Buying the big deal right now ??

I was planing to buy a T61P this summer (Wait to see how is the Montevina platform performance and price). But I saw that there are big deals at Lenovo right now. This is the system I built:

Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9300 (2.5GHz 800MHz 6MBL2)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
15.4 WSXGA+ TFT
NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M 256MB
2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 (2 DIMM)
160GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable, Ultrabay Slim
ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi LAN Mini-PCIe US/EU/LA/ANZ
9 cell Li-Ion Battery
1 Year Depot/Express Warranty

Price : $CND 1383,85

This price include the Lenovo rebates, the Visa Cardholders rebates and the Spring rebates only this week (35% in total). Plus it's free shipping

This is a very good deal. Do you think I should buy right now ?? Is the 1066MHz FSB on Montevina vs 800 on Santa Rose worth the wait ?? I have until the end of august to buy a laptop for university

What's your opinion ??

THX
alber

 

The current sale was enough for me to buy now, but I needed a new laptop now and really couldn't wait. For me the biggest difference waiting for montevina might have been improved battery life, more video output options and maybe a new led screen.

But none of that was mandatory for me, plus I know I would not have paid 25%+ more for a laptop, so this may have been my only real chance at a t61 and I took it.

 

Do you think the Montevina will be expensive at Lenovo this summer ?? I know it's very hard to predict

 

what is this montevina and santa rosa platform? is it a different motherboard or processor?


ok, im lost, i JUST bought this T61 like 1 week ago and arrived yesterday... do i have this montevina platform?

 

No, the Montevina will be release this summer. You have the Santa Rose Platform. The platform is a code-name that refers to the version of the Centrino platform. Santa Rosa and Montevina are the fourth and fifth generation of Centrino plaform. Both motherboard and processor are different on 2 different platforms

 

What is lenovo rebate you mention?

 

They have a 3 day coupon:

10% off Thinkpad X and Tablet, 10% off Thinkpad T Notebook, 15% off Thinkpad R, excludes X300 Notebook Code: CAPSPRINGSAVINGS
Apr 01, 08 - Apr 04, 08 (CANADA)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrino has a decent breakdown of Santa Rosa and Montevina.

Many (most?) are predicting we'll see a new Thinkpad series (T62, R62, etc.) with the release of Montevina. So aside from what Montevina offers, what would a T62 be likely to have? That is somewhat unclear. Some are saying a new graphics card. Some are saying an LED backlight.

The graphics card question particularly interests me. My guess: we'll see a new "Quadro NVS" based on one of the 9m series cards. We'll have to wait until T62p to get a new "Quadro FX". Or, perhaps we'll even wind up with something from ATI.

Probably yes. Certainly more so than you could get a T61 for now.

 

I tried that coupon on my visaperks build and it says it is not valid. Where did you get it from? Or can someone tell me what a thinkpad T CTO is since the coupon seems to apply to that.

 

I wouldn't mind the new ATI tech in it.


I think right now is a great time to buy.

Get a new Penryn processor and it should help you fly through your work, study, research ect, in high quality form.

Great buys on great technology which other manufacturers are just getting around to offer.

For the money and quality it's a great time to buy.

I bought my T61p last month and yesterday I bought my wife a R61.

Both at great savings with all the sales that Lenovo has been going on. I've noticed the pricing has come down just a tad on certain models. Not much. Some none.

So if you can get a deal on one you would be doing well.

Also don't forget about Lenovo's 21 day price guarantee match that you can use once. (do search for more info)

 

try the same build you made in visaperks on the lenovo canada site but then add the CAPSPRINGSAVINGS, youll probably save more. The thing is about the visaperks, is that it is not valid with any other promotions.

 

ahh gotcha. Sorry I thought you used visaperks and then the coupon. Thanks for clarifying and good luck with your purchase.

 

I call them yesterday and it's possible to match both coupons.

 

I can't make a choice between buying right cause the deal is great or wait for the Montevina Platform :S:S

 

Given Intel's current development path and "security" in the notebook market. I would tend to believe that the improvements will be minor in Montevina. I don't think it'll be anything revolutionary that will make Santa Rosa owners cry.

 

hi i am new here and is in the same situation as TS...
but i can wait till end of this year lol

i would say TS you should think of whether u really need a laptop right now or not. Coz in laptops, price will only go down on same spec. If not, the features will be better.

i would say battery life is a big factor for waiting, think of the newer 25w tdp c2d available with montevina

 

I bought the big deal. It will arrive at my home in about 2-3 weeks.

Thinkpad T61
Intel Core Duo T9300
3GB DDR 3GB PC2-5300 667MHZ 2DIMM
160GB HDD 5400rpm
15.4" WSXGA+ LCD
NVidia Quadro NVS 140M - 128MB
DVD Recorder, Dual Layer
6-cell battery

Price tag: $1080.97 before tax (visa cardholder, USXAPRILSAVINGS applied)

 

Who here can say that the incremental changes that may appear in the next Thinkpad will enhance their computing? What is it that you do that the next Thinkpad may do better? The fact is that the current laptops exceed the needs of most of us.

If you want or need a computer now, I am saying here what I say to my television a couple of times a week - TAKE THE DEAL!

 

I love that show

 

Do you think the GPU will be upgraded in the Thinkpad with Montevina platform ?? I'm a college student/gamer so this part is quite important for me

 

A question to those who purchased a t61 recently: What was the estimated ship date they gave you on the order status screen? And when did your laptop actually ship?

I'm a little worried because when the estimated ship date was 2-3 weeks when I ordered on Monday, but the order status screen says that my estimated ship date is May 21!! I called lenovo on Tuesday, and they told me that it should ship on April 23. But with the negative reactions I've read to their customer service, I'm not sure if I can trust this information.

 

That's not good news for me. I was hoping for an extended ship date, but this seems very long - I ordered last night - projection was 1-2 weeks, but they are still processing my orders. If they did good sales during this season, I wonder if it will be longer.

 

I just looked at my estimated ship date, and the invoice say ship date of4/21/08.

 

I ordered on March 10th, and it still hasn't shipped. I think my original ship date was March 31st, and now it is April 17th (although my extra battery is listed for May 12th). I called though and they said the t61 was set to ship on April 7th, so who knows what is going on. I heard about some big battery factory burning down, or something along those lines, so that could be what is adding to the delays.

Like others in this thread I thought about waiting for the new releases over the summer, but I also figured even that might cause headaches as they iron out problems with new systems. Thinking about all the pros and cons of everything over and over gave me a headache so I just thought f%$@ it, just get it. Damn thing won't ship though. I think the biggest plus of waiting might be you get the control key back in the right place

 

LOL, and here I was worried it would arrive before I get back Stateside (study abroad). Guess I'll be married with children by the time mine comes if March 10 is having delays.

 

ordered 3-14
estimated ship 4-03
shipped 3-19
received 3-24

I ordered an extra battery separate and that says estimated ship 5-11.

Also, called for price match on free dvd burner on 3-29 and received a credit on 4-2.

 

Are you guys ordering at Lenovo US ?? Does anyone have idea how long it takes to receive a laptop from Lenovo Canada ??

 

yea i was going to call them about that too. so they will apply the 10% on top of the visa? sweet

 

That's what they said to me at Lenovo Canada

 

So I am guessing you just asked a sales rep about stacking the visaperks discount with the 10% off? Looks like I am placing my order by phone tomorrow.

 

I think I'm gonna wait until the summer and the Montevina release to buy. I have the 25% rebates from visaperks anytime...

 

You have to enter CAXSPRINGSAVINGS for coupon code instead of CAPSPRINGSAVINGS. Try is on the website it works and you'll have another 5%. This is quite egal to the 10% off if you go directly on the Lenovo website. In my case the one from Visaperks is like 30$ less than the other lol

 

when I order mine,why is the coupon can't be applied on the visa cardholder discount?
plus,I ordered at 3/24,and it's still not shipped yet.damn it!

 

The USXAPRIL SAVINGS is different from the 10%, but you should be able to apply it. I ran into problems with my browser, I think, because I tested it a couple of times (different configs, discounts, etc.). The best deal was this visa one - not only did it start the computer at a lower price, the upgrades were somewhat lower as well. After a final comparison, it was slightly better. Either way, I feel it was a steal.

 

thanks techno；D
Mine finally shipped yesterday and still no further details yet.

Another question is I didn't know the cpp site when I placed my order, now I know it and make a quote which could save me 200$ more(of course with all items the same), can I ask for a price match?
I'm afraiding that they won't give me a price match.Is there anyone who knows anything about this? Thanks in advance to share your info.

and in the cpp it seems that ecoupton can't apply.neither the 5% off nor the 10% off, what's wrong with it?

and for info:
ordered:03/24
shipped:04/05
still not credit.

 

For 200.00 I would sure give it a try. I think the coupon works for an additional 5% with an r-series but not t. I shopped pretty hard a few weeks ago and at that time found the cpp to still be slightly better pricing than using the best coupons. For instance my t61 was a whopping 5.00 less with cpp than the visa page with the coupon.

 

I wonder if it depends. When I placed the order from a link given to me in the thread I posted, which was about the M1530 from Dell versus the T61. I didn't select the T61p, but I got both coupons - the one from the cpp and the one with USXAPRILSAVINGS in the application. Call them - I think the sticky in the discussion board says they will price match. Did you purchase it with Visa on the regular site?

 

I would order almost same configuration, but they don't ship it to Europe. I would pay 80$ for someone doing the dirty job. Get the money from paypal, and then make the order from Lenovo and send it to me.

 

Wow... it looks like the prices jumped back up on Lenovo.com today for the T61p. The same configuration I ordered last monday is now $400 more, even though Lenovo's home page says they are offering 28% discounts now.

Now I'm especially happy I jumped on that deal last week!

 

Amen, brotha, fren. I feel the same way, here I was worrying about having to make a little phone call at some point.

 

I was planning to pick up a couple of ThinkPads this quarter and the Big Deal sale compelled me to place the order today. Got a couple of nicely equipped T61's (2.4 GHz, 2GB, XP Pro, 160GB 7K2, Bluetooth, 1-year on-site, and Office 2007). Between the Big Deal discount and the USPGRANDSLAM coupon savings, they came to $1,100 each. That's an amazing price.

 

Prices at lenovo.ca are so high right now!! I hope there will be another big sale soon

 

ya I noticed prices went up about 200.
I asked a question like the OP quite awhile ago and got some dumbass answer like "Hey didn't you notice the price of technology always goes down?!"

This is exactly why I asked the question.

 

Must depend on the hardware. My current build was $50 less with the current sale.