New sl510 or used T61?

Hi all,

I am looking to buy a general use laptop with maybe some light gaming (think RA2, AOE3, etc). I have a budget of about $500 and found two options: a refurbed and upgraded T61 or a new in box SL500. I will be using the laptop for a few hours everyday and will occasionally take it with me places. I am leaning towards the T61 due to me hearing problems about the build quality of the SL series but am hoping that someone can provide me with additional insight. I can easily / cheaply upgrade either machine as my friend works at Fry's and provides discounts on parts, but it is something to take into account; the specs are as follows:

T61: -$525
Perfect Condition, looks and runs like new, no scratches or cosmetic issues
60 Day Warranty-Free tech support is included for any set up related issues
Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit
Office & Avast anti-virus Installed
Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 2.10 GHZ Dual Core CPU
4GB Ram
15.4" wide Screen LCD-huge viewing area
Bluetooth
Firewire Port-connect digital camcorders with ease
SD Card Reader-great for quickly reading photos
DVD player, Cd Burner
Wireless
4 Gigs of Ram
120 GB Hard Drive
New extended Life Battery (lasts for 6.5 hours)
**EDIT** Forgot to mention this has the Intel video card and not the nVidia

SL510: -$499
2.1ghz core2
2gb ddr3 ram
250gb hd
dual layer dvdrw
esata
hdmi
webcam
4500hd graphics
3 yrs lenovo/ibm warranty.

 

I used my t61 for 2 years without a single problem and it still runs fine. The only reason why I would consider the SL510 is because of the warranty. That is a hard decision to make. I vote the t61. Hopefully someone gives you more insight on the SL510.

 

look in the outlet, T500 is around that price range too.

 

T61 has better build quality than any SL one

 

if you can get a T500 for that T61 price from the Lenovo outlet (outlet.lenovo.com) then go and buy it. I wouldn't buy the SL series if i can get either the T or R series for that same price range, even if they are second hand and a bit older.

 

Unfortunately I am somewhat constrained by my budget, while I would much rather wait until I can save and buy a newer T-Series or R-series (found an R400 for $550 on CL, gotta check if its still avail.), I am without a computer since my dog snagged my powercord and dropped my laptop 5 ft onto tile.

Talked to a few people on Craigslist in my area that have these machines, and I would have to get them by tomorrow so any help is appreciated!

 

T61 is not bad, but what we are saying that there could be better bargains elsewhere if you look around. Obviously, if you are budget and time constrained, then you should purchase the T61.

The spec for it, is okay, what is the resolution of the screen? WXGA, WXGA+ or WSXGA+? Given that you have the T8100 penryn cpu, then viewing HD movie on your laptop should be jitter free as compared to the T7xxx CPU. Also, in the future you may want to upgrade the CPU to the T9xxx version, which is going to be comparable to the T500 laptop in terms of CPU processing speed.

Furthermore, your laptop is capable of accepting 2 x 4 gigs of ram.