T61 15.4 vs T61 14.1 portability

I need a laptop for coding C# etc, and preferably I'd like it to be portable as I will be taking it to University most days. Im really keen on the T61 14.1 WXGA+, but unfortunately its not available in NZ

This leaves me with a few options

1) T61 15.4 WXGA+ ($3700 nz)
2) T61 14.1 WXGA ($3100 nz)
3) R61 15.4 WXGA+ ($2500 nz)

All have dedicated graphics which I need.

This will be my first laptop, and I'd like a decent resolution, but something which is portable. Should I bite the bullet and go with the T61 WXGA? Or is the difference in portability between the 15.4 and 14.1 not enough to justify the difference in resolution.

I've included the R61, because there is a large jump between it and the T61, but both with similar specs.

Let me know if I haven't made myself clear what I'm asking.

Also: The lenovo sales rep told me the 9 cell battery doesn't stick out in the 15.4 T61. Is this true, and if so, since the T61 14.1's batteries stick out, will the difference in dimensions be negligble?

 

I had the same problem. I need my laptop to be extremely portable. I will walk several miles a day with my laptop, so a 15.4" laptop was out of the question. I think I would have chosen the T61P if I could have gotten a 15.4" laptop.

EDIT: I prefer high resolution screens. The T61P has WUXGA resolution, which I would like.

 

If you want a 14.1" WXGA+ why not consider the Dell Latitude D630? You get a 5% discount with the EPP programme (as a uni student), and its cheaper, plus you can customise it. It comes with 3 year warranty as well.

Edit: I would recommend the HP 6910p of course, but you can't get that with the WXGA+ screen either. And I'd highly recommend 14.1" over 15.4" if you're taking it to uni.

 

I had a similar thread
that you might want to look at.

I ended up getting the 15.4 WSXGA+ notebook since I was going to use a backpack to carry it around. So far its great, the resolution isn't as high as I thought it would be for the screen size. I havn't needed to turn up the dpi yet but maybe 105-110 would probably make things a little more comfortable.

As for WUXGA, you should try one out in real life before you buy one.

My only gripe about the notebook though, is the viewing angles kinda suck but thats expected on a TFT

 

I've been reading about the thinkpad series and I'm now a fan (having never owned one though) so I'm keen to go the Lenovo track, and I also need dedicated graphics.

But, perhaps I should consider dell..... it just seems inferior maybe? (I did consider the 1420 but it looks ugly)

Btw thanks for that post Tailic.

 

If you want portability and screen real estate, you shouldn't say no to Dell just because you want a Thinkpad. I must admit that I was going to buy a T61 instead of the HP 6910p, but in the end I couldn't get past the price.
If you are going to get a T61, don't get it with Turbo Memory (it seams to be the root of the BSODs reported in the forums.
I'm sure a Dell would do everything the Thinkpas does, and you'd save some money.
Don't consider the 1420, its consumer line and not as well built (well its not as thin or light as the business class notebooks).
In my opinion, it comes down to whether you are prepared to carry the extra weight around uni, and the importance of screen real estate.
All I can say, is that the difference between my nx8220 (15.4" approx 2.6kg) and my new 6910p (14.1" 2.3kg) is night and day.
Good luck. If you're in Auckland (or any main city), try getting over to a shop that sells Thinkpads and HP notebooks (maybe PB Technologies?).
Harvey Norman/Noel Leeming etc don't have business laptops, so don't bother with them

 

It depends on how portable you are. My best friend consults with IBM, and she is 100% travel. She will literally be working from her laptop nonstop monday through friday, all around the globe. She says her 15.4" T60p is too heavy, at a second she would trade it for a 14" or an X series.

You're coding C. Which means you don't need large desktop, you need maybe thirty rows or so of coding, right, you can easily accomplish that with an X series, which satisfies your portability requirements perfectly. However, the X not being in your list, get the T61 14". If you truly move around a lot, and carry the laptop on your back, you will want the smaller one.

 

Hah cheers guys.

In responce to marmion, I've been scouring pricespy.co.nz to get the best deal, I'm in Hamilton, so getting a laptop from Auckland should be no prob.

The fact the two previous replies indicate the difference between 14.1 and 15.4 is alot, means I might go for the T61 which as Kebs says should be fine for coding. It does have turbo memory but this can be turned off right?

 

Yea, although I'm not 100% sure how effective disabling Turbo Memory is. Might pay to check out the threads concerning the BSOD issues.
If you are good with the WXGA screen, I would consider the HP 6910p. It's cheaper, very light, and if you get it with XP you would have really good battery life out of the 6 cell. But if you're fixed on the T61, go for it.

I think there is a PB Tachnologies in Halmilton if you want to actually see the laptops, but check before you go to make sure they have models in the shop. I'm not suggesting buying from them (I havn't myself), but I'm suggesting that you physically look at them first (the 6910p is pretty much the same as the 6510b in terms of keyboard, and nc6400 in terms of chassis/build quality).

 

I don't find a whole lot of practical difference between the portability of 14.1 and 15.4, so I'd just assume take the larger display, lower heat, and denser/higher resolutions available in 15.4 (unless wsxga+ on 14.1" becomes available).

On the R series, I'd go for that if I could configure it the same as a T for much less- except that being the 15.4 version, it will not have the roll cage in the lid as the 14.1 R does (and all T's do).

 

Hmm. It seems like there are different views to the T61's portablity. Considering the large jump in price between the R61 15.4 and T61 15.4(which does have 7200 HD, and the top shell etc...) of 1200, the R61 is probably more logical.

Though, there is a difference of 700g which is probably alot, so I think my best bet given the circumstances is a T61 14.1

 

I vaguely remember the old T60 14'1 only weights 4.5 pounds, did the T61 just gain weight?

 

It's a global epidemic...

 

The weight difference between the 14 and 15 inch thinkpads is about a pound (500g). Does it affect protability THAT much ?
I needed a portable laptop too, I went with the [email protected]". The extra screen size will come in handy when codng.

 

No, I am talking about the 14 inchers. I saw some number here stating that the 14.1' T61 weights about 5.2 pounds.....that's about the same as the R61 14'1. I remember the old T60 14 incher weights around 4.5.

 

But if he chooses to use Microsoft Visual Studio or another integrated development environment (IDE), he will appreciate the extra resolution as the IDE takes up a lot of screen real estate. Coding thousands of lines of code is less annoying if you have a large resolution screen as you do not have to constantly scroll the window, even in a notepad / gedit editor.

He is also not going to be coding C forever and will probably go onto more advanced computer logic courses. Furthermore he is coding C#, a Microsoft product, which will mean he will probably use Visual Studio. He could always use an intelligent text editor and compile code via command line compiler though.