Well make sure your hardware is supported on the kernel you are going to use, this is where debian tends to lag behind with its stability.

Try looking for people running your expected hardware with debian online and you'll probably get a better idea.

Unless you don't mind using updated kernels, most thinkpads should work reasonably well.

This should help too: http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/desktop/make/Lenovo/?cat... (Precise is close to wheezy kernel).