Wootalyzer's Pricing Post! - The price of today's woot item is saved here for future reference
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Lenovo Thinkpad with Dual-Core i5
$499.99 + $5 Shipping
Condition: New

*DISCLAIMER* Wootalyzer! is in no way affiliated with Woot!, and this post may not always be here!

Passmark CPU Benchmarks

Thinkpads!!! I love my X120e from Moofi. I've used several Thinkpads over the years, and they're very dependable. My very first one, a Thinkpad 600, was purchased in the summer or fall of 1998 and still works!





Thunderthighs: Resized that pic for you.

Even though this is a business line laptop, it's still somewhat old. Build quality should be great, but the specs are subpar at this price.
First gen core i series processors are about 10% slower than similar clock second gen core i

ThinkWiki provides a lot of very detailed information about ThinkPads in general, and this one is no exception:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:L512

(Looks neat, but I haven't the cash on hand. I'll just stick with my T61p.)

Thinkpads are pricey for the specs, but they are so much better built and engineered than pretty much anything else out there.
The attention to detail is amazing -- even the keyboard, the weakest point on a notebook, is near perfect.

--Using my Thinkpad T410s, my second thinkpad.

Can someone please explain the Lenovo heirarchy to me? They have the Thinkpad, Ideapad, Essentials, etc..... Is one better than the other?

A couple things kill this for me:

1. DisplayPort- Supposedly the future...but just about nobody (except Apple, but that's mini-DisplayPort) uses it. Even my $800 24" work screen doesn't use it. You can buy DisplayPort -> HDMI adapters, but it's a crappy workaround.

2. No USB 3.0. eSata is OK, but I've had many issues with it. USB 3.0 is a deal breaker for me anymore.

Otherwise, classic Thinkpad with nice specs.

lonnyzone wrote:Can someone please explain the Lenovo heirarchy to me? They have the Thinkpad, Ideapad, etc..... Is one better than the other?

Thinkpads are far and away their best models. The other stuff is pretty standard ODM rebadge jobs. No bad but nothing special.

Here's the hardware manual:

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/60y3635_02.pdf

We have 50 of these laptops in a rotating pool that employees check out for travel use at the corporation I work for. I can attest to their durability, their speed, their ease of use, and their deceptively light weight. The LCD is big and pretty, the lid closes with a satisfying magnetic-seeming click, and the layout of the buttons is well thought-out; I imagine someone with large hands would find the keyboard suitable for their needs. Another fine laptop in the Thinkpad line, and I think this is a pretty good deal for it.

If you wanted to 'future-proof' this, you could buy another 4GB stick of RAM for ~$25 and easily install it on the computer. This is assuming it ships with one 4GB stick and not two 2GB sticks.

The only negative I could think of is that there seems to be a lot of 'dead space' on the LCD bezel and surrounding the keyboard. It feels like they could have made things more compact.

Don't forget that this includes a 3 year warranty from Lenovo. That alone is usually a $80 retail upgrade from a 1 year. I've also always had great experiences with any warranty repair from Lenovo and typically get my laptops back within 72 hours of shipment. (Always keep the hard drive, unless you want it erased.)

P.S. It's an LED screen, not an LCD as written by poster above.

lonnyzone wrote:Can someone please explain the Lenovo heirarchy to me? They have the Thinkpad, Ideapad, Essentials, etc..... Is one better than the other?

Thinkpad - THE business laptop. Built to last, but expect to pay for that longevity up front. Specs tend to be a little lackluster for the price, but you'll still be able to depend on it 6 years or more down the road. Try that with an Apple product...

IdeaPad - Consumer level laptop. Build quality is OK, but nothing special. Go for last year's thinkpad, imo.

Essentials - budget line. Better than most budget laptops, but only just. Shell out more money, or catch a used thinkpad on CL.

sirsinger wrote:Don't forget that this includes a 3 year warranty from Lenovo. I've always had a great experience with any warranty repair from Lenovo and typically get my laptops back within 72 hours of shipment. (Always keep the hard drive, unless you want it erased.)

Wow, I didn't notice the 3 yr warranty. That's not a bad deal actually, even though that's really last year's computer -- basically the same specs as my T410s, though I have 8GB RAM and discrete graphics.

Oh, and just as a brand loyalty note... as mentioned in a prior comment, I use a Thinkpad T61p on a daily basis as my primary everything machine, at home and at work. About the only time it's not on and running is during my daily commute (1 hour total each day).

It's been steady and reliable for four and a half years and counting and shows no signs of slowing down. I'd since replaced the original hard drive with a SSD, but it's otherwise still going VERY strong.

Thinkpads are simply awesome, and I refuse to use anything else. I can't speak to this particular model, but I've owned four different Thinkpad laptops over the years and all have been similarly robust - and so far as I know that hasn't changed in a while.

So, yeah. They're awesome.

The trackpoint alone makes this better than other manufacturers laptops.

Google shows $630 and change shipped as the lowest price. Good deal for a quality laptop!

Woot.. you're like the wife who tells me to get a computer and then nags me about it. I just bought a computer and now two days of computers that I could get. Argh, YOU! I want a divorce.

ThinkPads are made with quality in mind, not aesthetics.

This is a really nice deal. I am working on a T520 now, which I adore over the HP it replaced. Too bad I don't have room for this in my budget.

zzzaap wrote:ThinkPads are made with quality in mind, not aesthetics.

THIS.

DisplayPort to HDMI adapter is a crappy work around? Overpriced for these specs? Just plain wrong. This is a screaming deal. For all intents and purposes, HDMI is essentially DisplayPort. Get an adapter (they are inexpensive) and enjoy. As far as the price, it's a steal. Lenovo business laptops are built like tanks. I use them everyday and love them! I've never had a single component need replacing. In fact, if my current ThinkPad needed replacing, I would jump on this deal. BUY IT!!

sirsinger wrote:P.S. It's an LED screen, not an LCD as written by poster above.

Or is it LED backlit?

Bottom line, I have never considered buying anything but a ThinkPad. Supposedly the ThinkPad engineers from IBM moved to Lenovo when they bought the brand.

My wife has been through 2 HP's, a Dell, and a MacBook Pro. Now she's looking for the next one because they're all not working anymore. now she wants an X130e

My Thinkpad (X301) has outlasted them without any repair. It's been dropped from the top of a hotel luggage cart onto stone floors. water's been spilled on it, stepped on, etc. There's no damage.

I like to toss it around on the couch or the carpet in front of people, they freak out and I tell them, "relax, it's not a Mac"

I let the baby bang the crap out of the keyboard, no need to worry.

Lenovo has a facility in North Carolina,
(not sure if it's greenville), I haven't needed repair, but they're quick for shipping out accessories.

Viqsi wrote:(Looks neat, but I haven't the cash on hand. I'll just stick with my T61p.)

Oooh! You have the 64-bit T61p! Aren't you mister fancy-pants!

Okay, okay, I'll admit it, no offense to you: I'm just kinda bummed that I happen to have only wooted its little brother, the T60, which just so happens to be the last 32-bit (T-series?) Thinkpad model and the first made under Lenovo's tenure.

On the other hand, the T60 is also the last Thinkpad to carry IBM branding (even though it also carries Lenovo branding). (And Woot threw in a complementary docking station!)

erm, right, anyway.

Yeah. Woot appears to be upgrading its Thinkpad stock from what they sold last year.

Also on the other hand, even if I had the money to throw at this, I'd probably wait a few weeks to see if it shows up on the same price after shipping but without the Amazon-overlord sales tax (like happened last year with the T60s).

I love that this is a 15" machine that didn't feel the need to cram in a number-pad and shift the main typing layout off to the side of the screen. I miss my Thinkpad but I'm not sure if I need to spend the money just now.

Solid deal! I'd be all over it if it was a 13/14"

zzzaap wrote:ThinkPads are made with quality in mind, not aesthetics.

Hey, I happen to like the Thinkpad aesthetics!


Then again, I drive a (boxy for its time) '97 Volvo wagon, so go figure.

Hm. Tempting - I have a girl starting college in the fall and this will certainly hold up to the transport and abuse better than my son's HP ever did.

Anorion wrote:Thinkpads!!! . [picture]

Yay for archlinux on old laptops!

And I agree with all the praise here, I am considering buying this. I've used nothing but lenovos for 4+ years. Serious quality.

This is a great deal from Woot, specially consider the 3 year warranty, usually an extra charge. I can easily recommend that you purchase it.

But, if this model is not enough for you, Lenovo has some of the ThinkPads on Sale (only 1 at S499 though)

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/special-offers.workflow:ShowPromo?LandingPage=/All/US/Landing_pages/Promos/thinkpad/ThinkPad-sale&ipromoID=hpfa01203&

Dhraakellian wrote:Hey, I happen to like the Thinkpad aesthetics!


Then again, I drive a (boxy for its time) '97 Volvo wagon, so go figure.

I agree, their aesthetics are pleasing. And appear indestructible.

Also, I drive a '92 Volvo 240

nomadxxi wrote:Bottom line, I have never considered buying anything but a ThinkPad. Supposedly the ThinkPad engineers from IBM moved to Lenovo when they bought the brand.

[…]

I like to toss it around on the couch or the carpet in front of people, they freak out and I tell them, "relax, it's not a Mac"

Well, I have heard Thinkpads referred to as the PC equivalent of the higher-quality Macbooks.

Back in the day, at least.

I thought the "back in the day" bit was attributed to the purchase of the brand by Lenovo.

Your anecdote appears to suggest that it's the other way around and that the "back in the day" bit is due to a drop in Apple's build quality.

note2001 wrote:Hm. Tempting - I have a girl starting college in the fall and this will certainly hold up to the transport and abuse better than my son's ever HP did.

I convinced my sister to get a similar model when her HP's LCD went out.
She's in University and does a lot of work on it, she's really happy with the quality of the keyboard and Loves how easy on the eyes the screen is.

This one is a budget (or cut-cost) version of Thinkpad. I would say the price is warm.

I might be wrong, for this price point, I am guessing this one is the one with Realtek LAN and WLAN, thus lacking the vPro features in the Centrino line. (if you have no idea what I am talking about now, then this laptop is OK for you! :-))

I am glad someone asked the difference between Thinkpad, Ideapad and Essential

Even the Thinkpad line has different trims as well. The X, T and W series are the best of the best. Then the Edge and SL line, and finally the L line.

I think the deal a few weeks ago for the Edge 14, that was THE BEST deal.

Finally, Thinkpad has the best typing keyboard, PERIOD.

*I am using a T500 to type this up* love my machine!

I service Macs for Apple, and I have to say, Apple is CONSISTENT in their quality, and most models except ones with nVidia are still quite reliable. All that, they charge you quite a bit for it. It's up to the user to determine the value.

Service history wise, I still own a 15" Macbook Pro and my T500 as they are probably one of the best machines I own, and the Mac went through 2 logic boards due to nVidia GPU issue, and the T500 went through 1 motherboard because the USB port is broken.

mhenning wrote:Yay for archlinux on old [ThinkPads]!

Hey, I'm running Arch on my (not-quite-so¹) old T60!

I was originally running Gentoo (first dual-core computer I ever had; why not?), but Gentoo on a laptop that isn't always plugged in overnight for building updates from source.


¹ Core Duo vs. PII (judging by the sticker in the picture), which is more like Old vs. Antique.

Dhraakellian wrote:Well, I have heard Thinkpads referred to as the PC equivalent of the higher-quality Macbooks.

Back in the day, at least.

I thought the "back in the day" bit was attributed to the purchase of the brand by Lenovo.

Your anecdote appears to suggest that it's the other way around and that the "back in the day" bit is due to a drop in Apple's build quality.

Honestly, I have a late 2008 MacBook Pro that cost me ~$2800 with tax and a discount. If I had to say, I'd say I've used it for about 200-300 hours total. I had to replace the battery about six months from purchasing it, luckily it was covered. Other than that, it still works fine, just have no need for it.
What bothers me is how easily it's been scratched, more on the bottom than the top. It even has a small Dent in the corner. and that's with little use.

nomadxxi wrote:What bothers me is how easily it's been scratched, more on the bottom than the top. It even has a small Dent in the corner. and that's with little use.

So the difference then is that scratches and fingerprints on a MacBook are horrid blemishes, while scratches on a ThinkPad are hard-earned battle scars, and the matte screen doesn't show fingerprints?

nomadxxi wrote:I convinced my sister to get a similar model when her HP's LCD went out.
She […] loves how easy on the eyes the screen is.

Gotta love those matte screens.

The specs on this say "anti-glare", and I believe the pictures show a lack of gloss, so this one appears to be matte as well.