R60 or T60 - someone decide for me!

Alright - I decided from the "what laptop should I buy" section that a Lenovo is right for me. Now I need help deciding between the r60 and the t60 and help with the processor, ram, and hard drive decisions. I will mostly use the computer for paper writing (I am an academic researcher) and statistical and mathematical analysis (SAS, R, Matlab, etc.). Because I need something sturdy - I decided on the Lenovo - I travel and like to take my computer with me (but I think I take pretty good care of it). Anyway, any suggestions on the specifications and I think it seems like it might be a better idea to buy it pre-configured from a private dealer - any suggestions?
Thanks so so much!

 

T60 features a much better casing than R60.
I think the most suitable configuration for you is:
Core 2 Duo at least 1.66 but 2 ghz preferable
if you are not going to stick to vista then 1 gb of ram is more than enough.
if you will be using it only for work, 80gb of hdd should be enough

also configure it as 14.1" or it will break your back.

what's your budget? if you give me info on your budget, I would configure it more precisely.
by the way will you be storing movies etc on it?

 

my budget is cheap! I would love to spend less than $1500 (before tax) on it. I wont be storing movies just playing them.
also, I dont want vista. So please be as precise as you can in your configurations! Thank you so much

 

ok. I think most suitable rig for you is as follows.

T60
14.1" sxga or xga if you prefer larger text.
Core 2 Duo 2ghz
1gb ram
80gb hdd
dvd-/+rw
6 cell battery

this machine should be around $1500
by the way if you need the machine fast, then I would recommend that you not choose buying directly from lenovo.com.
If you can wait around 10-15 business days then I would buy from lenovo.com because they are having sale right now.

 

The base on the R60 is is more rigid than the T60. You don't get the mag-alloy lid, but I don't know how much you need it. If you want to go cheap, the R60 is a good choice. It is slightly heavier and thicker than the T60, but a very solid notebook. They share a lot of parts like the screens and keyboards. Get only as much space as you need. A 7200RPM will give a nice performance boost.

 

I own a T60, also tried a R60 in person. Can't tell the difference in terms of solidity, because both are very well built. However...
-R60 is relatively clunky compared to T60, which is quite sleek
-R60 uses a plastic lid as opposed to magnesium
-R60 is also heavier and thicker than the T60 of same screen size

All things considered, I would not buy a R60 15-inch to carry around. 14-inch R60... maybe?