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MacPro or Lenovo Thinkpad T60

P

Paby009

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 3, 2007
2
0
Hi All,

I am planning to buy a laptop for professional as well as personal use.But I am like stuck between Thinkpad and Macbook pro.I am more used to Windows and fascinated by Mac OS X and also new.So Would carry on to do so with Boot camp and Paralles in mind. The configuration that I am looking out for is MacBook Pro 2.16 and cost more or less the same that I am looking in a Thinkpad.

Can some one help to rule out one from the option ???

Thanks,
 
One thing to look at with the Macbook Pro is boot camp. Basically your paying one price for two systems. And if booting into a different OS is an issue, use Parallels. Parallels can use the OS that is in boot camp also so you don't always need to boot into the native OS.

Another thing is OS X, no worries about Viruses and/or Spyware. Kind of feel safer looking around the internet.

The question is.. Durability. T60 owns for durability. But the macbook pro is damn sexy.

Boot Camp: http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/
 
Paby009 said:
Hi All,

I am planning to buy a laptop for professional as well as personal use.But I am like stuck between Thinkpad and Macbook pro.I am more used to Windows and fascinated by Mac OS X and also new.So Would carry on to do so with Boot camp and Paralles in mind. The configuration that I am looking out for is MacBook Pro 2.16 and cost more or less the same that I am looking in a Thinkpad.

Can some one help to rule out one from the option ???

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Since I've got both a macbook and a T60 I'm in a reasonable position to respond to this :)

The T60 is a very good windows laptop - its my work computer - it has no bling however - its a normal-aspect screen and the 3D accelerator is definitely outdated. It's also quite expensive for a Windows portable. On the plus column it's extremely well made and backed up with *fantastic* support (far better than Apple's IMHO). This is my third IBM T-series notebook and while some of the design changes Lenovo have made baffle me a bit its still highly recommended. The best thing about any IBM laptop is the keyboard however - they have for years fielded the absolute *best* laptop keyboards.

I have a Macbook rather than a Pro as my personal computer but I think for the most part my comments apply to both - Mac laptops are much 'prettier' than most windows boxes, *particularly* IBMs (who have a very conservative design process, so much so that a 10 year old IBM laptop is still easily identifyable at first glance) The screens are much nicer and I personally prefer widescreen dispalys for desktop use. The Keyboard on the MBP is pretty good, one of the better laptop keyboards I've used over the years. The insistence on only having a single button on the trackpad is a baffling call to me however.

In terms of optical drives I personally prefer the slot-loading drives on the Apples to the tray based ones on the IBMs as it keeps the lens better protected, however the cost of this is that the apple drive won't handle small and unusually shaped discs.

Operating systems - don't be afraid of learning OSX - I found it a very painless process and these days work extensively in both (plus a couple of flavours of linux for good measure) - a good book like David Pogue's Missing Manual will be a huge help and well worth the £20 to buy it. Personally I find OSX a more pleasant operating environment for the desktop than Windows but again, thats a highly subjective call. I'm firmly of the belief that all the OS's have their strengths and weaknesses so my file server is running linux, my desktop computer (used for games, and some multimedia stuff like video conversion) is running Windows and my personal laptop (used for 90% of my desktop stuff and a lot of multimedia playback) is a macbook :)

The big advantage that the mac has is, as you've already identified, Parallels and bootcamp - you can legally get Windows running on a Mac with a minimum of fuss - this you cannot do on a PC.
 
drumforfun19 said:
not completely true. I mean, the MBP does have sensors in it to stop the Hard Drive if it senses a fall. that's pretty cool.
Click to expand...

Ibm laptops have had that forever.

I owned an IBM T40, and it was the best constructed laptop. After I sold it to a friend, it went thru a couple gallons of water being spilt onto it (strange story...) (all that we did is disasemble it completly, and let it dry out for 3 days, worked good as new after :) ), it has also been traveled around the world quite a bit, taking the abuse without a problem or even a hicup.

Honestly, after taking it apart, it was the best built laptop I have ever seen. It ran freebsd perfectly (everything supported), and fast.

Unfortunately... Adobe Creative Suit does not run on freebsd, and since I hate windows with a livid passion, the powerbook 12, then Macbook have been my laptops. Both less durable than my ibm.
 
I faced the same dilemma, Thinkpad T60p or Macbook pro.

I was concerned about the quality and heat issues of the Macbook pros (based on many of the posts I've been reading). I know that the Thinkpads are built tough and you don't have to baby them whereas I think you have to be more careful with the Macbook pro.

I chose to go with the Macbook pro 2.166. I put my order in yesterday at Amazon (they have a nice rebate on some Apple products right now). I already ordered another 1Gig or ram as well to upgrade as soon as I get Macbook pro.

I'm looking forward to learning/mastering OSX. I'm sure that there's a learning curve just like with anything new you want to learn. But OSX seems very intuitive so I don't think it'll be a big deal to get up and running with it.

As far as Windows is concerned, I also bought Parallels to run XP pro (I know you can use Bootcamp to dual boot, I'll probably end up doing that later).

Ultimately it's your decision, but I'm glad I chose the Macbook pro. If I have any hardware issues, Applecare will take care of that. I did buy the 3 year exteded Applecare too as I'm planning on keeping this baby for a while.
 
I found a T60 for $850 US (15" 1024x768, Core Duo, no bluetooth though)--so kind of stripped but a pretty good value nonetheless. There's always a sale on thinkPads so I think you should be able to find one w/ similar specs for much less than a Macbook Pro.

http://www.directlenovo.com/public/...s.cfm?category=9953&featured_display=Template


ThinkPads are workhorses and I'd get one if you wanted a very durable notebook. I'd still get a Mac though esp. for more creative pursuits like photo/video stuff.
 
What is the nature of your professional work? If it's not in something like video editing where you need high-power apps, but you want to explore an alternate to Windows, you could certainly also dual-boot Ubuntu on the Thinkpad. 7.04 is amazing.

But otherwise, yeah, as others have varyingly said, you're between two excellent notebooks. The ruggedness (case dings aside) of the MBP is not really slouchy, although Thinkpads are traditionally the holy grail. The MBP has fantastic extras, although the Thinkpad series, to its credit, can be outfitted with some really cool things like the biometric scanner and a 3G data services card internal.

EDIT: snakesqzns, I think if you look at discussions like this on MR in the past, you will note that we have a long history of recognizing how nice the Thinkpad line is. Discussions of the form, "I want to spend $75 on a new notebook computer with a 15 or 17" screen" are a different matter. But the Thinkpads are lovely, and I seriously consider getting one every time I think about what to use next.
 
I would definitely go for the Mac because of these features: (personal opinions)
iSight Camera
Slot loading drive
Sleep mode is so easy to use (just close the lid)
Bigger HD? I believe the Mac can have a bigger HD
More RAM? Another "i think"
Better looking (Silver vs Black
Best trackpad scrolling out there
Does the T60 have a lighted keyboard?
Everything just plain WORKS!!
OSX verses XP or Vista? Is there even a contest? Our household has 4 PCs with XP, 1 with Vista Ultimate, and 3 Macs with OSX. OSX is the best of the bunch, no security worries and it's so simple to learn.
Fun widgets and add-ons for OSX.
If you own an iPod the chances of it working perfectly are better i would imagine.

I must say that we have had 2 IBM laptops in our family and they were very reliable so this is not a Lenovo bashing:)


Again those are just my personal opinions. Hope you like what you get!
 
IBM's ThinkPad T-series is one of the most well-made notebooks for awhile. Lenovo's ThinkPad maintained that standard the first year, but not anymore. Comparing recently purchased Lenovo T60 to years old T42, there's substantial decrease in build quality and fit and finish. As for the customer service, Lenovo has been eliminating many US-based customer service representatives recently, so we may see that worsen as well. I can't say MacBook Pros are better made, but I wouldn't buy T60 based solely on build quality anymore.
 
rectangular said:
Ibm laptops have had that forever.

I owned an IBM T40, and it was the best constructed laptop. After I sold it to a friend, it went thru a couple gallons of water being spilt onto it (strange story...) (all that we did is disasemble it completly, and let it dry out for 3 days, worked good as new after :) ), it has also been traveled around the world quite a bit, taking the abuse without a problem or even a hicup.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, sounds like a challenge! JK, but seriously I spilt a can of beer on my MBP and it hasn't acted up yet. It was running when I spilt it too. I'm not saying IBM's aren't reliable. I'm mearly trying to say Mac's can hold their own ground when it comes to taking a beating.

I just don't like the windows GUI. hence forth I perfer a mac.

PS- Don't drink around your computer. it's not a good idea.
 
Yeah, I am considering a MBP/MB/ThinkPad T60, and will probably be leaning towards another Mac, mainly because of Mac OS X. However, I have heard rave reviews of ThinkPads, particularly their construction and business looks. Don't know if this has changed since Lenovo, though.
 
I have only used thinkpads. Since lenovo bought the line, I haven't yet seen a difference, but I've just started to see people at work get the T60. All in all, Thinkpads are probably the best made laptops outside of apple. However I have not worked on a T60.

The nice thing about the T60 is you can get the 9 cell battery and get a FULL 6 hours of battery life at full proc speed. The battery on my R50 (what i'm using right now) is 1 year old, has 145 cycles, and is at 94% capacity.
 
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