Z61t buying concerns...

[Henry S]

I really want to buy a Z61t notebook, but I have some concerns and questions before I take the big plunge.

My prospective configuration: What do you think about it?
Intel Core Duo - 2GHz
1GB RAM
DVD MultiBurner (dual layer)
100GB HDD - 5400rpm
Intel GMA 950

My Questions:

1) Does the Z61t have a PC Express card AND a PCMCIA Card. The Tech specs on Lenovo.com say it only has a PCMCIA slot.

2) Does the screen have Flexview and how does the screen compare to othe notebook screens in quality (i.e. Dell, HP)?

3) Is WXGA+ (1440x900) a good resolution for a 14.1" widescreen? I'm worried that it might be hard to read or type text.

4) I am not a big gamer (the occasional Solitaire or Snood, none of that Halo stuff), but I am movie lover and I will be editing videos using Adobe Premiere. Is the Intel GMA 950 a good enough graphics card (I have no other option, but this card? Will upgrading my RAM to 2GB help the graphics? Is there a way to upgrade the integrated graphics card...perhaps a PCMCIA card?

5) Will the Intel GMA 950 be sufficient for Aero when Vista comes out?

6) Does the 7-cell battery stick out of the notebook, and if it does, how inconvenient is it?

7) I want to hook up speakers to the system, but using the front side jack seems inconvenient. Are there USB wireless speakers, or bluetooth speakers on the market?

I also would like to buy a TV Tuner and I know that there are ones that are USB and PCMCIA slot ready. Any recommended brands or products for this? Which one is faster, USB 2.0 or PCMCIA?

9) Does upgrading the Hard Drive to 7200 rpm make sense? It is not that much more money, but will it make a considerable difference in performance and what about noise and heat?

10) Have I asked too many questions?

I really appreciate all of the help.
--Thanks, Henry

[snife]

1) No only a PC Card Type II slot

2) Don't think it has flexview (screens are better than any Dell i have seen but don't really deal much with HP)

3) I'm a UXGA fan so find this one hard to call - i think it is a good resolution - my eyesight is not great and i don't have a problem with any of the thinkpad resolutions, you can adjust most settings to increase size anyway to a form that most suits you

4) Its an integrated card so not great for games or anything - you cannot upgrade it and there are no other choices on the Z60t (ati graphics are available on Z60m only). 1GB of RAM should be enough to get the most out of the graphics card (256mb it would take from that if required I think). You could get a docking station and put an external video card in that but this would be an expensive solution. I don't think any PC cards or other external options would have enough bandwidth to cope as a decent video solution.

5) The 950 will run aero - you need to choose some non advised drivers at the moment but this will be fixed by final Vista release

6) Does stick out - not too annoying to be honest, especially on the widescreen notebooks but I would personally prefer to have 2 of the smaller batteries instead

7) Yeah the front connection is inconvenient for this so a docking station (or just a port replicator) might be a good idea for this - especially for the spdif socket on the mini dock and dock. I've seen both bluetooth and usb speakers but have never used any so could not recommend.

I would advise getting a USB tv tuner - i don't think there is a question of speed but this option would be more future proof - in Europe there are loads of DVB USB tuners about

9) The HDD is the biggest bottleneck on new notebooks so it would be worth the upgrade IMHO

10) Yes - Phew!