ThinkPad really worth it?

M

McGee

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 9, 2003
Messages
191
I'm a college student and have had my eyes on a T60p for awhile. I got my hands on an EPP, so I can get an (almost fully loaded) one for around $2k. I was just talking to someone who works for a laptop review site and he said I'd be better off going with something like the Asus W3J or a different company, claiming that the ThinkPads were not worth the extra price I would be paying. I think it is, though, for the outstanding quality (i.e. built like a tank) and other features (keyboard LED, nice screen, fingerprint scanner, etc.).

What do you think? Is it worth it? My parents are buying it for me and I don't want them to waste their money.
 
Yes, the Thinkpads are worth the premium. They're about the sturdiest unit around, use high quality components, and offer great support. I refurb laptops for a living, and Thinkpads are hands down the best in my experience, especially the Txx series.
 
If you don't mind the loss in gaming capability due to not using high-end cards, then yes they're worth it.

I won't buy anything but a Thinkpad for my primary portable. I've done it in the past, and each time I came back to a Thinkpad.

Fair warning on the -P models though, OpenGL games are hit and miss with them, and more often than not, they're miss.
 
Generaluser45 said:
If you don't mind the loss in gaming capability due to not using high-end cards, then yes they're worth it.

I won't buy anything but a Thinkpad for my primary portable. I've done it in the past, and each time I came back to a Thinkpad.

Fair warning on the -P models though, OpenGL games are hit and miss with them, and more often than not, they're miss.
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Thanks for the warning, I'm thinking about going with the X1400 and playing older games (roms, warcraft 3, etc.) and maybe newer games on low settings. It's going to be a T60
 
They are built well, but not worth it IMO. Do you plan on dropping your laptop, beating it up, or otherwise abusing it? Most users will never need the build quality they have, it's overkill, and the price premium is a lot higher than it should be even given the build quality.

Dell Latitude (not Inspiron) laptops are built very well, and you can get one with better specs for less money. Every employee where I work was given a Latitude about three years ago (D800s) and problems with them have been extremely rare. In fact, any of the problems that have come up have been due to dumb users (installing malware or spilling coffee etc. on them) rather than due to the lappies themselves.
 
What the guy above said.

No they are not worth it.

Lattitude or precision with complete care is the way to go.

I brought a dell Precision M70 then 6 months later brought a Thinkpad T43 (EPP pricing).

They both cost about the same, BUT the dell is more sturdy, has a better keyboard, had a docking station thown in for free, DVIEW stand (wonderful), has a serial port, had complete care/accident insurance, 6800 based GPU versus the X300 in the T43, a much nicer screen (brighter, clearer etc) and even an extra power adapter
 
I absolutely love the keyboard. For me, the keyboard is worth the extra hundred dollars or so. Oh man, the response and everything is amazing. I tried typing on my friend's Dell.... ugh it felt like typing on a table!
 
You may not be planning on dropping it, but what if you do? My gf has a lower-end thinkpad (R series I think? it was < $1k) and it's very sturdy and well-built. I think it's always worth some extra $$ to get something that's durable and going to last.
 
I've got an x40, it gets the job done with battery life to spare :) A bit on the expensive side for their specifications but the portability more than makes up for it. Plus there is something really appealing about the spartan chassis and IBM logo. It just looks built for computation rather than dicking around (i.e. macbook).
 
Slartibartfast said:
You may not be planning on dropping it, but what if you do?
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You'll pay 30% more then pretty much any other brand to get if fixed. I work on alot of IBM laptops and many of the repairs I do are due to accidents like drops, getting them jammed in automatic doors, and spills.

IBMs are just like any other laptop as far as components go, they're just engineered a bit better and you pay a lot more for it. As a business laptop you can''t go wrong with them, but I wouldn't buy one for home or school.
 
BigD said:
You'll pay 30% more then pretty much any other brand to get if fixed. I work on alot of IBM laptops and many of the repairs I do are due to accidents like drops, getting them jammed in automatic doors, and spills.

IBMs are just like any other laptop as far as components go, they're just engineered a bit better and you pay a lot more for it. As a business laptop you can''t go wrong with them, but I wouldn't buy one for home or school.
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How do you get your laptop jammed in an automatic door?
 
Yes, they are worth it, for a number of reasons.

1. They have a higher build quality than any other machine on the market. Latitude fans can say they come close, but its just not true. (not trying to start a war here, just stating my opinion) Ive used both, and the latitude (D600) sucked in comparison. Cheaper plastic and crappy hinges make the machies undesirable IMO. There is NOTHING weak about my thinkpad... either of them. none of hte plastics flex, the hinges hold the screen where you want it, and even after almost 6 years of use, my T23 shows no sign of wear outside of the keyboard and lid, where it was banged around most.

2. the keyboard is phenominal. It is as close as you are going to get to a high end desktop keyboard in a laptop, bar none. They provide more tactile feedback and feel than any other laptop keyboard and are a joy to type on. I cannot say the same about Dell, Gateway, HP, or any other OEM.

3. the IPS (if that is your thing - 15" model) blows any latitude screen out of the water, and the 14" SXGA+ models are great too (i prefer these... sure, not great viewing angles, but the form factor of the 14" is perfect). Even Dell's XPS series notebooks do not feature an IPS screen, and im fairly certain none of the other notebooks (except MAYBE the precision, though im not 100% on that) do either.

4. Their support is bar-none. Something goes wrong, call IBM's support center. You get an american in gorgia who will overnight you any part you need for your machine and if the board/lcd/anything else dies for some reason, you just tell them. They send you a box with packing material overnight, you peel off the label, put your thinkpad in, and mail it off with prepaid, overnight shipping. The day they get it, its fixed and overnighted back to you. You are without your notebook for 3 days. Note that the only reason i ever had to send mine in is becuase i spilled acetone on it by accident and warped the plastic.

5. some people will disagree, but the trackpoint is phenominal. blows dell's version out of the water. 'Course, if its not your thing, the touchpad is excellent as well, one of the best I have ever used.
IBMs are just like any other laptop as far as components go, they're just engineered a little better and you pay a lot more for it.
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No, Theyre not. Sure, specwise, they may be the same, but that is where the similarities stop. The machines are much, not a little better engineered. You spill something on the keyboard? no problem - itll drain out drainage holes. You drop the thing 10 feet? no problem. hard drive turns off and the rollcage protects the motherboard. at most, you have plastics damage. the power plug is not solidered to the motherboard, its connected with a cable and screwed to the battery compartment. what does this mean? its not going to break by inserting and removing the power cable a lot, which i have seen quite often on many laptops. There are other little niceities, but this post is getting long enough as is.


bottom line, even if you say theyre not worth the price premium... this guy has EPP. He gets it for hundereds, even thousands off. Go for the gold, man
 
NulloModo said:
How do you get your laptop jammed in an automatic door?
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dunno the particulars, but it happened recently to a client of mine at an airport and I had to replace a cracked LCD.
 
lithium726 said:
bottom line, even if you say theyre not worth the price premium... this guy has EPP. He gets it for hundereds, even thousands off. Go for the gold, man
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Yeah, but, the price I would be paying even with an EPP is still maybe double for something like a comparable Dell.

I do hear lots of good things about other thinkpad functions though... I don't know what to buy :(
 
For what it's worth, I just placed an order for my T60p last night-- before thinking to look in here for any reviews (I know, I know-- shame on me...)

I'm happy to say I've seen a preponderance of evidence that I made an excellent decision for my first laptop. I've been a serious computer user for 15 years now, and I wanted to make this decision carefully-- I'm not a big gamer, and I don't need a lot of the bells-and-whistles some of you fine teenagers think are cool, like wide-screens, TV tuners, multi-colored lights, and customizable faceplates or whatever-- I want high-end, SOLID, quality hardware-- and I think this is exactly what I am looking for.

I went with the 15" UXGA TFT screen, by the way-- I've read that it is markedly better than the 14 incher-- any thoughts?
 
I'm doing the same thing. I'm off to college in August and I need my first real laptop (yeah we had a family one we bought off of a friend, but it was old and the LCD didn't last long, and it was on win95 until we updated it...). I was really set on a dell d620 or an HP dv2000, but I just saw that lenovo had some great deals on the T60 models, so I'm going to be picking one up very shortly. In the end I think it's going to be the correct choice, just because of quality. It's actually gonna cost me a little bit less than the HPs' and Dell's I was configuring
(the $200 rebate promo this month) and is better in just about every category.
 
I really cant step on anyones toes here, all i have to say is that today while reading reviews on makers, Lenovo was the only one to get an A on support from the company. This is good to keep in mind
 
mdlestat said:
For what it's worth, I just placed an order for my T60p last night--
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IMO, and experience- you won't go wrong. I only recommend IBM's for my clients, and have for several years. I've put many of them in place over the past 5 years, and they're the only laptop I use for my own business, and my family. LOL- we have a fleet! (2) T-23's; a T-30, and a T-41. Great stuff. Durable, reliable, lightweight, stable.

Can't say the same for the myriad of Dells, HP's, Gateway's (ugh) and Toshiba's my clients have. I would say that Dells are the best of the rest though.
 
I'm writing this now on my shiny (well, matte, actually) new T60p, and I absolutely love it-- seems to be everything I could have ever hoped for-- very solid, well-built feel, not at all like some of the plasticky-toy-like notebooks out there... it's fast, the 15" Flexview screen (@1600x1200) is breathtakingly crisp--at all angles, the ATI FireGL 5200 is bad-arse, the Think-Vantage system software is well thought-out and honestly helpful, and this little screen-mounted LED that illuminates the keyboard is the coolest damned "why doesn't everybody do this" touch EVAR.

I think the integrated fingerprint reader makes this thing worth the price all by itself-- go ahead-- steal my notebook-- it'll make a great book-end for you ;)

Oh-- and I'm not really sure why everyone seems to think that these are so badly overpriced, either-- a touch above two grand for a top-of-the-line business/workstation computer is a bargain!

Two thumbs up from this happy Thinkpad owner :)
 
i've heard the flexview screens have lots of ghosting. have you noticed this at all?

edit: also, how well does it scale when you are running non-native resolution?
 
I've been using and supporting Thinkpads (along with most all the other brands) for over 10 years now. I can easily say that the make, design, quality, and service is well above any other brand out there. I recently purchased the X41 tablet for more $$ than I've EVER spent on a computer of any kind. I have been nothing but happy with the decision. In my home office I use an old 700c that's still running after 14 years. I just love typing on it more than any other keyboard I've ever used.
 
WaterIsTasty said:
i've heard the flexview screens have lots of ghosting. have you noticed this at all?

edit: also, how well does it scale when you are running non-native resolution?
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I've detected no ghosting in my use so far-- the image is crisp as anything.
That part I'll have to defer on, as I only use it at the 1600x1200 res.

I'll look when I get home though...
 
mcgee I was looking at the T60p also until I saw the nc8430 hp....it is a widescreen (1680x1050 so it is still hi res like the T60p) and has an x1600. My model came speced like...well look at my sig :D. I got that for around 1500 after rebate (unfortunately it is expired)...I just got it a couple of days ago and I love it. It is really durable like the thinkpads (reinforced by magnesium alloy, it is business oriented like the thinkpads) it is about as thin as the macbooks (1.1 inches...and trust me I appreciate that)...light too at around 6lbs. Apparently it gets really good battery life too, though I haven't tested it. I can play Battlefield 2 w/settings jacked and Fear at native (1680x1050!) with no problems at all. Now I'm used to playing BF2 at 1024x768 with low-medium settings so I was really amazed. The speakers are actually not bad....I'm actually thinking of leaving my monsoon's here when I go to college. Ok...so I'm taking the monsoons :D but I did think about it lol. Bottom line...I honestly feel that I got a T60p for 1k less. With a widescreen no less :D plus it is much better looking imo...I really do believe that thinkpad t60p's are kinda overpriced....probably because of the firegl and the fact that it is made by lenovo. They are good for CAD guys with expense accounts though :D

http://www.pagecomputers.com/store/...tegory_name=68g68c284s2388&product_id=1066739

and since they are avaliable at resellers when you order it it will ship out immediately as if you were ordering a mouse or something instead of waiting for estimated completion dates to come and pass....IMO there is no reason to go for a T60 with an x1400 unless you are concerned with battery life unless you get it really cheap. If you can afford the HP I'd consider it.....IMO if you are going for a card like the x1400 you are better off getting something more portable like the Sony SZ 110B with the 7400go. That is a nifty machine too but not up to the durablilty of the hp or lenovo obviously.
 
NulloModo said:
They are built well, but not worth it IMO. Do you plan on dropping your laptop, beating it up, or otherwise abusing it? Most users will never need the build quality they have, it's overkill, and the price premium is a lot higher than it should be even given the build quality.

Dell Latitude (not Inspiron) laptops are built very well, and you can get one with better specs for less money. Every employee where I work was given a Latitude about three years ago (D800s) and problems with them have been extremely rare. In fact, any of the problems that have come up have been due to dumb users (installing malware or spilling coffee etc. on them) rather than due to the lappies themselves.
Click to expand...

I would agree that Laditudes are excellent build quality. I have a Dell C600, and i have had it for about 4-5 years now. I have dropped it numerous times, 3ft+ and it stays in excellent working condition.
 
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