Any reason not to buy a T61?

[TheGeekEvolution]

Hey guys!
I've been looking around on eBay for a Thinkpad to replace my D620 which is getting too underpowered, and come across the T61. Are these any good? I know about the Nvidia problem, but the one I'll get has the Intel GPU.

The specs are as follows:
Intel Core 2 Duo T7300
2GB DDR2 RAM
120GB 5400RPM HDD
DVD-ROM
Wireless A/G/N
Bluetooth
Intel X3100
14.1" WXGA LCD
Windows XP Professional - Will install Windows 7 Professional.

I've fallen in love with this laptop, but I can break it up. There aren't really any other Thinkpad's out there with similar specs for a similar price.

All I'll be doing on it is school work, office work, web development, the occasional Visual Studio, all of these ran flawlessly on my D620.

Should I buy it?

Cheers,
Joel.

[ArtShapiro]

Welcome to the forum. Can you live with that dismal WXGA resolution? Some folks don't care, for others having such a minimal vertical screen is a showstopper.

It seems like a decent machine otherwise. 2 Gigs memory is enough for most people. I generally stick a 7200 drive in my Thinkpads, but it's not urgent and you can wait for a good deal to show up for one.

Art

[TheGeekEvolution]

Welcome to the forum. Can you live with that dismal WXGA resolution? Some folks don't care, for others having such a minimal vertical screen is a showstopper.

It seems like a decent machine otherwise. 2 Gigs memory is enough for most people. I generally stick a 7200 drive in my Thinkpads, but it's not urgent and you can wait for a good deal to show up for one.

Art

Thanks! Yeah, I'm fine with the WXGA, while I'm at home it'll be connected to my 1920x1080 monitor. I'd most likely upgrade the RAM to 4GB just for the sake of it, having that extra bit won't hurt. As for the HDD, I plan on upgrading that to a 7200RPM drive anyway.

[ZaZ]

Why does your D620, which ran your programs flawlessly, now seem seem underpowered? I don't see bumping up to a T7300 as a huge upgrade. Why not throw the 7200RPM drive into your Dell? That along with a clean install would probably do a lot to help speed thing up.

[dr_st]

I'm with Fred. A T61 is only a marginal upgrade to a D620, especially with the T7300, which is a fairly low-end CPU for a T61. Unless your D620 had some Core Solo or a very low clocked Core Duo, you won't feel a big difference, if at all. Maxing out hard-drive and RAM (or maybe even getting an SSD!) will put a lot of new life into your DELL.

If you are determined to buy a newer model Thinkpad, though, a T400 will be a better upgrade, and if it is beyond your budget, you may be able to find a R400, which is 95% the same, but cheaper.

[billp117]

If you go with the T61 Wide Screen...consider getting one with the camera and bluetooth. I used to have the Dell in another lifetime and had nothing but trouble with it.

For the $$ the T61 is a good value...some of them might still have some warranty left. Not sure about your area however.

Good luck...