Thinking about a T61p - some questions

[Dark Energy]

Hi all,

I'm close to my next laptop purchase, but I'm in a rather odd position. I have a bunch of high end laptop components, so what I'd like to do is buy a pretty basic base configuration, and then upgrade the hell out of it myself The components I have are:

T7700 processor
4Gb DDR2 memory (Geil)
320Gb HDD (WD Scorpio)
slimline blu-ray drive (panasonic uj-220)

Now, my last laptop was a thinkpad T60, and I loved it, so I'd really like to get a basic T61p and slot in all of the above. My questions are:

1 - Is it feasible to do a 'user' processor upgrade?
2 - Will the blu ray drive fit in the ultrabay?
3 - (I ask this through gritted teeth) Is a T61p the best laptop to do such a 'user upgrade' frenzy on? I basically need a 15.4+ screen notebook with fairly powerful graphics.

Lets say I'm not too bothered about voiding warranties

[SHoTTa35]

Height mm (in) 12.7mm (0.5 in)

So that blu-ray drive wont fit. The processor and all should i guess. The T61p isn't really basic per say, it comes with alot of options standard. It does come with a nvdia based 8400 card tho so it's pretty close to the "best" you can get when it comes to mobile graphics.

The 320GB Scorpio is SATA i'm guessing so that should be fine also.

[Greg Gebhardt]

Likely best to sell your parts and just but the top of the line T61p.

[Pocket Aces]

Height mm (in) 12.7mm (0.5 in)

So that blu-ray drive wont fit. The processor and all should i guess. The T61p isn't really basic per say, it comes with alot of options standard. It does come with a nvdia based 8400 card tho so it's pretty close to the "best" you can get when it comes to mobile graphics.

The 320GB Scorpio is SATA i'm guessing so that should be fine also.

It's based on the 8600M GT.

[Crunch]

slimline blu-ray drive (panasonic uj-220)

Now, my last laptop was a thinkpad T60, and I loved it, so I'd really like to get a basic T61p and slot in all of the above. My questions are:

1 - Is it feasible to do a 'user' processor upgrade?
2 - Will the blu ray drive fit in the ultrabay?
3 - (I ask this through gritted teeth) Is a T61p the best laptop to do such a 'user upgrade' frenzy on? I basically need a 15.4+ screen notebook with fairly powerful graphics.

Lets say I'm not too bothered about voiding warranties

1- Yes. Many people have successfully done so, and I am about to do it myself (going from a Core Duo 2.16GHz to a Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz).

2- I believe the size of the Ultrabay drive is the same in the T60/p's as it is on a T61/p. I don't know for sure, but someone will probably confirm what's what within a few hours, (maybe minutes?).

3- I've said it a thousand times on here, but since you asked. If you ever had a Thinkpad with Flexview (IPS technology), you won't want to go back, and unfortunately, no T61 or T61p has Flexview anymore. I am hoping that this will change in the next couple of years.

Lets say I'm not too bothered about voiding warranties

Hehe...Let's just say I am totally with you on that. To be on the safe side, just keep any NON-CRU parts that you replace and which would void any warranty around, just in case you ever need warranty service.

Hope this helps.

P.S. I also have a quick question. If you have a movie in the form of a file (e.g. BluRay's file extension is .mkv) and you use a TV tuner card for playback On your TV, will it be of the same quality than an actual BlyRay player? Woud a regular TV be good enough to see and enjoy the vastly superior picture quality, or would I need an HDTV?

Thanks...

[Dark Energy]

For blu-ray playback: I *think* that you can play it backon a standard tv, but teh picturequality will be that of 'standard' tv programs.

If you wat full bluray picture quality, then you need a HDTV or high resolution monitor. If you're not prepared to, ahhh... test certain legal boundaries, then all of the equipment you use (player, computer, monitor etc etc) must do more than just meet the minimum tech specs, but also be 'certified' by the manufacturer for bluray playback.