Need to buy a Thinkpad now, advice needed!

Hello all,

I need to buy a laptop for my home business because my existing laptop is dying on me. After doing a bunch of research, I have decided on the Thinkpad T series. Unfortunately, time is of the essence. I was going to order a configurable system with a Core 2 Duo processor with some extra bells and whistles but have read on some of the forums that a 6-8 week lead time can be the norm. I absolutely can not wait that long.

I called Lenovo sales and I wanted to know if they had any pre-built systems in the $1500 price range. Here is what they got for $1449 plus tax:

Thinkpad T60
Core Duo T2400
Windows XP Pro
14" SXGA
ATI Mobility Radeon X1300 - 64 MB
512 RAM + (512 extra for free that I have to install)
80 GB harddrive
DVD R/W
6 cell battery
3 Yrs depot support


Questions I have:
Any general thoughts on the price I was quoted?

Is installing extra RAM myself difficult? I'm an intermediate user.

Is there a huge difference between Core 2 Duo and Core Duo since I'm not a power user?

Is there a huge drop-off from the ATI x1400 to the x1300? This machine is mostly for business use, little entertainment.

How's the battery life for the 6 cell compared to the 9 cell?



Here are my answers to the "What Should I Buy FAQ" in case this helps.

1) What is your budget?

$1500

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen but would settle for 14" in order to get order quicker

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

heavy MS Office (especially Powerpoint), Internet Browsing, some Adobe stuff


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

Taking to different locations occasionally for presentations

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

No

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

Prefer Thinkpad

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

3-4

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

no

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

US

Screen Specifics

10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?

standard

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

Standard
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.
c. UXGA - 1600x1200 - Very small text and graphics icons, you can fit lots of stuff on the screen.


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

matte/non-glossy screen

Build Quality and Design

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

no

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

3-5 years

Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB?

100gb preferred

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?

CD/RW, DVD - ROM




Thanks so much for your help. This forum has been extremely useful and look forward to hearing your two cents..

Regards,
~Dogboy

 

I would not get a T2xxx series cpu at this point, either T5xxx or T7xxx because they will be better with Vista. 6-8 weeks is not the norm. Did you ask the sales rep for a lead time on a custom configuration? Typically it's 8-10days and you can get a better price with a custom configuration with the sales going on right now.

Also, if you will be viewing the presentations on the laptop screen you probably want to look into a 15" flexview. Oh, and RAM is easy to install.

 

dogboy,

I ordered my T60 couple days ago (custom build) with pretty much the same spec (less the xtra 512Ram) as yours quoted below however my ship date is pretty much the standard build+ship time ~15days and it costs much less (~$1200). So I would go with a custom build if you are going for that spec.

When I called up to ask how long they would take to ship - the rep told me that if I ordered the 1Gb or more Ram the delay would be longer - so I just went for a small 512Mb and will upgrade later..

Hope that helps!

 

Define better. Vista ran fine on my T42 with Pentium M cpu. It is true you won't be able to run 64 bit Vista, but that may or may not be important during the life of the laptop. Consider the woeful support of XP 64 bit, it remains to be seen whether Vista 64 bit will be any better. You'll get a 5-10% performance bump in CPU intensive tasks. Office and Internet won't be any faster. If you are not gaming the card is of less importance. I would agree the IPS screen has much better viewing angles.

 

Thanks to Marlinspike, ik4u2cx and Zaz -- this is the kind of advice I was looking for. It appears I'm going to go the config route if I can get a shipping date of 8-10 days. For an extra $100 (compared to pre-built), I can get some nice upgrades.

A couple of additional questions:

1) If I will be using the Thinkpad with an external monitor 90% of the time and watching an occasional DVD, would you go with

• a) 14.1" SXGA (add $50) + 64mb ATI x1300 (free)
• b) 14.1" SXGA (add $50) + 128mb ATI x1400 (add $50)
• c) 15" XGA (add $50 + 5 business days) + 64mb ATI x1300 (free)

2) I went with the standard 512MB (1 NonParity DDR2 SDRAM SoDIMM) to see if I could stay within the 8-10 shipping window and now my configuration says the RAM and Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG both will ship in 3-4 weeks. That said, is all RAM backed up at this time -- including the standard? Also, am I compromising if I decide to go with the ThinkPad Wi-Fi wireless LAN instead of Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG? Any thoughts comparing the two products? Can I call the 800 sales number and get a straight answer from them on actual ship dates or will I get the "tell the customer what they want to hear" response?

Thx,
~Dogboy

 

I prefer the SXGA+ screens myself, but it is a personal preference. The 14" will be lighter therefore more portable. If you are not gaming you might want to get the x1300 if you want to run Aero with Vista. Plus it is free. I don't think the reps are telling you what you want to hear, but rather they probably don't know. If one of your parts goes out of stock there is nothing they can do. I ordered my R60 on 9/25. The expected ship date was 10/26 and I had it on 10/10. They tend to be conservative, but you never know. Good Luck.

 

I wouldn't waste time with the XGA 15", whatever you get, get SXGA or SXGA+
For your needs, vid card comes down to personal preference. I like to get the best I can in that department because it is not exactly upgradeable, but then the x1300 will have better battery life than the x1400, and for non-gaming/CAD it won't make a difference performance wise.

The sales reps prefer the Intel wiresless to the Thinkpad wirless...many people on the net prefer the thinkpad wireless, I'm not really sure why there is the discrepency.

You get pretty straight dates from the 800 number. They have to do a build before they can check, but then can check before charging you. I would definitley order through a rep. If trouble arises with the ship date post order, they can expedite things.

 

I think that laptop seems quite good for you, as you are not doing anything hardcore processor intensive the Core Duo shud be sufficiant, and the graphics card will be plenty for day to day tasks. Oh and installing Ram is reallz easy, just open a flap somewhere and click it in to the slot. Heres a guide that might help: http://www.crucial.com/install/sodimm1.asp.

mike

 

It is not quite that simple. The memory slots on the T60 are located beneath the touchpad. It requires the removal of four screws on the bottom of the notebook then popping of the palm rest. Then putting the memory and reserve the procedure. I personally didn't find it difficult, but some people prefer not to do it. The T60 service manual located on Lenovo's site will explain the how to dos.