does this latop configuration, price and performace sound good for my needs?

Question

im a pc wiz with DESKTOPS. never used a laptop b4.

i want a laptop with winXP pro that can do the basic stuff+ AutoCAD(so lots of ram), and run games with higher settings. wont b needing much hd space so thats not a worry.

right now im looking at buying from lenovo: a Thinkpad T61. 15.4" WXGA TFT widescreen. T7700 (2.4ghz). winXPpro. " NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB)". 3gigsDDR@5300. 160gig hd@5400rpm. dvd dl burner. media card reader. "Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG". 9cell battery.

the total is $1761.75 (free shipping

does this sound like a good deal? i tried newegg but all their laptops max out at 2gigs of ram. (i'd get 4gigs, but im on a budget). will my configuration be able to run games with nice settings, cuz low graphics suck!.also the hd rpm is only 5400. in desktops the norm is 7200 so will that be much different? should i go for 7200rpm?..as i said i know nothing about laptops but i want mine 2 last a few hours on the battery so i dont want it 2 have no power left in 3 hour

Answer 1

With laptops there is always a trade off between power and battery life. Overall your configuration seems to be a good value based on what you intend to use your computer for. Here are some things to consider.



*A 5400 rpm drive will be noticeably slower but will consume less power than a 7200 rpm drive.



*I agree that the more memory the better but Windows XP cannot effectively use more than 2 Gigs so any more than that is a waste of money that could be saved or spent elsewhere.



*2-3 hours of battery life is about average for a notebook depending on what you are doing. If battery life is important to you then look for a Intel Centrino based notebook because they currently have the best power saving technology. With that in mind 4-6 hours is what you can realistically expect to get with a properly configured not book.

Answer 2

Well as far as hard drive speed goes the norm for a laptop is 5400, I have not really seen a manufactured laptop with a 7200 rpm drive in it, and thats usually because the hard drives are considerably smaller in physical size. Now as far as the laptop being a good buy for you, it sounds alright for what you want to do though if it were possible I would look for something with a dual core processor in it and a little beffier of a video card. RAM may seem important but with video games, running them on top settings you have to look at your video card as much if not a little bit more then how much RAM you have. I have also found 2 GIG's of RAM to be suffecient for just about anything you are going to do in todays computing world. I only have 1 GIG RAM in my computer and I am able to run anything and everything that I have including AutoCAD and recent games on high settings.



So again try and beef up the video card, try and get a dual core processor and dont be as concerned with the RAM, 2 GIG's is fine 4 is absolutly over kill youll never use it all and if you are gonna be running on the battery's power a lot try for a 12 cell battery youll thank yourself after you get it.

Answer 3

Notebooks are overpriced to begin with, but that price isnt bad. Something you should keep in mind. I fix notebooks for a living I see this all the time from customers who buy high-end systems.



A notebook is not a desktop replacement despite what they tell you, or what sales people or even your best friends tells you. If you treat it as such, it will break down sooner.



Notebook batteries simply do not have a long life since they have such a heavy power load. Buying a third-party battery may void you warranty completely.



Notebooks are NOT meant to be set on your lap, which is why most if not all major companies call them Notebooks, instead of laptops. Setting them on your lap blocks airflow, makes it easier for cloth to get into the fans, makes the system run hotter then it needs to run.



Heat, notebooks run hot. Very hot, the higher end the system is the hotter its going to run.



It's not a gaming system, yes they'll put in a fancy graphics card and a nice lcd and tell you it can play all the games your heart desires, but if you treat it like a gaming system it will likely malfunction sooner then later.



Accidental Damage Protection: PLEASE BUY THIS. Yes it is very costly, but the hundreds of thousands of notebooks we return to customers every year make it worth it. It's so easy to break a notebook. You might not even be aware that the damaged caused is considered customer induced. If you're going to invest $2k in a system, protect it.



Fake Accidental Damage Protection: Make it really does cover your entire system for the life of the warranty, including liquid spill, cracked LCDs, ac adapters, batteires, motherboard, ram, cpu, plastics, ect. Many places will sell you over priced ADP that protects nothing, or only for a small time frame.



Anyway, I'm not trying to say, don't enjoy your notebook. Just respect it and don't treat it like a desktop. Your notebook will be happy and serve you for a long time if you do.

Answer 4

Two problems here, the first and worst is battery life, the higher the spec the lower the life and you certainly won't get three hours. My Sony manages just about 100 minutes max and it's a damn good machine, Second is games, to run to-days games a 128Mb graphics card won't hack it without dropping the graphics settings. It's also near impossible to upgrade graphics due to a space problem . Finally overclocking to push the performance is a no no due to heat dissipation. they are both good machines for work but a laptop just isn't the business for serious gaming mate.

Answer 5

My laptop,HP, has 7200 rpm,17 inch screen, highest screen resolution available. Had them build it and the price was about $200 more. Has only 2 gig ram. I prefer that mixture.

Answer 6

That system should serve you well. One word of caution though. Lenovo systems come with a lot of crap ware on them. With a fresh install of WinXP and just drivers it should fly.

Answer 7

for that it would depend on what type of games you plan to play. if you could email me or something telling me i could give you a good answer