who's got a T60 15.4"WS with ATI Radeon X1400 and 2GHz CPU and it rocks, it is on the large side a bit, but it's a great machine. The large screen drains the battery quite fast but otherwise is OK.

I had some trouble with the keyboard but I called support and send me a new one the very next day. It's good to know that we have such a good service.

I would like that the Advanced Dock had true 16x PCIE connector and support for full size cards, that way we would have what AMD is promising, a workstation in the office and a notebook on the move. I still think that the PCIE connector in the Advanced Dock is limited on marketing basis not on engineering, but I could be wrong. I still think that Lenovo limited the Advanced Dock so people that need high performance machines would have to buy the T60p instead of a T60 and drop it on a dock with a professional graphics card.

There are some 15" with SXGA+ machines in Romania. If you need the address I can tell it, I don't know for sure if they still have it. In Romania the T60p w 15" UXGA IPS is extremely expensive.

These are some Pros & Cons I've noticed on boards.

Things that people like in T61:
- Silent & cooler
- LCD rollcage
- Santa Rosa and possibility of 800MHz memory
- Webcam possibility
- Possibility for faster CPUs
- Brighter screen
- Robson memory

Things that people don't like in T61:
- Poor battery life
- BSODs
- Screen is tilted
- Bugs are still to be discovered
- No option for IPS.

Things people like in T60:
- Battery life
- In production for a long time so it is a mature product
- IPS screens (those who got 'em)
- "Classic" look.

Things people don't like in T60:
- Hot GPU, especially T60p
- Picky on memory
- Flexes in some points
- WiFi issues with some 3945 cards
- Line is at end of production.

If you look at the cons of T61 you will notice some of the T60s childhood issues. Thinkpads are like quality wine, they got better with the age.

Regards,
v.

First of all is what you need. In T61 you will find new technology and options and I am confident that IBM tested this well enough. I don’t know what to say about the screen in T61 because I haven’t seen one yet.
Last year I bought two laptops, one for me, a T60p 15” UXGA 2007-93G, and one for my wife, a T60 14” SXGA 2007-63G.I like 4:3 screens and, for me, the T60p whit it’s great 15” SIPS panel is simple the best laptop money can buy until now. Powerful, reliable, quiet and whit a screen for what everybody will envy you.
My wife’s laptop is also great, light and very well built but despite the resolution the screen is disappointing. You have to be right in front of the laptop to see the colors right. One of the worst screen I have ever seen!!!Now it’s up to you. Good luck.

Vali wrote: Things that people like in T61:
- Brighter screen

Screen is definitely brighter but viewing angles are crap.

Very nice summary.

So far my vote is for T60p flexview, generally due to it's stability in regards of battery life, weight and screen. But lenovo has yet to unleash 14.1 non W/S model for T61 and possibly T61p later this year, so hopefully we expect some deficiencies to get filled there.