Another excited (future) Thinkpad owner

I ordered my T61 on Sunday; to pass the time, I feel like writing up my decision-making process for my configuration.

T61 14" (standard aspect ratio display, SXGA+)

I wanted my laptop to be portable, but, since it will probably become my only/main computer when I go to college, I chose the 14" screen T61. The standard aspect ratio display was a rather arbitrary decision; it was part "make it look like any other previous Thinkpad", part "slightly higher pixel density", and part "make some apps that don't agree with widescreens play nicely".​

Intel X3100 Integrated Graphics

I chose the Intel chip because the NVIDIA chip would a) be too lame to do any serious gaming and b) decrease battery life. Since I'm going to run Linux on this Thinkpad, the Intel drivers are a huge plus. Open-source drivers integrated especially well with X are worth the performance hit, IMO. I considered going for the T61p, but the NVS 570M in the T61p has a drastically reduced memory bus, hampering performance. I decided that I would look to a desktop or something for my medium 3D needs.​

Intel Core 2 Duo t9300 Processor (2.5 GHz, 6MB L2 Cache)

The processor was really a no-brainer. Penryn processors are the only reasonable choice now, really. The $70 would be ridiculous for the 100 MHz speed improvement, but adding 3MB more L2 cache seemed to make it a good deal, especially since the Core architecture scales well with additional cache (or so I've heard).​

Windows Vista Home Basic

I'm going to do a clean install of my own copy of XP, so the installed Windows is irrelevant.​

1GB memory (1 DIMM)

Memory is cheap and getting cheaper, so it didn't seem like a good idea to upgrade it now.​

Ultranav with Fingerprint Reader

The fingerprint reader is quite superfluous, but it sounds like a cool idea, at least. It's the sort of thing that I'm much more likely to regret NOT getting than to regret getting.​

160 GB Hard Drive - 7200 RPM

I definitely wanted a 7200 RPM hard drive; jumping to 200 GB would be $150, which is just ridiculous, so I stuck to the slightly more reasonably 160 GB. ​

DVD/CD Burner

Self-explanatory, really. Burning 3 CDs for a Linux distribution has gotten old.​

"Thinkpad" Wireless a/b/g (Atheros, I am told)

Apparantly, this card is better than the Intel 3945. I haven't heard much about the 4965, so this may have been a poor choice (though I have no plans to upgrade to a wireless-N router).​

Bluetooth

It's Bluetooth. For mice, keyboards, headsets, cell phones, et cetera.​

9-cell battery

For longer battery life. The extra weight and size will be unimportant, I hope.​

With the sale, the Visa (Member Purchase Program) discount, and USXTRIPLESAVINGS, this configuration came to $977.

So that's my story. When my laptop comes (possible Monday), I'll be sure to post impressions and stuff, because I know from experience that these things are fun to read. But maybe that's just me.

I have one question, for those of you with similar configurations: what sort of battery life should I expect?

 

Under Vista, I'd expect anywhere from 5-5.25 hours with the 9-cell. Don't know about XP, but maybe 5.5-5.75 hours?

Do you plan on upgrading the memory on your own?

 

Yes, I plan on getting another gig.

Thanks for your answer.

 

This is a very nice setup for a Linux box and everything should work right out of the box except for the fingerprint reader that will require some tinkering and it's not really any good for anything other than the initial login(I think).
Good luck.

 

Does Vista run smoother with NVIDIA?

 

It takes all of thirty seconds to set up. But really it's more for play than functionality keeps you from having to type a password is all but still I think it's fun.

No not really any modern graphics card can run vista without problems but you won't be able to do much of any gaming with the X3100.


Hope you like it! I got mine on Monday and haven't touched my desktop since I love my T61p!!!!!

 

I was referring to setting up the fingerprint reader in Linux not Vista.
It's probably a ~35 minute affair in Linux and with reduced functionality.
Steve

 

Careful with that fingerprint reader! Those things aren't that hard to trick if you know what you're doing and are persistent. Decent security, absolutely unsuitable for cryptographic uses unless hashed with a password (then it's gold).

 

I think of it this way:
If a person has the time and wherewithal to fool the fingerprint reader, they could just as easily run CHNTPWD to get into Windows, or just boot up a Linux LiveCD and mount my filesystem from there. I don't really think there's a large net decrease in security, and the fingerprint reader will be much more convenient.

 

If they where able to fool the fingerprint reader it wouldn't really matter because that means they stole your computer.

 

Exactly my thoughts. Plus the coolness factor makes it worth the $20 for me.

Installing it on Linux will be an adventure, though; I use Slackware, which doesn't use PAM. If I want the fingerprint reader to work, I'll have to replace the entire logon system, probably using the Dropline GNOME packages.

I really want to know about the Intel X3100's performance in Compiz. I would love to be able to have the cube, at least.

 

From what I have read there is an Opensource project called ThinkFinger that might help with the reader.

Also from my understanding compiz has the X3100 card as "blacklisted" and will not work with Compiz out of the box. you will need to "whitelist" it and it will work. This should be fixed in later releases, unless it is fixed already.

 

That is (was?) a "feature" of Ubuntu's Compiz distribution. I'll be running Slackware; I'll compile Compiz from source.

I planned on using Thinkfinger from the start, though I'm disappointed that it doesn't seem to work with KDM. Any recommendations for a different Display Manager?