so i bit the bullet

IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad T60

-Intel Core Duo processor T2400 (1.83GHz, 2MB L2, 667MHz FSB)
-15" SXGA+ (1400x1050) TFT FlexView Display with wide viewing angle and high density display
-128MB ATI Radeon X1400
-1 GB RAM, 1 stick, DDR2 667 MHz
-100 GB, 7200 rpm SATA
-ThinkPad 24X/24X/24X/8X Max Combo Ultrabay Slim Drive
-Wireless upgradeable,
-Bluetooth/Modem,
-1Gb Ethernet,
-UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader
-6 cell battery

Shipped to my door $1765

Upgrading from 256mb RAM to 1 gig was $100, which is approximately the same price as 1 gig stick on newegg. 100 gig 7200 rpm option was $150, on ebay drives were in $170+shipping range. Opted for XP home which was $60 less. Yey for EPP program.

I'll probably pick up 9-cell battery later on through ebay once this one is gone. Equivalent Dell system would be ~ $450 less, but I'm tired of dealing with their flimsy keyboards and hinges.

Anyone have any suggestions as far as what else to add on to this thing?

5/2/2006 6:11:30 PM

im holding out for the rumored x60t

5/2/2006 6:17:46 PM

the ibm docking station that has agp and pci slots, for real gaming when you're at home

5/2/2006 7:47:32 PM

i have to use this dumb t30 8 hours a day

5/2/2006 7:51:13 PM

you bought a t60 w/o built-in wireless?

5/2/2006 8:06:49 PM

When I got my (non-IBM) laptop, I opted for firewire instead of built-in wireless, since the thing only has one mini-PCI slot.

5/2/2006 10:57:20 PM

gay

5/2/2006 11:01:56 PM

shit should have wireless...now im not sure

5/2/2006 11:05:50 PM

i thought >t40 had wireless standard

5/2/2006 11:30:26 PM

Upon looking at the lenovo site, it seems that "wireless upgradeable" means that wireless can be added at a later date... I'd check on that to be sure though because that would kind of suck. Nearly all standard models come with wireless, but it's possible the one you customized didn't.

oh yeah, the education pricing through the university is better than what you got that one for.

http://www.eos.ncsu.edu/soc/purchasing/sbs.htm

All those models definately come with wireless, as well as the 3 year warranty standard. You can also do the whole "no sales tax" thing if you don't want it till august.


though that's arguable I guess, since the closest priced model has all the same specs, except the 2.00 ghz duo processor and the 5400 rpm drive. The 5400 rpm drive provides better battery life than the 7200 rpm drive (even with the faster processor) but slower performance. It really depends on whether the processor bump offesets the slower drive.


[Edited on May 3, 2006 at 12:52 AM. Reason : ]

5/3/2006 12:37:26 AM

haha - and you didn't even use epp from a random tww'er

5/3/2006 12:40:17 AM

7 more days at IBM and im gone for good

[Edited on May 3, 2006 at 1:07 AM. Reason : wonder how long i can keep this 22% verizon discount]

5/3/2006 1:01:23 AM

Quote :

"you bought a t60 w/o built-in wireless?"

wow, that would be a pretty huge oversight. though if so it sounds like upgrading isn't a huge problem...assuming the antennas are built in

5/3/2006 1:04:34 AM

actually after a summer of working on a T42 i had trouble one of the keys come off
I have used two dell laptops heavily with no keyboard troubles
i am not a big dell fan -- but from my sampling... thier keyboards win

5/3/2006 1:07:15 AM

^

anectdotes aside, the IBM/lenovo laptop keyboards are some of the most reliable and comfortable laptop keyboards out there. the spillplate underneath is nice to (full spill plate as opposed to the dell half-plate.) the fact that a broken or gummed up keyboard also takes 30 seconds to replace is nice too.

[Edited on May 3, 2006 at 1:15 AM. Reason : ]

5/3/2006 1:13:10 AM

i am pretty sure that laptop already has the built in wireless antenna that runs around the top and sides of the screen housing. I think all you need to do is buy an wireless b/g mini pci card and install it.

5/3/2006 1:45:24 AM

EPP!

Quote :

"Z60t ThinkPad notebook (2511EAU) $749.00 Your price* $1,099.00 Web Price*"

[Edited on May 3, 2006 at 3:40 PM. Reason : EPP]

5/3/2006 3:39:32 PM

Quote :

"wonder how long i can keep this 22% verizon discount"

forever pretty much - i have friends that have never worked a day at ibm and get the sprint 25% off discount

5/3/2006 3:40:46 PM

Getting one of these at work soon to replace my aging T41.

5/3/2006 3:46:41 PM

Quote :

"forever pretty much - i have friends that have never worked a day at ibm and get the sprint 25% off discount"

how do they do the verfication? bluepages?

5/3/2006 4:10:32 PM

you tell them a manager's name / address / phone # that they don't verify

5/3/2006 4:14:43 PM

when my friend got his discount with sprint they asked to see his badge. Don't know if it was just that store (By Golden Corral in Cary) or if they've changed their policy. But i got a discount when I worked at Home Depot and am still getting mine, and I haven't worked there in a year.

5/3/2006 5:56:20 PM

you call them up...

5/3/2006 6:16:43 PM

i sent an email saying "Hi I work at IBM" and they replied and said "Discount applied"

5/3/2006 6:42:46 PM

Quote :

"Upon looking at the lenovo site, it seems that "wireless upgradeable" means that wireless can be added at a later date... I'd check on that to be sure though because that would kind of suck. Nearly all standard models come with wireless, but it's possible the one you customized didn't. oh yeah, the education pricing through the university is better than what you got that one for. http://www.eos.ncsu.edu/soc/purchasing/sbs.htm All those models definately come with wireless, as well as the 3 year warranty standard. You can also do the whole "no sales tax" thing if you don't want it till august. though that's arguable I guess, since the closest priced model has all the same specs, except the 2.00 ghz duo processor and the 5400 rpm drive. The 5400 rpm drive provides better battery life than the 7200 rpm drive (even with the faster processor) but slower performance. It really depends on whether the processor bump offesets the slower drive."

Thanks for that!

can you purchase these if you are not a student anymore?

5/4/2006 4:42:30 PM

i'll trade ya my t40p for yours

5/4/2006 10:01:10 PM

Quote :

"forever pretty much - i have friends that have never worked a day at ibm and get the sprint 25% off discount"

yours truly

[Edited on May 6, 2006 at 12:07 PM. Reason : ]

5/6/2006 12:07:21 PM