Down to the finalists: Thinkpad T61, HP dv5t and Dell XPS M1530

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skuba

Member
May 7, 2004
94
0
0
Guys, please cast your opinion what system is better. I use the computer mostly for: webdesign (dreamweaver), photo editing (photoshop), once in a while video editing (premiere), and watch a lot of video streming over the web. Outlook is usually open as well as skype and messenger.

Here are the SPECS

Thinkpad t61

Intel® Core? 2 Duo processor T8300 (2.4GHz 800MHz 3MBL2)
15.4 WSXGA+ TFT
4GB DDR2
160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB)


Price $1,015.00


HP dv5t
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.4 GHz)
15.4" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
4GB

256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS


Price $1028


Dell XPS M1530

Intel® Core? 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)
Full Hi Definition, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD (1920x1200) & 2.0 M
4GB DDR2
160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with Hard Drive Protection
"128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GS

Price $1136



I could also consider shelling another $300 and pay $1400 for a Thinkpad T500, but only if it will make a big difference in performance.



What do you guys think? Any other suggestions?

Thanks so much
 
R

RESmonkey

Diamond Member
May 6, 2007
4,818
2
0
-You have possibly defective* GPUs in the Thinkpad and Dell.
-Don't buy stock RAM (they overcharge for it)

I just bought a Sony Vaio FW:

Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26) @ 1066FSB
3GB DDR2-800 RAM (was included in deal)
1600x900 (16:9 true res, very good for photo video editing)
ATi Radeon Mobility 3470 (better than all the GPUs you listed)

for just $995 on NewEgg, because I would save $200.


If not a Sony, then get the Thinkpad T500. w/ the newer non-defective GPUs (I think they're radeon so you should be good).

















*= nVidia G84, G86, and some other older cores are prone to die a lot sooner than they should.
 
boomhower

boomhower

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2007
7,228
19
81
Just do a google search on defective nvidia gpu's and you will get a ton of information. Basically all the 8600 chips are defective and will die out due to heat. I would go with the T500. You just cannot beat a thinkpad for durability and reliability.
 
S

skuba

Member
May 7, 2004
94
0
0
So, why wouldn't I have the same problem with HP. They also offer the 8600 with the DV5T?

Thanks
 
BlueAcolyte

BlueAcolyte

Platinum Member
Nov 19, 2007
2,793
2
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But the 9200GS, crappy as it may be, is not an 8-series card. So therefore it does not have this problem.
 
Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
Dec 10, 2005
28,122
12,764
136
Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
But the 9200GS, crappy as it may be, is not an 8-series card. So therefore it does not have this problem.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it was all current mobile Nvidia GPUs from the 7 series through the 9 series that had the issue since it was a manufacturing defect in how one of the generic parts was made.
 
F

fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
17,555
1
0
You guys need to read up on the GPU issue.

They do not "die" prematurely - it's not like there's a ticking time bomb. The issue is that the chips run hotter than most cooling systems were designed for, certainly a defect, but not an actual physical failure. Dell and HP issued BIOS fixes that run the fans at a higher speed as a bandaid. There's been a lot of discussion on Lenovo Forums about the issue and people are reporting that their systems run much cooler under 3D intensive load than competitors' systems & that they aren't seeing any problems yet.

And the 9 series reports I believe are unconfirmed - started with a "report" from The Inq.

Just my $0.02.
 
S

skuba

Member
May 7, 2004
94
0
0
I also found somewhere a guide that shows how to open the computer and replace the cooling gel inside with a better one.
 
I

IlllI

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2002
4,927
11
81
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
You guys need to read up on the GPU issue.

They do not "die" prematurely - it's not like there's a ticking time bomb. The issue is that the chips run hotter than most cooling systems were designed for, certainly a defect, but not an actual physical failure. Dell and HP issued BIOS fixes that run the fans at a higher speed as a bandaid. There's been a lot of discussion on Lenovo Forums about the issue and people are reporting that their systems run much cooler under 3D intensive load than competitors' systems & that they aren't seeing any problems yet.

And the 9 series reports I believe are unconfirmed - started with a "report" from The Inq.

Just my $0.02.
Click to expand...



well of course it would run cooler. i mean if the bios just turned the fan on to run 100% of the time at 100% then logically it should be cooler than the fan just kicking in occasionally once it reaches a certain threshold

 
S

skuba

Member
May 7, 2004
94
0
0
I talked to this girl with a XPS5130, 9300T and Nvidia 8600 and she says the fan does not kick in all the time, and she is a gamer. I guess not everyone is affected.
 
F

fbrdphreak

Lifer
Apr 17, 2004
17,555
1
0
Originally posted by: clandren
Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
You guys need to read up on the GPU issue.

They do not "die" prematurely - it's not like there's a ticking time bomb. The issue is that the chips run hotter than most cooling systems were designed for, certainly a defect, but not an actual physical failure. Dell and HP issued BIOS fixes that run the fans at a higher speed as a bandaid. There's been a lot of discussion on Lenovo Forums about the issue and people are reporting that their systems run much cooler under 3D intensive load than competitors' systems & that they aren't seeing any problems yet.

And the 9 series reports I believe are unconfirmed - started with a "report" from The Inq.

Just my $0.02.
Click to expand...



well of course it would run cooler. i mean if the bios just turned the fan on to run 100% of the time at 100% then logically it should be cooler than the fan just kicking in occasionally once it reaches a certain threshold
Click to expand...
There are no new BIOS updates for Lenovo systems, the systems appear to have no GPU heat issues out of the box.
 
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