Help! Choosing what to buy. (x60, x61s, more)

[patch]

Ahhh. Ok, I have somes options for a new laptop. I need help deciding!

basically I am a Computer engineering student, so I do a lot of programming, circuitry, and math. I have determined that I needed a 'ultra' portable laptop. I love the Thinkpads design for several reasons (Tiny weight with no cd drive, full size keyboard, standard screen form factor, and overall professional look). My main computer is an iMac, which I love (especially in the dorms), but I do not see myself using a macbook (I feel it would be too redundant). My school has a contract with GovConnection, which could get me a pretty darn good deal on thinkpads. Anyways, I narrowed it down to my top 3 choices (not in any particular order). Help!

Specificly, I need help determining the battery life differences, the weight differences, the speed and quality differences, etc. Also I would like to hear more about the warranties. sorry for being so vague.

I color cordinated my thought's. Basically red is the only reasons why I hesitate purchasing. Green's are added perks that I would normally not choose or expect. The custom configured option doesn't have any colors because those are the options that I feel are optimal and is what I base my decision off of.

Option 1: Lenovo x60 from reseller. (1707-Z2C)

• 1.66 ghz Core 2 Duo processor
• 2 gb ram
• 100 gb 7200 rpm hdd
• Wireless G
• Infrared port (works with my calculator)
• 4 cell enhanced battery
• 3 year onsite warranty

Cost: $1,117 + $70 tax + $28 shipping
In stock, ships overnight right away.

Option 2: Lenovo x61s from reseller. (7666-36U)

• L7500 1.6 ghz LV Core 2 Duo processor
• NOT an ultralight display
• 1 gb ram (in one slot, easy upgrade)
• 120 gb 5400 rpm hdd
• Wireless G
• Bluetooth, fingerprint, etc
• 8 cell battery
• Santa rosa benefits
• 3 year onsite warranty

Cost: $1,343 + $80 tax + $28 shipping + $40 for ram
In stock, ships overnight right away.


Option 3: x61s customized from lenovo

• L7500
• UltraLight display
• 1.5 gb ram (upgraded myself)
• 120 gb 5400 rpm hdd
• Wireless N
• 8 Cell battery
• bluetooh, fingerprint, etc
• 1 year warranty

Cost: $1301 + $80 tax + $40 for ram
Must wait for it. I hear that takes up to a month.

Option 4 is a macbook, for $999 + tax + a free nano. Won't go into details here. Likely will not get it because I already have an iMac which I absolutly love, but the macbook doesn't seem to be right for me.

Option 5 is the x61 tablet, same as option 3 but costs $220 more and I would only get it because of the wonderful screen as I have no use for tablet functionality. Hence its unlikely for me to choose this option.

I am currently on summer vacation and bored to death, so the first two options are very tempting for instant gratification. Clearly the ultralight display is better, greater, and would normally be a no-brainer and I would choose option 3. But given the price and time tradeoff i feel that the screen is no big deal so then I choose option 2. But then when I choose option 2 I realize that im paying roughly a $230 dollar premium just to get the santa rosa platform, as well as the lower voltage processor, so then I choose option 1. But then when I choose option 1 I question why dont I just order what I want and get option 3. See my silly loop? And then randomly options 4 and 5 get thrown into my thought "war". A big issue for me is the warranty. Is getting a 3 year onsite warranty really that big of a deal? My family owns several computers and notebooks, and none of them have ever gone bad within 3 years of purchase. (well except my brothers dell.. ha ha, but that doesn't count as it wasn't his computer choice anyways). But the biggest issue is the wait! argh why cant lenovo just ship the things out faster!

[tomh009]

How long do you plan to keep the new X60 or X61? That's a key question. And what operating system(s) do you plan to run on it?

Batteries and wireless cards can be swapped afterward, though N does need an additional antenna to be effective. (But that begs the question of whether you really need N ... how will you use it?)

[pianowizard]

I love the Thinkpads design for several reasons (Tiny weight with no cd drive, full size keyboard, standard screen form factor, and overall professional look).

Have you thought about whether the 1024x768 resolution is good enough for you?

[patch]

The laptop will be my main laptop for at least 4 years, and is likely to be used in some way until obsolete. As an example, the monitor on my pentium 3 sony vaio recently died last year, which was purchased in late 2001.

I will likely triple boot the machine with Vista Buisness, Windows XP, and Linux. The OS is insignificant in the decision as I get it for free regardless. (but the two reseller programs come with vista buisness, and the lenovo i'd get with vista home, then reinstall).

I shouldn't need N, at least not for another two years as my school has no plans on using a wireless N network until the final standard is published. But there will definitly be a need for it later on. lack of N isn't a deal breaker for me.

The notebook will primarily be used in two classes a semester (2 hours a day), but it will always be in my backpack. I do not always have access to an outlet in the places that I like to study. I also need it for traveling (5 hour bus rides, a few plane rides). It doesn't need to be too powerful but it will be doing a LOT of compiling.

[patch]

I love the Thinkpads design for several reasons (Tiny weight with no cd drive, full size keyboard, standard screen form factor, and overall professional look).

Have you thought about whether the 1024x768 resolution is good enough for you?

As a matter of fact, just yesterday I was so concered about this that I was going to get a tablet just because of the resolution. Then I (coincidentally) looked at a friends dell who had a 15" XGA display, the screen real estate wasn't as abysmal as I expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, I would take an SXGA+ display in a heart beat. But I think I can survive on XGA.

(sorry for the double post, only saw one reply the first time)

[tomh009]

A lot of compiling says 7200 rpm drive. Keeping it for 3-4 years says the warranty is worthwhile, even if ThinkPads are well built. And if you don't need 802.11n, I'd give in to the immediate gratification and pick up option 1.

If you plan to run Vista as your primary OS, you could then invest $100 or so in a fast 2 GB CF card and a CardBus CF reader to support ReadyBoost, and still be well less expensive than the other options.

[gator]

Howdy, fellow gator!

My choice is Option 1, balanced and good enough for use at our campus.

[pianowizard]

Patch, because you want portability, long battery life and power, I recommend you to look around for several more days to see if you can get something with the following specs:

X61s
UltraLight display
100GB 7200rpm HDD
8-cell battery
3-year onsite warranty

RAM doesn't matter because PC2-5300 modules are so insanely cheap these days. Just upgrade it yourself.

None of the three available options is optimal.

[tomh009]

It doesn't look like the UFL GovConnection offers any models with the UltraLight LCD. So if the OP wants to take advantage of the GovConnection pricing, he basically has the choices he listed. And of those, I think #1 is the best fit for how he plans to use it.

[pianowizard]

It doesn't look like the UFL GovConnection offers any models with the UltraLight LCD.

I was suggesting the OP to look at other sources, e.g. eBay, Euclidcomputers.com, CostCentral.com, buy.com, etc.

[sugo]

I was in a similar situation a year ago. I wanted long battery life and light thinkpad. Got a X60s, worked well except the XGA screen. Honestly, with the coding I do in Visual Studio 2005, XGA is simply not enough. The amount of scrolling wasn't even funny

.I am back to my 3 year old trusty T42 with SXGA+ screen. The battery lasts about half as long but SXGA+ makes up for the productivity.

[patch]

Thank you for all your reply's. You all make good points. (which is still the problem)

@piano/everyone On govconnection, I have looked through there selection thoroughly. The first two options are pretty much the only two X6* models that give a significant price advantage. I am uninterested in purchasing a laptop elsewhere as I have yet to find one as cheap as option 1. (The X60(s) on ebay go for around 1100 too, but usually 1 year warranty, and never the features that I want. I have been checking for about a month.). We also have a CDW contract, but I didn't see any good prices there either, plus I don't know if it even allows for student/personal purchases. I will only choose from the options listed in OP, although option 3, the confirgurable option, I may choose the 7200 rpm hard drive instead (price difference of around +$30). I do not feel spending the extra $180 for a 3 yr onsite warranty on option 3 is worth it either.

@Tom and gator, Option 1 does seem to be very strong and there is not much wrong with it. If I had found out about this much earlier it would have been such a simple choice. With the money saved, although I would not buy the CF reader, I could buy a second battery a year or two from now to help give the notebook a new boost. One (new) major knock against option 1 is the T5500 does not support IVT (virtualization) which is a feature that I use a lot, but could do without on a pc.

@sugo I do agree that an SXGA+ display is hands down a better choice, but I don't agree with you on the XGA screen. I get easily distracted and there is sometimes too much things on the display. I could go into more details, but I really do believe that the XGA will not leave me disappointed (but it won't make me excited either). Besides, it is not easily available on anything but the tablet.

Either way it is likely that I will decide on sunday or monday.

[tomh009]

I was in a similar situation a year ago. I wanted long battery life and light thinkpad. Got a X60s, worked well except the XGA screen. Honestly, with the coding I do in Visual Studio 2005, XGA is simply not enough. The amount of scrolling wasn't even funny

With Visual Studio, you really have to optimize your use of screen real estate when running on XGA. Close the panes you don't need while editing, and select a compact yet readable font (Lucida Typewriter is my favourite, but Lucida Console comes close and is free).

But having grown up coding on 24x80 terminal screens, I really feel that XGA is eminently usable when well utilized.