Peter's Musings » thinkpad http://thecodergeek.com A day (or more) in the life of a CS & Math student... Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:37:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 My First Laptop: A ThinkPad http://thecodergeek.com/post/256 http://thecodergeek.com/post/256#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:04:51 +0000 Peter http://thecodergeek.com/?p=256 Continue reading →]]> Another summer has passed me by, and I still haven’t learned how to ride a bike nor how to swim properly. Alas, I suppose I’ll get to these eventually. I have kept one of my resolutions though. I finally splurged and bought myself a ThinkPad (specifically, a T500). I decided upon the following specs:

  • Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2) 25W
  • Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic (Will be used only to verify hardware functionality. Fedora will replace it thereafter.)
  • 15.4″ WSXGA+ TFT, w/ CCFL Backlight (137 DPI…sweet.)
  • Intel Graphics Media Accelerator x4500HD with vPro
  • 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
  • UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
  • 250 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
  • DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
  • Integrated Bluetooth PAN
  • Intel WiFi Link 5300 (AGN) with My WiFi Technology
  • 9 cell Li-Ion Battery
  • 4 Year On Site Upgrade with 4 Year ThinkPad Protection

Thankfully, I found an excellent discount through the CPP (Contractor Purchase Program) which cut the cost from nearly $2,200 to just $1,400 (including shipping and taxes, state fees, et al.) – a savings of 40%! The 4-year protection plan was about 30% of the final cost. Well worth it, though.

As it is, this will be a life-safer, as I’ve been having a lot of intermittent hardware issues on my desktop: I get seemingly-random WiFi disconnects; DVD-burning often fails for no discernible reason, and my hard drive is on its last legs, so to speak. (In fact, just today I saw another 12 sectors go bad and need to be reallocated…its count is now at 177. The manufacturer maximum is 188!) – I’m all anxious and impatient now!

So, in the span of one month, I’ve spent almost $4,000 (tuition/registration fees, books/supplies, and ThinkPad). I think that’s quite enough for a while. :o

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