help deciding between features on 14 or 15 inch t61

I am planning on buying a t61 for college next yr as i jest graduated. I had been planning on buying the 14 inch version due to the need for dedicated graphics. I don't play any computer games but will mostly be using 2 19 inch lcds and I do a lot of photoshop and some video editing on top of the regular stuff. my questions are...

do i need the dedicated graphics for this work? After pricing out laptops on lenovo's site i found the 15 inch to be lower in price.

should i go with the 2.2 ghz or the 2.0? for $110 more will the change be worth it. I am currently using a 1.6 pentium m and the thing is way to slow for what i do.

these are my pros for each size in my situation

14 inch pros

-dedicated graphics
-camera

15 inch pros

-bigger battery
-cheaper

SO what do you guys think in regards to which processor, graphics, and size? any personal experience with either laptop?

 

I'm pretty sure that dedicated graphics will smoothen out the video editing process.

2.2 Ghz vs. 2.0 probably isn't that significant of a difference (even for video editing). I've given this advice before: get 2.0 Ghz because next year, whatever is out there will be much faster than 2 or 2.2 Ghz that you won't care which one you have! Keep the $110 and spend it on accessories (i.e. mouse, case,etc). Or upgrade to more ram/faster HD. The clock speed will not benefit you that much. And whatever you get will be faster than a Pentium M (is it sonoma or dothan?).

I think for 14/15 an important aspect is portability. A 14" machine is very portable, while once you get to 15" you may find yourself not wanting to carry it around as much due to its larger footprint/weight. Would you use the camera on the 14" (msn, skype, etc)?

 

thinking about it i probally wont be using the camera very much at all so i probally wont be getting it. I have no idea which type of pentium m i currently have. but its from an hp nc6000 with a video card that barely runs aero(wont run it when using my 2 lcds) the main thing i am focusing on when buying this laptop is making sure that it is as future proof as possible within reason. I will need to keep it for at least my 7 yrs of college. oh and i do plan on bumping up to eaither 3 or 4 gbs of ram and am going to do a clean install with ultimate 64 bit

 

Is this going to be your only computer? If yes, I would go with a 15inch, just because you'll have slightly larger vertical screen real estate, and it'll be easier on your eyes with the slightly larger text.

 

it is my only computer but i will rarely be using the screen as I have 2 19 lcds that i will use with the docking station most of the time.

 

The get the 2.2 GHz CPU, dedicated graphics, 9 cell battery. RAM prices are dropping really fast nowadays. By Christmas a 2GB stick will probably be about the same price as what a 1GB stick costs today. So I will upgrade your RAM to 4GB by Christmas. And get Vista Ultimate. I think someone said both the 32bit and 64bit Vista Ultimate share the same key. So you might be able to upgrade to 64bit Vista Ultimate later on without having to pay Microsoft more money.

 

You'll need either an advanced mini dock or the advanced dock to get a DVI out. But that will only support 1 external display.

You can try to use both the DVI and VGA out at the same time, but I'm not sure if that will work or not.

 

And oh, if you want to give your computer a boost, consider purchasing an express card SSD for use with Readyboost. By Christmas, even a 16GB card will probably become generally affordable.

 

The difference between the 2GHz and the 2.2GHz CPUs is very slight and not worth the extra $110 at all; you’d benefit more if you spend it on a 7,200 RPM HDD.

I don’t think the dedicated graphics will have any impact on video editing; it’s mainly utilized for CAD and 3D modeling applications and games.

I’m not sure if you can use 2 external monitors with the T61, even with the docking station.

The bigger battery will only be useful if you don’t have access to an electrical outlet where you will be working. I’m guessing that you do, since you intend to use an external LCD.

A 14” screen means less weight and hence more portability. The 15” screen is bigger and easier to work with, especially for photo editing.

Adding more RAM will always be much better than spending money on SSD for Readyboost and Readydrive.

 

I am going to buy just a 2 gb stick of ram from newegg and dop it myself later. then like someone mentioned I will go to 4 later when it becomes cheaper. I have a new vista 654 or 32 bit edition in front of me right now because i was a beta tester.

could someone confirm for me whether or not i can disable the screen on my t61 and power 2 19 inch lcd monitors?

I have to be able to do this. the advanced mini dock has a vga and dvi out so i dont see why i couldn't. I currently have a nc6000 that i use a port replicator with a dvd and vga out to power 2 lcds and it works fine.