Lenovo T61 Specs Help

This being my first time ordering and customizing a laptop online, I'm interested to know what should be added or removed. This is the current setup for the Lenovo T61p 14-inch widescreen. I also reposted the questions from an earlier thread.


Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7700 (2.4GHz 800MHz 4MBL2)
OS: Genuine Windows XP Professional
OS Language: Genuine Windows XP Professional - US English
Display: 14.1 WXGA+ TFT
System Graphics: nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M
Total Memory: 2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard US English
Pointing device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
Hard drive: 160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
Optical device: CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo 24X/24X/24X/8X Max, Ultrabay Slim
System expansion slots: PC Card Slot & Express Card Slot
Wireless card: Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN (supporting Centrino Pro)
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Battery: 7 cell Li-Ion Battery
Power cord: Country Pack North America
Language Pack: Language Pack US English
2 year depot 9x5 Next Business Day

This comes to $1,674.00 (without tax) of the Lenovo website.


General Questions

1) What is your budget?

Under $1500.00 is preferable.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

Anything 13" - 16" should be good.

3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.

USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

Anything should be fine.

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?

It will be to store a fair amount of music and documents (texts). I will also be using Photoshop and storing a few photos. I’ll also be online a lot, and will use it for school.
I can’t say I’ll be using it to play games or movies, though I may use it to transfer or edit them.

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?

I will be moving it around a lot, though I don’t intend to be using it much in vehicles (in other words it will mostly be on a table or hard surface).

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?

I won’t be playing any games.

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?

It will be mostly plugged in, so anything’s fine.

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?

It shouldn’t be a problem.

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Anything is fine.

Screen Specifics

11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?

Not much preference, if given the choice widescreen.

12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?

Widescreen
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
f. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.

13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

Non-reflective.

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Reasonably.

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?

I’m not in a rush, but I hope to buy soon. A lifespan of 2-3 years would be nice.

Notebook Components

16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB?

120GB+

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD, Blu-Ray or HD-DVD drive?

CDs & DVDs, nothing too special.

 

Go for the T7500 CPU.

Change to DVD-RW.

Choose 1 DIMM of 1GB RAM and by an extra 2GB RAM from newegg.com or Look in the RAM Deals section.

Buy the cheapest HDD they have. Then go to Newegg to buy the 200GB Hitachi Travelstar 7k200 for about $180.

 

Maybe OP doesn't want to go through all the trouble of laptop surgeon.

 

It isn't that hard to add the ram and it would save you a few bucks. I agree with Arkit3kt

 

It's not surgery, more like putting on shoes...

Videos:

HDD Removal: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-63909

HDD Installation: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-63910

RAM Removal: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-63769

RAM Installation: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-63770

I should also note that you should burn the recovery discs using the default stock HDD. Then I believe you can install that factory image onto the new HDD. I'm not sure though, can someone confirm this?

 

good links, thx and repped.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a stranger to upgrading parts on my desktop, but removing the palm rest does look a bit difficult

 

It's not really that difficult as long as your palmrest isn't fidgety. My palmrest snaps so firmly into place that whenever I manage to get one side popped off, I have to pry the other side off.

On a side note, I thought that the T61p models came only in standard 4:3 aspect ratio for the 14.1" models... and that only the 15.4" T61ps had widescreen. Maybe I'm wrong, but who knows.

 

Following Arkit3kt's advice I've changed past features to these four:
80GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
T7500 CPU
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer

I also want to know is XP Pro is the right OS, or if I should get Vista and switch that to XP after.

I selected a widescreen, but being new at this I'm not sure if that's the best choice for me. Should I get standard?

 

You have definitely chosen a setup I would've if I could start over. I'm jealous.

Since you will have to install a fresh XP OS onto the new HDD, then I recommend that you save $50 and go down to Vista basic, since you will be erasing the 80GB stock HDD for storage via an UltraBay adapter (recommended). So I think you should buy an UltraBay adapter, too.

As for widescreen of standard ratio, that is truly down to personal preference. I personally widescreen, but I recommend you go to your local computer store and maybe compare the screens. Keep in mind that standard screen will allow you to have a 9-cell battery, which will give you significantly more battery time than a 7-cell.

I will PM you a deal I found. All this will come to about $1,203.65 before tax with that deal if you decide to keep widescreen. Leaving you $300 to buy your RAM and 7k200 200GB HDD.

Here is the purchase:

 

Also, you may want to note that replacing the hard drive means that you will have to install your own operating system. Since I doubt that you'll want to use Vista Basic, you will have to buy your own copy of XP or Vista Home Premium.

 

I recently purchased the T61 and Travelstar, I still need to get some RAM and a copy of XP, which shouldn't take too long. Thanks to everyone for all the help so far, especially Arkit3kt.

 

You're welcome Ulysses.

As for the leftover 80GB HDD. You can always sell that on eBay or something.