New Think-Pad!

I just ordered my new ThinkPad today, can't wait for it to get here. Its not the best computer out there, just a baseline 15.4" T61p, but I'm excited. It'll be a big change from this crappy Toshiba.

Out of curiosity, are the problems I see with chassis warping common, or just in rare instances?

 

Well I don't know your exact definition of chassis warping, but I can tell you that myself, and several others on these forums have found the palm rest doesn't fit right and that the lid doesn't close snug. They both have a little give when you press on them and can be quite annoying.

So far in my experience, Lenovo has not fixed any of this, so YRMV but I can tell you that I'm very disappointed in the build quality of the new thinkpads.

 

What are the specs, how much you get it for?

I'm going to order mine tonight after I get home from work.

 

I would hardly call the ability to slide a piece of paper under a rubber foot a build issue. There certainly are tolerances, but let's get real. Palm rests sitting uneven, etc are a completely different story, but some of the reports I've read in various forum have been extremely picky. I for one am not looking to buy/carry a titanium laptop that has been machined and set up with a micrometer and true to a hundred thousandth of an inch I'd need a full time chiropractor to keep me in tune from carrying a beast like that.

The machine should sit flat (i.e. not rock on the desk), and the lid should close evenly, I completely agree, but there's only so much accuracy when you're fabricating with a semi-rigid/semi-flexible material.

 

What type of Toshiba are you upgrading from! The Thinkpad is a great machine (nice, very Fast with all the benchmark accessories).

The T60/T61 are missing 2 items:

TV-out (S-Video)
i. LINK (Firewire)

The keyboard is very IBM crisp; however, I have a Toshiba M3 for note (lots of typing - keyboard has a better reach over the palm rest) typing and fills the S-Video & Firewire shortfall.

You will love this machine. This is the first Thinkpad that I have personally owned (Christmas came early for me), but I have used T43s in the past several years that are owned by my corporation!

Weighs nothing compared to most Notebooks!

Notebook-ON!

Sircas

 

My t61 came with firewire....I think all the WS's do....on the standard screen..you get an IR port instead

 

I'll give ya all the specs, so you can see how much of a jump this is gonna be:

Toshiba Satellite:
1.3Ghz Intel Celeron M
768MB DDR Ram @ 533Mhz
40GB 5400Rpm HDD
Intel Extreme Graphics 2 64(?)MB

Thinkpad T61:
2.0Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB DDR2 Ram @ 667MHz
80GB 5400Rpm HDD
nVidia Quadro FX570M 256MB

Like going from a Model A to a Mustang

 

Looks Very Cool also!

 

T-Hawk, I would be dancing a jig if I was making that kind of upgrade. Wow, it was time

 

Precision of parts fitting is not an area which ThinkPad excels. Overall construction is still ruggedly trustworthy.

Welcome to our ThinkPad-owner community.

 

Agree, to a degree... I'd say precision of parts fitting is inconsistent, some are very fortunate, others are not. I've been fortunate in that I've very few alignment problems, and what problems I've had have been resolved by removing and reinstalling my palm rest.

 

About this problem, i found something in lenovo's blog. I suggest u to take a look.

--------------------------------------------------------------
It’s a feature, not a defect

I've been getting comments lately about ThinkPad quality — especially the T60. I've heard most of them — that the screw right under the palm rest where the fingerprint reader is located is impossible to put back in. (Note to readers: I agree with you completely on this one!), or that the lack of color on the keyboard makes it look like we are cheapening the brand as the "China machine" takes over (not true).

But today I wanted to comment on a specific comment that is unfairly lumped on our latest and greatest, the ThinkPad T60. To see what I mean, close your machine, and then turn it around so that you are looking at the back of it by the battery. Move your eyes down to table level and look the gap between the display and the bottom of the system. You'll see how the display itself actually appears to bow up. The usual comment is What terrible quality. Instead, this is actually a good thing. What we've done is add an arch to the top of the display. When you put pressure on it, it actually flattens out and becomes stronger, much like a good bridge design, or prestressed concrete. This allows a ThinkPad to actually support more weight on the top of the display than it ordinarily could.

So the next time you think a ThinkPad might be skimping on quality, take a second look. There might actually be an alternative explanation!

http://www.lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=19

 

Ah, the bowed screen might indeed be a feature but the fact that the lid doesn't _close_ properly is a real problem. Many have complained of a loose left latch on the front of the machine. I fixed mine by myself but others have had to send them in for repair. Or you can just live with the loose latch.

 

how did you end up fixing it yourself?