Thinkpad T60 $894

[masteraleph]

Originally posted by: Muse
Few questions:

3. How long do the batteries last? Actually, I'm curious about how long a charge lasts and also how long before the battery degrades and you have to buy another one, so this is two questions.

Depends on which battery, brightness, and wireless status. Somewhere around 3.5-4 hours with low brightness and wireless on with the 6-cell, upwards of 5 on the 9 cell.

4. Any take on this option: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 a/b/g LAN or ThinkPad a/b/g wireless LAN. Which?

Thanks.

The Thinkpad wireless is based on the Atheros chip and is generally considered far better- 20% or more increased signal over the 3945.

 

[MaxDSP]

anyone else getting this error when clicking the link?

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /us/notebooks/thinkpad/t-series/index.html on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

 

[amdskip]

Yeah, is it dead?

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: amdskip
1) Who knows how long this will last

2) pro vs home: link

3) I'd guess 3-4 hours but thats just a guess, it's hard to say how long it will last. I always plug my thinkpad in if there is power available. My battery is almost 3 years old and it still has a 2 hour battery life.

4) No idea

The site says something like specials last until 12/11, so maybe it's that. It isn't clear to me, but I think I can suppose that but not hang my hat on it.

Pro vs. Home. Thanks for the link. I've been reading it and got to this line:

Home Edition does not include the Logical Disk Manager. Does that mean I can't assign drive letters? For instance, if I want my Pioneer DVD drive to be drive P: and it's currently L:, I'd be out of luck if I'm using Home Edition?

XP Home doesn't include IIS. I think I'm going to have to go Pro (although I don't know if or when I'm going to use IIS, I think I have to have the option). Also, if I find myself in another IT department and I bring my laptop to work, I'll be able to assume a more powerful role if I have Pro.

"Yeah, is it dead?" The site is up now

Am I right that I will have no serial or parallel port support unless I get the following?

ThinkPad Serial / Parallel Port Bay Adapter [$79.00]

 

[MaxDSP]

I don't understand the diff between Protection services, Warranty service upgrades, and Extended service contracts

 

[Jel2h]

This comes with XP so what happens when Vista is released, you will have to buy a Vista upgrade for this?

 

[cyberkost]

I just checked how much this would cost for an employee (I am an employee) -- it actually costs more (the base price is the same within 50 bucks), but most of the upgrades are more expensive. As for how long the battery lasts, I would put my estimate at 3-4 hours (I have a T60p that they gave me at work). I think I got the 9 cell battery (the one that sticks out at the back). The battery life is very decent (compared to other laptops that I've had in the past). Also this one has (or at least claims to have) a smart charging algorithm, that prevents memory effect (I see that it doesn't start charging even if connected to power until the battery charge drops below a certain point).

 

[manly]

Originally posted by: Jel2h
This comes with XP so what happens when Vista is released, you will have to buy a Vista upgrade for this?

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/microsoft/vista/upgrade.html

Based on this page, I would recommend getting Windows XP Pro.

 

[Jel2h]

Originally posted by: manly

Originally posted by: Jel2h
This comes with XP so what happens when Vista is released, you will have to buy a Vista upgrade for this?

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/microsoft/vista/upgrade.html

Based on this page, I would recommend getting Windows XP Pro.

Nice, thanks.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: iamme
does the T60 use the plastic that the old A-series Thinkpads had? or is it the grippier/softer plastic? has the build quality remained the same after they switched to Lenovo?

They use carbon fiber reinforced plastic with titanium alloy lid. Quality is same and even better, some numerous improvements made with T60's.

http://www.laptoplogic.com/reviews/detail.php?id=112

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: Muse
3. How long do the batteries last? Actually, I'm curious about how long a charge lasts and also how long before the battery degrades and you have to buy another one, so this is two questions. With integrated graphics, ~5 hours on 6-cell and ~8 hours on 9-cell. With discrete graphics, ~3-4 hours on 6-cell and ~5-6 hours on 9-cell.

4. Any take on this option: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 a/b/g LAN or ThinkPad a/b/g wireless LAN. Which? Intel card is better on battery life, ThinkPad card is better on range/throughput. Really though performance is more determined by your access point as both cards are pretty good. IIRC, the Intel card has Linux drivers if that matters to you. Altho I think Lenovo might have Linux drivers as well for the ThinkPad card.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: Muse
Am I right that I will have no serial or parallel port support unless I get the following?

ThinkPad Serial / Parallel Port Bay Adapter [$79.00]

Correct. No serial, parallel, or S-Video output.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: MaxDSP
I don't understand the diff between Protection services, Warranty service upgrades, and Extended service contracts

I don't think the Extended Service contracts are as applicable for consumers. Warranty service upgrades change your service terms and also depot vs on-site service. ThinkPad Protection Services are accidental damage coverage as well as standard warranty, depot vs on-site as well. Personally I think the ThinkPad Protection, that way you don't have to worry about breakin' things

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: cyberkost
I just checked how much this would cost for an employee (I am an employee) -- it actually costs more (the base price is the same within 50 bucks), but most of the upgrades are more expensive. As for how long the battery lasts, I would put my estimate at 3-4 hours (I have a T60p that they gave me at work). I think I got the 9 cell battery (the one that sticks out at the back). The battery life is very decent (compared to other laptops that I've had in the past). Also this one has (or at least claims to have) a smart charging algorithm, that prevents memory effect (I see that it doesn't start charging even if connected to power until the battery charge drops below a certain point).

The online EPP interface is TERRIBLE. If you want the best EPP prices you really need to get in touch with a sales rep and have them hunt out the best deal for you; after all, that is their job.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: amdskip
Yeah, is it dead?

Just a heads up folks: this is not a special, hidden link. You can go to lenovo.com, Products, ThinkPad, T-Series and get to this same page.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: manly

Originally posted by: Jel2h
This comes with XP so what happens when Vista is released, you will have to buy a Vista upgrade for this?

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/microsoft/vista/upgrade.html

Based on this page, I would recommend getting Windows XP Pro.

I think you're basing this assessment on the following paragraph:

Lenovo is offering some great deals on upgrading to Vista: Purchase any Vista-capable ThinkPad® notebook, ThinkCentre® desktop or Lenovo 3000 product preloaded with Genuine Windows XP Professional and you qualify for an upgrade to Vista Business - you'll pay only the cost of shipping and handling. Or purchase any of these systems preloaded with Genuine Windows XP Home and you'll qualify for a mail-in rebate of the purchase price, less shipping and handling.

Note, it appears that the T60 and T60 are both Windows Vista Capable and Windows Vista Premium Ready, meaning that they will fully support Vista, perhaps with the help of some enabling drivers that Lenovo says will be available online by the end of this month.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: Muse
Am I right that I will have no serial or parallel port support unless I get the following?

ThinkPad Serial / Parallel Port Bay Adapter [$79.00]

Correct. No serial, parallel, or S-Video output.

OK, then, could I get a reaction to these issues:

I have a parallel port printer, but have found that my D-Link DI-704-p ethernet router which supports printing on a network doesn't work with my HP4M printer. So, I print by having my desktop connected directly to the parallel port of the printer. I figure that when I want to print from the laptop, I can connect it to the network and print from the desktop, as long as it can see documents on the laptop.

To connect the laptop to the network, what will I want to do? Obviously, I can connect the laptop directly to my D-Link router via Cat5 ethernet cable, and that would be the fastest but not always most convenient means.

What would I need to connect the T60 to my other computers wirelessly (I have a second desktop, but rarely use it for other than backup) in order to support T60 internet connectivity, file sharing, backup and laptop mobility?

I'd like to connect a serial device to the T60 (it's not crucial, but it would be nice). I have a cable device which adapts USB --> serial. I used it for an external modem, but got completely tired of the recurrent problems and reverted to my internal PCI hardware modem (sacrificing a slot). Is this USB to serial adaptor apt to work with the T60?

Thanks for replies.

 

[Muse]

FYI: It appears that 512 MB memory is insufficient if you get the GMA950 and run Vista. See post 2 in this 3 post thread:

Seeking opinions on T60 Lenovo laptop

It says, in part:

"Intel GMA 950 is chipset video with shared memory. That is not, by
itself, reason for rejecting it, this is a good, fairly powerful video
system (as mentioned, it will run the Vista Aero interface). HOWEVER,
Vista requires a MINIMUM of 512MB of SYSTEM memory, and when running
Vista/Aero on a GMA 950 system, 128MB of memory will be used by the
video system. So if you only have 512MB of total memory, your system
memory will only be 384MB, which doesn't meet the minimum for Vista
(even without Aero). Consequently, if you get GMA 950, running Vista
will REQUIRE that total memory be at least 768MB (and, in reality, 1GB
as 768MB, while physically achievable, will degrade performance by
blocking dual channel memory operation)."

 

[manly]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: manly

Originally posted by: Jel2h
This comes with XP so what happens when Vista is released, you will have to buy a Vista upgrade for this?

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/microsoft/vista/upgrade.html

Based on this page, I would recommend getting Windows XP Pro.

I think you're basing this assessment on the following paragraph:

Lenovo is offering some great deals on upgrading to Vista: Purchase any Vista-capable ThinkPad® notebook, ThinkCentre® desktop or Lenovo 3000 product preloaded with Genuine Windows XP Professional and you qualify for an upgrade to Vista Business - you'll pay only the cost of shipping and handling. Or purchase any of these systems preloaded with Genuine Windows XP Home and you'll qualify for a mail-in rebate of the purchase price, less shipping and handling.

Note, it appears that the T60 and T60 are both Windows Vista Capable and Windows Vista Premium Ready, meaning that they will fully support Vista, perhaps with the help of some enabling drivers that Lenovo says will be available online by the end of this month.

No, my point is that with Windows XP Home, you have to purchase the Vista upgrade and file a rebate claim.

With WXPP, it looks like you simply pay S/H. Some of us are too lazy for rebates.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: manly

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: manly

Originally posted by: Jel2h
This comes with XP so what happens when Vista is released, you will have to buy a Vista upgrade for this?

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/microsoft/vista/upgrade.html

Based on this page, I would recommend getting Windows XP Pro.

I think you're basing this assessment on the following paragraph:

Lenovo is offering some great deals on upgrading to Vista: Purchase any Vista-capable ThinkPad® notebook, ThinkCentre® desktop or Lenovo 3000 product preloaded with Genuine Windows XP Professional and you qualify for an upgrade to Vista Business - you'll pay only the cost of shipping and handling. Or purchase any of these systems preloaded with Genuine Windows XP Home and you'll qualify for a mail-in rebate of the purchase price, less shipping and handling.

Note, it appears that the T60 and T60 are both Windows Vista Capable and Windows Vista Premium Ready, meaning that they will fully support Vista, perhaps with the help of some enabling drivers that Lenovo says will be available online by the end of this month.

No, my point is that with Windows XP Home, you have to purchase the Vista upgrade and file a rebate claim.

With WXPP, it looks like you simply pay S/H. Some of us are too lazy for rebates.

That's exactly my point. I don't see any misunderstanding. I added a comment pertaining to the capability of the hardware to support all of Vista's features, that is all.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
FWIW, the release of the widescreen T Series is going to be any day now, which may be why they're clearing out some of these. Still tempting as hell.

Also, there is 7% "Fat Cash" back at Lenovo through the end of the year.

What is "Fat Cash" at Lenovo? Can I get a 7% discount somehow?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
FWIW, the release of the widescreen T Series is going to be any day now, which may be why they're clearing out some of these. Still tempting as hell.

Also, there is 7% "Fat Cash" back at Lenovo through the end of the year.

What is "Fat Cash" at Lenovo? Can I get a 7% discount somehow?

Fat Cash.com

 

[Muse]

Can anyone speak to the fact that an upgrade to 1.5 GB memory costs the same as an upgrade to 1.0 GB memory ($99). Why would that be?

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Fat Cash.com

For whatever reason I see no 7% discount, although I accessed the Lenovo T60 offer directly from Fatwallet, following the links to the 7% discount. I am registered at Fatwallet. Any clue what's wrong?

 

[mrVW]

Originally posted by: Muse
Can anyone speak to the fact that an upgrade to 1.5 GB memory costs the same as an upgrade to 1.0 GB memory ($99). Why would that be?

It is part of the sale, as is the reduced price on the CPU upgrade and a couple other things.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: manly

Originally posted by: Jel2h
This comes with XP so what happens when Vista is released, you will have to buy a Vista upgrade for this?

http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/microsoft/vista/upgrade.html

Based on this page, I would recommend getting Windows XP Pro.

I think you're basing this assessment on the following paragraph:

Lenovo is offering some great deals on upgrading to Vista: Purchase any Vista-capable ThinkPad® notebook, ThinkCentre® desktop or Lenovo 3000 product preloaded with Genuine Windows XP Professional and you qualify for an upgrade to Vista Business - you'll pay only the cost of shipping and handling. Or purchase any of these systems preloaded with Genuine Windows XP Home and you'll qualify for a mail-in rebate of the purchase price, less shipping and handling.

Note, it appears that the T60 and T60 are both Windows Vista Capable and Windows Vista Premium Ready, meaning that they will fully support Vista, perhaps with the help of some enabling drivers that Lenovo says will be available online by the end of this month.

To clarify this and your post down below about Vista:

Vista Capable means you need 512MB RAM and some other stupid min requirements, Vista Premium Ready means having the properly supported GPU, 1GB RAM, and some other stuff. Yes about 99% of T60's are Capable, and many are Premium Ready.

Vista Premium certification requires 1GB anyway, even though you can run Aero with less.

And two points about dual channel:
*You can run dual channel with mixed modules
*It makes like <5% performance difference, it really is probably negligible.

If you're ordering through the consumer site, you can get 1.5GB for $99 more; that is a killer deal, a 1GB stick aftermarket runs about $100.