For a while I was going to buy a Dell D830 because of U. Oregon's recommendation, and my school is not nearly so specific. But after more research, I've almost settled on a 15" Thinkpad with the following specs:
2.5 GHz processor
4 Gigs RAM
160 GB 7200 RPM hard drive
NVidia Quadro 256 MB graphics card
Vista Ultimate
and a few other bells and whistles for somewhere in the $1800-1900 ballpark. I know it's not the cheapest thing I could get, but I don't mind spending a few hundred extra for something that will last awhile.
I have it and like it. I have no issues with BSOD and have several hours of battery life.
However, and this is as of yet only confirmed for HP and Dell computers, all Nvidia GPUs based on the G84 or G86 chipsets might be faulty and cause overheating and failure. The GPU in the T61P is based on the G86 chipset and could potentially be affected.
i bought a t60p 2 yrs ago and i loved it, up until 6 months ago when it started getting really hot and shutting off. im not pushing it anymore and as soon as i get a lull im sending it to lenovo for a a look at the HD
i just recently bought a dell xps 1530 with almost the exact same specs for probably $500 less than the lenovo. I like it so far, but so long as you can deal with dell customer service which sucks.
Just got one, I love it. It runs cool, it's super quiet and it just reeks of quality construction. I've had it for a month and it's on most of the time and I've had no problems at all.
I got the super high resolution screen and the picture is insanely crisp, great for CAD, SketchUp, Photoshop, etc. If you have bad eyes, maybe go for the next step down in resolution as any text is pretty darn tiny. It's a trade off.
It's got plenty of juice to run Vista, which hasn't at all been the horror show I kept hearing about. I went with Ultimate and upgraded to 64 (so I could have a TV). Matter of fact I kinda' like Vista, and I'm no fan of Windows.
At some point, you take your chances with any laptop (even Mac's).
My one humble vote is to go for it. Great machine at a great price - and if you configure it right, it's about as future proof as you can get.
Good luck at school.
I really like my Lenovo T60 Think Pad- Beyond performance, it is battle tested and great for the architect student (traveling back and forth to studio and working around models and building materials). I also like the simpleness of its design- similar to a mac in that aspect but ages much better.
I suggest the mini-dock as well. It gives you more USB ports and a digital monitor hookup (the T61p itself only has an analog hookup). Plus you can hook your printer and one of those miniature USB electrolux vacuum cleaners to it and just leave 'em there for your computing pleasure. Bonus you get another AC adapter with it too.
Jul 20, 08 9:44 am ·
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What do you think of this laptop? (Thinkpad T61p)
Hi everybody,
Starting MArch this year.
For a while I was going to buy a Dell D830 because of U. Oregon's recommendation, and my school is not nearly so specific. But after more research, I've almost settled on a 15" Thinkpad with the following specs:
2.5 GHz processor
4 Gigs RAM
160 GB 7200 RPM hard drive
NVidia Quadro 256 MB graphics card
Vista Ultimate
and a few other bells and whistles for somewhere in the $1800-1900 ballpark. I know it's not the cheapest thing I could get, but I don't mind spending a few hundred extra for something that will last awhile.
Any suggestions before I take the plunge?
is that the lenovo? it's got a 1 hr battery, and had several issues w/ BSOD!
I have it and like it. I have no issues with BSOD and have several hours of battery life.
However, and this is as of yet only confirmed for HP and Dell computers, all Nvidia GPUs based on the G84 or G86 chipsets might be faulty and cause overheating and failure. The GPU in the T61P is based on the G86 chipset and could potentially be affected.
i bought a t60p 2 yrs ago and i loved it, up until 6 months ago when it started getting really hot and shutting off. im not pushing it anymore and as soon as i get a lull im sending it to lenovo for a a look at the HD
does it come in a tabletPC version and are drivers for XP available to downgrade? that's what i ask
Looks like you can only get 64-bit Vista with Business, so I am going with that instead of Ultimate.
i hear the best thing to do now is use 2008 as a workstation as it doesn't have all the problems of vista and is newer, more stable etc.
you might need that link
i just recently bought a dell xps 1530 with almost the exact same specs for probably $500 less than the lenovo. I like it so far, but so long as you can deal with dell customer service which sucks.
Just got one, I love it. It runs cool, it's super quiet and it just reeks of quality construction. I've had it for a month and it's on most of the time and I've had no problems at all.
I got the super high resolution screen and the picture is insanely crisp, great for CAD, SketchUp, Photoshop, etc. If you have bad eyes, maybe go for the next step down in resolution as any text is pretty darn tiny. It's a trade off.
It's got plenty of juice to run Vista, which hasn't at all been the horror show I kept hearing about. I went with Ultimate and upgraded to 64 (so I could have a TV). Matter of fact I kinda' like Vista, and I'm no fan of Windows.
At some point, you take your chances with any laptop (even Mac's).
My one humble vote is to go for it. Great machine at a great price - and if you configure it right, it's about as future proof as you can get.
Good luck at school.
I really like my Lenovo T60 Think Pad- Beyond performance, it is battle tested and great for the architect student (traveling back and forth to studio and working around models and building materials). I also like the simpleness of its design- similar to a mac in that aspect but ages much better.
I suggest the mini-dock as well. It gives you more USB ports and a digital monitor hookup (the T61p itself only has an analog hookup). Plus you can hook your printer and one of those miniature USB electrolux vacuum cleaners to it and just leave 'em there for your computing pleasure. Bonus you get another AC adapter with it too.
Block this user
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Archinect
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