The final countdown before my new T60p - help oh wise ones!

[Growly]

Well the time is almost at hand - I will be buying my very first brand new T series (it's a dream come true).

Unfortunately, I have some nagging issues. I have not been researching this for anywhere near as long as I should have been, given that I have been so busy with the likes of exams for nigh on the last three months. I intend to make this purchase within the next month or two, unless I can be swayed by you fine folk.

Simply put, I want a beast of a machine. My budget is quite high, so I'm not really trying to save money or skimp out of features.

Now, I have a few questions.

Firstly, there seem to some inconsistencies with how I see others equipping their T60ps and how I am able to do so on the New Zealand Lenovo website (where I live). I have noted that the highest model available there is the 20078JM, for NZD$4199, but tragically it does not feature the 15" flexview screen. I asked here a few days ago about its availability and was told that it had not yet been made available on the Core 2 Duo machines, but I see it can be ordered from the Lenovo US website and another forum member has posted a thread with it in their T60p configuration (including C2D).

What should I do? Should I contact Lenovo NZ (which I cannot do immediately given that I am overseas at the moment), and ask for the screen, or should I order it from the States?

Secondly, this forms part of a bigger question - is now an ideal time to buy or am I best to wait a few months (I will wait at most two or three unless very good reason is given )? I hear the Santa Rosa chips are due in Q1 2007, which is when I expected to buy, and that new LCD suppliers are being sourced? Also with the release of Vista (which I don't really want initially), new models will come out?

All very annoying. Should I wait? Advice?

Sorry for the ambiguity, I ackowledge the fact that I'm not in the know as I would've hoped to have been.

Lastly, on warranties, is there a point in ordering the warranty from the US site - will they be internationally redeemable? I presume the onsite service will be useless if I live a few thousand km away...

Just after lastly, are all the new models still made with the IBM logo in the bottom right? It is absolutely essential that those three colourful lined letters adorn my precious. Absolutely.

Here are the two options, as they stand:

From Lenovo NZ:

• Intel C2D T7600
• 14.1" SXGA+ TFT
• 1GB RAM
• 256MB ATI Mobility FireGL V5250
• Standard ports, Windows XP Pro, etc
• 100GB, 7200rpm SATA drive
• 8X Max DVD Recordable EIDE Ultrabay Slim Drive
• Modem, Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit ethernet, Bluetooth
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
• 9 Cell battery
• Not really sure of warranty, it tells me to contact my representative

Cost: NZD$4199 (Standard price, no sale nonsense)

From Lenovo US:

• Intel C2D T7600
• 15" Flexview
• 1GB RAM
• 256MB ATI Mobility FireGL V5250
• Standard ports (I hope), Windows XP Pro, etc, I hope
• 100GB, 7200rpm SATA drive
• 8X Max DVD Recordable EIDE Ultrabay Slim Drive (or something to that effect)
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
• 9 Cell battery
• 1 site depot warranty (international?)
• Lots of US specific stuff - language packs, power cords (annoying), modem cables...

Cost: NZD$3907.63 (Standard price, although a sale is on, USD$2693. Also, this doesn't include the cost of shipping or of any NZ specific things I'll buy - like the power cord.)

All in all, the NZ model is perfect except the screen. That's a pretty big exception though, which I can justify, except for the myriad of niggly US-specific things that'll get in my way.

One final thing: I have a friend who works for IBM here in NZ, and who has agreed to get me a staff purchase on the laptop. I'm not sure if this is possible when ordering from the States (in fact I'm pretty sure it isn't possible), so after factoring that saving into the account the NZ option becomes cheaper by about $550.)

Thanks very much for all your time! I look forward to joining the ranks of owners

[agarza]

You say you have a lot of budget, but my question if what purpose do you want the laptop for?

If you want a powerhore machine, I'd recommend you buying an Alienware laptop PC. With insanely 1024GB of pure GPU power, you can play any game you want at maximum resolution.

If I were you, I would wait until the Santa Rosa chipset comes with the new T61 with Vista Enterprise installed.
You could go on and add an additional 1Gig of RAM.

The IBM logo is still on the T60's, but you'll get a Lenovo printing on the right side right to the clearplate display LEDs.

[Growly]

Thanks very much for your reply - now, I have to be clear that I want a thinkpad because i just lub them, and I have no intention to ever touch Alienware, ever. This isn't about a powerwhore of a machine, it's about a powerwhore T series, but I see now that that wasn't so clear...

Although I'm still at a loss as to what to do about ordering the machine spec'ed with the 15" flexview, I will just have to wait and see what happens I s'pose. Santa Rosa better be worth it - my only problem now is finding material on the hardware scene given my year of absence. I will be uninstalling Vista immediately if I get that model anyway, hehehe.

I think I can live with the lenovo logo by the LEDs *sigh*.

Thanks again.

[BillMorrow]

let the display you want be your guide..
too bad the 1200x1600 displays are no longer available..
now i will need to keep my T60p 200794U..
the standard displays are, well, too critical of viewing angle..

the US thinkpads are pretty much the same as a NZ specific model except for the usual suspects like the power cord ($2 at any radio shack)

[Growly]

let the display you want be your guide..
too bad the 1200x1600 displays are no longer available..

Thanks for the advice! I've become increasingly annoyed as it seems I've missed out on more and more ThinkPad goodness by delaying my purchase this long. Live and learn, I s'pose.

I'll wait for Santa Rosa then, maybe, and see what Lenovo NZ says. In the meantime I'll troll these forums some more - unless anyone has any better solutions?

Thanks again

[christopher_wolf]

I would recommend waiting for Santa Rosa as well....

Wait, "troll these forums?"

Surely, you mean "trawl" or "lurk."

[Growly]

Surely, you mean "trawl" or "lurk."

Do I? Do I?

Heheheheh. Heheheheheheheh. Muahahaha. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!