14.1" Thinkpad SXGA+ questions

I have narrowed down my search for the perfect notebook. After this dreaded Asus, I wanted something that was quality and that had good support. I am currently looking into getting a 14.1" T60 with the sxga+ 1400x1050 screen, 2.0 t7200, 2gb ram, 128mb x1400.

I am trying to build a good PC system for graphic design. Am I right in assuming that this system will handle running Photoshop, Illustrator, and Vista Aero simutaneously without getting ridiculously slow?

Also, the main reason I made this thread, how is the brightness and backlighting on the sxga+ 14.1" screen? Does it have the grainy-sparkly look to it like the 1680x1050 15.4" screens have? Any light leakage? I haven't found too much information on that screen.

I also like to play Counter-Strike 1.6, will the x1400 handle that fine?


Thanks for your time.

Brian

 

I don't know about the x1400 but my thinkpad with the V5200 has run photoshop, illustrator, indesign, and various other programs (web browser, email) all at the same time with relatively little slowdown. I've already PMed you back about the screen.

 

I have the SXGA+ R60 which use the same panel as the T60. Leakage on my unit is minimal, but there is always some variance from one unit to the next.

 

If you are not in hurry, wait to see if Lenovo release T14'' wide screen which is better.

 

My little leakage is very minimal on my screen also. The screen brightness isn't great however good enough for movie watching and stuff but when I can I usually use a different monitor when available at work, etc. While you may want the added portability of the 14", I bet the 15" with flexview would be better for you if you do a lot of photoshop and everything.

edit: I also have the same specs as the one you are thinking about getting. Very fast and efficient while I do not prefer it I run 60 processes at startup and it runs fine and I have loaded cs2 and acrobat 8 along with other stuff running with no significant problems.

 

Thanks for the info so far. While a Flexview would be nice, I don't think I can justify the extra $300 since I really like the portability of a 14" and I can spend it on an external that can do 1680x1050. As for widescreen, a 14" widescreen is 1440x900, 14" 4:3 is 1400x1050. I lose 40px across but gain 150 down so the screen real estate, to me, is roughly the same for both.

Any comments on if it is grainy? How does it compare to the Macbook screen? Does IBM plan on incorporating LED LCD technology soon? I would like to wait for that but I may be forced to buy without it due to my co-op coming up in 3 weeks.

 

The screen is nice (I have the 14.1" non-FlexView). I'm really happy with it, and the portability is nice

 

I have an R60 with the 14.1 and light leakage is minimal. As for the screen being grainy, mine isn't. my girlfriend has a sony (don't know which model) but the screen looks horrible compared to mine in this respect. I'm very happy with the quality of my screen.

I also use 22inch viewsonic external when I'm at home and there are no problems with that at all.

 

I don't know about games, but your configuration will be more than adequate for running a bunch of business apps. It's very similar to the model I configured about a week ago (still waiting for it to ship, by the way). It looks like the only difference is that I'll be adding the additional gig of RAM myself.

I generally like widescreens better, but since the T60 isn't available in a 14" widescreen, I had to go with what they have.

 

From what I hear, some people say the screen is fine and others say its mediocre at best. I have decided to bite the bullet and get a 15.4" instead since I know from personal experience the quality of that screen (it's the same one that is in the Dell which is the same thats in my Asus) and I will be using this laptop at my co-op for graphic and web design so I need all the screen real estate I can get. I plan on getting it with 1 gig of ram and upgraded to 2 gigs through Newegg. My only question is will Counter-Strike 1.6 run fine? That is pretty much the only game I play. I'm pretty sure it will run fine since it runs good on my Go6600, which is only marginally better than the x1400.

 

The WS can do that and costs the same, you pay in size and weight. I would not get 2 GB from Lenovo, but rather only 1 GB (1 DIMM) and then order another 1 GB off the newegg or other. This is more or less what I choose to do myself, except I think 1.5 GB will be ok so I just left it at 512.

 

I had a 15.4" T60 that went back last week because of the screen. It was absolutely horrible---it leaked light all over the place, and it made for an all-around enormous laptop. I'm waiting on a 14.1" T60 now...

 

I have a t41p with the 14.1 SXGA+ and I like it a lot. My wife complains that the fonts are too small, but it looks ok to me. The only thing I had to do to help it with image editing was upgrade the memory to 2 gb. I bought 2 1 gb sticks from crucial.com and it runs image editing software just fine now.

With any laptop though, if you're not happy with the screen while you're at home, buy an external monitor. The 14.1 SXGA+ is fine for on the road and if you need a bigger/better screen at home, get a nice LCD or even a big CRT tube.

 

If quality is your primary concern, you should know that the quality of the X60 noticeably exceeds the quality of the T60, in my experience, having used a number of both models from work.