Is it worth it?

[jbraddoc]

Sorry to make this short, but I've got the guy waiting on me.

Does 500 dollars seem too much to pay for a 9450-38U Z61m with a docking station, extra power cable and a case?

Mind you, I have a T30 that needs some work, but if I do this, I'm gonna be done buying computers for a while...

Also, can I upgrade to something besides the 2300E? I am going to need VT down the road.

[ajkula66]

That's a pretty high-end machine when it comes to Z series, and will probably serve you well. CPU can be upgraded to C2D up to T7600.

Price...these machines never sold very well. I would haggle, especially if the unit has no warranty remaining...$500 buys you most T60s nowadays, and a few bucks more gets you a T61, both immensely more popular than any Z unit...

As a re-seller, I wouldn't pay more than $300 for a machine with no warranty. As a keeper, $375-400 if it's dead mint.

Hope this helps.

[ZaZ]

I'd point out the Z61m is solid notebook, but it is significantly heavier than your T30, if you're used to having any mobility. The T2300e is still a very good CPU. For most stuff, unless it's very CPU intensive, you probably won't notice a difference between it and a T7x00 CPU, though as noted the CPU upgrade can be done.

[jbraddoc]

I think the only thing that really concerns me is the fact that I haven't seen a Z61m for sale for under 500 bucks, and all of the units are used. I did offer him 440 for the machine, but he said I could have it with out the dock station... So I don't know if I should take it, or leave it... He did offer a 30 day 'warranty' on it... And the guy is local... I am not sure if he does a lot of swapping for laptops or what, but his ad stated he was looking for an iPhone 3g 16gb to trade for... I asked him what he wanted in cash instead...

I guess given my last few craigslist purchases, I should just walk away, but it'd be nice to have something that would be comparable to my Dell that I have... *I keep talking my self in and out of it*...


Thanks for all the replies, I do appreciate them.

[ZaZ]

I think the only thing that really concerns me is the fact that I haven't seen a Z61m for sale for under 500 bucks.

That's because as ajkula66 noted they didn't sell as many of the Z series. At times you've 200+ T60s going on eBay. There's seven Z61ms on there right now and that seems high. 9450-38U was sold with one a year warranty. Unless the buyer upgraded the warranty I think it's unlikely to still be under warranty. It also has WWAN, which if you don't need why pay for it. I've seen IPS T60s go on eBay for less than $400, though eBay can be a bit more dicey.

I myself just got a R60 with a year and half of warranty on it for $240. Granted it didn't have a hard drive and the battery was kaput, which I kind of figured, but it looks almost new. I got lots of drives laying around and got a refurbed battery for $36 from Lenovo. I waited for 3-4 months before I found the right machine.

I think the more you convince yourself you want this the more you're going to pay. If you're willing to wait, I think a better deal(s) will come along. Besides you're Dell and T30 ain't going anywhere. If you're doing is going on the Internet or a few Office docs you probably don't need much more. You can always go look at it and walk if it's not to your liking. Ask the seller for the serial and machine type so you can look up the warranty on Lenovo's website.

[jbraddoc]

I guess I should put out the reasons why I am wanting to upgrade (I just saw an IdeaPad for 499 with free shipping, new from lenovo on the main page of thinkpads.com).

The dell is a good machine, I got it at a steal from Walmart, when Dell was still selling 1501s. I paid 480 out the door. I haven't seen a 1501 spec'd like this one, all the ones I see have less memory, xp, and an integrated graphics card. I thought I got a great deal, and it was the first new machine I had in a while.

I have gotten tired of the 1280x800 res. It is too big for me, I want a higher res. I bought the T30 because it has the 1400x1050. The reasons I am considering the Z61m is because it is a local find on craigslist, it has 1680x1050 res, and it has the webcam and bluetooth. If I get this machine, I am done buying computers... That is all I am going to need, and I can upgrade it down the road.

The only problem is that this machine is not new. I think that is what is throwing me off the most, because its spec'd on the lower end of the current market, and it could be 3 years old.

I could buy this computer, settle, and hope that everything will work for me, or I guess I could just buy parts needed for my 150 dollar T30 that I *just* bought and keep going from there....

[ZaZ]

I don't mind WXGA too much. The place where I like the higher resolution is for Internet browsing. I use FF. You can make the text smaller, which produces much the same effect of higher resolution. For the everything else I don't really care about the higher resolution.

[ajkula66]

What might work in your favour is the fact that these machines-like Z series in general, apart from the titanium ones-are a PITA to sell. I've sworn on a thousand Bibles not to buy another Z for re-sale, regardless of price. And mind you, I happen to like them...prettiest WS ThinkPads ever in my opinion.

More I'm looking at the prices around, the stuff that is not selling, more certain I am that you should offer a lot less than what the seller is asking for...

[jbraddoc]

Well, it happened...

I am typing to you from the Z61m. I fell in love with it when I saw it. This thing is a beast. It is sturdy. I ran the recovery on it, and am installing XP updates now. I am thinking about getting vista to throw on here. I am amazed with this thing. It feels like a tank. Not much heavier than the dell. And it looks to be in mint condition, except for a crack on the bottom by the dock port area (around where one of the angled locks holds it in, showing that someone tried to yank up with out undocking).

I paid 400 bucks for it, he is giving me a 30 day warranty. I don't have the dock for it, but I am alright with that. He is also getting me another battery. Down the road I will upgrade the ram and processor, but right now it fits.

The current battery that is in it is showing that its at 60% of its life, are there any good tricks to restoring it?


*I appreciate all the advice, even if I foolishly went into this machine. The Dell is going to be my mother's new machine.*

[ajkula66]

Well, congrats!

As I've said before, it's a fine machine. Not to mention that $400 sounds a lot better than $500...dock is a nice thing but not really a necessity for most people's needs...so I guess you've made the best deal possible in the given set of circumstances.

Enjoy!