I want to buy a T61... but can't seem to justify it

I am looking to get a laptop for school - to take notes, make presentations, etc. I've narrowed down the choices to the T61 and D630. I work for IBM, so I can get the T61 for about the same price as the D630 (about $1k) - in a similar configuration. I keep wanting to get the T61 (I love the T41 I've been using at work), but I can't justify to myself why I'd get the subpar battery option and the dimmer-than-the-rest screen. I keep thinking back to the keyboard and the build, but the D630 is pretty damn sturdy (I played around with a D620 in a store), and its keyboard is decent enough. And then, of course, throw in all the Lenovo shipping issues.

Any advice?

 

If you brought a Dell to work you'd get beat up?

 

t61 wxga+ screen is just as bright as the d630 wxga+ screen. They are both 220 nits. I'm not sure if you're looking to get the integrated or dedicated graphics but the 7 cell battery gives you decent usage time on the t61. I didn't get employee discount and the d630 would have cost me more than the t61

 

^^^

Same here. The Dell with a X3100 (not NVS140m) would cost me a hundred to 2 hundred more.

 

The Dell with the NVS 140M would cost 200 more as well.

 

Yes. I survived, however.

 

Hahaha! Maybe a few years ago...


jd1010 - I've heard conflicting reports about the D630 screen vs. the T61 screen. Some say they are equally bright, some say the D630 screen is better. I wish we had a side-by-side screen review or something of the two laptops. I personally saw a new-model D620 screen, and it was very crisp and bright. The Z61M that was sitting next to the Dell machine had a terribly dim screen. I am really hoping that the T61 screen is better... but it's pretty scary to buy a notebook without seeing it at all first, I guess.

I'm planning to get the integrated card and the extended battery (7 cell for T61, 9 cell for D630). So I'm looking at 3.5-4 hours normal usage with the T61 and 6 hours with the D630. Pretty big difference..

I do like the touchpad/fingerprint scanner location on the T61 better. It feels easier on my wrist somehow (I think the touchpad is a bit "lower to the ground" on the T61 than on the D630).

 

If I bring a Dell to work and left it unattended, I would lose it as my work has Dells everywhere. Unless I go for their high end units (which at that price I would rather buy Alienware), I am not buying a Dell....I know this is the same case for schools too....way too common.

 

Whadda ya mean, Solid? Lose as in - get stolen?

 

no, as it it would get mixed with all the other Dell units that are sitting around (If I used Latitude). Same thing for school, but only if I owned an Inspiron unit.

 

I see. Here at work, everyone has ThinkPads (duh).. but yeah, not at school.

I think I can live with the subpar battery, but I need to make sure that the screen is just as bright as the D630. Blah.

 

I made a mistake, didnt want to post on this thread

 

Anyone else not like the fact that the Dell Latitude D830 has the Fn key to the right of the control key instead of the other way around? Bothers me because I use Ctrl-T to open new tabs in firefox a lot and the ctrl key on the dell is too far to comfortably reach without removing my hands from the home row.

 

the screen is pretty bright as it is. any brighter and youd be wasting batt life

 

I was in your position not to long ago and I'm going with a T61. I'm trying to decide between the 15.4 or 14.1 model though.

They both use the same screen manufacturers but I think Dell uses 2 more then Lenovo does, so its a toss up on what screen you get.

 

Let me make your decision easier for you: I got my T61 today and it blue-screen-of-deathed twice in an hour. If you want to deal with bull**** like that right out of the box, get the T61. And yes, I am bitter.