Need help ASAP! Want to order T61 tonight!!!

Hello all! New to this board. Currently have a ThinkPad 600E thats just a dinosaur anymore. I'm back in college for business and want a laptop to bring to class/work. I'm not much of laptop user untill now and decided I would try to use my old 600 but its just not going to cut it. I really like ThinkPads and want to get another and saw that Lenovo's current sales ends today. I've been looking at the R series but decided I think the T series would be a better fit for me. I don't game but do some CAD work (SolidWorks). I'm leaning toward the 15.4" model because of this and from what I can tell, its the same dimensionally except thickness. My question is regarding the screen type options WXGA (1280x800) vs. WSXGA+ (1680x1050). Its a $75 option for the WSXGA+ and was wondering if its worth it. This seems like a lot of res for fairly small screen (same res as my home monitor which is 22"). My plan is to order with Win Vista Home but reformat with my own XP Pro as I have certain software that I don't think works with Vista.

Here is what I'm thinking:
Thinkpad T61 15 Wide 6459CTO (with NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB))
-$40 upgrade to Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz 800MHz 4MBL2)
-$75 upgrade to 15.4 WSXGA+ TFT?
-$30 upgrade to 9 cell battery

What is this $50 turbo memory option and is it worth it? How much of an improvement is there between a 7200RPM and 5400RPM hard drive? 1 GIG of RAM is plenty for what I do and WinXP but I would get 2 if I really wanted Vista. Any opinions would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

I suggest upgrading the screen but it is up to you. Extra pixels are extra pixels, more area to work with as far as I see it. It would be smaller then you are used to but you'll grow to like it as long as you don't have bad eyes.

The T7300 upgrade is worth it, definitively go for that. After that the price increase doesn't seem to justify.

The turbo memory won't work in XP as far as I know, so if you are planning to use XP only, there is no point. Hell I'm using vista and I opted out, I just don't want the extra problems. I think it helps speed boot up times and loading times for programs? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Buy the computer with the smallest amount of RAM. Buying 1GIG (1DIMM) is the best choice. While you are waiting for your computer you can buy some RAM from the RAM deals thread that I'll link below. It will be much cheaper then the upgrade though lenovo.

My last suggestion is to see if your school has some sort of contract deal with Lenovo. Some university's will link up with lenovo and get you THINKPADS for cheap.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=121363

 

No go on the university link-up. I checked 1 GIG 1 stick option that way I could upgrade in the future. I think I will go with the higher res screen and skip the turbo memory. I still need to decide between a 80 GIG 5400RPM and 60GIG 7200RPM. In all reality 60 gigs should be plenty for me as I don't do photos and video and would rather that the speed. Here is what I came up with:

ThinkPad T61 15 Widescreen - 1 Yr Depot Warranty

Description Part number Unit price* Quantity Price*
ThinkPad T61 15 Widescreen - 1 Yr Depot Warranty
Edit 6459CTO $1,215.00 1 $1,215.00
System Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz 800MHz 4MBL2) 1
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic 1
Operating System Language: Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic - US English 1
Display Panel: 15.4 WSXGA+ TFT 1
System graphics: NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB) 1
Total memory: 1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM) 1
Keyboards: Keyboard US English 1
Pointing Device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) 1
Hard Drive: 60GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm 1
Optical device: CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo 24X/24X/24X/8X Max, Ultrabay Slim 1
Upgrade to a DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim [add $50.00]
System expansion slots: PC Card Slot & Express Card Slot 1
Card Reader: 4 in 1 Media Card Reader 1
Wireless cards: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG 1
Battery: 9 cell Li-Ion Battery 1
Power cord : Country Pack North America 1
Language Pack: Language Pack US English 1

 

The only thing I see that should be upgraded is the OS. I would like Home Premium at least...of course unless you can really care less about not having Aero(main difference between home premium and basic for me). And of course the RAM which you'll probably buy a stick and just stick it in.

 

Reason behind ordering the basic Vista is I plan to take it off completely and put my own XP Professional on.

 

Took the plunge and ordered it!!! I went through the education division since I'm in college (save about $60). Came out to $1182.75 plus tax which I think is pretty good for what I'm getting:

ThinkPad T61 15 Widescreen - 1 Yr Depot Warranty
Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz 800MHz 4MBL2)[1]
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic[12]
15.4 WSXGA+ TFT
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB)
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)[8]
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
100GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm[4]
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo 24X/24X/24X/8X Max, Ultrabay Slim[5]
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG[10]
9 cell Li-Ion Battery[60]
6459: Express - 1 Yr Depot Warranty[7]

What have you guys been experiencing for shipping times lately? Thanks!

 

Uhm..I would go fo rthe intell x3100 integrated graphics card since you don't do gaming and probably want extended batt life...it will be cheaper too...i really recommend getting a bigger harddrive as you never know what you will need the extra space for in the future

DO NOT go with the 1 gig turbo ram...there are way too many problems associated with that such as BSOD's and other issues

make sure u take the 1 dimm option for ram so you can upgrade it cheaper on your own.

I recently ordered a 15.4 inch wxga+...wxga is too little for a 15 inch..and wxga+ i think is perfect

however, if u were to go for a 14...wxga+ is too much..font is really small ...and I have perfect vision and it still bothers me...therefore i would take just the wxga for the 14

 

Thanks but I went with the Nvidia quatro because I do 3D CAD work with large assembly files that require some muscle. I can't imagine that battery savings would be much anyways.

 

6-cell, integrated graphics: up to 5.7hr
6-cell, discrete graphics: up to 3.8hr
7-cell, integrated graphics: up to 6.5hr
7-cell, discrete graphics: up to 4.4hr


about 2 hours of battery life is pretty significant.

like you, i went with the 140M, because i need it for SC2.
luckily for me, i got the SXGA+, so i have a 9-cell available to me. so i should be getting around 5 hours of battery life with the 140M.