Thinkpads Forum

I need to buy a new used thinkpad after my T61P died.
Thinking of a newer one like T400 of T500 series. But which one will be best upgrade? what would you buy?

Some Txxx models that i certainly have to pass to avoid same kind of hardware problems?

Thanks for the input!!

Last T61/p resort: replace the nVidia motherboard with an Intel one.
You can reuse whatever was in your T61p.
T400/T500 and newer all require DDR3 RAM (T6x has DDR2).

T500/W500, comes with 16:10 screen.

T520/W520, much better processor, and integrated graphics is fairly good for an integrated graphics, better power efficiency and battery life.

I think its best to move steps forward.. so i do not start to repair the T61p. It will be sold as-is or i pull it in pieces for sparepart sale.

Found a fair deal on a T520 i5 "2nd Gen." (Dont have a modelnumber)
But its a 2.5Ghz, 4GB RAM, nVidia NVS4200M 1GB, 250Gb HDD and ABGN wifi. Comes from used laptop company with full year warranty.
And within my budget.

Your T61p had 1920x1200 display.
A T520 will have a choice of these, make sure you get the FHD:
15.6" HD (1366 x768) 230 NITS
15.6" HD+(1600x900) 230 NITS
15.6" FHD (1920x1080) (95% Gamut 270 NITS)

Came too late at the shop.. the T520 was already sold.
Got a T510 (4384-A78) for a bargain. Have a smaller screen but it will do for now.

In the future i hope to find a good T520. With FHD of course.

T520 is a nice machine and very comfortable except for the screen, my 1600x900 isn't very bright so lottery lol. At $139 shipped I can't complain too much but cpu wise the newer Sandy Birdge and Ivy Bridge is a good bit faster than the older first gen systems.

Noticed also that the screen of my new T510 is less sharp as my T61P. Guess the WUXGA screen of the T61P was a very good one.

Yes, the screen on the old T61 was nice.

What is the resolution and manufacturer of the LCD you have now?

I have two T500s with ATI GPU, which I upgraded with the much-sought-after Sharp WUXGA.
My other T500 with Intel GPU now has one of their WSXGA+ screens.
I haven't tried, but I suppose they would also fit in a 15.4" T61/p.

MTyn wrote:Noticed also that the screen of my new T510 is less sharp as my T61P. Guess the WUXGA screen of the T61P was a very good one.

You know you can upgrade your t510 lcd with the 1920x1080 FHD with 220 nit and 95% color gamut. It's a pretty easy install since you only have to remove a couple screws (around 11). About a 15 minute job.

zyzz wrote: You know you can upgrade your t510 lcd with the 1920x1080 FHD with 220 nit and 95% color gamut. It's a pretty easy install since you only have to remove a couple screws (around 11). About a 15 minute job.

Yep. Presuming that he can find the proper screen which has been discontinued for a couple of years now...

These are my experiences with my T400/410/420 models... yes I have a few of these... call me an addict. I have a good source of ex corporate models sans hdd for very cheap.

My favorite t400 is a Intel GFX T9x00 4Gb 120Gb SSD Intel 5300 wireless PLUS 1,440 x 900 LED screen.

This thing is a peach but I believe its a rare config, ie. high quality high res LED screen.

I have another one with ATI switchable GFX and its a pile of nonsense with dubious performance, no ability to switch GFX manually and Lenovo and MS seem to be fighting over drivers.

I avoid 1,280 x 800 models. I do not know about T400s, T410s but I believe they have painful 1.8 inch drives.

I love my standard T410. Again 1,440 x 900 LED but Nvidia quadro gfx. Again this thing is lovely with 4/120 SDD config. Any of the dual core Arrandales blast in Win7 to Win10.

I believe the T420 is also pretty good but loses out on ports and the screens arent as nice.

The T420s is probably close to being the last true high performance Thinkpad. Lots of drive options, this will be saught after.