Buying an R61 - advice on specs?

[marcousw]

This is what I'm thinking of getting - and I am getting an amazing price:

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Part Number 8918CTO
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T9300 (2.5GHz 800MHz 6MBL2)[1]
Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate[12]
15.4" WSXGA+,BT
nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M, PC Card/ PCIe
3 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)[8]
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Finger Print Reader
250 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm[4]
DVD Recordable 8x Max Ultrabay Enhanced[5]
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG[10]
6 cell Li-Ion Battery ( 2.4 Ah )[60]
3 Year Depot Upgrade with 3 Year ThinkPad Protection
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Price with discounts:$1,461.51

My big question is about the hard drive - do you think I should change to the 160GB/7200 RPM? I'd prefer more storage but I don't want the HD to be a bottleneck. Any other suggestions? This computer needs to last about three years and I'd like it to be pretty powerful but under $1500ish.

[ryengineer]

RAM and HDD are one of the most basic elements in a thinkpad that you can upgrade yourself anytime.

Most people don't max out these parts when they're buying new machines, rather they configure it to minimum, then sell these parts and buy newer ones elsewhere directly from other manufacturers who also offer warranty.

Now lets assume, for your machine, lenovo will offer warranty for the memory modules for 3 years but if you buy it from another vendor then they might offer lifetime warranty.

[ZaZ]

Some of the newer larger 5400RPM drives benchmark pretty close to the older 7200RPM drives due to the higher density. You can always upgrade later if needed.

[sjthinkpader]

15.4 R series is a pretty big machine. Good if you don't need to move it daily. I use a A31p for home and T60 14 inch for work due to those reasons.

15.4 SXGA+ is right in between 14.1 inch SXGA+ and 15 inch UXGA in terms of font size on the screen. Great if you have good eyesight and it can hold two web pages side by side.

I would also get two 1GB or a single 2GB SODIMM. Two 1GB gives you dual bank reads and one 2GB allows adding a 2GB later, maxing out the system. These things are very cheap today, about $20 per GB.

Many people like the Atheros wireless card including myself. The intel card in my T60 works ok though.

[marcousw]

Thanks sjthinkpader, I ordered two 2gb sim cards so I should have a ton of memeory.

I put this order in two days ago and it still says "In Process" - apparently this status is supposed to change within 24 hours of order. Should I call and bug Lenovo? I've heard they have problems shipping things on time...

[sjthinkpader]

When we order systems, sometimes it could take a long time. Just keep clicking the status check link.