best nvidia-based thinkpad

[metacolo]

Since it looks like the T500/W500 will be ATI or intel discrete, I was wondering what the best T43p replacement option will be for the next year. I've never had good luck with ATI drivers under linux, and I don't think intel integrated graphics will meet my performance requirements for a desktop replacement.

Right now, the best option seems to be a T61p, although LED backlight, S-IPS or otherwise better panel, and 8GB RAM would be a lot better for a machine.

Second best seems to be giving up on "desktop replacement" and just getting an X300 (X500?) or tablet, and spending more time at my desk.

Is there anything else worth considering? Have ATI drivers actually gotten functional? The main reason I want to replace my T43p is the glitching often caused by Xgl/ATI fglrx/beryl; the main reason I don't is the lovely panel.

[Troels]

Hello,
Well, the later fglrx (now catalyst for linux) features AIGLX support, which is a huge step forward. However, there are still glitches.

Another good thing is that AMD is releasing R5xx, R6xx, R7xx register information, and a OSS driver is under heavy development at the time. 2D i'd say is nothing less than completely stable. Some 3D is implemented as well, but not sure how it progresses right now.
Check out the Phoronix forums mainly: http://www.phoronix.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=43

It all now seems most of a mess, but it is due to this:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a ... bios&num=1

or in more detail this:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a ... onhd&num=1

The two driver models will likely merge sooner or later.
So, in my opinion the ATi side will be the most exciting side for a long time to come. I don't know what nVidia's status is, but i have heard that they are more stable than fglrx/catalyst for linux, but that is all i can claim, since i have no first hand experience. So wait until someone with an nVidia GPU chimes in

[qviri]

Thoughts:

although I am by no means a power user, the V5200 in my T60p seems to play very nicely with the latest Ubuntu, including the flashy cube/wobbly windows/win-tab effects.

To get 8 GB (more than 3 GB, in fact), you will need T61/R61/X61 or later. To get non-TN panels, at the present time you need T60 or older. So far there has been no indication that non-TN panels will be offered again in the future. I don't know about LED backlight beyond the fact that current (old) models with IPS screens don't have them.

If you don't need the portability that much, a desktop with an MVA/IPS LCD seems like a good way out of these contradictions.

[ajkula66]

Words "ThinkPad" and "nVidia" should not be found in the same sentence...it has never worked well, and still doesn't.

BTW, nothing against nVidia per se. But not on ThinkPads.

Get used to ATi, Linux support will eventually get where it needs to be. It's definitely gone a long way over the last several years.

My $0.02 only...

[slagmi]

surprisingly, I've been more than pleased with the Nvidia Fx570m/256 in my T61P in both linux and vista

runs everything I want to run very well at the native 1680x1050 resolution, and the vista drivers finally appear to be maturing, as evidenced by the relative lack of glitches and performance issues.

all in all regarding nvidia/vista things are much better that a year ago. Regarding Linux, every 'Live' distro I've tried was able to load suitable drivers successfully, with minimal additional work

regarding thinkpad/nvidia that's a different story, others here probably can recall that history better than me, I never owned a nVidia video based thinkpad before this one.

only one issue noted- predesktop screens (not the BIOS/EFI, but rather screens such as a dismounted chkdsk or defrag) do not display at all. curiously, these screens do get displayed to an external monitor. I haven't reloaded, so I don't know if this affects windows setup or the rr environment. I'm pretty sure it will not affect Vista setup. Weird issue though, and one that many users would never even notice.

[dickeywang]

Well, I still see Nvidia is providing a better Linux driver than AMD/ATI, and my Quadro FX 570M is working very well under Ubuntu Hardy(suspend, hibernate, compiz, awn). However I admit that it seems AMD/ATI is catching up and considering the recent open source effort AMD/ATI did, I would recommend ATI based Thinkpad instead of Nvidia based ones.