Is this a good price for a ThinkPad Z61m?

Intel Core Duo processor T2500 (2GHz, 2MB L2, 667MHz FSB)
Windows XP Home Edition
15.4 inch WSXGA+
256MB PC2-5300 CL5 NP DDR2 SDRAM SODIMM
128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 HyperMemory
40GB 5400 rpm SATA Hard Drive
8x Max DVD-ROM Ultrabay Enhanced Drive
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini-PCI Express Adapter
ThinkPad 9 Cell Li-Ion Battery

Unit Price: $1,113.65

I'm guessing that it comes with a standard 1 year warranty since i'm purchasing it through Lenovo and didn't select any warranty upgrade option. This price is through a business discount and when i configured the same model directly through the Lenovo site with the same specs except for 512MB RAM and a CD-RW/DVD-ROM it was around $290 more. Has anyone found any real good prices for a Z61m or T60 that has a T2500 and X1400 in it?

Also i have a question about upgradeability. Has anyone swapped the optical drive for a DVD-RW they bought off Newegg? Will it fit without issues? And has anyone had trouble upgrading the RAM with certain brands for ThinkPads? I've already got 2x1GB PC2-5300 G. Skill SO-DIMM sticks i bought off Newegg and i'm hoping there wouldn't be any compatibility problems. I would upgrade the hard drive as well to like a 120GB 5400rpm SATA.

 

wish i could find a price that good

 

It's not that great, seeing as it only has a 40 gig HD and 256 of ram which is pretty bare bones and a 128 MB video card.

 

Those components are upgradeable and have you looked at the prices for a Thinkpad? The X1400 128MB i believe is the same X1400 256MB that is used in like the Dell E1505. Lenovo probably just lists it as 128MB since that is amount that is dedicated RAM while the other 128MB is HyperMemory.

 

seems like good deal (Actually, I've seen better discounts for z61m but...)
the GPU is ok, it's 128+128HT
but HDD and RAM... yes they are upgradeable but how much will you spend for that ?

dunno

 

I already have the RAM and the hard drive will be less then $150 depending on if i go with a 120GB 5400rpm or 100GB 7200rpm. Like i said though, if anyone has seen any better deals for a T60 or Z61m then feel free to link me. I did some searching on a couple deal sites that would normally have Thinkpad deals if there was one and i didn't really see anything much lower then my price when you're looking at a higher-end Core Duo processor and dedicated graphics.

 

Ok it looks like the pre-tax price is only going to be $1083.60 now for that configuration. I've been looking around and i haven't found any other Thinkpad prices that compare.

 

I say that is a good price especially with the WSXGA+ 2.0GHz Duo. DVD-ROM kinda sucks, but you can upgrade that. I would suggest eBay.

 

Lenovo charges over $100 to upgrade to the DVD-RW when the base is a CD-ROM so i figured i would just upgrade to the DVD-ROM for $19 and i could upgrade it to a DVD-RW myself if i wanted or just use an external DVD burner. What are you suggesting eBay for? To buy the DVD burner or to get the laptop? I checked prices on eBay for a Z61m and prices looked a lot higher on there for the most part then what this costs. I can put 2 gigs of RAM in it and a 120GB hard drive and that will pretty much be a $2,000 ThinkPad as that is what they go for with those specs at all the retailers.

 

my thinkpad says it is 128mb dedicated, 512mb with hypermemory. just fine with dungeon seige 2 hehehe....

 

Was suggesting eBay if you wanted to upgrade for the burner.

 

Are you sure about that? I thought the X1400 only used 128MB of HyperMemory. I know the X1600 has 256MB dedicated and 256MB HyperMemory.

 

Will a standard size DVD-RW off Newegg not work in the Z61m? I thought i read in the review here on notebookreview that the Z series used a standard sized optical drive unlike the T series.

 

That doesn't sound right. The ATI x1400 cards are all 128/128. I've never heard of a card that had 128 dedicated and 512 total.

 

Well my x1400 on my T60 says 512MB Hypermemory. This occured after a driver update about three months ago. Strange though.

 

hmm.. HyperMemory....

Actually there are different versions of X1400...

128 / 512 HM (in T60 and probably z61m)

 

i just installed catalyst 6.9 four days ago... i checked my system and it says 512MB hypermemory.

 

Well I'll have to give it to Lenovo. My Z61m shipped yesterday and now i guess I'll just be waiting for it to be delivered next week.