Please help me decide on new Thinkpad

Hi all,

I currently have a T43 and want to buy a T60. I use it 90 % of time in a docking station with 1 or 2 external monitors and keyboard and mouse. I travel 10% of time. I am trying to decide between 14, 15 and 15.4. Obviously in docking station the screen size doesn't matter. How much lighter is 14 inch model and in actual usage is the screen size A LOT smaller. Unfortunately there are no dealers in my area to go to play with the machines. I love Thinkpads and will not consider anything else. I want the fastest beefiest machine I can get but can't decide on the size. My T43 is 15 inch. When I am using it bu itself I am glad it is not smaller, but when I am lugging it I wish it were smaller. When I am in a hotel room I wish it were bigger. Also I normally travel with 1 regular battery and 1 large battery. Any opinions would be great! I really just use it for email, word docs, some spreadsheets and surfing. Maybe an occasional movie.

 

I just saw a T60 14" at CompUSA. I think it's a reasonably good screen with not so great viewing angles which is common with 14" models - don't know of any with great angles. The keyboard was excellent. I'd never touched a Lenovo before and I was impressed. The touchpad was good too.

I have a standard 15" screen now and I found the 14" to be a very comfortable size. They have them well-tethered at the store so I didn't test the weight.

 

14" one is about 6 ounces lighter.

For spreadsheets and movies, it's better to have WS.

 

I saw that ThinkPad at CompUSA too. It wasn't that great. It had a last gen Core Duo, 512MB, and XGA screen for about $1200. You could probably get better ThinkPad by ordering directly at Lenovo for a little bit more money.

 

Another probably dumb question - If I buy a 14inch (or a 15 inch non WS) model and put it in a docking station and then plug a WS external monitor into it, will it adjust to the WS external monitor or will I have to reconfigure the monitor every time?

 

You can adjust it to recognize that the external monitor should be a certain resolution that is different than your laptop monitor

 

If you want the beefiest Thinkpad T series, get the T60p workstation. It has a 15" Flexview screen, similar size as your T43 but brighter and better viewing angles. I'm not sure about it's weight.

 

By beefiest I meant all the options not size.

 

this configuration at lenovo.com (i uses Vista Home Premium in the configuration):

All the Options

click on ThinkPad T60p Mobile Workstation to customize it then select the following options:

CPU: I suggest at least a Intel Core 2 Duo T5600

OS: (depends on what you want of course, I suggest vista Business [assuming you're using it for business] or vista Home Premium for Media Center) Or of course good old Windows XP Professional!

Total Memory: 1.5 (the one highlighted in gray)

Fingerprint reader

I used 60GB HDD in config

CDRW/DVDROM Combo drive

Intel abg wireless card (integrated auto)

9 cell battery (free in upgrade sale they're having)

Microsoft office 2003 basic

((I did not add anything in the support department, this is notebook only))

Price: (without tax & shipping) $2042

(you can get similar [almost the same] configuration with the R60 series for a few hundred dollars cheaper)

 

I like ... Except the R60 idea... No ATI FireGL V5200 with 256MB inside a R60 but ye sin a T60p no? and..
cpu wise i would say get at least Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 or higher.. 1.8 Ghz blah! My CPU is 1.8 Ghz and I saw a simlary speced T30 with the 2.2 Ghz CPU and I was just like fook, (it was faster with gentoo's emerge etc etc)

 

Since the weight factor represents such a 'low %' of your use, either drop it or put it last in the decision chain. The T60p 15" is about 6.4 lb while the T60 14" is about 5.2 lb.

Some claim the T60 15" Flexview screen is "the best" Lenovo has to offer, while others feel it isn't worth the extra cost. I may be wrong, but I assume that all screens of the 'same' size have the same 'view size' (frames excluded).

 

yes, but the architecture of the C2D will allow a 1.8GHz C2D to blow away a Pentium M. at much faster clock speed.

 

For a 'best fit' solution, your personal needs and use should be the priority! You note that Word docs, e-mail, and web surfing are "mostly what you do". A 'big horsepower' C2D won't help you write or type a Word report any faster than a 'lowly' M, and won't improve your creative writing ability. Fashion & image aside, a Thinkpad does not a thinker make!