T61's 15.4...Come and get it!!

Wow... Yummy

 

Sooo... how many people are gonna cancel their 14.1" orders now?

 

Good ?...
I would like to see both side by side...

 

Only the integrated graphics solution is available right now though, grrr.

 

yeah, the graphics card option is the real killer here so far.....

 

I agree with you 100%. I have been holding off getting the original T61 with the hope that the 15.4 version would be released with 16x10 reso and a *slightly better* video solution. Well, so far I've gotten half of my wishes granted. Come on, Lenovo!

 

Arrrrrrrgh!!! I've been saying that I was going to purchase as soon as they released the 15.4" version but I never thought they would offer it without the nVidia card.

There is obviously some mistakes on the website. You have the option of two T61 15.4"s to configure.

1. ThinkPad T61 (with 15.4" screen)
2. ThinkPad T61 with Mobile Broadband (with 15.4" screen)

Even option #1 doesn't allow turbo memory.

Why does Lenovo drag their feet so long? Maybe it's a supply thing. It couldn't be a marketing strategy. It's not like the people who purchased the T61 14.1" last month are going to buy a 15.4" this month. They may try to return it, but not many are gonna buy a second. Same with today's offerings. It's not like people are going to buy today and then buy again as soon as the nVidia card comes out. Again, not many anyway. Why not give us all the options we want!!

For me that's
T61 15.4"
Intel T7500
nVidia card (I'd settle for Quadro NVS 140M but would rather have Quadro FX 570M)
Turbo Memory 1GB
100GB HDD 7500RPM (It would be nice if they offered the newer 160GB or 200GB 7500RPM drives)

 

How are they getting this extra space on the screen? Is the small area reserved for the Turbo memory or Broadband antenna gone now?

 

I wish Lenovo would give me the options I want too
For me that would be..all of the above, except w/
glossy screen
consumer gpu option (8600M GT, 2600XT, 8700M GT, etc.)
Hitachi 7k200 200 GB 7200RPM HD
Blu-Ray + DVDR w/ Lightscribe

Actually for me, the website's still all weird and I can't even get in to customize.

Ah well, I'd still rather wait for the t61p if I decide on a Thinkpad at all.

 

Is the screen off-centered like the one in 14,1" model?

 

Pictures from the sight looks like the screen is off center on the 15" model. Maybe it's not as noticable with the larger screen.

 

the option for graphics card indicates it's combined with WWAN option (instead of 1394 on the 14" T61). Base on teh 14" T61, it's known that you can have only Intel Turbo Mem or WWAN, due to limiting number of mini pci slots. this is probably the same for the 15" T61.

 

Thank you for explaining the details birdguy.

I can't find the spec page for these to compare. Is the 15.4" larger overall?

 

Anyone know how much a T61 with a DVD burner and 6-cell battery is likely to weigh? More or less than a Latitude D830?

 

You can still add Intel Turbo Memory - they only let you do it with certain RAM combinations though

 

The price is prohibitive though. Painful to look at after the loevely sale prices we had.

 

What I'm curious about is...why can't you add Intel Turbo Memory when you choose the lowest RAM option (512MB 1 DIMM)?

Is there a reason for this beyond that they want to charge you more for pointlessly expensive RAM from them?

 

OMG-This is soooo stupid!!!! They put out a 15.4" Widescreen with integrated graphics? No one even USES integrated graphics! It amazes me that they rolled out a worse version than they first came out with!

Sadly, no T61p =(

 

I'm sure a lot of people use integrated graphics (the business folk). Just those of us who want to play games would like discrete gpus.

I'm happy, however. Originally I expected them to release the 15.4" on June 5. This means I'm five days closer to getting it now. Just not sure if I want an nvidia gpu or an intel one...

 

Well, it's a 15.4..but it's still not the T61P

The FX 570M won't be that great for gaming - even the 8600M GT is less than stellar; I don't even want to imagine the performance of the FX570M.

I guess people who do 3D CAD would like it though or something.

 

Just realized this, and I don't know how many others would be interested, but the new R61 15.4" WSXGA+ model is out as well, and those offer the Quadro NVS 140 discrete card. It seems to me that the entire system can be configured identically to a T61.

Is there some important discrepancy between the two models that I should be aware of before I just grab an R61 instead?

 

T-series are considered more solidly built and more mobile, perhaps a little lighter

 

That may be the reputation the two lines have built for each other, respectively, but is it necessarily true for these particular products?

I assume that if they are made from identical parts, which, to my knowledge, they are, they would be of equal quality. Unless of course lenovo outsources production of the R-series to a lower-quality manufacturing plant, but that seems ridiculous.

Skibunny or anyone else with firsthand info have any input on this?

 

R61 vs T61

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=126280

 

Thanks very much solidgun. That is just what I was looking (not hard enough, apparently ) for!

So I gather that the R61 is comparable to the T61 in every way save an extra 2/10" and 0.2lb. Is that correct? I was only waiting for lenovo to make available the discrete video option in the new T61 anyway, and since the R61 offers that already, I guess it's to R61 I go. I just have to hope I can somehow stomach the extra 0.2 inches

 

From what you say it makes a lot of sense to save money with R61. But I cannot seem to find that damn spec page as easily .

I guess I won't cancel my order yet, but I need to look into this as they don't sound too different from one another.

 

Here is a link to the R-series configurations. Thinkpad R-6X series configurations
I selected the model on the right, and configured it to match what I wanted from the T61. The total cost is about 20 dollars less, and it has every hardware option that I want, including WSXGA+ resolution

 

I read a post by someone that attended some kind of Lenovo 2007 even in Europe today. He was able to compare T61 and R61 side by side. And according to him, the materials used on the T61 are still superior to that of the R61. Plus, there is flex in the R61 if you press on the back of the LCD, but there is no flex if you press on the back of the LCD in the T61.

 

For a difference of $20 for the same specs, go with the T series.

You're spending thousands of dollars on this investment already...$20 for something thinner, lighter, and most likely built better is not too extreme.

Just wait a few weeks and I'm sure they'll come out with 15.4" discrete graphics systems or even the T61P.

 

Anyone else annoyed by the lopsided screen?

 

I'm not sure why people are so upset about the off center screen. Sure we don't want a laptop that is totally ugly, but if something as trivial as an off center screen is upsetting then buy a pretty laptop like the HP. It's just aesthetics! People buy the Lenovo for build quality and performance, not looks.

 

For me, it's not simply 'aesthetics'. I don't really care what they do on the rest of the notebook, but it is the screen that you will be looking at all the time.

 

I am going to grab a T61 for college this summer. I was going to wait for around the 4th of July as I figured they would have their biggest discount of the summer then. If I wait this long do you guys think that I will receive it before the middle of August? Also, can you get ultimate 64 bit with it or is it only 32 bit? If not I have a copy of 64 bit in front of me that I can put on it but would rather not since it is so cheap with the notebook

 

If you're looking at the screen then why do the bezel proportions annoy you?

 

I'm in the same position to buy a T61 15.4" before the end of August and am debating whether I should buy it now with the Father's Day sale (+5% educational discount) or wait until the July 4th sale. Historically has the July 4th sale been the lowest that Lenovo has discounted products?

 

like how low?

 

<$1200.
Basically I'm wondering for the same machine (T61 15.4") and specs/configuration, will the prices go down during the July 4th sale? (+ the educational discount). I can wait until the end of July to buy (basically have the laptop in my hands before the end of August as it seems Lenovo's lead time is 2 weeks)

 

huh? What percentage has the previous July 4th sale been?

 

Just a question - why is everyone so freaked out about not having a nvidia dedicated card? Isn't the T series and Lenovo for business mostly - not gaming. The new Intel card will run vista flawlessly. Maybe people are gaming on them, just wondering though...

I went with a Latitude 830 so I could get the Integrated card instead of getting a D820 that only has dedicated cards.. They run hotter, use more battery and cause fan to run more.

 

Some people just put performance above battery life. I do. I figure I will almost often be close to an outlet (I probably won't be using my laptop outside much). Gaming is not the only thing that requires a dedicated video card. Heavy photo and video editing will benefit from a dedicated card. Almost any program with graphics can get some benefit from a dedicated card since the integrated card will rob the RAM if it needs to. Programs off the top of my head are CAD (Computer-aided Design programs) and DCC (Digital Content & Creation programs). I use Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects, Encore DVD.

Also, the new design of this laptop has handled heat issues very well from what the reviews say.

 

Also, regardless of what primary use you intend to put the computer, you always want to have the ability to make use of graphic-intensive applications such as gaming, CAD and DCC if and when you need to.

You might not need that dedicated card 364 days out of 365, but when that 1 day comes around and you can't, it's a real pain.