Similar T61 vs R61 - $100 diff - Which should I buy?

T61 - T9300 - No OS - 15.4 WSXGA+ - X3100 - 1 GB - Fingerprint reader - 160GB 7200 - DVDRW - 4 in 1 media reader - Wifi abg - BT - 6 cell battery - 967 using current 10% coupon

R61 - T9300 - Vista Home (couldn´t get rid of it) - 15.4 WSXGA+ - X3100 - 1 GB - SVideo Out - Webcam - FireWire - Fingerprint reader - 160GB 7200 - DVDRW - no media reader - Wifi abg - BT - 6 cell battery - 866 using current 15% coupon

Main use: Linux, Coding C++, Web browsing, DVD, Xvid, SVideo is useful. I don´t care about Firewire or the webcam.

How about the build quality? Is there much difference? I travel so I need a robust laptop.

Thanks

 

I didn't know any of the latest ThinkPads had SVideo-out...

Build quality for both are very similar, except the 15.4" T61 has a stronger lid than the 15.4" R61 due to its rollcage.

But for the 14.1" versions of either, they both have the rollcage.

 

The T series is slightly thinner and lighter than the R. It has a rollcage in all it's models, rather than the 14.1" in the R61 only.
Only the T series has the option of the Nvidia Quatro 570M 256Mb graphics card. Which is rather brilliant.

Since you travel a lot, you'll best get a rollcage. And, you'll probably want to get better battery life, so an integrated graphics card would suit you best if you don't play intensive games. And you'll be carrying it around a lot, so a 14.1" would be your best take.

But since you've only listed 15.4" screens, the T61 is the best one to go. (Plus it has no OS! )

 

With only a $100 price difference, T-Series all the way.

 

Here is my choice up to now for $984.69:
ThinkPad T61 15 Widescreen - 1 Yr Depot Warranty
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T9300 (2.5GHz 800MHz 6MBL2)
ThinkPad PC DOS License
15.4 WSXGA+ TFT
Intel GMA X3100 GM965
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
160GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim
ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe US/EMEA/LA/ANZ
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Wireless WAN Ready - Integrated Antenna with no Provider Card Installed
6 cell Li-Ion Battery
6465: Express - 1 Yr Depot Warranty

I am gonna add a extra 2GB stick from NewEgg bc 1GB RAM is ridiculous.

My doubts are:
- How Linux friendly is the Wifi abg? Is it Atheros based?
- How do I get a 9 cell battery instead of a 6 cell?

 

There is a battery shortage so right now they don't let you get the 9cell. They do, however, let you buy an additional 9 cell battery as one of the accessories.

 

I can´t find any other vendor that will sell a T9300 WSXGA+ for under $1000. Any ideas? Dell might, but I understand that the build quality is not comparable with a T61.

EDIT: The No OS option is also almost impossible to find outside Lenovo. A barebones would be my only option since Dell´s Ubuntu machines only come with really low end processors.

 

Ordered:
1 6465CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM 06/20/08 $974.70 $974.70
43Y3426 SBB INTEL CORE2DUO PROC.T9300
27R1799 VBB PC DOS LICENSE
39T7676 SBB DOS 2000 FLYER - NO PRELOAD
42V8287 SBB 15.4 WSXGA+ TFT
42X5974 SBB INTEL GMA X3100 GM 965
41W2060 VBB 1GB PC2-5300 667MHZ 1DIMM
42V8195 SBB KEYBOARD US ENGLISH
42V8297 SBB UN(TRCKP TOUCHPAD)FINGERRE
42X5218 SBB 160GB HDD,7200RPM
42V8172 SBB DVD REC.8XMAXDUAL LAY UB-S
42X0805 VBB PC CARDSLOT EX CARDSLOT
41W1685 SBB 11ABGWIFI WL LAN USEULAANZ
62P6054 VBB INTEGR.BLUETOOTH PAN
42X1484 SBB INTGWIRL WIDEAREA NET UPGR
41W1508 SBB 6 CELL LI-ION BATTERY
41W1787 SBB CPK NORTH AMERICA
44C5111 SBB LANG. PACK US ENGLISH
1 73P2698 LENOVO THINKPLUS TRACKPOINT CAP COLLECTION TRACKPOINT CAP 06/20/08 $9.99 $9.99
Shipping & Handling $0.00
Tax $68.93
Total $1,053.62

I hope I made the right choice.

 

14.1" widescreen R61 with T9300 and NVS140m is great.

 

14.1 is too small for me.

 

Too bad you went for the 6-cell. but, at least it's flushed with the back.

Either way, brilliant purchase!

 

No other battery is available.

 

why?

you can always hook up to a larger external monitor.

for me, the largest screen i can tolerate is 13.3 inches.

 

He travels a lot. Read his post.

 

Coding on a 14.1 screen annoys me. I have to left scroll, right scroll all the time in Visual Studio. I have a 19" LCD at home, so I am used to having a large screen. If I could convince hotels to loan 17" or higher LCDs to guests, I´d probably get an 11" laptop so I could use comfortably on the plane.

 

Standard 19" standalone LCD resolution is 1280x1024 or 1440x900 for widescreens. Unless you're working on an enhanced resolution 19" at home you're not going to scroll left and right any more on the WXGA+ 14" than at home. I use a 24" 1920x1200 & 17" 1280x1024 at home, dual 20.1" 1600x1200 at one client, and dual 19" 1280x1024 at another client and recently chose the 1440x900 for my laptop (previous laptop was 1900x1200). I haven't gotten it in yet but I'm looking forward to the portability without significant sacrifice in horizontal resolution.

 

Are you saying that a 14" has the same viewing area than a 19"? It´s not a matter of pixel density, it´s a matter of how many characters you can fit per line at the same character size (size measured in millimeters, not in picas). I don´t want to spend 8 hours a day coding on a tiny 14".

 

You can fit as many horizontal characters on the WXGA+ 14.1" screen as you can on a *standard* 19" widescreen and more than on a *standard* 19" 4:3 screen.

Characters per line is a function of resolution only.

Now your preference to code on a larger screen at the same resolution... that's a function of pixel density.

 

Can you fit the same amount of character per line in a 8" 1440x900 and a 19" 1440x900? Not if you want the characters on the 8" screen to be comfortably readable.

After 20 years of abusing my eyesight with computer displays I can´t read tiny fonts on small high-res screens.

 

Fair enough. But 'characters too small' != 'have to scroll' thus the confusion.

I started at far end of the spectrum and hauled around a 17" desktop replacement. It was over 9lbs and made a nice 'kathud' when I slapped it on the table for a meeting. Now I'm going the other route, small and light. As long as I can squeeze the pixels on the tiny screen, I'm happy. If you were serious about the 8" 1440x900 LCD, I'd be the first in line... although the keyboard would probably kill that deal.

 

Characters too small -> have to use a larger font instead of default font to be able to read -> less characters per line -> have to scroll more

 

I have just received email notification saying that the laptop has left the "fulfillment center". Ordered on Friday, shipped on Monday. The website said 2-3 weeks for shipping, I guess that whas just Lenovo's CYA.