T60 vs. Z61m Comparison

Although most of you guys know far more about Thinkpads than I do (I've always owned Dells in the past), I have a new T60 and thought I would give you my observations of it compared to a friend's new Z61m. The specs on the two machines are virtually identical...both have the same core duo, 100 gb hard drive with 5200 rpm, 1 GB ram, and the 128 mb ATI 1400. There are plenty of reviews regarding the performance of core duo, the graphics card, etc., and I won't go into that. My comments are just a quick comparison of some of the usability aspects of the two models for anyone trying to decide between the two. I'll be using the T60 for a combination of general office use (attorney stuff) and home use (email, photo and video editing, etc., but no gaming).

Construction

Both machines feel solid. The Z61m is particularly solid...it has the titanium lid and it's built like a tank. The T60, however, is noticeably lighter than the Z61m. I've got a few creaks around the T60 right palm rest area, but both machines feel much more solid than my previous Dells. For me, nod goes to the T60 for its light weight (despite the fact the titanium lid is a much better look....with my apologies to the traditionalists).

Display

The Flexview screen on the T60 is excellent. In addition to the very good viewing angles, the colors and contrast are very nice. That being said, the Z61m has a nice display, as well. I did a color calibration on both of them, which helped significantly with the Z61m display. After calibration, the colors on the Z61m were still not as vivid as those of the T60, however, this can be further tweaked with the saturation control on the ATI card. With these adjustments, the colors and contrast can be made virtually identical on the two displays. The Z61m has a bit of a grainy texture, though, which the Flexview screen doesn't have. The Flexview on the T60 has much better viewing angles, too, if that is important to you. In terms of brightness, both models are the same.

Obviously, widescreen vs. standard aspect will be a personal preference. I don't watch movies on the computer, nor do I generally have a need to have multiple documents open side by side. Although my last two laptops have been widescreens, I prefer the standard aspect display of the T60. With the widescreen, I generally felt like there was simply a lot of wasted space on the right side of the screen. The T60's SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) and the Z61m's WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) give you the same number of pixels vertically, but text and pictures will be slightly larger on the T60. Good for my aging eyes.

Heat and Noise

Both machines run cool. Of the two, the T60 is cooler. This is important to me because for simple tasks like email and the internet I like to be able to use a laptop on my lap. I couldn't do that with a Dell D820 I recently returned. I have never used a laptop than felt any cooler on the bottom and palm rests than the T60.

Both machines are also relatively quiet. I've read a number of people complaining about the fan noise on the T60. To me, it's no problem. Yes, in a perfectly quiet library you would hear it, but for most people I doubt that is an issue. The fan on the T60 runs most all the time, but I assume that is what contributes to it remaining so cool.

Keyboard

I've got the Alps on the T60, and I love it. I understand that most people like the NMB the best (haven't tried it), but I think the Alps is great. Maybe you longtime Thinkpad users are just spoiled! These are great keyboards. The keyboard on the Z61m is also not bad (Chicony), but it is a lot louder than the T60. Having used the Alps, if I had the Chicony on the T60, I would probably try to exchange it and get the Alps.

Ports

The Z61m has firewire and s-video and the T60 doesn't. Not having a firewire port on the T60 is no big deal because you can get a firewire card, but the lack of s-video may be a bigger problem if you need it. From what I understand (and I am fully open to contradiction) there may not be a good solution to this with the T60. If you need s-video, this could be an important factor favoring the Z61m.

Sound

Comparable on both. Equally average for a notebook, i.e poor for any kind of music.

Conclusions

Both are great machines. For me and my needs, I like the T60 the best. I like the standard aspect Flexview display. The Flexview is a really nice display. I like the way the T60 stays so cool. Although I need a firewire port and would prefer that it be built in, a $20 card will do the trick. I also prefer the slightly lighter weight of the T60. For me, the titanium lid on the Z61m is a much better look, but I guess I will have to live without it. Much of this may have just stated the obvious to most of you, but hope it helps if you're on the fence.

 

Nice work. will help a lot people facing the choice between T and Z.

 

I can't argue with anything you said.