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Crossing Over to the Dark Side

Gamer9430

Gamer9430

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 22, 2014
2,248
1,405
USA
EDITED WITH UPDATED INFO 4/16/15

Before I get started, MODs please dont delete because it doesnt seem like it has to do with PowerPC, but it does in some parts. Also, the great users in here would appreciate this more than other forums.

So I've just about had it with my iBook in school. The more I use it, the slower it seems to get. It just can't handle my daily load of what I toss at it. Thus, today I will be crossing over the dark side. I will be buying a Windows laptop to replace my iBook. I need the newer software and more power in school. I decided to get a Dell Latitude e6410 with an i5 (specs unknown) for $80. The computer will be coming with 1GB of RAM, which I'll bump up to 5GB. It has no hard drive, but someone is sending a 320GB one for free. Finally, it will have Windows 7 Pro which I'm getting from the tech coordinator at my school for free as well. I'm not sure what's on the COA label, so if it's something better, I'll try to find a legitimate ISO of the OS and use that serial code. Finally, I plan to hackintosh this machine through splitting the HDD in ½. I'm not sure how easy of a task this will be, so that idea may go out the window. It should be coming on Thursday the 23, so on that day I'll get everything setup and ready to go for Friday, which will hopefully be the first day I'll use it full time in school.

I definitely think this will be much better than the iBook, mostly because it is so widely supported still, expandable, and more powerful. I figured that you guys would find an interest in this, thus is why I posted it here as opposed to somewhere else.
 
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I've got plenty of experience of the ThinkPads, they've been our standard laptops at work for 10+ years.

T61's aint bad, it's probably worth the little extra for the later T400 if you want to run an OS later than Windows 7. If you don't need the 14" screen and optical drive then the X200 comes highly recommended by me. Same hardware, better build quality and much lighter. They fly with an SSD installed, and I got 7 hours+ with the 9 cell battery - revolutionary at the time for our mobile users.
 
Don't get me wrong, I still love PPC Macs(I don't think anyone could see the list of computers I have and think otherwise) and use them on pretty much a daily basis-even if it's to relax in the evening and tinker with something or play CivII in OS 9 for a little while :)

With that said, I'd have a hard time getting by if I didn't have a newer computer. I'm typing this from my Macbook Pro, and truth be told if I didn't have it(or at least something with an Intel processor) I'd struggle with getting some of the work I need to accomplished.

I'm writing my thesis at the moment, and have roughly 100 pages with around 120 references. I use Endnote to manage citations, and inserting a citation on my MBP takes around a minute. I started out writing on my Quicksilver, but as the size of the document grew(nowhere close then to where it is now) I found it was taking Endnote 2-3 minutes per citation-that's time I really don't have, and due to the way Endnote works it slows down even more with the more citations you have in a document.

MS Word and Endnote-especially with larger documents-are such resource hogs that they can choke even my i5 with 8gb of RAM. I was working furiously on Sunday, and had Word crash. Thanks to an old, well-ingrained habit from many bad experience, I save my documents(especially important ones) after pretty much every paragraph or about every 5 minutes, whichever comes first, so a crash never set me back far. Even so, it was frustrating. At one point-right before a crash-I checked activity monitor and found that Word was using 3gb of RAM.

So, again, I completely understand where you're coming from.
 
I have a ThinkPad T60 running Debian Linux (Jessie). It's a bit dated now but it still performs like a champ.

I also know how it feels to need a modern computer. I do most of my web surfing on either my Intel Mac Mini, my MBP, or my MBA. Life's just too short to try to make everything work on a PPC machine.
 
Another +1 for ThinkPads. IBM and Lenovo have done a sterling job on the build quality. They are the PC world equivalent of the PowerPC lineup Apple had. Terrific products.
 
well this is taking an interesting turn, under the guidance of my tech coordinator, we are now looking for an i5/i3 for $100. I'd prefer it to be a thinkpad because of how great they are (ive never owned one before, but i feel like its a good name), however, finding one for that price is proving to be more and more difficult. If we cant find anything, I'll just get the other one that i originally stated.
 
Real ThinkPads are great computers. In my opion the best PC option out there.

I use a Thinkpad at work. For a windows computer I'm very happy with it. It's not particularly stylish or sleek, but it's well built.
 
Crossing Over to the Dark Side

Alright, so i was looking at the T400 that MagicBoy recommended and I think that one looks nice. They are all the same computer basically with faster speeds depending on the system. Below are some pictures of the 2 that I am deciding between. I was going to talk to the tech coord, but he wasnt in his office during lunch so I couldnt talk to him. Hopefully i can get in contact with him and we can buy one and pay him tomorrow.
97b068f4680ff854f8b4b677a89f6643.jpg
cd883b0ea409bc4fd4321f1b7c40db8b.jpg


EDIT: Since I trust nearly all the member here, any suggestions on which one is the best of the 2? I can afford each of them, but I honestly can't decide between them. They all appear to be exactly the same computer on the outside, except the T61 has the fingerprint scanner, and the other one doesn't, but it isn't a deal breaker if I don't have it.

EDIT 2: I'm eliminating the stock photo T61. Originally i thought it was a different model, but then i looked again and its the same computer with less powerful parts for a higher price, so that is now eliminated and its just the two now
 
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Gamer9430 said:
well this is taking an interesting turn, under the guidance of my tech coordinator, we are now looking for an i5/i3 for $100. I'd prefer it to be a thinkpad because of how great they are (ive never owned one before, but i feel like its a good name), however, finding one for that price is proving to be more and more difficult. If we cant find anything, I'll just get the other one that i originally stated.
Click to expand...

You'd be looking at a T410/X201 for a first gen i5, which was the typical corporate spec that goes for refurbishing from corporates. They're typically £150+ here so I'd guess $250 across the pond.
 
MagicBoy said:
You'd be looking at a T410/X201 for a first gen i5, which was the typical corporate spec that goes for refurbishing from corporates. They're typically £150+ here so I'd guess $250 across the pond.
Click to expand...


yeah thats about right... the problem is my budget being $100. I cant find any i5/i3s for $100 that arent broken, missing parts, or have some issue, and thats any laptop, not just ThinkPads.
 
T61 and T400 have a virtually identical chassis but with detail differences. Main difference is the platform inside. T61 is a Santa Rosa chipset (965), T400 the later Montevina (GM45).
 
Ok I found a Dell Latitude E6410 with an i5, 250GB HDD, 4GB RAM, and Windows 7 Pro. The bid is currently at $9.99+ 14.00 shipping with one bid. It ends tomorrow at 1:17 PM. I NEED to win this bid. This laptop seems perfect and it's in great condition. That RAM can also be bumped up to either 6 or 8GB, and can be used pretty far in the long run.
 
Gamer9430 said:
Alright, so i was looking at the T400 that MagicBoy recommended and I think that one looks nice. They are all the same computer basically with faster speeds depending on the system. Below are some pictures of the 2 that I am deciding between. I was going to talk to the tech coord, but he wasnt in his office during lunch so I couldnt talk to him. Hopefully i can get in contact with him and we can buy one and pay him tomorrow. ImageImage

EDIT: Since I trust nearly all the member here, any suggestions on which one is the best of the 2? I can afford each of them, but I honestly can't decide between them. They all appear to be exactly the same computer on the outside, except the T61 has the fingerprint scanner, and the other one doesn't, but it isn't a deal breaker if I don't have it.

EDIT 2: I'm eliminating the stock photo T61. Originally i thought it was a different model, but then i looked again and its the same computer with less powerful parts for a higher price, so that is now eliminated and its just the two now
Click to expand...

WOW those are cheap :eek:
 
poiihy said:
WOW those are cheap :eek:
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You find a lot of stuff when your on a budget, you just need to sift through all the broken crap and eventually you find good deals like the Dell. depending on how the Dell goes, I'll post the links that way others can buy them, but until then, I want to make sure my odds are high to get them or the Dell...
 
I have a T61, an X61 and an X200. While the 61s are readily hackintoshable (as long as they have the base GM965 rather than the discrete GPU) they do run hotter with more fan noise than the newer X200.

The hardware of the 61s runs best with Vista; decently enough with Win7, although not fully supported, and less steadily with Win8 (you lose the fingerprint reader etc). Check the Lenovo support pages before deciding.
 
Gamer9430 said:
Ok I found a Dell Latitude E6410 with an i5, 250GB HDD, 4GB RAM, and Windows 7 Pro. The bid is currently at $9.99+ 14.00 shipping with one bid. It ends tomorrow at 1:17 PM. I NEED to win this bid. This laptop seems perfect and it's in great condition. That RAM can also be bumped up to either 6 or 8GB, and can be used pretty far in the long run.
Click to expand...

If you don't win it I'll sell you my Latitude E6500 T9500/4GB/250GB for $100 shipped. I just got a 6420 to replace it. It's running Arch but it has a Vista COA on it if you've got a Vista disk.
 
Well, here it is! We failed horribly at the bidding, but just my luck, there was another one for $105 and free shipping. It is in great condition, but doesn't have a hard drive, only 1GB RAM, and unknown speed i5. So I am currently looking for a SATA hard drive to use in it, something cheap and not large because I don't need it to be large. I happen to have some spare RAM from my MBP when I upgraded it, so I'll have 5GB of RAM. Finally, the tech coordinator will give me a Windows 7 install and License so I'll have an OS. I will definitely be hackingtoshing it so I'll split the HDD in two. Also, it didn't come with a power supply, but I happen to have one that will work with it. So that's that, it will come next Thursday and hopefully I can get a hard drive before then that way I can set it up at Computer Club on that Thursday.

Here is the link to it: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=191555976102

(MODS NOT MY LISTING!)
 
Crossing Over to the Dark Side

In an awesome act of kindness, an great user on here is sending me a 320GB HDD for free to use in the laptop. I won't mention that users name for their sake unless they mention it themselves, however, I will tell you guys one thing, this user is one of the best on here!
 
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Original post has been updated with recent info and plans for the system.
 
These are worth considering too, I picked mine up for £40.
The HP Compaq NC2400 - magnesium alloy frame 12" notebook with DVD writer, bluetooth, wireless, 1.2ghz Core Duo, 1280X800 LCD and Firewire.
Same size as a 12" Powerbook but twice as powerful.
Mine dual boots Elementary OS (real slick Mac OS style Linux distro) and XP - shown here running Octamed Sound Studio under WinUAE.
 

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Dronecatcher said:
These are worth considering too, I picked mine up for £40.

The HP Compaq NC2400 - magnesium alloy frame 12" notebook with DVD writer, bluetooth, wireless, 1.2ghz Core Duo, 1280X800 LCD and Firewire.

Same size as a 12" Powerbook but twice as powerful.

Mine dual boots Elementary OS (real slick Mac OS style Linux distro) and XP - shown here running Octamed Sound Studio under WinUAE.
Click to expand...


Nice laptop! If I had some money after this purchase, i would maybe take a look into buying it. Elementary OS looks really cool. My friend who has the laptop I just bought already uses that, Zorin, and Windows 7. I'll probably do the same thing, accept maybe only ElementaryOS. I can't wait for this thing to come XD
 
Gamer9430 said:
Nice laptop! If I had some money after this purchase, i would maybe take a look into buying it. Elementary OS looks really cool. My friend who has the laptop I just bought already uses that, Zorin, and Windows 7. I'll probably do the same thing, accept maybe only ElementaryOS. I can't wait for this thing to come XD
Click to expand...

Have fun setting it up - it'll be a great Hackintosh for the money :)
 
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