T 61

What do you think of this T 61 I'm going to buy?

"Thinkpad T61 (6464AS7)

Intel Core 2 Duo T7500(2,2GHz) 800Mhz Intel 64 Technology, 1GB RAM PC2-5300 667MHz DDR2, 160 GB 5400rpm HD SATA 150,15.4in 1280x800 Widescreen anti-glare, Intel X3100, Multiburner CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11ag, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet,UltraNav, Thinklight, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, 6c Li-Ion (Up to 5,5 hr), Microsoft® Windows® Vista™ Business Edition, Weight (2,7Kg), Limited Onsite Warranty 3 Years."

Thanks for sharing your opinions.

 

Get 2G of RAM if you're going to use Vista. And maybe think about a 9 cell battery if you're going to use it unplugged a lot. The 6-cell won't give you 5.5 hours for sure (nor will the 9cell, but it'll be better). Other than that it's a sweet config.

 

Or better yet, get 3GB for Vista, it uses whatever memory you want to throw at it.

Which Intel card did you get? The 4965AGN is optimized for Centrino Pro. I'd chose the atheros card over the 3965BG.... It looks like your system is an express system, not configure to order, so you might have to dig a bit to find the same system with the other card. The 3965 is fine, though. I don't see that model number anywhere in the November 2007 TABOOK.

 

You can buy the ram from newegg it will cost cheaper

 

Thanks people. I've already paid for the computer, and tomorrow I'll get it. I'll downgrade it, because it has the Vista installed on it. I was told by the seller that I can call IBM and they'll send me for free the recovery discs for the XP (I'm Argentina; I suppose it works like he says).

Cheers

 

I ordered a T61p yesterday and plan to install Kubuntu and run W2K and XP via Parallels. Any tips or advice to make this go more smoothly?

The machine specs are: 2.2GHz, 15.4 WSXGA+ TFT, Nvidia Quadro NVS 140M (128MB), 1GB RAM (I will upgrade to 4GB RAM from oempcworld.com), 100GB 7200rpm HDD, Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, 9 cell Li-ion batt. The Wireless options were:

1) ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe US/EMEA/LA/ANZ,
2) Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, and
3) Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN (supporting Centrino Pro).

I picked #2 just because I read somewhere that 802.11n was not quite standardized/ratified yet, and didn't want to be on the bleeding edge there (also thought perhaps AGN didn't support 802.11b where "ABG" probably did). Should I change the order to get the 4965AGN?

BTW, Lenovo says estimated ship date is Jan. 3, 2008. I was aware they've had some trouble with timely deliveries. Purchase price was $1340US tax included.

 

I've had experience with the latter two cards and was really unimpressed with the 3945. I found it to have a really insensitive front end. The 4965 is not as bad. The difference between the two cards is pretty remarkable.

 

Great, thanks, Renee. I changed the order to get the 4965.

 

There is an alternative. Atheros cards seem to have the best front ends. Keep in mind that the BIOS checks for card types, but when I was using a Lenovo 3000, I replaced the 3945 with an Atheros PCI-Express card and got far better results. It passed the 3000's BIOS checks. I use the 4965 in my T61p which has has an improved antenna system over the 3000. I do not get the results that I got with the 3000 Atheros combination. In fact I believe the improvements that I see are due to the antenna system and probably the 3945 and 4965 have similar front ends. I never have tried substituting the Atheros card in the t61p because I don't like taking my t61 apart.

 

Good to know. If the 4965 proves unsatisfactory, I'll consider trying that.

 

2 recommendations:

1. GET A 7200 RPM DRIVE
2. GET 1 DIMM 1GB RAM B/C BUY.COM HAS KINGSTON 2GB PC2-5300 SINGLE MODULE FOR 40-50 BUCKS.

That will let u run 3gb and with a nice 7200 rpm drive, a 2.2 c2d=merry xmas

 

Good advice. Got the 7200rpm drive, already ordered the RAM.

3gb ought to be enough for any of my processes.

 

Just a follow-up, I ordered on 12/11/2007, Lenovo's estimated ship date was 1/3/2008, but laptop arrived 12/19/2007. Eight days from Hong Kong to Colorado, not bad.

 

T61 camp makes the people in the X61 camp mad lol. Good stuff though hope you enjoy your laptop

 

Cool signature. Here's my speedtest result:

 

By the way, just finished burning the recovery CDs. There are NINE of them.

 

What is this 128MB nVidia Quadro NVS 140M ? I have less knowledge on this. All I want is to connect my laptop to the samsung HDTV, will the T61 have a slot so that I can connect my laptop to the TV using the HDMI cable with no problems. Please help. Thanks,
Luke.

 

My 14.1" Widescreen only has a VGA port. No HDMI.

 

I hope you got the RAM seperately

 

Just want to say I wiped vista and installed Kubuntu 7.10, and so far I am pretty pleased. I'm not a fan of rebuilding kernels, hunting/compiling drivers, etc to get it to work. I think the only thing I've had to do so far is to choose the BIOS SATA compatibility mode. Wireless, vpnc, audio, audio CDs, hibernate/suspend, webcam, skype, all worked immediately after configuring via GUIs.

What doesn't work? The volume buttons don't work. Wine looked like it was going to work with Rosetta Stone software but didn't. It only recognizes 3gb of the 4gb of RAM, a known issue. And the wireless card does appear to be annoyingly quickly cutting in and out every 30s or so ("wlan0: link is not ready"... "wlan0: link becomes ready"), not sure if it's related to vpn.

I haven't tested my Verizon wireless card, Parallels, ripping/burning, and others.

 

I thought I'd follow-up with more details for those considering a similar setup (ThinkPad T61, Kubuntu 7.10 Gutsy)...

I haven't had time to test everything, but I am encountering one extremely annoying issue: my browser (and other apps) routinely freeze at unpredictable moments. Doesn't matter if it's Firefox 2.0.0.11 or Navigator 9.0.0.5. I have to restart my browser quite often. That sucks. I have googled a bit, tried turning off the flashy graphics stuff, but no joy. I have no idea what the problem is, but obviously this version of Kubuntu is not ready for primetime with this hardware without some considerable post-install time & effort. I am thinking about waiting for possible improvements with Hardy 8.04.