Inspiron 1520/1420 buyers - why did you not choose thinkpads ?

Can someone please explain how people are able to get the thinkpad t61 for the price of 1420 (or 1520) with same specs?

 

See post
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=2219386&postcount=9
for an example.

It depends to the specs, for some specs the 1520 can be had much cheaper, for others the prices are comparable.
As an example, a 3 year warranty costs like $90 on thinkpads. It costs $200-250 for inspirons.
Right now, there are coupons that can be stacked for ~20% off sale prices, see the lenovo subforum for details.

 

The starting price of a T61P with a 1 year warranty and .512 GB of ram is $1,493.00*. Are there sales I am not aware of?

 

YES

5% SPP+10% coupon+ 10% AMEX statement credit+ 3.5% fatcash.
Its a nice time to get a thinkpad
This week the 5% SPP does not stack, but still, its like a 20% discount.
Check out the lenovo forum, and the official lenovo deals thread there.

 

Where do you find these coupons?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=144350

 

Yes, isn't it like a 20% discount off prices that have already been discounted by around 25% by Lenovo, which is why for certain configs, the prices of Inspirons & Thinkpads, for the moment anyway, are somewhat comparable.

Of course, if people don't really need machines targeted at biz users, as with Thinkpads, I do wonder if Inspirons are still the way to go, regardless of price similarities. Which is why, I'm still on the fence.

 

Maybe this is shallow, but a little piece of me dies every time I look at a Thinkpad. If I'm going to spend the money, I'd like something that I enjoy using.

Thinkpads are nice machines and all, but they're just not "me."

 

That is correct

Depends on the config.
At equivalent specs, I'd go for a thinkpad, I enjoy them more.
They are also lighter,better built, and easier to travel with.
I like the third mouse button, I like the rollcage etc.

 

I was actually considering the T61 after sending back my 1520, but then I saw the stupid asymmetrical LCD bezel. What where they thinking?

 

well any Lenovo(or any brand for that matter) with similar specs would cost significantly more than my Vostro 1400. Also I don't consider extended warranty a added bonus anyways, its just wasted money in my eyes.

 

but can we really compare these laptops? I mean, the build quality of a Vostro and a T series - apples to oranges?

Just built a D630 vs T61 with same specs in Canada.

D630 - approx 1.9k
T61(16U) - approx 1.5k

T7300, Discrete, WXGA+, Wireless N

 

As amazing as it is that this thread hasn't died, I think there is one VERY important thing that should be remembered:

Not everyone wants a damn Thinkpad. I really see no reason to continue discussing this, especially on the DELL forum.

 

Umm because a thinkpad couldn't come close to the coolness of the machine I am on now.

 

The Inspirons .... cool?

 

windows xp

 

i disagree and that is based on experience working in the campus bookstore servicing laptops. we had Thinkpads come in that had been dropped and the only issues was that some keys popped off the keyboard and the person couldnt get them back on properly. with a Latitude that another customer brought in (we had it set up where we sold Dells and Macbooks in addition to Thinkpads) after dropping it, some keys were broken off as well as the keyboard having popped out of the chassis on one side (still not sure how that happened exactly). also the fan had suffered minor damage on the Latitude which was replaced; that may not have been necessary to do but customer wanted it done to make sure everything was fine. now both people said that they were accidentally dropped from a desk height which i can only assume is the truth. so based on that, i would choose Thinkpad for durability. but that is just my thoughts on my experiences.

 

Although I respect your opinion and appreciate you posting the experience, it seems like that is really not enough evidence to say either way about the quality in comparison. The differences in the damage could be from something as simple as the Latitude was dropped on its side and the Thinkpad was dropped square.

 

Were these latitiuse the older latitudes, or the newer 820/620 ones ?

 

I'd also like to say that working in the IT department of a medical facility, I've handled several hundred latitudes from the last four generations or so. The quality is very similar, if anything I'd say the x00 series was more durable than the current x30 series. The comment about the keyboard issue is true though, especially since the keyboard needs to be removed to replace one of the RAM sticks, it can often pop off when dropped. I haven't handled many thinkpad's though, so I can't really make a comparison there.

 

hi guys,

For me it is really coming down to * NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M
OR * NVIDIA 8600M GS

basically, the T61 or the Inspiron 1520.
I am a gamer and I want to play games like F.E.A.R and Half-Life on High settings. I know that the Quadro is not a gaming card but the WUXGA the T61 offers is luring me to it.

So, basically, can we get into details about the two cards?
thanks

 

http://www.tt-hardware.com/img/news5/news200707_11.gif
3dMark05 score
NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M : 7700
NVIDIA 8600M GS: 4800

The 570M is offended that its being compared to a 8600M

 

The 8600m gs doesn't come in the 1520 he's talking about, so I'd assume he meant the GT. And the two are pretty much the same thing. I read you can even use the 8600m gt drivers on the fx570, but don't quote me on it.

 

The 8600m GT only scored 5200/6100 compared to 7700 for the 570M
The chart has two numbers for 8600m GT, one is 5200, and one is 6100

 

The 570 isn't underclocked and also uses GDDR3

Also, the extra power costs battery life. The battery life on the new Inspirions seems to be top notch; I'm not saying the Thinkpad's are worse, but 5 hours is pretty good IMO.

 

okay,
So, What does the 3D mark score really mean?

I understand that the quadro is a Cad graphical design card. What difference will I see at high settings between the two cards. Quadro vs. 8600M GT

Will the quadro driver work fine with antilaising and the 3d shader crap?

thank you for being patient with me.

 

The Quadro card on the T61p is actually a better card than the 8600M-GT on the 1520. It uses higher clocked GDDR3 video memory, and the entire card is tested much more rigourously, at much higher levels of usage. However, the Quadro drivers may encounter some incompatibility errors, especially with older games. Therefore, if you get the T61p for gaming, it's highly recommended that you install the Geforce drivers on it. That will give you a gaming experience rivaled by only the Asus G1s in the 15.4" sector.

 

thanks odin243 for clarifying everything.

Now, I cofigured the IBM and without coupons arrived at 1700 dollars for the price tag.
During the holiday season when Lenovo has their sale, do you think they will offer more discounts or....is there a way I can get like a 350 dollar discount?
thank you

 

Definateky wait for coupons.With all the discounts stacked up the T61P could be had a couple of weeks ago for $1485 AFTER tax WITH a 5 year warranty.
Specs:
-2Ghz CPU
-WUXGA screen
-NVIDIA Quadro Fx 570M (256MB)
-100GB 7200 rpm drive
-1GB sodimm
-9 cell battery

Keep an eye on http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=144350

 

is it possible to use geforce drivers, have you tried?
will it be detrimental to the videocard?

 

cost is near double what i get from dell

 

Yes, I've tried it many times. I'm actually currently using Geforce drivers on the Quadro in my sig. No, it's not in any way detrimental to the card, because in terms of GPU power optimization the Geforce drivers are actually less demanding than the Quadro drivers.

 

This a very valuable comparison, as I'm considering getting the HP8510 here in Aus, which also has the FX570M 256MB.. never heard of the card before, but sounds fantastic! Perhaps the Omega drivers will get some extra gaming performance out of it too..

I gather it is a DX10 card... is it worth paying for DX10 hardware yet? I mean how is DX10 game performance in real terms opposed to running in DX9? I'm inclined to wait until DX10 "settles in" before upgrading.

 

DX10 performance in new games, such as Bioshock, does not seem to be worlds ahead of DX9 performance, if it's better at all. However, DX10 hardware, such as the FX570m, is much, much better than similarly priced DX9 hardware, simply because it's a newer generation. As I don't see another generation of GPU's coming to laptops before the middle of next year, I wouldn't advise waiting.

 

Why are we NOT doing that?

 

Actually, people do that all the time (or at least they used to, I don't browse that board much anymore).