Ordered T61 today (also considered D630 and 6910p)

[iceman2007]

After almost one month of lurking around these forums, I had narrowed down my new work laptop choices to Lenovo T61, Dell D630 and HP 6910p. I finally chose to go with T61 with the following specs.

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz 800MHz 4MBL2)
Genuine Windows Vista Business
14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/o Camera
Intel GMA X3100 GM965 w/ 1394
4 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
100GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
4 cell Li-Ion Battery
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Thinkpad Advanced Ultrabay Battery
Intel Turbo Memory 1GB
PC Card Slot and Express Card Slot
MS Office Small Business 2007
Thinkpad Essential Port Replicator
Thinkpad 90W Combo Adapter
3-Year Next Business Day Service
Lenovo Carrying Case - Messenger (only 1.1 lb heavy)
Total for above: $3028.40

Here's the thought process I went through. My top priorities were weight, battery life and performance (for average business use). Cost wasn't a big factor.

In popular opinion, the T61 seemed to win in almost every respect except battery life over the D630 and 6910p. I don't like an extended battery sticking out the back so I decided to get an ultrabay battery and that should give me equivalent life to the standard battery on D630 and 6910p.

The off-center screen seemed bothersome but I figured that I would learn to live with it.

Didn't need the camera so left it out even though it was only $30 extra.

I also considered getting the dedicated graphics and even waiting for the T61p but the more I read about dedicated graphics the more and more it seemed to me that I wouldn't need it since I'm not into gaming, just your average business user with an occasional movie. I got conflicting reports that Vista Aero needs dedicated graphics but if it does I guess I can live without it. The upside of course would be that I can get better battery life, it'll run cooler and I would get the new laptop shipped faster.

I decided not to get the WAN option since I am quite happy with my Treo for on-the-go email and chose the Turbo memory instead. Conflicting reports about the usefulness of that too but I figured that I might as well get it (since I wasn't getting the WAN) and disable it if it is problematic.

I could have configured similar specs for the D630 and 6910p but without needing the bay battery.

Did I choose wisely? Any comments? On any of the specs or my thought process?

Iceman

PS: I also posted this at Notebook Reviews under the Lenovo Forums. So if you frequent both, please excuse the duplication.

[ptantra]

You had a sound thought process. You made your decision. You made the buy. Turn your thought process off until you get your new toy....then enjoy!

Besides, it looks like the machine's fully loaded. It should give you many years of faithful and enjoyable service.

[XIII]

You wasted unneccesary money on the T7500 and 4GB RAM.
T7500 does not give marginal perfomance gain over T7300. 4GB RAM is overkill for your purposes and will not be recognized properly under 32bit OS.
Also, the cost to upgrade outside of Lenovo is about 75% cheaper.

[SHoTTa35]

well wow... i wish i had money to spend like that. That's a killer machine but i would buy the memory from newegg.com or somewhere else. Lenovo sells 2GB for like $400 when you can get that for like $100+ at other places. Office 2007 you can find cheaper too than what they charged.

Hey, i'm just jealous, don't mind me tho Congrats on the new system, when they say it's going to ship? Hopefully you don't have to wait that long because i know i would go crazy if i had to wait.

[iceman2007]

I am getting a lot of grief on Notebook Reviews about the 4GB of RAM.

Will the 4GB RAM be fully recognized by Windows Vista (I am guessing Lenovo installs the 32bit version?).

Please, PLEASE let me know if there is any downside to 4GB RAM (weight, battery life, performance etc.) other than cost?

I could still change to 2GB / 2 DIMM.

Don't have a ship date yet, will post when i get it.

Iceman

[furrycute]

If you have the dough, just go for the 4GB RAM.

32 bit Vista will probably only recognize a little more than 3GB. But you can use all 4GB once you switch to 64 bit Vista in the future.

[furrycute]

And oh, if money is of no concern, I would go for Vista Ultimate.

If memory serves, the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Vista Ultimate share the same key. So you can upgrade later on to the 64 bit version for free. But someone please correct me if I am wrong.

[rukiri]

there's no downside to 4gb ram outside of cost.. but the cost is significant. If you aren't going to *need* the 4gb ram, why spend 300+ dollars for it? You'll be paying for extra ram that will sit empty in your computer, unused.

Also, you said battery life was one of your chief concerns, so why the 4 cell battery? Is it because the 6-7 cell batteries stick out from the back?


If you have lots of cash to spend, and are interested in performance and battery life, I'd suggest paying for a SSD HD. Last I checked, they were still around 5-600 for 64GB, but the prices are dropping like a rock. You can get better performance than the 7200rpm hd, with more battery life, less heat, lighter weight.

If you have money to burn, burn it on something that will actually improve your experience : )

[iceman2007]

I'll have the 4-cell main battery and the 3-cell Ultrabay battery. Don't like th 7-cell sticking out the back.

What's a SSD HD?

Iceman

[furrycute]

I second the 7 cell battery. I would also add the 3 cell ultrabay battery. You can use these 2 batteries together, and they will give you the battery life of a 10 cell battery.

Also, I would get rid of that port replicator. The port replicator doesn't come with its own AC adapter. Get either the mini dock or the advanced dock, these two come with their own AC adapters.

[tomh009]

I also considered getting the dedicated graphics and even waiting for the T61p but the more I read about dedicated graphics the more and more it seemed to me that I wouldn't need it since I'm not into gaming, just your average business user with an occasional movie. I got conflicting reports that Vista Aero needs dedicated graphics but if it does I guess I can live without it. The upside of course would be that I can get better battery life, it'll run cooler and I would get the new laptop shipped faster.

I fully agree with your rationale -- and Vista will run Aero just fine on the integrated graphics.

The 4 MB may not be useful in the short term, but you'll be able to use all if it later when you make the transition to a 64-bit OS.

[ryengineer]

The 4 MB may not be useful in the short term, but you'll be able to use all if it later when you make the transition to a 64-bit OS.

Don't you mean 4GB?

[tomh009]

Yes, indeed, 4 GB ...

[SkiBunny]

lol.... i remember back when upgrading from 4mb to 8mb was a huge deal... and the server had a whopping 16mb.

[iceman2007]

Also, I would get rid of that port replicator. The port replicator doesn't come with its own AC adapter. Get either the mini dock or the advanced dock, these two come with their own AC adapters.

I ordered an extra combo adapter which I'll use for travel and use the one that comes with the laptop for the port replicator.

[iceman2007]

And oh, if money is of no concern, I would go for Vista Ultimate.

If memory serves, the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Vista Ultimate share the same key. So you can upgrade later on to the 64 bit version for free. But someone please correct me if I am wrong.

hmm....i checked the diffrences in Vista Business and Ultimate (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/produc ... hoose.mspx). The only diffrence that appeals to me are the extra games, Chess, Mahjong and Inkball.

Sounds like good advice especially also if the upgrade to 64bit will be free.

[Bonaparte]

Why not throw in the camera? It's only $30, you might end up using it for video chat, and it'll increase your resale value.

[iceman2007]

ok, based on some views exchanged here, i have decided to change my T61 config as follows:

Change Vista Business to Vista Ultimate (+$70): Mainly to get Chess, Mahjong and Inkball

Change screen to get camera (+$30): might get to use it for videophoning home when i travel (how?)

Change from 4GB RAM to 2GB/2 DIMM (-$680): seems Vista won't see more than 3GB anyway and 2GB should be enough for me. If i ever upgrade to Vista 64 then i can field upgrade to 4GB at the same time too

Change from 3-Year Depot Next Day to 3-Year Onsite Next Day Service (+$100): That was a mistake in the original config, i just made a wrong selection

good changes?

Iceman

[SHoTTa35]

i would just keep Vista Business. The camera is nice and the RAM thing is a definite good change. I upgraded from 1GB to 1.5GB today in my Thinkpad T42 and Vista definitely flies with it, i can see and feel the difference. 2GB should be more than enough.

What about the Intel Turbo Memory? Did you drop that as i don't see that being so needed right now.

[Bonaparte]

The Turbo Memory may not be that great right this moment, but it shows good potential to speed things up once Intel has enough time to improve its drivers. At this price point I would definitely include it.

[jjfcpa]

If you are going to be using this with a dock, I think you're in for some troubles based on my experiences.

Here is a link to my thread on the issues I've encountered.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 8166ec4d20

Not sure if this is a Vista issue, but they continue and they are getting more frustrating all the time.

The most frustrating is that the T61 will not default to the native resolution of my external LCD when docked and cold booted.

If I change it to the native resolution after booting, there goes your icons getting moved to new locations.

Last night I did a shutdown while docked - which it doesn't appear to like - and when I booted this morning while undocked, it default to 800 X 600 resolution instead of the native resolution of the Thinkpad's LCD (which is 1440 X 900).

AS a business professional, this all adds up to a very frustrating experience. Especially when you consider that no other Thinkpad that I've had has ever acted this way. Is it Vista or is it the T61? I don't really know, but I do know that the T60 that I installed Vista on does not act this way.

There are a lot of things to like about the T61, but this type of aggravation can only go so far...

[XIII]

There seems to be a new BIOS release for T61. Try updating your BIOS to see if it helps.