Dell Vostro 1400 vs. Lenovo ThinkPad T61

Okay, I posted this thread on the notebookreview.com Lenovo forum, but I'm guessing there's a lot of different folks that frequent this Dell forum, and I'd like to see what you think about which one of these laptops would be preferred--I am currently in the market for a new one.

I configured a Vostro 1400, Dell's new 14.1" widescreen, and set it up against Lenovo's Thinkpad T61 14.1" widescreen with near-identical specifications as follows:

Thinkpad T61
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz 800MHz 4MBL2)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
Operating System Language: Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic - US English
System graphics: NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB)
Total memory: 2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard US English
Pointing device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
Hard drive: 160GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Optical device: DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim
System expansion slots: PC Card Slot & Express Card Slot
Wireless card: Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion Battery
Current price: $1495



Vostro 1400
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic
14.1 inch Wide Screen XGA+ LCD Display with TrueLife™
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
160G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/o Roxio Creator
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-card
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera
Integrated High Definition Audio
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Current price: $1402


Comparisons
Both laptops feature a magnesium roll cage, sealed keyboard, 14.1" widescreen and simple, black appearance suitable for business

Contrasts
The Thinkpad T61 uses 128mb of NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M graphics, while the Vostro 1400 uses the better (?) 128mb of NVIDIA GeForce™ 8400M GS graphics card.

The Vostro looks pretty decent, but I think the T61 still wins in the beauty contest.

Vostro 1400 requires you to have TrueLife (glossy screen) if you want the better resolution. I personally don't like glossy screens.

Now here's the real kicker... if you want to do a few upgrades from the FACTORY, the Vostro 1400 pulls ahead big time: Upping the ram to 3 Gb and adding the 160 Gb 7200rpm hard drive option (not available on T61) bring's Vostro's price to a mere $1597, and Thinkpad's price to an estimated $1930 (assuming price of 160gb 7200rpm HDD same as Vostro's if it were available).
Now we have a 17% price difference, as opposed to 6% difference before.

Unfortunately the Vostro line is so new, there are no reviews to be found yet. The good news is you can order it with NO bloatware and a 30-day money-back guarantee period with no restocking fee. I would really like to get the Thinkpad T61, but the better hard drive and $333 price difference on my preferred configuration is starting to make me think.

Please post your thoughts and research, thanks!

Greg

 

The NVS 140M is essentially a 8400GS. There is no difference other than driver support.

The T61 is much lighter and thinner, which justifies the higher cost in my opinion.

Don't bother buying 2gb of RAM from the manufacturer. For $50 less, you can just get yourself a 2gb stick and have 2.5gb of RAM or $90 less for 2 x 1gb sticks of RAM.

The Vostro 1400 can be had for much cheaper if you go with the Smart Value configurations. Only downside is you'll be stuck with a 9 cell battery.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=bqdwj2j&s=bsd

 

one question are you not ordering that Vostro from the US dell site or something?
because when i configure a Vostro 1400 the exactly the same as yours(well with a 9 cell battery instead of 6 cell) it came out to $1208

also you should give heavy consideration to the 7200RPM HD and 9 Cell battery instead of CPU upgrades.

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=bqdwj2j&s=bsd

 

WOW, that is very interesting... I tried your link and you're right, what a price difference. This must be the link from the Smart Values on Dell's website, because I get the lower price from there too. However, if you customize one of the regular Vostro 1400s, the price is in the $1400s as I mentioned before. Lesson learned!

 

Another thing to consider is that the T61 also has a magnesium "roll cage" which protects the LCD from damage especially from overstuffed laptop bags. In addition, this roll cage has channels in it that optimally route the wireless antenna. You will find that this specialized routing makes it a very strong competitor in the wireless reception arena. The ThinkPad case is also really durable. Most computer's plastics will shatter if they are ever dropped. I have seen ThinkPads that were dropped and they were not damaged but other competitors needed $200+ worth of repair (the LCD wasn't damaged) which is not covered by warranty unless you included accidental damage.
My opinion is that the ThinkPad is well worth the extra money. With laptops you pretty much get what you pay for; you buy cheap, you get cheap. Make sure it has all the features you want when you buy it. Putting it off until later means it will never happen...

 

Not sure how good are the Lenovos but the older T40s are great. I have one at work that is still going strong after 3years. I did drop it once on the carpet from 3 feet high and it survived.

I have not heard the same praise for T60 series because of the change in the companies/mfr but I think it is still a solid laptop.
I have Vostro1400 for personal use and will be getting the T61 soon (couple of months) at work.

So if you can hold back from buying till then I can give you a comparision.

Overall T61 is a better computer and price shows it. I got my Vostro around $650 and I am pretty sure similar T61 will be at least 50% more.