[solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

bgalakazam · 2010-03-05 22:12:38

I am planning to buy one of these two, second hand. I've read the Wiki and see that the T61/T61p is somewhat more supported than the T400. Also, price for me really is a matter so the T61 would be cheaper.

I know there are several T61 and T400 users, so I want to get some opinions. Again, I am most likely going to get the T61, but I may change my mind. I cannot look at comparissons anymore, so you tell me.

Last edited by bgalakazam (2010-06-08 06:44:38)

evr · 2010-03-05 22:15:51

well, besides price, what are the main things you are looking for in a laptop?

bgalakazam · 2010-03-05 22:45:21

After price, comes battery life. I don't want a netbook, however. I've had 2 Dell laptops (both broken and in garbage since long ago) and currently have Acer Aspire 5102 WMLi, but my wife uses it and I plan to completely give it to her once I get the ThinkPad.

Last edited by bgalakazam (2010-03-05 22:46:15)

dhave · 2010-03-06 00:15:55

For the past five years or so, I've run ArchLinux on a T23, a T43 and now a T61p. All have worked superbly. I think I had to tweak things a bit to get the volume control buttons on the T61p to respond properly, but beyond that, I've been very impressed with all my Thinkpads, especially the T61p (a powerhouse; I like to run a second hard drive in the UltraBay slot) and the T23 (a little beast of a machine, in its day, and still running strong).

I haven't tried a T400. I had been concerned about the T61p since it was the first pure-Lenovo machine I'd owned (the T43 is branded IBM), but I haven't noticed any change in quality.

Someone described Thinkpads as the Volvos of the laptop world. I think that's pretty accurate. Not a lot of pizazz, but solid quality and workmanship.

takedown · 2010-03-06 00:38:53

Half a year ago (or a little more) I bought a T500 (same as the T400, but with 15-inch screen).
It is a rustic and powerful notebook (who else can I say about a Thinkpad, and everything has been said about them).

The battery life is very good. This running arch (which most expect?) with thinkpad_acpi, laptop-mode-tools and KDE4 with PowerDevil (I think nothing else).

It is a very very fast, quiet (not really feel the fans, most of the time or are turned off, or running at very low speed), and above all, very cool.

evr · 2010-03-06 01:20:54

well, i've only ever had a t61p from lenovo, so i can't really compare the two models. That being said, I love the t61p. I've had it for a long time and it has been running great for the whole time. Battery life is very good with the 9 cell battery. I really have no complaints about the laptop, once i got everything configured in arch, i haven't had any laptop specific problems. Like dhave said, these things are built really well, it seems like it can last forever.

bgalakazam · 2010-03-06 02:04:02

That's why I stopped on it as a first choise. While the hardware difference may not be that great between T61 and T61p, a second hand T61 can be found as low as $300 where as the cheapest T61p was $500. Also generally, there are more second hand T61's for sale out there.

Last edited by bgalakazam (2010-03-06 02:04:27)

dcc24 · 2010-03-06 08:14:00

I'm also an extremely happy T61p owner. There are a couple of different versions out there, so here are the specs on mine:

T7700 CPU
4GB DDR2 RAM
500GB 7200RPM HDD
nVidia Quadro FX570M (256MB GDDR3)
Intel 4965AGN Wireless
15.4" WUXGA (1920x1200) LCD

The main reason I love it is the LCD. You simply cannot get any better resolution. The CPU is good, GPU is more than enough, even for graphic-intensive games on Windows. Everything works fantastically on Linux using thinkpad-acpi.

vi3dr0 · 2010-03-07 11:37:02

With T400 you should get more battery life, however as a proud owner of T61p i can surely recommend it to anyone - great machine

Kaeso · 2010-03-09 03:44:35

I like my T400 and didn't have much trouble getting it to work with Arch, but I've never owned a T61 so I can't really compare them.

bgalakazam · 2010-05-28 05:52:00

Well it's official! I got a Thinkpad T60p. None of the T61's had good prices and the T60p has similar specs. I can deal with the fact it only supports 3GB of RAM. I got the 14.1" SXGA+ screen, too so I am very happy about that as well.

Now just have to wait for it to arrive so I install Arch.

dcc24 · 2010-05-28 06:02:26

Good for you! I will be buying a 4:3 T61p (if I can find an unused one) as well. I had a T61p with WUXGA resolution, which died due to the notorious faulty nVidia GPU.

bgalakazam · 2010-05-28 06:46:10

I wish I could get the 15" IPS screen. Too expensive, though. But I got 4:3 nevertheless since it's pwn.

toad · 2010-05-28 09:45:28

Make sure you install tp_smapi to conserve the battery - check the wiki page

Arch Linux

#1 2010-03-05 22:12:38

[solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#2 2010-03-05 22:15:51

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#3 2010-03-05 22:45:21

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#4 2010-03-06 00:15:55

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#5 2010-03-06 00:38:53

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#6 2010-03-06 01:20:54

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#7 2010-03-06 02:04:02

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#8 2010-03-06 08:14:00

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#9 2010-03-07 11:37:02

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#10 2010-03-09 03:44:35

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#11 2010-05-28 05:52:00

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#12 2010-05-28 06:02:26

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#13 2010-05-28 06:46:10

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

#14 2010-05-28 09:45:28

Re: [solved] ThinkPad T61/T61p vs. ThinkPad T400

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