Just ordered a T61p; good deal?

Using the student discount (they didn't ask me for verification or anything) + the coupon code [USXSAVE4SPRING] + the sale they have going on right now, I was able to get the following T61p:

Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9300 (2.5GHz 800MHz 6MBL2)1
Genuine Windows XP Professional12
15.4 WSXGA+ TFT
NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M (256MB Open GL)
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)8
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
160GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim5
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (supporting Centrino Pro)10
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
6 cell Li-Ion Battery60
6459: Express - 1 Yr Depot Warranty7

for a total (including tax) of $1253.30. Is that a decent deal?

As for upgrading the ram, should I just buy a 2GB stick and have a total of 3GB of ram, or can the T61p detect 4GB?

Also, any idea what hard drive model is inside the T61p? 7200rpm 160GB and the cache size is ???

Thanks for reading through this just a bit excited from finally ordering after days of looking and researching different notebooks.

All comments welcome

 

What about their 20% discount? It even stacks with that coupon code.

This is what I plan on getting:
Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9300 (2.5GHz 800MHz 6MBL2)1
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic12
14.1 SXGA+ TFT
NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M (128MB Open GL)
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)8
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
160GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim5
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG10
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
6 cell Li-Ion Battery60
8891: Express - 1 Yr Depot Warranty7

It is a ridiculously cheap $967.42

 

How did you do that?

 

I just added the T61 workstation version and entered the coupon and it worked.

http://bayimg.com/bAJCeAAbg

It includes a $70 student discount though.

And here's a 15" one, it's only $100 more:

http://bayimg.com/baJcoaABG

I am going to buy one right now, it's so cheap!

 

What is the 20% coupon? Do you have the code?

 

It's automatically added once you hit a certain price and details are on the homepage:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...s/Sales/2008/04_grand-slam&ipromoID=hpa00202&

I'm surprised it stacks with this 10% coupon mentioned here. If I hadn't come to this forum I wouldn't have found it. It doesn't seem to be on any of those coupon aggregation sites either.

 

your battery life is going to suffer with an FX570M, 7200 RPM HDD, and a 6 cell battery. Even the 9 cell doesn't fare that well with a T61p.

 

battery life isn't much of an issue for me since its mainly going to be used at home or plugged into an outlet at the library

 

oh and I forgot to mention that you can use ebates.com to get a 3% rebate ontop of everything else. Not sure if it stacks but I tried and guess i'll find out when lenovo ships.

 

How's the power management? Is there a way to turn off the 570M or underclock it to nothing and save a crapload of battery life?

And how's the speed of a 7200 rpm vs a large 5200 drive?

edit: nevermind, a good benchmark here:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/storage25.html?modelx=33&model1=772&model2=994&chart=142