Let's say my T61 died today--what to replace it with?

I have to say I fail at searching this forum. "T61 replacement" got me no hits at all.

I'm usually a desktop computer user and have until recently only used my T61 sparingly. I'm using it daily now and am completely used to its layout, keyboard, screen, Trackpoint and Touchpad, 15" screen. With a six cell battery I only get about 2 hours but I go down to 70%, plug it in, go to 94%, unplug it, rinse and repeat.

It has a T8300 cpu. I don't watch videos or do anything graphics intensive. All my Photoshop/Lightroom stuff is done on my desktops. It's a new day in Notebookville, and I have no idea how my 3 year old T61 stacks up against newer Lenovos.

I don't need an ultra lightweight notebook, I just need a competent one with no bad habits. I see some Lenovos going for around $500, also ones going for as much as I paid for my T61 (around $1200 in 2009) and more.

I guess my question is two fold: if I intend to keep the Trackpoint and Touchpad, what is the logical replacement? If I can forego that and just go with a touchpad, what's the cheapest I can get that will be as competent and erogonically similar to my T61? Who knows, maybe my T61 will never die but who's to say I won't drop it today?

And if you decided you didn't want to go Lenovo again, who else delivers like Lenovo does? Thanks.

 

Are you going to stick with a 15" screen or are you willing to move to a smaller screen?

What is your budget?

What are you doing with the machine?

 

I could go 14" screen. Budget of around $800 but less is better, seeing how this would be an emergency purchase and not lusting after some "upgrade". Right now just web surfing, some word processor stuff, but if the new one could handle Photoshop and other image processing software (like DxO, batch editing 100 images or so) that would be great but not required as I have desktops for that.

I've been doing some researching and see the T420 review almost describes my T61, especially the keyboard. The Thinkpad series was built for corporate fleet use and for being abused by lackadasical owners. So sturdy and long lived is pretty important. Lightweight and thin is not. Then I read a review (both here) on the E420s (I know, last year's model) which was described almost as a T61-light.

Now that I've looked at current Lenovo models its pretty overwhelming how many market niches they (and all other manufacturers) need to cater to. I've narrowed it down to a T61 replacement, the cheaper the better!

 

The closest replacement right now would be the T530

 

A refurbished T420 with i3 CPU (and HD+ screen) would fit your need and budget.

 

A T420/420s, refurb, is going for $750-$850 at the Lenovo Outlet store. No i3 but all i5. Hmmmmmm...

 

Well, what would you get for $750?

 

This, for example. Note that there seems to be a big sale going on at the Lenovo Outlet store so who knows how long this price would be good for.

Lenovo | 

 

I'd vote for that one. i5, SSD, 9-cell and all. (You can eventually add a HDD in the UltraBay if more storage is needed.)

 

I would get a T430 base model with screen upgrade. With some coupon codes, you might be getting it for $800 which is a pretty good price. Might be able to find a T420 but the difference is price is so minimal that I wouldnt consider it. I`ve been hearing good things about the new keyboard but only time will tell how well it holds.

 

I'd go for this one too. Except, call and make sure they don't mean 2.8 hours on a 9 cell and actually meant to say something closer to 8 hrs.

 

2.8 hours is almost longer than I get with my 6 cell. Hard to believe some notebooks these days can go 8 hours. My battery meter (on Energy Star) drops a % a minute. Right now it says I have over two hours left but it drops precipitously when it gets under 45%.

Also, it's kind of amazing what you get for under $1000 these days, sometimes a lot less. I was happy to pay $1200+ three years ago for my T61. The idea of getting a new T430 (for example) for $800 just seems unreal. Maybe if it was 1" thin and 3 pounds it'd cost a lot more, but that's another Lenovo line of notebooks.