Which new lappy to replace T60?

Hi all,

I am looking to replace my workhorse T60 which I LOVE, despite a few things that have gone a little wrong with it.

For my work, I primarily run Excel and Access 2007.

I'm just flat out confused by all the models/numbers they have now and the posts aren't helping my confusion. Too many choices!

Is the W series the way to go?

What I'm interested in hearing from y'all is:

- Should I get XP or Vista (can I still get XP?)
- which model & specs should I get to replace the T60?

I do know that I want:
-Faster processor than what I currently have (think it's T5500?).
-Big HD
-LED widescreen - 15 inch is fine (don't want the weight of 17 inch).
-Portability (I can easily handle the weight of T60 - 5.5 pounds, but if I get more,faster processing or something from a little more weight, I'll take it)
- legendary Lenovo keyboard (that should be a given with any Lenovo, right?)
- long battery life

Thanks!

 

It's time to move on get Vista

They're pretty similar. I would go for whatever I could get the best deal on unless there was something you had to have that only came with a particular model.

 

T400 or T500 depending on whether you want a 14" or 15" screen. The W500 is a workstation class machine and probably more than you need. It's really just the T500 with a workstation class graphics card that is useful for CAD and other graphical work scenarios. The W500 is also the only model of the three that offers a WUXGA resolution.

For an LED screen, your only option at the moment is the T500 with the WXGA display. The T400 is supposed to offer it, but they appear to be having such trouble keeping them in stock, that they've removed the option from the T400 CTO pages for the moment. I suppose you could still find them through ThinkPad resellers, though.

 

Unless you are running CAD, 3D Rendering, or similar OpenGL applications (or really want 1920x1200), the W500 is unnessecary.

Further, Lenovo seems to be having an LED shortage right now. The LED option for the T400 disappeared, and the T500/W500 never offered an LED at 1680x1050.

I think it's definitely time to move on to Vista. However, if you configure it with Vista Business, you should be able to get an XP Pro recovery DVD free of charge (in case you don't like Vista for whatever reason).

The keyboard issue has been fixed. Lenovo is now using the T61 keyboard instead of the weight reduced (and slightly flexy) model on the T400/T500/W500/et. al.

You don't need a good GPU for either Excel or Word, so you are free to choose any model. The main reason to go for the T500 is the faster GPU, DisplayPort, and 1680x1050 display. If you don't need these, you can easily step down to a T400 (or even an x200 ).

 

The only LED option currently available on a T-series is the WXGA (1280x800) on the T500. I've actually NEVER seen a WSXGA+ LED anywhere...I'm not sure if they exist.

 

I'm very happy with Vista and recommend it! You actually have the choice of Vista Business 32-bit or 64-bit (yet another decision to make). I'd encourage you to go with 64-bit to allow the use of 4GB+ of RAM, now or down the road at some point.

The T400 (14.1") and T500 (15.4") are the successors to the T61, which replaced the T60. Both of them are excellent choices.

Processor- The base processor for the T-series is a 2.26GHz Intel P8400. Compared to the 1.66GHz T5500 in your current T60, the P8400....there is no comparison! It's a fast processor and more than enough for all but the most demanding users.

Hard Drive- What do you consider BIG? 250GB and 320GB 5400rpm hard drives are available.

LED display- The only LED currently available on either T-series is the WXGA (1280x800) on the T500. If you need to see multiple Excel worksheets side-by-side or need to view multiple windows at the same time, 1280x800 may not be sufficient. The WSXGA+ (1680x1050) display with conventional CCFL backlighting is defifnitely worth consideration, even though it's not LED.

The T400 had the option of a WXGA+ (1440x900) LED until very recently- it has been pulled due to supply issues (temporarily, we hope). Personally, I'm a big fan of both the 14.1" form factor and 1440x900 resolution.

Portability- The T400 starts at 4.7lbs and the T500 starts at 5.8lbs.

Battery Life- The T400 has a 4-cell battery standard and 6-cell or 9-cell optional. The T500 has a 6-cell standard and 9-cell optional. An additional Ultrabay Battery is also offered. It is interchangeable with the optical drive, providing extra power when needed. It's a very cool feature, in my opinion.

 

Yeah, I'm not positive those displays exist - I think Dell might used to have offered it on their Precision M4400, but then they discontinued all WSXGA+ screens, pretty much. However, Dell does offer WXGA+ LED and WUXGA RGBLED, which are better options than Lenovo gives. I would gladly have given up a bit of screen real estate to drop down to WXGA+ LED.

If you don't need the powerful graphics card of the T500 or do not need the larger screen, I would highly recommend the T400, since it's a fair bit lighter than the T500.

 

The Dell Latitude E6400 (14.1") and E6500 (15.4") definitely have more LED display options than the T-series. Both models have a WXGA (1280x800) LED-backlit display standard and both offer an optional WXGA+ (1440x900) LED. I have the the WXGA+ on both of my E6400s (see signataure below) and love it!

In my opinion, WXGA is really too low resolution for a 15.4" display. Icons and text are too big and there just isn't enough desktop 'real estate'. WXGA is tolerable on a 14.1" display, but I find WXGA+ (1440x900) to be ideal. Dell should just make WXGA+ (1440x900) standard on the Latitude E6500 and Precision M4400.

If the OP really wants an LED display, the Dell Latitude E6400/E6500 deserve a look- LINK. I consider both the ThinkPad T-series and the Latitude E6xxx to be the best business notebooks available! Both models handle the fundamental needs of business users very well.

They also have unique attributes that set them apart. For example, the ThinkPad has switchable graphics, the UltraBay battery and hard drive options and more powerful discrete GPUs. While the Latitudes have more plentiful LED display options, Back-lit Keyboard (useful and looks cool) and a new (but very tasteful) design. The best fit really comes down to features, but I think it's almost impossible to go wrong with either one!

 

I would get a T400 (14") or T500 (15.4").

If you do not need the 15" screen nor the better graphics card of the T500, get the T400. The 14" screen and WXGA+ resolution is comfortable enough for Excel. Unfortunately, the T400 does not have LED anymore (but hopefully it will come back soon).

I did not need great 3D graphics (game) performance and wanted a smaller, more portable notebook, so I bought the T400 instead of the T500.

There are also smaller notebooks like the X200s (12") and X300 (13") that are pretty fast, but the screen might be too small for you.

Besides ThinkPads, you might want to look into the Dell Latitude E6400 (14") or E6500 (15.4").

 

Just curious, if you're happy with your current setup, why upgrade? It's not much of a performance upgrade.