Is this T60 worth it?

Hi, I'm a college student in CA who is thinking about buying a notebook I could spend my next 4 years using. About 2-3 months ago I was planning to buy a T43 notebook. However, when I checked the price couple days ago, I found that the T60 model isn't that much more expensive, so I decided to buy it instead.

I visited Lenovo website and saw a promotion of its Anniversary Sale. There is this model that really strikes me:

- CPU : Intel Core Duo processor T2500 2 GHz. FSB 667 MHz.
- RAM : DDR2 512 MB FSB 667 MHz. (I'm thinking about upgrading it to 1 GB)
- Display : 14.1'' TFT Backlit 1400x1050 Res.
- Hard Drive : 100 GB SATA 5400 rpm (I really hate this, I want a 7200!!!)
- Graphic Card : 128 MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 HyperMemory
- DVD Recordable

- Price : $1799.00 (maybe even goes up about $100-200, if I do some upgrades)


What do you think about this one? Should I wait for a better deal or should I go for it? Also, should I upgrade anything? Thanks ahead for your great advices.

 

Oh, another thing that really bugs me is the Battery Life. If I only do an ordinary web-surfing and low-resolution game-playing, how long do you think a 9-cell battery could last?

 

Definitely definitely definitely upgrade to at least a gig of memory. That isn't even a question about doing.

 

That looks like a good deal to me, I would probably go for it. I'm not sure with wireless on, but with my t43 I get about 4+ hrs with the 9cell with wireless off. not positive how much though, I never have to run it all the way down.

And upgrade to a gig....but not from lenovo. I'd check www.dealram.com, usually you can get it much cheaper than from computer companies.

 

What an attractive notebook!

 

Well, I'm not sure if you should go all out on a laptop that you want to last for 4+ years. It's much better to upgrade probably every 2 years. Here's the reason for my thinking:

My copy of Computoredge from October 31, 2003

Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz
17" WXGA TFT 1400x900
512mb Memory
40GB Hard Drive
DVD/CD Rewriter Coombo
64MB ATI Radeon M9-P
$1659

And remember, that's a no name manufacturer. Another thing to take into account is that's a 17" notebook, and 17" notebook usually use higher components. Imagine how low the specs were for 15.4" notebooks and 14" notebooks. In comparison, in present time 2 1/2 years later, you could get a very powerful laptop for that price range.

Just my opinion, though.

 

You can always sell the ThinkPad is a couple years if needed. ThinkPad usually hold their value well.

 

Looks good to me. Make sure it has 3 years warranty. 1GB upgrade is a good idea. Don't worry, Thinkpads will last you forever and probably after your warranty runs out you will be onto your next Thinkpad (they are that good!). Good luck!

 

any notebook can seriously last for years if you keep it in good condition....one good thing though that the core duo can still upgrade to a merom in the future as much as a banias to a dothan...but its hard to tell if they ever gonna make new ones as pentium m did last pretty long, but dunno how long core duo/merom will last until they make a new cpu

 

Upgrading you CPU will void the warranty which for ThinkPads usually means three years. There is little practical benenfit for 64 bit at the moment.

 

Thanks a lot for all of your great advices. I'm not sure should I make the RAM 2 x 512 MB now (cheaper), or 1 x 1 GB (save a slot)????

 

Since the T60 can have its memory run in dual channel mode I'd recommend you make it 2 x 512MB to take advantage of that feature. It will slightly boost your system performance depending on what apps you use the most. Ideally you would want 2 matching memory sticks. This article posted on this site back in late 2005 explains benefits of various memory configurations.