Thinking about a T500

My T42 is dead...rest in peace.

I'm thinking of getting a "like new" T60 from E-bay (cheap).

I'm also thinking of going "whole hog" and getting a T500.

One of the biggest reason is the ATI GPU. Sure, it's not ultra high end, but it seem pretty fast overall. Would be interest in comments from current T500 owners on gaming...(can it run Crysis? ). JK - I know it can't, well, at least not on max settings.

Great-googly-moogly! Is anyone happy with the keyboard?!? I do tend to wonder here...

I've looked ALL over for a decent notebook from other manufacturers and I keep coming back to the ThinkPad.

Why...?

Every machine I've seen with a decent GPU seems to have a gloss coated screen (even Apple these day!! "Etu Brutus?") ....why this took hold of the laptop market so strongly I will never know.

The silly red stick...it's a lifesaver. How anyone uses touchpads on a regular basis I don't know.

 

I think the reason to upgrade to the T60 is if you like the IPS screen. The other parts are upgrades.

 

u gonna game on thinkpad...? nahhh

 

I actually prefer the glossy screen. My office has diffuse overhead lighting so glare really isn't an issue. When I did a side by side comparison of two MacBooks that were identical save for glossy vs matte screens, the glossy screen was much, much better. Contrast was great and pictures and movies really popped. Now that's just a subjective review but I think it makes sense - the matte anti-glare coating is supposed to diffuse background lights to reduce glare, but it also effects the light coming from the screen and so your images look less sharp and colors are not as vivid. I wish Lenovo would just give us the option of either glossy or matte.

 

...why not? Sure, it's not a "gaming notebook", (which, for the most part that I've seen, are mostly "normal" laptops with lots of flash/bling on the case, I'm exluding high-end DTRs from Asus/AW/etc), but has a decent GPU and a pretty high end CPU.

 

Sure, it must be the case that lots of folks prefer the shine, can't stand it myself.

...can't wait for OLED to take hold, give it 5 years myself.

 

T60 will be a nice upgrade to the t42

 

I agree with that also. I get decent performance with my NVS 140M and T8300. The newer games i play i need to overclock my gpu and that gets me med to high detail at lower resolutions. So if you have the GPU it can game!

 

What do you really want to use the laptop for? Games, just basic office use, heavy duty travel? I think this will determine what you should get and how much to spend. I love my machine but my uses turned out to be a lot less than I expected. Next time I am not going to spend as much(still going for a quality build, but a lower end model). Don't get me wrong, I love my machine and it is doing everything I had hoped and more, but it exceeds my needs.

If this laptop is going to be your only/main machine, I would spend more on it. If it is going to be a secondary machine to play/work with once in a while I would go for a lower end model(or older model) like the T60/T61 or the R500.

 

Sure, I think so, but it's NOT the one with the S-IPS or dedicated graphics. Just a solidly built machine with just over a year on the warranty left.

 

I used my T42 for grad school (part time), work, DVD movies and Internet surfing...very general and ecclectic uses. I don't currently game (don't have the capability on any current PC), but would like to for sure. As for the last, I've checked benchmarks on the GPU and it seems to have some wind to it, able to play the old DOOM 3 on Ultra on XGA at 70+ frames on average (yes, I realize that would come down quite a bit on WXGA+, but would still be playable, heck even cut in half it would still be so. That, to me, is a heckuva feet on a "business" machine.

I am fairly mobile, so a laptop of some type is a practical necessity at this point.

If I pull the trigger on a T500 I'm going to load it up (except BlueRay-$600 Yikes!) and use it as my main machine.

If I win a bid on an old T60 I might build a new gaming desktop on the side.

Arguments, pros and cons as to any given route to take. Something to be said about having ONE machine to care for and use. Something to be said about specificity (one portable, one desktop).

 

All good advice and I concur.

 

Ive had a T500 for the past few days now Tom and I have got to say it is an awesome computer. If you dont mind the size and weight of a 15 inch notebook, then the T500 can fit all of your needs. I definetly recommend it.

-Battery life is awesome on this notebook, in integrated graphics mode I get over 5 hours of battery life while surfing the net, blootooth on, and like 70% brightness. This is while on a 2.53 processor with 35watt power and 7200rpm hard drive.
Once I used it for like 3 hours straight and left the notebook idle, came back after another 3 hours and the notebook still had like 1 1/2 hours of battery left!
-Graphics switches on the fly, dont need to restart comp, so easy to use this feature and convenient
-It has so many security features with its integrated client security suite, fingerprint reader, tpm, port disabling, etc. in case you loose your notebook
-Built like a tank, so if you dont mind carrying around 15 inch notebook, then it will take all the abuse you can throw at it. I try to push in the back of the screen and my fingers meet a solid wall, no rippling whatsoever
-In integrated graphics mode, the notebook runs so cool, gets a little heated while on the ATI but that is expected
-The keyboard feels fine to me, I know alot of people say theres flex, I just dont feel it, its a pleasure to type on (i think I got lucky with keyboard)
-The graphics has ATI3650 which should suit your gaming needs

15% right now can get you a pretty good configured T500 for under $1400. with the USPBLACKFRIDAY sale.

With all that said, Im still learning this computer and if it were not for my needs of traveling for long hours on overseas trip, I wouldnt think twice about keeping the notebook (still thinking about a much smaller sony Z).
So this reflects more on my mistake of getting a 15 inch notebook, not the T500 itself which is an awesome notebook.

 

Huh, didn't realize they were having such a good sale. Just ask an E-bay guy to let me off the hook re: an offer on the T60.

Gotta admit, 15 is a step up in size, but think I can live with it. You find it unwieldy?

...think I might be finding out for myself soon enough

 

Some quick warranty questions.

Does accidental damage coverage and on-site warranty transfer to the new owner if I decided to sell down the road?

What does accidental damage cover? Is it a "partial warranty" where I pay part of the cost or complete and free replacement.

For example, lets say I really did drop it by accident and the screen broke, what would I expect from Lenovo? What would be my downide (again assuming I purchased the OnSite Upgrade and ThinkPad protection)

What if the same example happened to someone else who took ownership 18 months from now?

 

Let me answer this part. The warranty for the thinkpad follows the machine and not the owner. It is tied to the model and serial numbers.

 

This has been my experience thus far as well, and I have a T500.

 

You may wish to look at the warranty guide.

 

I think they must have fixed the keyboard problems on the t500. I got mine last week and pressed really hard on the keys on the left side, and there was no flex at all.. The screen is really great too. Much better than reviews give it credit for. With normal use, if it were any brighter, it would hurt my eyes. In the dark, I turn it down one notch. Outside in direct sunlight is bad, but if you have a little shade, it looks great. I got the WSXGA high rez.