Is this a good time to purchase IBM laptop

[22hertz]

With Vista around the corner would now be a good time to buy?

The deals seem to be good with a nicely equiped Z61m coming in around $1200 with free shipping.
But will it be ok with Vista? Would it be worth waiting for Vista to ship with the laptop instead?
Looking for advice.

BTW I dont game
I need to burn music, watch movies, CAD, P-spice, Rockwell engineering software (hopefully runs on Vista) and other low power things like surfing net, listening to music ect...

PS. How good are IBM screens? I like Sony and HP screens, and I know IBM uses matte finishes but are they nice?

 

[fbrdphreak]

IBM doesn't make or sell laptops anymore - ThinkPads are a product of Lenovo now.

All Z61m GPU options are Vista Aero-compatible, as long as you have enough RAM. I believe Lenovo is running 1.5GB RAM for $99 special, get that and you'll be set. You also get a free Vista upgrade, so you're covered there.

The Z61m WSXGA+ screen is awesome; bright, good colors, good viewing angles. I'd imagine the WXGA is fine as well.

 

[corkyg]

My choice would be to wait and get it with Vista bundled.

 

[22hertz]

Im worried with Vista installed the prices may not be so good.

Few more questions.
Im not real computer savy, so I need some help with this part.

Should I upgrade things from Lenovo or should I buy seperately and install them myself?

Ram and hard drive come to mind.

Im alright with a 60Gb drive (more would be better) but my main concern is the higher speed 7200rpm drive.
Also I would like to get some good RAM but is the stuff they use good, or should I get some from Newegg and do it myself?
Also wich processor would you recommend keeping in mind I dont game.

Please advise in these areas...thanks

 

[fbrdphreak]

RAM is easy, as is hard drive. Upgrading hard drive you lose the Lenovo pre-load partition which has some great diagnostic tools and allows you to restore a backup without booting into Windows. Lenovo has the Hardware Maintenance Manual available which details removing any piece of hardware you want. Very easy

 

[IEC]

Also remember 7200rpm drives will most likely generate much more heat. Hard drives in my experience are the #1 failing component in laptops. They aren't cooled properly... my laptop's HD is the hottest component in my system (modified cooling for proc and GPU, GPU was hottest prior to mod).

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: 22hertz
Im worried with Vista installed the prices may not be so good.

Few more questions.
Im not real computer savy, so I need some help with this part.

Should I upgrade things from Lenovo or should I buy seperately and install them myself?

Ram and hard drive come to mind.

Im alright with a 60Gb drive (more would be better) but my main concern is the higher speed 7200rpm drive.
Also I would like to get some good RAM but is the stuff they use good, or should I get some from Newegg and do it myself?
Also wich processor would you recommend keeping in mind I dont game.

Please advise in these areas...thanks

There is a utility in the preload that lets you create recovery disks... you can use those on the new drive.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: ariafrost
Also remember 7200rpm drives will most likely generate much more heat. Hard drives in my experience are the #1 failing component in laptops. They aren't cooled properly... my laptop's HD is the hottest component in my system (modified cooling for proc and GPU, GPU was hottest prior to mod).

Myth

 

[rhatsaruck]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Upgrading hard drive you lose the Lenovo pre-load partition which has some great diagnostic tools and allows you to restore a backup without booting into Windows. Lenovo has the Hardware Maintenance Manual available which details removing any piece of hardware you want. Very easy

Can the OP use something like Ghost to transfer the pre-load partition to the replacement hard drive?

 

[simms]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: ariafrost
Also remember 7200rpm drives will most likely generate much more heat. Hard drives in my experience are the #1 failing component in laptops. They aren't cooled properly... my laptop's HD is the hottest component in my system (modified cooling for proc and GPU, GPU was hottest prior to mod).

Myth

correct. ariafrost is wrong.

 

[ND40oz]

If you're serious about running CAD and other engineering software on the laptop, there are much better choices then the Z61m. The Z61p or Dell M65 are much better choices for a laptop that can handle the rigors of workstation apps.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: rhatsaruck

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Upgrading hard drive you lose the Lenovo pre-load partition which has some great diagnostic tools and allows you to restore a backup without booting into Windows. Lenovo has the Hardware Maintenance Manual available which details removing any piece of hardware you want. Very easy

Can the OP use something like Ghost to transfer the pre-load partition to the replacement hard drive?

Wouldn't need to. Lenovo lets you create the recovery media out of the preload. But of course you can use ghost to clone the drive.

Something Lenovo has that is really REALLY cool is a utility to customize the preload recovery to get rid of the bundled apps.... Separate download though... worthy of a post itself.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: ND40oz
If you're serious about running CAD and other engineering software on the laptop, there are much better choices then the Z61m, the Z61p or Dell M65 are much better choices for a laptop that can handle the rigors of workstation apps.

Considering the Z61p has the fire gl card, I wonder what other laptop you would consider better? I would consider the T60P better as I'm not sure the Z61p has the same cross certs with engineering apps, but it is the same video card.

Seriously, what other laptop do you recommend?

 

[ND40oz]

Originally posted by: WackyDan

Originally posted by: ND40oz
If you're serious about running CAD and other engineering software on the laptop, there are much better choices then the Z61m. The Z61p or Dell M65 are much better choices for a laptop that can handle the rigors of workstation apps.

Considering the Z61p has the fire gl card, I wonder what other laptop you would consider better? I would consider the T60P better as I'm not sure the Z61p has the same cross certs with engineering apps, but it is the same video card.

Seriously, what other laptop do you recommend?

I was recommending the Z61p or M65 over the Z61m for professional work. The OP expressed an interest in running CAD and other engineering programs and wanted to go with the Z61m. My suggestion was to look into a laptop with discrete graphics that supported these applications. The reason I did not suggest the T60p is because the OP seemed to be interested in widescreen notebooks and the T60p widescreen has not been released yet.

I have revised the puncuation in my original statment so it is not as confusing.

 

[Wuzup101]

How in-depth are you going to be using CAD and such on this machine? I'm assuming you're an electrical engineering student at a university that has workstations avaliable for your use (most larger universities do). If you're no longer a student, and this is for your professional endeavors, I would definitely go for the T60p or Z61p models over the Z61m (as suggested above). I would also consider building a respectable desktop workstation instead of buying a mobile workstation unless you definitely need all that power on the go. Here are some things to consider if you buy a mobile workstation:

- Most of the time GPU's (IE: your graphics "card") is not replaceable in a mobile station (there are exceptions). If it isn't, you'll generally want to go with the best you can afford at the time. For CAD, the mobile fire GL discrete graphics will prove much better than an integrated chipset.
- For ram I would definitely try to stick to 1.5+ gigs...
- For HDD, go with the 7200rpm models. If you can't afford the increase in price to the 100gb model from the 60gb model, go with the 60@7200 and purchase a external drive later for your media. External drives can be picked up dirt cheap if you look around and catch the sales. A 250gb 7200rpm drive shouldn't run you more than $100 if you can pick up the drive itself for a decent price (I saw several 250gb deals for $50 recently).

If you're a student, many opt to buy a laptop + dekstop for school (not always at the same time). The nice thing about a desktop is, you can upgrade them easily when you have the money. A desktop built before your first year can easily last until you graduate 4-5 years later, though it might have completely different components in it when you graduate (that's what sales are newegg are for). And again, since I'm not sure if you are a student (you could already be in the field for years for all I know), take this advise for what it is. I've personally found that while at school, most of my intense CAD/matlab/etc... work was done on the university's workstations either while in class, or in group environments after class with classmates. You might not need some fancy workstation at all, but I would recomend talking to someone at your school that's in said major before you purchase a high end machine.