T61 Vs D630

I have an old d600...
I have used it for 3 years for 16-18 hour on the day.. Excellent laptop.. I may change the battery on fly without power off the notebook... an much more...

But now.. I don't now if buy the new D630 or the new T61... I like thikpad.. The thinkpad was my firt notebook.. about 12 years ago....
I am attract to T61.. but it's the same quality and performance of the d630?
Many thanks

Alex

 

The D360 is comparable to the Thinkpad, but The Thinkpad is better on the edge. You can ask that kind of questions here and you would expect the answers would favor thinkpad.

If I bought a laptop, thinkpad would be my choice. The quality is either the same or better than Dell.

 

Thanks for asking this question, Mercuzio76. I am in the same position as you and would like more input on the screen quality on thinkpad notebook in general. I am considering the d630 since it cheaper but its a dell which dell would squeeze every penny possible to make a profit even if it their business line.

How comparable is the viewing angle between dell's d630 WXGA+ and lenovo's t61 WXGA? I know it sort of a unfair comparison since higher res screen usually have better viewing angle. How much battery life does 7 cell offer for the t61 equipped with the nvidia's discrete GPU? Thanks.

 

Well guys I would definitely say to go with the T61. I have access to a D620 at work and personally own T60p. The thinkpad wins on build quality and durability. The Dells have definitely improved over the years but they are still n0t thinkpads. I happen to have a Flexview UXGA 15" screen so comparing to the WXGA's is always going to be a step down. I do have a T61 that I am due to recieve within a week so I'll be able to give better comparison between models based on screen quality then. As for batteyr life i also can't say but i do advise that you select the 9 cell option for the t61 if you do go down that route.

 

Lenovo uses two suppliers for their screens, LG and Samsung. Dell also uses these two suppliers but they use two others along with those, I believe one is AUO and I can't remember the other.So basically Dell would vary in LCDs while Lenovo is pretty much a toss up.

As for build, I can't really say but Dell uses a magnesium "shell" while Lenovo uses their plastic composite (I'm to lazy to look up the exact material ) and magnesium roll cage. As for who is more solid, I remember owners of both would say Thinkpads are but theres some problems since then that some would argue that Thinkpads are losing their edge.

In my experience (mind you I never handled a Latitude) I like my T61 and its kinda hard to believe any other notebooks are more solid then it. Not to mention I think Latitudes are ugly compared to the sleek black Thinkpads .

I'm one of those people that like heavy metal, black tee shirts and everything else colored black

 

The material used is called CFRP carbon fiber reinforced plastic. It what lenovo uses as the skin for all of their thinkpads. It does not look as "high tech" as the carbon fiber panels you see on the Sony SZ premium series but it is essentially the same thing. Those that complain about supposed fall in quality of thinkpads tend to view the CFRP material as a step down in quality over a solid magnesium frame. The truth of the matter is the the use of the material with a magnesium sub frame not only has the same rigidity and strength but also has substantial weight benefits. My T60p with the 'heavy' 15" Flexview screen is only 5.8lbs and for its size it is surprisingly light. I admit too at first that I missed the feel of a solid magnesium laptop but considering the weight savings and zero loss of structural rigidity and strength that the path the Lenovo has taken with thinkpad line was the right choice. Fall in build quality? I think not...

 

metal base helps to reduce thermal resistance on the other hand, perhaps that's why T61 could get 88C in CPU core with full load

 

Which has nothing to do with the roll cage.

 

Choosing between the two notebook is very hard.

With these configuration (I have 2 GB and 100 GB 7200 RPM to hot swapas well as XP Pro retail but will be running Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon):

Latitude D630N - $1097 + $40
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz 800MHz 2MBL2)
FreeDOS Operating System Kit
14.1 WXGA+
128MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 135M
512MB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 1 DIMM
Standard Touchpad
80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
8X DVD+/-RW Data Only
Intel® 4965 802.11a/g/n Dual-Band Mini Card
9 Cell Primary Battery
3 year Limited Hardware Warranty with Mail-in Service

ThinkPad T61 - $1,150.00
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz 800MHz 2MBL2)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
14.1 WXGA TFT
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB)
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
80GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
7 cell Li-Ion Battery
Bluetooth
1 Year Depot Warranty - Express

Prices not including shipping/tax.

The t61 is slightly more expensive but are likely due to a window's key, 1 GB RAM (1 DIMM), bluetooth, and slightly more powerful GPU. I think that a fair trade off since I need to purchase another 512 MB/1 GB for my hgl30 if I were to go with the dell. Upgrading the RAM is more easier on the t61 as well. However, the 7 cell does not look so good but some have reported to gain at least 4 HRs of Battery life. I can alway get the Ultrabay Battery later on the future if I need more battery life.

The d630 is dell very own business line notebook but they still treat their notebook as if all of them are consumer notebook (see M1330's quality report). I am a little bit worry if I were to go with dell, I am basically playing the lottery. However, it is cheaper and does not include an OS which is a plus since I will erase any OS that come pre-install with the notebook. Also come equipped with a higher resolution screen as well as the 9 cell battery which is some of my need. The d630 also have reported to have exceptional battery but I kind of not like how it stick in the front but am willing to accept the change just like staying with a lower resolution screen (t61). The open-source notebook does not come with a bluetooth sadly.

My needs are:

Running XP Pro on Gutsy Gibon plus basic computing. (music, movie, internet, office, etc). I also need my notebook for web designing, light photo editing, and heavy game creation (sort of like CAD but for games). I do almost everything from audio editing-video editing. However, my main need are above. So what do you think I should chose? I am leaning more toward the t61 but the d630 fit most of my need. I do not want to pay more for RAM and have a headache taking apart the notebook (I put together the hgl30 myself). Warranty does not matter to me as I am likely to buy a new notebook by next year or 2.

Side note: I have an external monitor with external bluetooth keyboard & mouse. The notebook need to support 1920x1200 but do not require bluetooth as I have a dongle.

Thanks and sorry for hijacking your post OP .

 

Did you use the coupon posted on the front page plus the other deals with the lenovo, you could knock off over 20% of that Lenovo if you havn't..

 

Unfortunately, those coupon only applies to standard screen. I need all the resolution possible and cannot settle anything less than 1280x800.

 

For me it's between these two, but for different reasons:

Dell for its far superior max battery life (9+6 compared to Lenovo's infamous 9+garbage)
Lenovo's far superior GPU (8600GT GDDR2 compared to 8400GS)

This is, as some may realize, from a gamer's POV.

 

FFZERO, if what you are after is pixels, may I suggest:

SXGA+ is 1400 × 1050 pixels notice the processor is the 4BML2 Cache and 2GHz.

ThinkPad T61 - 1 Yr Depot Warranty
Ships within 1-2 weeks** $1,084.00

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz 800MHz 4MBL2)[1]
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic[12]
14.1 SXGA+ TFT
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB) w/o WWAN
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)[8]
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
80GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm[4]
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim[5]
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN[10]
6 cell Li-Ion Battery[60]
8891: Express - 1 Yr Depot Warranty

 

I don't know what you are talking about... doesn't make any sense to me.

 

yeah, sxga+ = 1400 by 1050

 

D630's batteries (both dedicated and 6-cell optical bay) are known to be really good, whereas T61p's ultrabay battery is only 3-cell and dies really quickly.

But then again, D630 only has a NVS 135m graphics card, which is the same thing as a 8400GS, while T61p has a FX570m graphics card, which is roughly the same as a 8600GT GDDR2 (talking about the 14" 4:3 T61p).

Build quality is not a big issue for me, because I'm a gamer; I care about the interiors a lot more than the exterior, hence the aforementioned comparisons.

Now do you understand?

 

..........

 

Umm...what coupon? Can someone post a link please?

 

Gamers care about build quality.

 

Not necessarily correct, per http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-68222.html, the possible ones on the 14.1" T61 and T61p are CMO, Samsung, TMD. A quick Google search ( http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...:official&hs=R4z&q=t61+lg+lcd+fru&btnG=Search) also does reveal LG as being another supplier.

 

choose is not easy.. D630 and t61 are very business notebook... Now I have a D600.. perfectly... and I have a tentation to choose the T61.. for try the difference.. But I have a docking station for dell... and not for thikpad...

 

I do not recall claiming that gamers dont care about build quality?
I simply said:
1) I'm a gamer.
2) I care about specs more than build quality.