Thinkpads Forum

Hey there. Unfortunately I had some major issues with the T42 in my sig... lost a hard drive with a lot of data on it. That and the amount of money I put into it was staggering, so I'm thinking it's time to just give it up and head on to another notebook.

Been a Thinkpad fan since I was given an old 770 back in '04. My T21 has also been rock-solid and I still use it at times, so I'd rather keep with the brand.

What I need is a durable notebook with a little horsepower behind it as I will be starting school in the fall, and I would prefer to have something that will last me at least a few years of that sort of work. battery life is a consideration, but I don't mind carting along a few extras. I will probably be doing some light gaming on it as well, mostly Source games such as HL2, DOD:Source, or TF2(I can leave heavier stuff for my 8800M SLI-equipped M1730). This pretty much nixes Intel graphics out of the running, and I'm really not about to go for anything that has Nvidia G84 or G86 stamped on it(hence not looking at a T61).

Please note that I'm not all that worried about portability... I've carried around my 14.1" T21 for years and consider that to be very handy, and I've been known to cart my M1730 places with little fuss.

So, here's what I'm looking to get:

T60, 14.1" SXGA+(I won't do XGA at all) with the ATI X1400 card, C2D CPU, and FP reader/security chip. I'm not too worried about RAM or HDD space as those can be changed out.

Does this represent the best blend of performance/reliability when looking at T60s? Also, what price ranges are reasonable when looking for such a machine? I figure when I'm looking to purchase one in a couple of weeks I'll have a budget of around $500 to work with...will this be enough? Is there anything else I should be looking at?

I'd just note while the 14" is a fine machine and more portable than a 15", if you're used to the 15" IPS on your T42, the 14" SXGA+ will be a step down in screen quality.

LegendaryKA8 wrote:T60, 14.1" SXGA+(I won't do XGA at all) with the ATI X1400 card, C2D CPU, and FP reader/security chip. I'm not too worried about RAM or HDD space as those can be changed out.

Does this represent the best blend of performance/reliability when looking at T60s? Also, what price ranges are reasonable when looking for such a machine? I figure when I'm looking to purchase one in a couple of weeks I'll have a budget of around $500 to work with...will this be enough? Is there anything else I should be looking at?

As long as the C2D at least T7200, then it represents the best performance in a T60, yes. Reliability does not differ between any T60 models as far as I know, with the only difference that C2D models are newer, thus less abused, and may have more warranty left on them.

T60 C2D models are not that abundant, and especially with T7200+, so it might even go a bit above the $500 range. Then again, prices on new hardware have been dropping so ridiculously that it's really hard for sellers trying to sell older models. So you may be able to find it cheaper than I would consider its fair value, given its price 2 years ago.

LegendaryKA8 wrote:I will probably be doing some light gaming on it as well, mostly Source games such as HL2, DOD:Source, or TF2(I can leave heavier stuff for my 8800M SLI-equipped M1730). This pretty much nixes Intel graphics out of the running, and I'm really not about to go for anything that has Nvidia G84 or G86 stamped on it(hence not looking at a T61).

It's been awhile, but FWIW I wasn't overly impressed with my T60p's performance with HL2 (mainly counterstrike source / TF2). I'm sure I could have spent more time tweaking the config and trying different resolutions, but just went back to standard CS and Starcraft. (for the slim amount of time I had to game )

I have both 14" & 15" T60's & T61's. Far & away my favorite that I've carried everyday till just recently when I migrated to my W500, was my 15" T60/T60p. Since I travel, weight is a consideration but not a deal breaker. I weighed them & found that along with the power adapter, the real life difference between 14" & 15" models is less than 3/4 lbs. Thus for me the choice is easy. The 15 IPS/Flexview display with more screen real estate is certainly worth it. Having owned every T - series model since day one, the T60/60p has always been the best I've experienced. So that's my take on it.
.
Cheers...
posted via BlackBerry Bold

Alrighty... looks like I've come up with enough to make a purchase. I thank you for your advice and you've given me more than a few leads. I think I found something that's in my price range:

15" T60; upgraded to T60p UXGA IPS screen. T7200, FP reader, 2Gb RAM, 100GB HDD(5400RPM), ATI X1400. New 6-cell batterry with less than 10 cycles on it as per ad, and two power adapters. Total cost $540.

I've also seen some T500s in the Lenovo outlet that might be in my price range, but I'm a bit leery about the WXGA resolution they offer(I'm done with low-resolution notebooks). They're also significantly pricier, and I'm thinking that I might be getting a better deal with this one. Besides, 4:3 Flexviews are kinda rare, and I'm not the biggest widescreen fan.

So based on this, good deal or no deal?

LegendaryKA8 wrote:15" T60; upgraded to T60p UXGA IPS screen. Besides, 4:3 Flexviews are kinda rare, and I'm not the biggest widescreen fan. So based on this, good deal or no deal?

I too am a big advocate of 4:3 15" Flexview Displays, they are the best I've ever used. The only concern I have about this laptop is the quality of the work they did when switching displays. I'm not sure if they use the same cable and inverter for this one. I might suggest you post a specific question about this by starting a new thread here, as there are others that do a lot of this kind of work, who would be able to answer the question. Otherwise the price seems right.

Cheers...

archer6 wrote: I too am a big advocate of 4:3 15" Flexview Displays, they are the best I've ever used. The only concern I have about this laptop is the quality of the work they did when switching displays. I'm not sure if they use the same cable and inverter for this one. I might suggest you post a specific question about this by starting a new thread here, as there are others that do a lot of this kind of work, who would be able to answer the question. Otherwise the price seems right.

Cheers...

The seller mentioned that it was a brand new T60p lid which was swapped out by an authorized Lenovo repair center local to him. The auction picture seems to confirm this.

I'd definitely prefer a Flexview screen, considering my experiences with my short-lived T42. UXGA would definitely be the icing on the cake, I think.

Sounds like a great setup that you have there... I should know, I use my T60 in LAN parties when we play Nazi Zombies =) I'm using a 14.1" T60, Yonah Processor T2400 with the ATI Radeon x1400, and the game runs great at Med settings, so expect some decent enough gaming on that 15" T60p of yours. The ATI Radeon x1400 also run Pixel Shaders 3.0 (SM3.0), so you should be able to play quite a few games out there at least Low-Med settings.

Pretty much, the best $300 I have ever spent.

- Bovine Mage

LegendaryKA8 wrote:The seller mentioned that it was a brand new T60p lid which was swapped out by an authorized Lenovo repair center local to him. The auction picture seems to confirm this.

Sounds like a great deal then.

Good Luck!

That does sound like an excellent deal. Make sure that the returns are accepted, just in case something goes haywire right away...

Good luck.

Thanks once again for all the advice.

I just pulled the trigger on the aforementioned notebook, and am pretty excited. Hopefully it arrives without a hitch and quickly. I'm extremely excited.

Please report back how you like your thinkpad. If the weight concerns you, you can take out your optical drive and use the smaller and lighter 65 watt adapter.

ssd_thinkpad wrote:Please report back how you like your thinkpad. If the weight concerns you, you can take out your optical drive and use the smaller and lighter 65 watt adapter.

IIRC, the discrete graphics really needs the 90 W adapter...

I'll definitely be putting a mini-review up when I get it in. As I'm coming from a 15" Flexview T42 I'm not too worried about the added weight. Actually, in my typical nutcase fashion I am at work and posting this from my 15lb(with power adapter) XPS M1730.

Though, will that newer(and pretty pricey) Lenovo thin power adapter work with this configuration T60?

LegendaryKA8 wrote:Though, will that newer(and pretty pricey) Lenovo thin power adapter work with this configuration T60?

The thinner 65 watt adapter is not so expansive, maybe 30 $ for a used one. It may only provide your thinkpad with more or less than 30 watt. When in battery mode, let your thinkpad do much work and put windows batterymodus to "maximum performance", then go to lenovos battery manager and take care that it takes less than 30 watt. If it uses more, the thinner adapter is not working under this conditions.

Not a problem. In any case I doubt the 90W adapter will be any more difficult to carry with my standard load... I will be working off of battery the majority of the time(will be purchasing a couple of extended batteries to use while unplugged). Now, are there any specific adapters I can purchase which will work in a vehicle? I do see me using it on the road like that sometimes, or letting it charge in my car between classes.

Also, I have a spare T4x ultrabay battery. Am I right in assuming it will work in the T6x, as I know the optical drives are interchangeable?

I must be one of the few that could care less about weight, and I carry mine everywhere, everyday. I've carried a 15" (now 15.4" W500) ThinkPad T-Series for years. Speaking for myself I never let battery life or weight dictate what I buy. I like to have fast performance and a large display......and I'll be happy to carry it....ha..ha..ha....

The X series I have are just to have something different on the weekends, or when I want to have a laptop "just in case".

Cheers...