x60 buyers questions

Alright I have 2 big issues right now.

1. Docking Bay
2. Ram

I'm looking at these deals for college students and the 2 big things that are killing me is ram and the docking bay.

I can get 1 gig of ram, 100gig hd, 1.8ghz, blue tooth, xp pro, finger, 8cellbattery for 1396

Or 1.5 gig of ram, 80 gig hd, 1.8ghz, bluetooth, xp pro, finger, 8cell battery, with docking bay
for 1638

is the $242 worth it for .5 more gigs and a docking bay?



and whats the deal with all these options..


Protection services
3-Year ThinkPad Protection [add $118.30]
3-Year ThinkPad Protection with 3-Year IOR 9x5 NBD [add $195.30]
4-Year ThinkPad Protection with 3-Year Depot to 4-Year Depot Repair [add $201.60]
4-Year ThinkPad Protection with 4-Year IOR 9x5 NBD [add $328.30]


will 3-year protection for 118 insure my laptop from anything? Whats the difference between that and the next one down for 195?

 

What do you need a docking station for? Do you have a lot of peripherals (printer, mouse, external monitor) that you'll be re-attaching daily?

Does the docking station include a super multi-burner?? If so, then that plus the extra ram may be worth $242. Otherwise prolly not.

I dont use my docking station, except for the CD/DVD sometimes.

If the only reason you want the docking station is for the optical drive, keep in mind you can buy a USB optical for less.

80 gb HD might be a bit small , depends on what you're doing or whether you have an external HD.

As for the thinkpad protection option, that protects you against accidental drops, damage caused by spills, and LCD screen breakage. Personal choice.

 

If I didn't have a desktop here at school I'd definitely have a dock for my T. My room mate has just his laptop and he has to mess around for like 5 minutes unplugging things and getting the power supply if he wants to use his laptop somewhere else.

 

I agree, the power cord would be a pain.

Buy an extra AC adapter when you order your thinkpad, you should be able to get it for ~$30.

I never use my dock, except when i want to install something via the CD/DVD. The only thing i connect is the power cord (the spare one - no hassle). Takes me 1 second. My internet is wireless, my mouse is bluetooth, and i have a $40 printer server.... so there is nothing to connect except for the power cord end sitting on my desk.

I'd sell you my base for $200 in an instant if i could. It came with the laptop free. Like i said, i only use it to instal via the optical drive. But, the optical drive is NOT included in the base if you order the base; it's extra.

I dislike how the base raises the laptop by an inch or two on the desk. It takes longer for me to connect/discounnect the base than to connect/disconnect the power cord.

 

Ok so docking bay is out save some money. What about the ram, I know you can never have enouph but to go to 1.5 gigs from 1 gig cost over hundred bucks...

Protection services
3-Year ThinkPad Protection [add $118.30]
3-Year ThinkPad Protection with 3-Year IOR 9x5 NBD [add $195.30]


whats the diffrence between these 2?..

And what are your thoughts....$118 and not need to worry about it, I don't get whats the diffrence between just a warrenty or this its just a little more and covers anything right?


also what do you think for ram
Total memory
Note: Total memory includes the base memory that comes with the system.
1 GB included in base system
1.25 GB (2 NonParity DDR2 SDRAM SoDIMM PC2-5300) [add $44.00]
1.5 GB (2 NonParity DDR2 SDRAM SoDIMM PC2-5300) [add $72.00]
2 GB (2 NonParity DDR2 SDRAM SoDIMM PC2-5300) [add $144.00]

 

It depends on your uses, but very few people really every use more than 1gb of ram. In general, it's almost always cheaper to get ram aftermarket anyhow. I personally wouldn't spend $70 to move up to 1.5gb, and using non-matching amnts of ram makes it so they aren't dual channel. Depends on your preference though.

for the warranties, the depot (first one) is where you mail your laptop in and they mail it back to you if you have a problem with the laptop. I'm not positive about the 9x5 next business day one, but either they make sure to get it back to you within a day, or maybe they come to you.

 

Shouldn't I just go for the 2 gigs then because if I just get the 1 gig its going to be 2x512.....

Thats going to a pain to upgrade to 2 gigs eventually right? Or should I not worry about it and save some money...

Should I spend the 100bucks and get the protection?

 

Alright well my newest question now is...Does the x60 comes with a microphone built in?

 

It has a external microphone port; no built-in microphone.

Sources: 1 2

 

what about this..

I order the protection plan...

If I get a laptop with a dead pixel driving me crazy couldn't I just damage the screen to get a new one?

 

Not true. The source laks two items in the list: the inbuild microphone and the think light. All last IBM models (At least since R40) have this and therefore I love IBM notebooks. Check here: ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitute/psref/tabook.pdf.

 

Not sure that next day onsite service isn't as great as it sounds. For a lot of repair items, the laptop has to be sent in anyways.

 

I doubt that the warranty covers intentional damage.

 

Alright going to be buying in the next couple days now, got my budget together...


----Should I just stick to the 3 year warranty or
spend the $118 and get 3 year protection plan...
Or add 80bucks and get 4-year

I've had an old laptop that I have dropped before but I didn't care about it.



----Should I stick to the gig of ram or
$72 for 1.5 gigs
$144 bucks and get 2 gigs

I generally just run Firefox, avg, zone alarm, and word at same time.
Properly going to install vista when it comes because of free upgrade.



----whats the difference between the 65watt ac adapter and the 90watt? The 65watt is cheaper should I go with that one as my carry around one?


Thanks for all your help, Excited to finally make the purchase although I'm afraid of a long backorder. Seems like the T60s have got out but how does it look for the x60's?

 

The warranty is a personal decision.

But you don't need the extra RAM for your use. Anyways it's extremely easy to add later (for lower cost)

As for the adapters, the X60 can use wither the 90 watt or the 65 watt. It wont matter for performance. The 65 watt is smaller & lighter, but hotter. The 90 watt can also be used with both the T-series and X6 base (the 65W cannot). The X60 ships with one 65 watt adapter.

 

What about the N wireless. Whats the deal with that? Should I spend the 25bucks and get it? Regardless of the standard they set will I be all set?

According to the IEEE 802.11 Working Group Project Timelines,[2] the 802.11n standard is not due for final approval until July 2007.

 

And will likely not be implemented for a year after that, in select places during that time too.

 

But will the N wireless I buy now be all set when it does come out or not because there is no standard yet?

 

I think the wireless N will be atheros, which is better than intel. That's good enough reason right there.
It's also compatiable with G and B networks.
You can get an N router already at home, and be flying there. I think the Netgear N series is a MIMO type router... i have an a/b/g/ MIMO type router and it certainly broadcasts a more robust wireless signal than my regular netgear did.
So... me, i'd get the N for the extra $25