Thinkpads Forum

Hi guys! Long time reader...first time poster. I used this forum help select my sister's laptop back back in the IBM Thinkpad T40 days. Suffice to say, this place is a great resource! I haven't visited this place for some time since I wasn't in the market for a laptop. My work situation now is such that I believe a laptop will once again make sense. I plan on getting something in the 5-6 pound business orientated laptop class. Naturally, this has led me to looking at the Thinkpad T-Series.

Used to be...there was always a thread stickey where one of the moderators (probably Bill) who recommended a specific configuration that he thought was the best bang for the buck at the current time. Sadly, I don't see any such thread in the first 15 pages of threads.

I'll be using it as a basic business machine with little if no games. Applications will be mainly Office suite and Acrobat. Only upgrading because my current laptop (5 year old Toshiba Satellite) is starting to really show it's age. At the office, I plan on hooking it up to a mini-dock and an external monitor/keyboard/mouse.

So here my noob questions:

1) Lenovo Canada Outlet currently has a supply of "new" 14.1" non-widescreen T61 (8889W2V) for $1,329 CDN. Here is the configuration:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz 800MHz 4MBL2), 2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2
SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory, Genuine Windows Vista Business - US
English, 80GB Hard Disk Drive 5400rpm, DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual
Layer Ultrabay Slim, 14.1 SXGA+ TFT, Bluetooth w/ antenna, nVIDIA Quadro
NVS

Applying coupons, you can get a 15" widescreen T61 with a T9300 and 7200rpm drive for cheaper. How many of you guys would pay the "premium" to get a 14.1" S/S laptop rather than W/S? The difference is at least $400 more for this S/S...

2) Any recommended 14" W/S or 15" W/S configurations that you would recommend for best bang for buck? I know, I could always wait for the rumoured T400/T500 launch in July...but thought it might be good to swoop in now at the end of the product lifecycle and get something for really cheap.

Here's how I have configured it so far:

ThinkPad T61
- 15.4 WXGA TFT
- Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9300 (2.5GHz 800MHz 6MBL2)1
- Intel GMA X3100 GM965
- 2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 (2 DIMM)
- Genuine Windows Vista Business
- 100GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
- Integrated fingerprint reader
- DVD Recordable, Ultrabay Slim
- M$ Basic (preload)
- Advanced MiniDock (worth $159.99)

Comes to about $1,318.43

Any comments would be really appreciated! Thanks![/quote]

I've posted some of the following in a few other threads, but I repeat it here again:
wide-screen vs. 4:3 screen (I hate to say "standard" screen as wide-screen will be the standard screen in a few years ) is a highly personal choice. You'll find a lot of wide-screen haters (for valid and not so valid reasons), wide-screen lovers and people that are just indifferent. I fall somewhere in between these (I have a T60p 14" SXGA+ connected in the office to a 22" WUXGA (using both screens), a T61p 15" WUXGA and an A31p 15" UXGA IPS; the latter two sometimes connected to a 24" WUXGA display).
If you can live with a wide-screen display, then I don't think there is a reason to pay a premium for a 4:3 screen. However, there would be reason to pay a premium for an IPS/flexview display over a TN display (but this is not an option in your examples).

Given the same resolution (WXGA in your case), I'd go with a 14" over a 15" display. However, if you have good eyes, I'd recommend getting a 15" WSXGA+ or WUXGA display.

If you want to save additional money in your configuration, I'd

• - choose the smallest CPU, still sufficient for everything you want to do with the machine.
  - choose the smallest amount of RAM and HD and buy additional memory and HD, if needed, from a third party.
  - not bother with the fingerprint reader.
  - not bother with MS Office. Look into OpenOffice. Seriously, see whether OpenOffice provides everything you need from an office suite.

A 14" notebook is much more portable in my experience. A 14" SXGA+ screen will have much smaller text than a 15" WXGA+. You probably don't need the T9300 for Office and Acrobat. If you prefer a standard screen you should probably act quickly as going forward they'll be much tougher to get.

Consider a model with integrated Intel video if you can find one. It should provide longer battery life, although the margin is decreasing.