New T60 questions

Hi all,

Got my new T60 (14-inch) this morning and have been setting it up. In a word: Wow! The build quality is really impressive, the form factor is much sexier than I had anticipated, and the setup has been easy (thanks in part to the Windows transfer wizard).

I know there are alot of folks out there wondering about the screen issues. So far the SXGA seems like the right choice. Yes, things are small on some Web pages, but I have decent eyesight at 33, and it's cool by me. And I can fit two pages of text side by side in Word's reading mode and it's perfectly legible -- cool. I haven't watched a movie on it yet, but I will post again if anything interesting comes of that.

I do have one question: I have been trying to look up what screen and keyboard I have, but my part numbers don't match the references that have been posted here previously as far as I can tell. The screen is FRU 13N7059 and the keyboard is FRU 39T7118.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Chris

 

Glad you are enjoying it!

 

Samsung LCD
ALPS Keyboard
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-62784

 

Thanks! I must have been looking at an outdated parts list!

I guess I lucked out with the screen. I'm not unhappy with the keyboard, but I've used ThinkPad keyboards that I like more. This one is quieter but has less positive feel or something.

Chris

 

hey eagle, congrats on the purchase, seems like they shipped it out pretty fast to you. I was wondering if you could comment on the battery life. I'm looking at getting the 2007C4U also, but I'm tempted to customize one on EPP to get the 9cell battery. Lenovo says their 6cell can get about 6 hours, but most reviews say 5 hours is probably a maybe, and 5 hours is right around what I'm hoping for.

 

I hope to take it out tomorrow, and I can report on battery life.

I doubt I'll get close to 5 hours since my T60 also has the x1300 GPU (need to add that to my sig). I think that might be possible with integrated graphics. I'm hoping for 3.5-4 hours.

I can report that the SXGA makes a difference with movies. It's less grainy than on my wife's R52 with XGA. And I am gradually figuring out how to set software to make type slightly larger.

Chris

p.s. Yes, shipping was pretty fast. I lost one day to a customs issue, but Sat --> Wed. isn't bad. I'm almost disappointed -- if they delayed it further, I was going to angle for some sort of freebie!

 

You should definately be able to achieve 3.5 hours of battery on your 14" with x1300. I get about 3.5 to 3:45 on my 15" with x1400 and wifi and bluetooth on. This is of-course just using it for some music, and mostly regular document creation use, and browsing internet. And that's on full brightness! I'm quite amazed that I am able to get such excellent battery life with a 15" screen. It will certainly be enough for my purposes given that the longest I will ever use on batter would be the span of a one hour lecture.

 

That's with a 6-cell battery? (I have the 6-cell.) That would be impressive. Do you do anything special to conserve power?

Chris

 

Can't wait to hear your impressions of the 14" SXGA+ screen! I'm really close to getting either a 14" T60 or a Dell 15" e1505 since both are similarly priced to the specs I want. Although a T60 with 15" flexview IPS screen would be my ideal notebook computer, I can't justify the more expensive price for DVD viewing when my main priority is using a notebook for college .

 

Hmm... I started out this process looking at Dells. I even ordered (and then canceled) an e1405. Having looked more closely at other consumer models and now bought the T60, I can't see any comparison between the two. I'm kind of amazed that you're finding them with comparable prices.

The Dell probably has a value sweet spot at around $800-$1000. I think you can get better video cards for it than the Lenovo. But the build quality will not be in the same ballpark.

The Lenovo will cost more for sure -- you can get a T60 for $1199 at education pricing, but that's stripped. It's a different animal entirely. Mine feels like it was carved from a block of metal. The consumer-line HP I returned felt like a toy, and the T60 feels like a power tool.

I would buy the Dell if you want to game or something, and the Lenovo with fancy specs is too expensive. If you want something to keep and beat up, and something that feels indestructible, go with the Lenovo.

About the Samsung screen: As has been noted, the horizontal viewing angles are great, the vertical less so. It's certainly bright enough for me. It "feels" like a higher-grade screen than the XGA (which, while very serviceable, looks like any laptop screen from years ago). I'm leaning toward keeping it, even if I do have to increase the point size now and then. (Firefox does this easily.)

Chris

 

EagleDevil,

Yes, I have a regular 6-cell battery. I just have it on the ThinkPad default scheme (can be selected from that green battery indicator beside system tray). I believe I could probably get more if I set the brightness down a level, but I do not want to do that because my 15" flexview screen is just so good it ought not to be handicapped in that manner.

I am amazed by the general quality of this machine. It is just at another level in comparison to other laptops out there. Now when I go to BestBuy and such, the laptops on display look like cheap toys.

 

I ordered an extra 512MB stick of RAM from NewEgg.com, and installed. It definitely makes things a little smoother and snappier. There are so many ThinkVantage processes running (contributing to the 80+ processes in all!) that it really eats up the RAM.

After I installed the second stick I checked and there was only 530MB of free RAM, so it must have been maxed out before. A word to the wise: Don't try to run a ThinkPad on 512MB!

Chris

 

2 X 1G will be a much better option if you want it to last long.

Also it will run at dual-channel mode, sounds better

 

With two sticks of 512 it should run on dual-channel mode, ne c'est pas?

As for 2GB, I don't do anything demanding enough to need it right now. Maybe much later if prices fall...

Chris

 

Wise words indeed! It's shameful that lenovo even ships expensive DuoCore thinkpads with only 512mb... they are not setting up their customers for a good out-of-the-box experience.

 

My T60 is coming stock with 256MB. Maybe I'll try to boot it up just for kicks before I put in the 2 X 1 GB sticks I bought .

 

I just joined this site and have found it very helpful.
I want to buy ThinkPad T60 2007C4U and they are selling it for 1674.16 after tax through academic pricing. The configuration is:
-Intel centrino Duo
-80 GB HD -serial ATA-150-5400rpm
-1GB ram - 667 MHz
-DVD Writer -Plug-in module
-Weight 5.3 lb
-14.1 TFT active matrix 1400*1050(SXGA+)
-ATI Mobility Radeon X1300-64 MB
-Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth, IEEE 801.11b, IEE 802.11a, IEEE802.11g
I wanted to go with 2GB of ram but it would be cheaper to get it from other online sites for cheaper price.
Is it easy to install the ram? I have read a couple of reviews this site on ThinkPad T60 and learned that we have to remove more screws in order to install more ram. Has anyone had any experience?
Thanks for your response.

 

Yes, it's easy, although you may need a smaller Phillips screwdriver than you have.

You have to remove four screws, the ones that have three icons each next to them. Do not unscrew the one with only two icons by it.

Also, you have to insert the new chip at an angle. That took me a few tries to figure out.

It took me about 15-20 min. No problem.

Chris

 

EagleDevil, Thank you very much for your prompt response.

 

Where can I check the model of keyboard and screen?

 

See the first thread that is stickied. Thank ZaZ when you are done.

 

You mean you ordered it on a Saturday and by Wednesday you had it? Did you order it from Lenovo? I ordered mine 10/25, I hope I can get quick service!

 

I ordered a pre-built model through Lenovo's educational-purchase program. If they're building yours, it will take a bit longer, I would think.

Chris

 

Yep - the tabook has been recently updated (10/17) to reflect core 2 duo availability in the T60 (R, X, and Z series updated also).

EagleDevil, glad you like the SXGA+ in the 14" format. The tabook lists this as 150 nits brightness. I'm contemplating this resolution for the 15" vs XGA. It would be a bit brighter at 200 nits (w/FlexView IPS). My eyesight is not as good as yours, so I may go with the 15" for this reason Wish I could preview this in person, as I have a few large "floaters" and am concerned about font sizes...

 

For a desktop replacement, I suspect that the 15-inch SXGA would be ideal (a little bigger fonts than mine has would be nice). Although, like you, I have never been able to see one in person.

Chris