I need some comments and advices on my near-future laptop, please

Ok, I quoted the price about a month ago and now it's time for me to seriously consider to buy a laptop. The specs stated as below. I think that's the lowest price ever since the 15% FC. The price included 25% + 15% off instantly through CPP and another 5% off using coupon (for R series only), so totally, I got almost half of the original price. For the same specs, it's $700 @ lenovo through CPP now using all possible coupons. I think my mind was set for this system @ this price because it's too good deal to pass, but I still want you guys give me some comments and advices for the specs. Is it good price and specs for a college student? Should I get the HDD 5400 rpm or 7200rpm?

BTW, If I want to add more feature (like fingerprint) to my quoted order, what should I do?Order first and then call Lenovo to change it, or call them first and ask agent to do so? The reason I ask because I afraid they may just me that it's a as-it order and they cannot change the specs.

Oh, one more thing, what does R61 weight? On the data sheet at Lenovo website, they said it's 5.2lbs, but I saw on PCmag, Cnet that the weight is 5.5lbs, 5.7lbs respectively

Appreciate and will rep your replies

Specs

SYS.7732CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM $654.66 $654.66
The above product code consists of the following component(s):
7732CTO THINKPAD R61 $654.66
42X5953 SBB INTEL CORE2DUO PROC. T8300 $0.00
42V8012 VBB MS WIN VISTA HOME BASIC $0.00
42W7293 SBB MSWINVISTA H-BAS32 US ENG $0.00
42X1670 SBB 14.1"WXGA TFT,W/ CAMERA $0.00
42X5956 SBB INTLGMA X3100 GM965W/1394 $0.00
41W2060 VBB 1GB PC2-5300 667MHZ 1DIMM $0.00
42V8195 SBB KEYBOARD US ENGLISH $0.00
42W7032 SBB ULTRANAV(TRCKP+TOUCHP) $0.00
42V8709 SBB 120GB HDD,5400RPM $0.00
42V8717 SBB CD-RW/DVD-R.24X24X24X8UB-S $0.00
42V8177 SBB INT.WIRE.WIFI/LINK4965AGN $0.00
42V9337 SBB 4 CELL LI-ION BATERRY $0.00
41W1787 SBB CPK NORTH AMERICA $0.00
42W7087 SBB LP,US ENGLISH $0.00

 

Most likely if you want to change your order Lenovo will force you to cancel your current order and place a new one. You will lose all your coupons if they're no still available.

In my opinion the fingerprint reader is overrated. A 7200RPM drive does give a performance uptick. I personally prefer it, but the newer 5400RPM drives offer pretty decent performance.

 

For a student laptop, that's an excellent deal. The weight is reported differently possibly due to the battery that was tested with.

As for the fingerprint, IMO, it's just a trinket. You'll probaby get headaches just trying to configure it.

Do you plan on performing a clean install? I'm sure your college will provide you with a MS disc for a low price.

 

So, you mean I should give them a call and tell them to order my laptop as quoted + additional feature?

what do you mean by "newer 5400 rpm"? Isn't there only either 5400 or 7200 HDD? I heard that 7200rpm HDD will drain your battery life or heat up your laptop, or something like that, and that pushed me toward 5400. I also read that 160GB HDD will give you a speed of 7200rpm, is that true? Now i'm confusing to choose HDD

Thank you. I just figure out that extra 5% off coupon just expired today, and that mean I actually saved more Now, i'm waiting for a new deal from CPP because recent deal will expire on the 14th (and my quotation expire on 17th). If it's not better, then I still have 3 days to decide but most likely that I'll pull the trigger

I actually want to perform a clean install, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do it. I read the guide a while ago and I afraid I screw up some steps 'cause there's a lot of things to do (I actually got lost from step 7 or something). And in the worst case I may lose my Window license (this is scary part!). Anyway, I'll read the thread again and see if my brain opens up a little bit since then

I already had MS software, but thanks!


Thank you ZaZ and Arkit3kt! I thought I might be interested in fingerprint because what I planned was playing with it in bored time (thought it's cool though) but through what you two said, maybe it's not worth it. And maybe, instead of paying a little extra money for fingerprint, I better spend it for HDD upgrade if necessary

Repped to you!
@Arkit3kt: I'm unable to rep to you now, but I will

 

I wonder why almost everyone put T61 on top of R61 while the quality is almost the same? I did a quick research and all sale statistics were about T61 but rarely mentioned R61, does this reflect the quality themselves?

Can someone provide some pictures about WXGA and WXGA+ side by side? I just want to see the different. Thanks

 

anyone? it has been a day or more without reply

 

well how big do you the HD to be? I think the default is 80GB 5400rpm, but you can upgrade to a bigger 5400rpm HD or get the same size for 7200rpm. It just depends on how big you need the hard drive to be first

 

120GB HDD, not sure if it's enough to compensate the speed

@Zaz: can you answer me this question?

 

If you have a quote right now and want to change it Lenovo will force to make a new quote. They don't allow changes. If there are any coupons you are using in your quote that are not still available you will not be able to use them.

Technology usually gets better. Though the underlying tech is the same in 5400RPM drives, the ones that are being produced now are much faster than original ones.

 

you know if I can buy a media remote control and stick inside of the Thinkpad R61 on the side like other laptop branch

 

For regular traveller to whom battery life will always be a concern, stay away from these:

1. 15' LCD -- you know what percentage of battery time goes to sceen?
2. 7200 rpm HDD -- mechanical things is greedy
3. Discrete GPU -- are you kidding?
4. 2 DIMM RAM -- the more slot you take, the more power is needed to drive it

If all these can't meet your requirement, then T series is not for you, you might need an X61 or X300 sth.

 

What basis do you have for 2 and 4? The new 7200 RPM drives don't consume any more power than their 5400 RPM counterparts and memory requires very little power. As for travelling, you won't get 6+ hours as in a 12" laptop but with an extended battery you can easily get 3-4 hours on a 15+" laptop - which is more than enough for majority of people. You can always get an auto/air A/C adapter as well. Personally I find 12" and even 13" laptops too small, I prefer 14 or 15" - but hey, if you are comfortable with smaller than go for it (though smaller laptops command a price premium).

 

There are notebooks that can go six plus hours. The X61s with the extended battery would be one.

 

I prefer either 13.3'' (M1330) or 14.1'' (Thinkpad), but since M1330 is overpriced and has many issues, I tend to Thinkpad thinking that this is my right choice. First laptop ever for me and maybe safer to go with famous solid-built Thinkpad, but on the other hand, I'm afraid that I will be too picky to find the second laptop after that

@TP_FAN: I found the #4 is a bit ridiculous Why using only 1 RAM slot while we have 2. I mean it will eat batteries but it's worth it. RAM and battery are going to compensate to each other. Like if you have more battery life by using only 1 RAM slot, it's going to cost you the time of waiting your laptop loading data; and vice versa if you use more ram, of course it takes away some batteries but gives you less time loading data.

Someone's using Thinkpad either R or T can answer me this? I realized that PC Card Slot & Express Card Slot is a little too big for a media remote control out there in the market, and not sure it'll fit the slot.

 

anyone? I just want to know whether a media remote control will fit in PC & Express Card Slot?

 

oh well, today is the last day for me to order the one @ OP, and I still have some questions to concern and hopefully it will be answered soon:

1. What is the actual weight of R61? On the data sheet at Lenovo website, they said it's 5.2lbs, but I saw on PCmag, Cnet that the weight is 5.5lbs, 5.7lbs respectively

2.

just because the slot looks bigger compare to normal slot from Sony, Toshiba, etc.

3. battery hours? I know it's about 3-3.5 hrs but just to make sure it's right.

4. are build quality of R61 and T61 the same? People usually mention a lot about T61 but not R61 and I'm still not sure why.

 

From what I have seen of the R series, the build QUALITY is the same, but the quality of the components is slightly inferior in the R series. For example, internally, there is more plastic used rather than metal for internal support and cooling. As far as the actual weight, I don't have an R series right here to measure, but IBM always used to give weights with a plastic bezel in the ultrabay slot rather than a CD/DVD drive. That usually accounted for the discrepancies between IBM specs and posted reviews.

 

@schiesz: thanks and repped!

anyone knows how to chat with Lenovo CS? Usually, I see a window pop up when configuring the system, but not anymore. I'm trying to ask some questions and then order.

 

That would be incorrect. The 14" T61 and R61 are nearly the same, with the R61 being slightly heavier and thicker due to the thicker optical drive on the R61. They actually share many of the same parts like screens, keyboards, etc. The T61 has some higher end options like WWAN the R61 does not. The 15.4" models are different mainly due to the R61 lacking the roll cage in the lid.

 

I disagree, but I understand why you felt I was incorrect. I was referring not to components like optical drives, keyboards, and screens, but to the structural bracing pieces and things like that. You can see in these pictures that the T61 uses several metal pieces where the R61 has plastic, and that the T61 uses a lot more copper (as opposed to aluminum or steel or something in the R61) in the cooling system.

I do completely agree that the 14.1" models are "almost" the same, with the R61 having more flexibility for ultrabay drives. If there was more than a $40 difference when I made my recent purchase, I almost certainly would have chosen the R series.