The great Laptop discussion forum

Thanks, Kry!

Just put in the order for a T61 from Lenovo's web site....but the shipping date on the status page says July 28. I hope they are over estimating!!

yeah, unless something goes wrong, the laptop should ship within a week, and arrive within another week.

That is music to my ears!! I did notice that when upgrading the battery from the 4 cell to a 6 cell, Lenovo said it might delay the shipment by a couple of weeks. Now it's time to order MS Office either from Emory's bookstore or through Journey Ed.

yeah, even with the 8 cell for mine, it still arrived within 8 days (from ordering to arrival).

Don't you get MS Office from your school?

I'm not sure if we get MS Office from the school - guess I will send an email to someone in admissions to see if they can send me in the right direction.

Dosa, do you know if this code is not working anymore? I tried it and I got the 'Use your IBM Serial number and last name' message. Any thoughts? It was working for me up until last Friday.

I am not sure DJM- but let me find out from some of the other forums and let you know.

wow - https://shop.lenovo.com/us/landing_pages ... /2008/X300

I just got one of these for work and this thing is insane! it's like a x61, with a wider screen, much thinner, built in dvd drive and a solid state hard drive!

just throwing this up in case anyone is interested. when it's running you can't hear a thing - it's like the machine is off! ibm states battery life is north of 13 hours!
- tsd

Ya, its nice, but super expensive.

Hmmm...a little late getting on board but here goes. Before reading this thread, I was leaning heavily towards Apple (go Steve Jobs!), but the X31 is starting to look really tempting. And the fact that I have access to a nice employee discount does not help either For me it's a four way tie right now - T61, X61, MacBook and the MacBook Pro (15"). The things I really to consider:
(1) I won't have a desktop. So reliability is a *huge* factor
(2) I've never used a Mac before.
(3) I used to use the T60, but am not too attached to either the eraser-head or the track-pad. I should be able to work with either.
(4) I know I'll probably eat these words a few months down the road, but "light weight is a nice-to-have, not a must-have"
(5) I haven't been a big user of Excel. I don't run models. Heck, I've used the Pivot Table function like thrice! So learning new Excel keyboard shortcuts is not a factor.

Disclaimer: This is a monster post and so no, I do not expect you guys to actually read the whole thing. The stats are pretty much the standard stuff what you guys have been posting out here. So nothing drastically different here. I just want to hear your perspectives on the best possible option for me taking the 5 conditions above into account. So...hit me!

Lenovo T-61. Cost $ 1,391.99 + tax

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T8100 (2.1GHz 800MHz 3MBL2)1
Genuine Windows Vista Business
14.1 WXGA TFT, w/ Camera
Intel GMA X3100 GM965
2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
160GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo 24X/24X/24X/8X Max, Ultrabay Slim
ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe US/EMEA/LA/ANZ
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
6 cell Li-Ion Battery
7658: 1 Year Depot Warranty - Express
3 Year On Site Upgrade with 3 Year ThinkPad Protection
Belkin Neoprene Notebook Sleeve for 15in Laptops Black/Red
Kensington MicroSaver Security Cable Lock from Lenovo ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse


Lenovo X31. Cost: $1525 + tax

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz, 3MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista Business
12.1" XGA TFT, 2x3 Ultraconnect II antenna
2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
TrackPoint
160GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm Serial ATA (2.5")
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe US/EMEA/LA/ANZ10
ThinkPad X61 8 Cell High Capacity Battery
7675: Express - 1 Year Depot Warranty
3 Year On Site Upgrade with 3 Year ThinkPad Protection
Genuine Windows Vista Business
Kensington MicroSaver Security Cable Lock from Lenovo
ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse

Apple MackBook. Cost: $1385 + tax

* 13" White Apple MacBook:
o 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
o 13.3" TFT glossy display (1280x800 resolution)
o 160GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)
o 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x1GB)
o 4MB L2 cache
o 8x double-layer SuperDrive (CD/DVD+/-RW)
o Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
o AirPort Extreme wireless 802.11n
o Bluetooth 2.0
o 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet
o Built-in iSight camera
o mini - DVI & VGA, s-VIDEO
o 6-cell Lithium Ion battery
o Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard installed
o iLife '08 and Front Row software
o 5.0 lbs. (12.78"W x 8.92"D x 1.08"H)
o 3-year AppleCare extended warranty
* Microsoft Office 2008 Pro for Mac OS X
(contains Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage)
* Brenthaven security lock for laptops
* 25' Cat5 Ethernet cable
* 2GB flash drive
* Free laptop sleeve of your choice with package purchase

MacBookPro (oh yes.... ). Cost: $1995 + tax (ouch!)

* 15" Apple MacBook Pro:
o 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
o 15.4" widescreen display
o 200GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400rpm)
o 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2 dimms)
o 8x SuperDrive Double-Layer (CD/DVD+/-RW)
o graphics controller with 256MB video memory
o VGA output w/ included DVI to VGA adapter
o AirPort Extreme wireless 802.11n
o Ports: 1 FireWire 400, 1 FireWire 800, 2 USB 2.0
o Bluetooth 2.0
o 10/100/1000 BASE-T Ethernet
o Built-in iSight camera
o 6-cell Lithium Ion battery
o Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard installed
o Photo Booth and Front Row software
o 5.4 lbs. (14.1"W x 9.6"D x 1"H)
o iLife '08
o 3-year AppleCare extended warranty
* Microsoft Office 2008 Pro for Mac OS X
(contains Word, Excel, Power Point, Entourage
* Brenthaven security lock for laptops
* 25' Cat5 Ethernet cable
* 2GB flash drive
* Free laptop sleeve of your choice with package purchase

Based on your 5 listed requirements, it seems that the t61 should be your choice. However, do not underestimate the situation - know that you have to lug that 8-pound unit (w/power supply, other school books maybe, notebook, textbooks, etc) with you...

The t61 is great but the portability is the one reason why most people do not go for it. We have the t61 on our standards list here at work and NO ONE has purchased one yet! Everyone continues to order the x61. The x31 is a great model too but I do not have experience with it so I can not give you an opinion about it.

I have been using the x61 for months now and it's definitely reliable, definitely durable, battery life is quite good too.

I can't really tell you to lean any way in regards of what to get, but you can't go wrong with a lenovo/ibm.

hth,
- tsd

KK- I have used both the T61 and just got an X61 and I think both are great machines-

X61 is extremely light and I have adapted to the nubby and I dont mind getting the Logitech nano as a spare mouse when I need to work long hours with it. But it does not have an optical drive, so you do end up buying either the ultra base or go with an external drive.

Use American Express card to purchase your Laptop and you get an additional year of warranty for free- so you really dont need a 3 yr warranty (and trust me- amex rocks in this regard)

I am really glad that I ended up with the X61- got a new system for $630 (refurbished) on ebay- dont think it was ever used. Need to upgrade my RAM for ~ $50. I am not recommending anyone go through this but I was comfortable.

And if anyone is interested- MSFT has a new cashback program. You can search for anything on live.com and then follow the link on the top of the search results page to go to ebay- you should see anywhere between a 10% to 35% off when you purchase using buy it now.

I would have liked the screen size of the T61, but again, the size and weight is dramatically greater (in relative terms). The X61 is perfect right now, but KK, if you can wait, wait until July because the X200 is coming out. It'll be the widescreen version of the X61, but as thin as the X300.

I also wanted an X300, but two things turned me off completely:

- Cost: $1200 more than an equivalent X61. The SS drive is good, but I can't justify paying that much more.
- CPU Speed: They only come with 1.8 GHz right now. I know in the future there'll be options, but compared to my X61's 2.4 GHz, 1.8 is just a bit too slow, especially if I want it to last 2-3 years.

I'm hoping with the release of the X200-500 series this summer, there'll be more options. I'm willing to sell my X61 to someone on the board if they want it. I haven't really been using it at all, haha.

X31
X31
X31
X31
X31
X31
X31
X31
X31
X31

The T series are HUGE BRICKS.

what's the X31? Isn't that a very old version of the X61?

Oh yeah, and the second I started typing on the X61 keyboard, I knew I made the right decision to go with the Thinkpad. Their keyboards are heavenly!

X200 details leaked... estimated ship date, 7/15.

https://www.engadget.com/photos/details- ... es/849542/

Oh boy, if they price it right, then I think I'll be selling my new X61... anyone?