My review of the t61

I have had the t61 for 3 weeks now and can say that overall I am impressed with it. I have not had the problems that many have reported here on the forums. It did come pre-installed with all the usual crap but a quick format and re-install did the trick. As a expert on computers I did decide to dump the hidden partition for the quick recovery and get back the 8 gb of space. Since I have a vista dvd and a key I figure I am safe.

The computer

Beautiful design. The buttons are located in great spots, I like were the usb ports are at, the dvd drive is quick and responsive (for being an 8x). Battery life is more than what I can ask for.

What I don't like:

1. Placement of the expresscard slot. I have a att wireless card and it gets in the way a bit.
2. Where the buttons sit for the touch pad. I hit the rightclick one a bit when I rest my palm.
3. A vista home basic sticker when I purchased home premium on it.

verdict: 8/10

Software
Hate the pre-install crap. Did a fresh install and everything was kosher. Of course went to the t61 site and grabbed all the important updates (bios, thinkvantage) and it works great.

Some a/v, a/s suites seem to have problems on this machine. AVG 7 complete locked up when installed. Not sure if it was a vista problem (although it is certified for vista) or a computer problem. But it took almost 2 hours to get it completely cleaned off. Now I use KAV IS 7 and it works great.

Verdict 7.5/10

Internet connectivity (wired/wireless)

I got this configured for gigabit, a/b/g wireless, and wwlan. To say the least this laptop uses the most out of each. When connecting to a gigabit router it is fast as hell. When it connects to a wireless g hotspot or router I feel like its wired, not dropouts or slowdowns. Everything about this is fast.

Verdict 10/10

Tech support/Customer service
This is the area that definitely needs help. After I placed my order, it kept getting delayed. Not exactly a problem as Lenovo is known for that. But what was a problem is that I wasn't getting notified of the it. No calls or emails. Plus calling order status or customer service wasn't helping. Only after talking to customer relations and just about canceling the order did they rush it out. Plus I had the taxes refunded, my shipping upgraded, and a 15% discount given back for my troubles. While in the end, they did a great job in getting the order full filled, they really dropped the ball in long run.

Verdict 6/10

Overall
I am very happy with the computer. My last one lasted almost 7 years. I am hoping this one does also. Even with Lenovo's known problems for full filling orders in a timely manner and not the best people skills, I would still recommend them for laptops.

Overall verdict 8/10

 

A nice review. I love my T61.

 

TechMedik/philfna: so you're happy with build quality?

 

Yep I am. To me it still is what I expect from a thinkpad. The only thing I have small problem with is the battery small movement with it. Not a big deal.

Also there is this small ping that I keep hearing near the thinkpad logo when the HD is very active, not sure what that is.

 

TechMedick:

It would be helpful if you posted specs, such as battery size, CPU, hard drive rpm, screen size, etc.

Fuzzy

 

You didn't mention anything on the lcd which I think is probably one of the more important features of a notebook.
What screen did you get (wuxga/wsxga? samsung/LG?) and how is it?

If anything I would say generally the thinkpad T61 is a great notebook but the lcd is usually its weakest point. To me considering how good the rest of the notebook is the screen doesn't quite match up to the standards set by the rest of the notebook. Light leakage was a bit more than I would have liked and the greens are a bit muted. Maybe staring at my 24incher on the desktop has spoiled me somewhat .

Other than that its very bright - I had to turn it down several notches and colors are generally good. The viewing angles are acceptable for a screen of this type ie at 30-40 degrees off horizontally the screen was still very good. Vertical viewing angles aren't as good but not beyond tolerance levels.

The cooling system on this works really well and I run very graphic intensive apps plus a few games thrown in for a good measure. Overall I'm happy with mine

 

I am pleased with build quality. I have the LG screen which is pretty decent.

 

So here it goes:
T7500 2.2 ghz c2d
1 gb ram (only 1 but put 1 of my own in so 2)
100 gb 7200 rpm hd
intel mobile 965 chipset
15.4" wsxga (very beautiful screen) its the new lg one
vista hp
9 cell battery
10/100/1000 wired
a/b/g intel pro wireless
wwlan, att wireless 3g card

nice setup in opinion

 

My T61P is by far the best laptop / PC I have ever used.

There is not one thing about it I dislike

 

I'm not sure about T61p, but my T61 has the worst quality build ever. Actually I have T60p and T61, they both suck. T60p keyboard popped up on the side after 1 year of heavy use. My recently purchased T61, it leaves an uneven gap between screen and palm rest. A screw under speaker/mic plugs looses and won't tighten at all and it keeps falling out. Screen brightness... ugh... terrible, color washed out.... No wonder their products are much cheaper than HP's business class notebooks.

 

Lol why do you keep buying lenovo then?!

 

Like I mentioned earlier, they are cheaper, a lot cheaper. I got T61 from Lenovo for $1,200 after tax with same configuration as HP 6910p which costs about $1,800.

 

Well I know many will disagree with your thoughts on build quality. I think we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

i find it a bit creaky around the pcmcia slot. anyone ?

 

Ensure all your external screws are not stripped and are tightened properly. If you are comfortable with this I'd also suggest lifting up the touchpad area which you normally do to replace the RAM and ensure those screws are tightened as well.

Great review also! =) I agree with everything but the technical support/customer service rating. It is completely true Lenovo is horrible at keeping track of order status and delays, but once you receive your laptop its smooth sailing. I recieved my laptop after three weeks and the motherboard was DOA. I called Lenovo and was directed to the manager of the depot that was repairing my computer and he ensured me it was taken care of. (Very relieved that I was directed to a manager to address my concerns after only five minutes of speaking to a tech support assistant who was very polite & helpful) I'm extremely picky about this kind of stuff as well, since I'm majoring in Information Systems and have several certs.

 

How is the fan? Is it noisy, intrusive and constantly running or almost unnoticeable?

 

it's perfectly stripped for all the screw. but i found it still quite okay. since the body part arround that area quite thin. just one thing that i don't like with this notebook. it's vista.