Need a 2nd laptop: Suggest a sister-machine to a T61p?

[Oro]

I have a T61p I am extremely fond of; this forum helped me sort it out last year. 08/09 build T61p with the fx570m. I added a T9300, upgraded bios/N card, and a 160gb Samsung 830SSD. I love it.

I need a 2nd machine for my partner; her old HP w/XP is just not cutting it any more. I know that tech-wise, this T61p I have would provide what either of us needs for years. If I could just clone it, I would. But-finding another late build is going to be really hard, and I don't want to gamble on the earlier video chips. Plus if I do find one, there's still all the time to do that, plus scrounging up a Penryn, changing the bios, card, drive, etc.

a) Is there a roughly equivalent next-generation 400/500 (W500?) something I can get without large $$ (cash matters a lot here)?
b) Should I try to find another late-build fx570m and just re-do what I did last year?
c) other suggestions?

I appreciate advice and suggestions

[ajkula66]

I guess that the closest you'll get to T61p in the *00 generation is W500.

They are very fine machines, but some of them (just like T61p) were shipped with Samsung WUXGA panels which were atrocious in my experience.

Apart from that major flaw, they were one of Lenovo's better moments IMO.

[Oro]

They are very fine machines, but some of them (just like T61p) were shipped with Samsung WUXGA panels which were atrocious in my experience.

I don't have any experience w/those; my p is UXGA and it's OK IMO. I'll keep that in mind and avoid WUXGA either way, thank you. Probably the W500 is the way to go, even if I luck into a late T61p, that way I skip much of the upgrade work I had to do.

[ajkula66]

I don't have any experience w/those; my p is UXGA and it's OK IMO.

Nope.

It can only be WUXGA or WSXGA+ since it's a widescreen (16:10) machine.

UXGA format is 4:3

[Oro]

I thought WUXGA meant 1920 x 1200? Mine is 1650 x 1200-something. I thought....

maybe it is 1920 and I just run things at 1650, I'll have to look. I had a flexview before this so in my opinion this is mediocre, though adequate. I assume it's only the display quality you are talking about, not the reliability, correct?

[Neil]

UXGA = 1600x1200

WSXGA+ = 1680x1050
WUXGA = 1920x1200

You have one or the other of the last two because there were no UXGA T61p made...other than the frankenpads some have assembled themselves from T60 and T61 parts.

I suppose I would second George's recommendation of a W500...even though I have no experience with them...I do have a T500 that is just a little less powerful than the W series, but still very similar to a T61p. Neither of the 500 models have nVidia graphics, most have either Intel or switchable graphics with the choice of Intel or AMD chips.

[Oro]

I have WSXGA+, not WUXGA. I was confused on UXGA vs. WSXGA+.

Yes, looking at specs and thinking time/cost/effort, this time arround it may be a W500. Though they seem a little hard to find, may need to look at T500 specs and see if something there would also do.

[RealBlackStuff]

How 'desperate' do you need graphics power?
If not, an Intel GPU powered machine like a T500 or R500 with WSXGA+ might very well be a good option!
If UXGA is more your territory, consider a FrankenPad perhaps?

[Oro]

She is in business school and presentations, etc. matter. Also movies to entertain the kids, and some cad (an engineer before grad school). So it's kinda good to have.

I found a likely candidate W500 - but, the seller says it's 1680x1050, but when I go to lenovo Support and punch in the machine type (4063-HK6) it says 1920x1200. So what is the issue with this screen? Is it unreliable, dim, etc.?

[Tasurinchi]

So what is the issue with this screen? Is it unreliable, dim, etc.?

As ajkula66 pointed above, the Samsung panel is not so good, it's not very bright, and the viewing angles are poor. The LG ones are much better in my opinion.

WSXGA+ are generally brighter.

To avoid this kind of confusion I would search for one here in the Marketplace. It's a much safer place to buy

[beeblebrox]

So what is the issue with this screen? Is it unreliable, dim, etc.?

As ajkula66 pointed above, the Samsung panel is not so good, it's not very bright, and the viewing angles are poor. The LG ones are much better in my opinion.

WSXGA+ are generally brighter.

To avoid this kind of confusion I would search for one here in the Marketplace. It's a much safer place to buy

I recently fitted a Samsung WUXGA and LG WUXGA into two T61 Frankenpads. Both are excellent displays. The Samsung has the typical blueish teint, while the LG has a fantastic white screen.

LG is the way to go. However their CCFL seem not to last as long as the Samsung's in my experience. Slightly yellowish after 2 years.

[MTyn]

I have had exactly same...

I bought a used T61p of 08/09 (fx570 and wuxga) and really love it. My partner too.. she wanted a upgrade of her TP too so i contact the seller again and bought 2nd one. It was the last T61p the seller had in stock so i did not really mind the build date. By surprise it was a 08/09 also. And both T61p have a following serial.

Hope you will get same kind of luck with the sister-machine!

[robert213]

Send a private message to Tuus.

He acquired several replacement nVidia GPU motherboards made after AUG '08. However, these boards may be intended for nvs140 (instead of fx570).

Perhaps, he may be able to custom-build a T61/T61p (or possibly T500/T510) for you.

[schen]

I know I'm a little late to this party, but I'm going to throw my .02 worth in as well since we're literally in the middle of a very similar situation at our house.

At this time, we use 2 of the "mid-range" WSXGA (1680 x 1050) T61s here along with a lower-end WXGA Intel integrated graphics model as well. The 2 "mid-range" machines have the infamous nVidia GPUs, but as yet shown any signs of problems. 1 is a spare machine that I use as a testbed of sorts as well as a place for my students to grab files of class materials when they've forgotten their own device. The other is my wife's main computer.

About two weeks ago, I came across a local guy that runs a same surplusing outfit here in the DFW area and he had an ad for a T500 in Craigslist for $125 for a completely working and reloaded machine. Granted the RAM was only 2Gb and the HDD was a 160Gb. It's a 2055-W15 equipped with a C2D P8400 CPU. I bought one from him to upgrade my wife's machine.

The upshot is that, at that price-point, that's really a hard machine to walk away from! Since these things are DDR3 spec'd, it's way cheaper to buy memory for them, and after I move her 240Gb SSD over, this is going to be a very nice running ThinkPad for not much invested. So yeah, I'd recommend looking at these for the OP.

[ajkula66]

The upshot is that, at that price-point, that's really a hard machine to walk away from! Since these things are DDR3 spec'd, it's way cheaper to buy memory for them, and after I move her 240Gb SSD over, this is going to be a very nice running ThinkPad for not much invested. So yeah, I'd recommend looking at these for the OP.

Very true.

I'm hoping that my latest Franken-Project - based on R500 - will be finished for my wife's birthday (October 15th) so I can finally retire her trustworthy but aging Z61m Titanium...