Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

bredin · 2008-07-23 17:34:24

The problems I have on my x61 are arch/DesktopEnviorment related.
I have had a problem with some dead pixels on my screen, but they came home to me and replaced the screen.

Thinkpad rules!

moose jaw · 2008-07-23 18:14:48

Thanks dhave for your thoughts on suspend/resume. And good point about Lenovo's Suse support. It seems that "official" Linux support from a hardware vendor doesn't always guarantee full functionality -- I'm thinking of some of the less than stellar things I've read about pre-loaded Ubuntu on Dells -- but then, in the case of the Thinkpad with Suse and/or Arch we're dealing with an overall higher competence level on both the hardware and the software side. Still no guarantee, I suppose, but certainly encouraging.

bas1 · 2008-07-23 23:03:00

I have an HP Pavilion dv4419us, and all of its hardware works out-of-the-box, probably due to all of the intel hardware (ipw2200 b/g wifi, i915 integrated graphics, centrino chipset). I added an extra gig of ram, and it is extremely fast. boots in under 20 seconds with arch.

tofu · 2008-07-28 02:34:10

For that person that was asking about suspend

pm-suspend works. - I run a Thinkpad T61 with the Nvidia Quadro NVS 140M

I could never get pm-hibernate to work. I gave up since I didn't need this feature.

dhave · 2008-08-04 23:22:58

cschep wrote:

I have recently been shopping for a t61 as well. I was going to start a new thread, but this one seems perfect for chiming in with a question I had.
What resolution screen do you thinkpad owners have? I was looking at getting the t61 with the wsxga+ screen and it seems like that is a super high resolution! I can't imagine that being "worse' or anything...but, could it be too hard to read? I wear glasses, but I'm only 24, so it's not like my eyes are completely broken.
Also, I just found a coupon code to couple along with their "summer" sale or whatever is going on right now and darn if this isn't a great price!
[...]
The price goes down to 1050.94$
[...]
I'm having a hard time not ordering this right now...is this a really good price or have I just been looking at mac laptops way too much?
edit: geeze, I guess the 30% sale ends after today...what's a guy to do?

Yes, that looks like a very good price. I've got the 1920x1200 resolution screen on my T61p, and, even though I'm over twice your age (see photo), I don't have any problems reading it. It's very sharp and clear. I enlarge the fonts on some apps -- my browser, for example -- and I also use a larger terminal font than I would otherwise. I really like the extra screen space. I can have three or four windows open and use them just fine. I often like to have a terminal emulator or two open alongside whatever other app I'm running. This hefty resolution is perfect for that.

I have an external flat panel monitor that does 1600x1050. I used to hook up my older T43 to it when I needed extra screen space or wanted to watch a movie. I've gotten so used to the 1920x1200 resoution on my T61 that I never use the external flat panel anymore, even though the physical dimensions on the external flat panel are larger.

The best thing about these Thinkpads is the build quality. I walked through a Best Buy the other day and moved the screen of every notebook that was on display. Every one was jiggly. The T61, on the other hand, is solid as a rock.

Last edited by dhave (2008-08-04 23:25:32)

cschep · 2008-08-04 23:27:38

Thanks for the response! I was getting antsy, so I deleted my post and started another thread, but since I got the answers I was looking for I'll just take it down. I think I'm going to pull the trigger on this laptop. I'm sure I"ll be back with questions about configuring my arch install for it.

cschep · 2008-08-05 00:42:17

Bought it! woo hoo!

dhave · 2008-08-05 01:28:46

cschep wrote:

Bought it! woo hoo!

Happy new computer! Enjoy the anticipation, and enjoy the new machine when it arrives. May it boot first time, every time.

cschep · 2008-08-05 15:45:13

dhave wrote:

cschep wrote:
Bought it! woo hoo!
Happy new computer! Enjoy the anticipation, and enjoy the new machine when it arrives. May it boot first time, every time.

Thank you sir!

It appears some new models came out today? eeps!

I'm still more than happy with my purchase though, t61 here I come.

dhave · 2008-08-05 16:01:24

cschep wrote:

dhave wrote:
cschep wrote:
Bought it! woo hoo!
Happy new computer! Enjoy the anticipation, and enjoy the new machine when it arrives. May it boot first time, every time.
Thank you sir!
It appears some new models came out today? eeps!

... which is probably why you got such a good deal on the T61. There's no better time to buy, in my opinion. You're getting a field-tested machine that's still in production but is at the low point of its production-period price cycle.

Last edited by dhave (2008-08-05 16:01:42)

tofu · 2008-08-05 21:33:03

dhave - "even though I'm over twice your age (see photo)" - I really thought that was some random picture off the web. Well, if it is you, it must have been you Trick or Treating or doing some cosplay.

You seem like a vampire out of a movie. Haha.

-- To the person who bought the thinkpad, I suggest making recovery discs off of whatever OS you bought - (xp, vista, Suse) and then deleting the partition... 'tis a waste of space...

and here is something useful if you did buy the Vista installation (well, I guess you should know how to do and what to do already but I'll just link you)

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=120228 for a Cleaner Vista...

Last edited by tofu (2008-08-05 21:36:20)

cschep · 2008-08-07 01:40:52

Thanks for the links. I was forced to buy some sort of Vista, so I just picked the least expensive one. I'm not going to run any windows on this machine, so the first thing I'll do is pop in my arch install cd and blow whatever is on the hard drive away.

I definitely would have chosen the Linux option, even though I probably would have ended up blowing that away too. Arch is just superior.

12 days until it ships! woo hoo!

Jessehk · 2008-08-18 23:12:22

Well, I hit a bit of a setback.

Here's a rough outline of what happened:

[*] Placed order for T61 on July 22nd. Told it would ship in 3-4 weeks
[*] Called roughly a week later to check up on things -- told it was being built and it was on schedule
[*] Called in the second week of August -- same reply
[*] Called a few days ago (~3 weeks after ordering). Told that there was a problem with the financial details -- the transaction never went through. Told that there was nothing I could do, and had no explanation or apology for misinformation or inconveniance. Why wasn't this communicated the second I placed the order? It turned out to be minor financial issue -- easily resolved.
[*] Told my order would be resubmitted for processing and that it would arrive in 2 weeks minimum. Not acceptable, as I'm moving in August 31st.

At that point, I cancelled my order. As much as I'd love a Thinkpad (and after seeing a few IRL I stand by that), I can't with any self-respect give my business to a company that screws me over like that. After a brief rant on the phone ("Absolutely disgusted...", etc), it's done.

The University is offering a Fujitsu LifeBook A6120 at their Tech Shop for $849 with good specs (2.0 Core 2 duo, Atheros wireless (madwifi, right?) 3 GB ram, DVD writer). I've read some reviews, and aside from integrated graphics (I guess I won't be playing Starcraft 2), it seems like a solid product.

Last edited by Jessehk (2008-08-18 23:12:37)

cschep · 2008-08-19 19:02:34

Ah! I was just going to update this thread with my not-so-great experience too!

Here is my short story:

8/4 : ordered t61 - excited about it! 8/18 estimated ship date? fooey, but oh well.
8/4 - 8/15 - checked and checked and checked - no status changes
8/16 - change credit card on order - no big deal, told shipping might be delayed ONE or TWO days.
8/17 - no status change in order - call in: "should update on the web in 24-48 hours ... ok"
8/18 - no email - no status change - no shipping
8/19 - estimated ship date changed to 9/1

9/1 ? I ordered it on 8/4: Unacceptable.

did you have any problems cancelling your order? I will be canceling mine later today. Ugh. I really like thinkpads, I really wanted to give them more than a thousand dollars, and they just won't sell their products to us?

So many horror stories on-line about their service, not their product, but their service? I feel like such a sucker just giving my money to them anyway. I just can't do it.

Dangit!

I'm looking into ebay/craigslist for a well taken care of but used t60...might end up being a better fit for me anyway...

good luck with your lifebook.

EDIT: I went through with the cancel after the shipping date got pushed...again.

Last edited by cschep (2008-08-20 21:10:00)

Jessehk · 2008-08-20 22:48:55

I'm sorry to hear that, cschep.
It sounds like you went through something almost identical to me.

Good luck finding another laptop!

Last edited by Jessehk (2008-08-20 22:49:05)

dhave · 2008-08-22 14:24:29

@Jessehk & cschep: As someone who has been unashamedly promoting Thinkpads and Lenovo, I really hate it that you both had such horrible experiences. This is far removed from my experience with them. I don't know how to account for what happened to you guys, unless it's that Lenovo's recent price-cuts on their high-end models and their more aggressive entry into the consumer market have left them overextended. That's no excuse, of course, but it may be an explanation.

One way or the other, I hope you both end up with solid, high-performance laptops that will serve you for a long time. If nothing else, maybe a delay of a few weeks or a month got you a better deal on the machines that you did end up ordering.

Last edited by dhave (2008-08-22 14:25:12)

Inxsible · 2008-08-22 15:35:12

rson451 wrote:

I admit I've not read this entire thread so forgive me if you've already chosen a laptop, but for info's sake, I've been running arch on an hp dv9000t for over a year with every single piece of hardware supported. Love the computer.

I am sure glad to have read this post. I plan to put Arch on my parents dv9000t when I go visit them. They are currently using Ubuntu...and I seem to be forgetting things like where the Session is..so its difficult to help them over the phone.

If they too start using Arch....then it will be easier for me.

Mind you rson..I may be bugging you if something doesn't work

Last edited by Inxsible (2008-08-22 15:46:54)

Megamixman · 2008-08-22 17:11:20

Unfortunately Jessehk and cschep's story is probably the only major downside to Lenovo. They have major supply problems. The sources they use don't seem to be very stable, and thus I see lots of instances like yours happening. Most of the time it is because of a certain part such as the Hi-Res LCDs, or the DVD-RW can be there one moment and gone the next.

cschep · 2008-08-22 18:01:31

dhave wrote:

@Jessehk & cschep: As someone who has been unashamedly promoting Thinkpads and Lenovo, I really hate it that you both had such horrible experiences. This is far removed from my experience with them. I don't know how to account for what happened to you guys, unless it's that Lenovo's recent price-cuts on their high-end models and their more aggressive entry into the consumer market have left them overextended. That's no excuse, of course, but it may be an explanation.
One way or the other, I hope you both end up with solid, high-performance laptops that will serve you for a long time. If nothing else, maybe a delay of a few weeks or a month got you a better deal on the machines that you did end up ordering.

Yeah, I think you nailed it. They just feel over-extended. Too popular?

I actually ended up just picking up a t61 on ebay for 780$ shipped. Similar specs, I chose to go down to the 14" screen and it's the t7300 instead of the t8300, no big deal. Saved a couple hundred bucks, not going to be stressing it to the limits for years to come I'm sure. It also has a 3 year warranty, which is cool.

Ended up working out just fine for me, thinkpad arriving sooner, saved some money. Just sucks to have to have waited and floundered a bit. Oh well! Live and learn. Still very much looking forward to the thinkpad hardware experience.

Arch Linux

#51 2008-07-23 17:34:24

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#52 2008-07-23 18:14:48

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#53 2008-07-23 23:03:00

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#54 2008-07-28 02:34:10

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#55 2008-08-04 23:22:58

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#56 2008-08-04 23:27:38

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#57 2008-08-05 00:42:17

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#58 2008-08-05 01:28:46

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#59 2008-08-05 15:45:13

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#60 2008-08-05 16:01:24

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#61 2008-08-05 21:33:03

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#62 2008-08-07 01:40:52

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#63 2008-08-18 23:12:22

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#64 2008-08-19 19:02:34

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#65 2008-08-20 22:48:55

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

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Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#67 2008-08-22 15:35:12

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

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Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

#69 2008-08-22 18:01:31

Re: Laptop Recommendations for a Future Engineering Student Using Arch

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