T61 4:3 Arrived Yesterday!

I received my 8897CTO yday. (Ordered it on 08/05).

Overall very happy with the laptop, except for the following 2 issues, which I am not sure about:

1. Palmrest temperature:

When vista does I/O constantly for about 10 mins, the right side palmrest (about the HDD) becomes HOT (not just mildly warm). However, it goes back to warm/cool a min or 2 after the intense disk activity subsides. Most times its mildly warm. Is this normal?

I am planning on wiping off Vista and installing XP. Will this help the temp at all?

2. Ripple effect on LCD:

When i touch anywhere on the LCD, apart from ripples showing up around the point of my touch, I see ripples generated at a specific small spot on the right side of the screen. The display itself looks great (no dead pixels, etc), and brightness and color are good enough for my needs.

Has anyone received their T61 4:3? Any comments on the above issues?

Thanks!


T61 4:3 14.1' | T7500 2.2 GHz | 2GB RAM | 100 G HDD @ 7200 RPM | NO TURBO MEMORY |

 

There are ripples on the screen when you aren't touching it?

 

what video card and wireless card did you get?

 

Congrats on your purchase.

Your HD is 7,200 rpm, which could be partially to blame for the heat you experience? But to feel very hot is still unusual in my opinion.

Regarding the ripple effects of the LCD, are you poking directly on the screen itself or behind on the laptop lid? All laptops LCDs produce a ripple when you apply pressure right on the screen.

 

Hi,

Thanks for your responses! My graphics card is Intel Integrated graphics, and wireless is Intel AGN.

Regarding the screen, I was poking directly on the screen. However, I was seeing a ripple at a point I was NOT poking on, in addition to where I was poking. Interestingly, this morning, the stray ripple is gone, so that issue resolved itself...

braddd, I saw you have a T61 (with 5400 rpm HDD). Do you feel the warmth on the palmrest during normal usage (not very high disk activity)? Does it get warmer during high disk activity?

 

The heat where the drive is will always increase with hard drive activity.

Apparently, Vista SP1 will fix a lot of the frequent HDD activity.. Even though my T61 has 2gb ram, I couldn't stand Vista's sluggish performance and installed XP instead.

 

Yeah I think Vista has a lot to do with it. I have a T60P from work, and that does get warm, but never HOT....it has XP installed on it and does not go crazy with HD activity....(Vista does disk i/o for about 10 mins non-stop on my new T61)

I'm going to clean install xp on the T61 asap!

 

She is sitting in KY right, or so says UPS tracking info. I hope to receive it in a the next few days, but who knows at this point.

 

can we get some pic of this laptop? Is it just the T60 chassis with the new LCD plastic cover? Are the ports placement the same??

I want to get it in Canada, but it's not offered yet.

 

Also, Do you have a 6 or 9 cell? How would you compare the weight to the T60 4:3 or T4x series 4:3? I have a 14" T40 and a 14" T60 from work and am curious how heavy this is compared to those.

 

I have a 9 cell protruding battery. So far getting about 4.5 + hours easily running jboss and eclipse. Weight feels about the same as my T60p from work (which also has the extended battery).

I did a small experiment today to further diagnose the HDD heat issue.

Step 1: Ran Norton Antivirus (to induce HDD activity) on both the T61 and T60p (both have a 100 GB 7200.1 seagate drive) for about 30 mins. HD temp on the T61 (as measured by HDD Temperature utility was 46 degrees C. On the T60p it was 42. T61 feels markedly more warmer than the T60p at the right palmrest.

Step 2: Removed the T60P HDD and put in the T61's HDD into the T60P. Ran Norton Antivirus. Now the T60P palmrest feels warm too!

This is significant since Lenovo advertises the T61 to be the coolest thinkpad yet....so the T61 (at any level of disk activity) should be cooler than the T60P.

5 degrees may not seem significant, but consder the fact that during low disk activity,when the T60P palmrest is cool, you get a mildly warm feeling on the T61 palmrest....

So i think the HDD that came with my T61 might be defective....

I'd really appreciate your thoughts and comments!

 

you can swap hard disks like that without any ill effects (i.e. driver issues etc) ?

 

Plugging the T61 hard disk into T60p worked like a charm. The T60p HDD never booted up in T61.

 

I complained about the Plam rest being warm/hot when i got the same model a while ago... and it convinced me that the 160gb 5400rpm drive is the way to go.

P.S does yours come with FIREWIRE or IR port ? mine came with IR.


--

 

Hi Lowspeed,

Mine has an IR port and no firewire port. Is this the correct configuration? (I didn't check on this detail during purchase).

I did see your post on the 7200 rpm heat issue. So did you get the 5400 rpm T61? If so, how is your experience so far, regarding the heat?

Thanks!

 

I got a wide screen which had no heat problem And also importently whisper quiet (probablly cause i picked the 5.4k disk) But i returned it because of the ****ty screen it came with.

You know it's weird, all the HW maintainanace guides show a firewire port on the 4:3 model... yet it came with IR... and when i called lenovo, one rep said "sure it comes with firewire"... another said only the T61P's come with firewire... (which is BS)

How's your build quality ? The 4:3 that i got had major gaps in the plastic joints



--

 

Hi Lowspeed,

I don't see the gaps that I see in your pics....the build quality is about the same as my T60p, with the exception that the keyboard on the T61 is the better (ALPS) keyboard which is not as clackey as the T60p's keyboard.

I'm wonder if vista is to blame for the heat issue (due to the manner it does I/O or something). I think my approach to resolve this is going to be the following:

0. Install XP and see if that solves the issue (wild shot IMO)
1. Get the 1 year onsite warranty upgrade (it was about 25 bucks but for some reason i i didn't buy it with the thinkpad)
2. Get a guy to come see my famous experiment, which shows that the T61 is running hotter than the T60p, hence the claim of coolest thinkpad ever isn't holding true for the T61
3. Let him fix it (either with a 7200 rpm or a 54k rpm disk), or else i'm returning it for my money back...If i return, i'll get the repair guy to confirm that this is defective, so that I don't have to pay the restocking fee.


Topgun8532

 

Good luck ! It's a very nice laptop all in all.

I'm going to order the 4:3 again, hopefully this time the build will be good, i won't order the express memory so no BSOD, and no heat problem cause i'll get the 5.4k drive. And i hope i get the LG lcd

Now that's a lot to wish for !


--

 

thanks for the tip I took out my hard disk from my x61t and put it in my t60p worked like a charm, I am hoping this same hard disk will work in my T61p when I get it. Do you know if I can use the recovery cd's from my x61t on the t61p so I can have all the same files on the t61p or will I have to load it all on one by one

 

did you get the sxga+ screen? if so, how are the viewing angles? do you know what model screen it uses?

 

I have never tried recovery cds but i think you should be able to do it... (don't blame me if the laptop gets messed up though )

I like the T61 screen a lot. Viewing angles are slightly better than the T60p, and the screen is overall pretty good for what i want to use the laptop for (java development).

The only issue to watch out for on the T61 is the palmrest heat, since people other than myself have experienced the same issue....

Is there any way i can change the main title of this thread so that it reflects the heat issue?

 

I have the 14" SXGA+ screen (8897CTO). I'm very unimpressed. While the L/R viewing angle isn't great, the top/bottom is quite poor. Brightness is low, and contrast is weak. I'm picky about screens, and I admit that, but compared to my T42p, this doesn't hold a candle.

 

Sorry to hear about the crappy quality screen. Is it possible for you to check which screen you have and let us know, so that we know what to look out for? If you don't mind helping... You can figure out what screen it is by using Lenovo parts look up:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/si...testyle=lenovo
This will give you 2 numbers identifying the screen (FRU numbers) just post them here and we can figure it out that way.

Alternatively you can download PC Wizard 2007 and post the model number of your LCD.

 

bradd, what brand of a screen did you get in your T61?
How's it?
Any palmrest heat issues?

 

I know he got the same as mine, TMD (Toshiba). Very good.

Btw I have XGA 14.1" and it's not bad.

 

Happy to help.

PC Wizard tells me that the manufacturer is LTN141P4-L02 and product id is LEN4022. My quick research tells me that's a Samsung product.

There are two FRUs for my T61, Samsung 42T0369, and TMD 42T0373. How do I figure out which I have from the FRU options? What am I missing? Can I use my S/N to look that up somewhere? Is there a link for that? Can I ask another question?

 

I got the TMD screen as iqcar pointed out. I don't own a lot of a laptops, but I've been able to compare it to my Sony LCD (really nice LCD IMO) as well as an Acer Laptop from a few years ago. There is certainly nothing obviously wrong with this SXGA+ screen, horizontal viewing angles give me no problems at all in fact I'm impressed with them. The vertical viewing angles could be improved but I can look past them. Colorful bright sharp screen, fonts are easy to read (I have clearview turned on), 3D games look great. I'm sure the screen could be improved a bit here or there, the contrast could be slightly better for one, vertical angles another. Besides a few small improvements that could be made I'm overall very pleased with the screen.

 

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/s...=/partslookup/partsLookup.vm&sitestyle=lenovo

 

To identify the screen I think you are probably best off going with what PC Wizard 2007 tells you.

To identify by FRU you check the parts page for your specific laptop and you scroll down to the screen, next to it are two numbers. The one on the right is the FRU for the model number. So you take that number and head to: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-68222
42T0373 identifies TMD
42T0369 identifies Samsung

Did you say you had both of those numbers on your parts list?

Around here, Samsung screens are holding a bad rap on these new thinkpads, lots of people are upset. If you are unhappy I suggest you make a call and let them know. I hope you can find the compensation you are looking for.

 

The first link I followed just brought me to the main IBM site. The link from unhooked was much more useful.

However, this result of the search, using my S/N is interesting:
MFG# 42T0430
FRU# 42T0431
Description: 14.1 INCH LCD DISPLAY:FLAT PANEL DISPLAY

You'll note neither are one of the known FRUs for the 14" 4:3 screen, at least that I've seen. And google knows neither.

My previous reference to the FRUs 42T073 and 42T0369 were the FRUs I found in a parts list for my model (generally), not the FRUs that were included with my specific system. Sorry for any confusion.

 

braddd, what is clearview?

 

Very strange. When I did the dead pixel test earlier, no dead pixel was found. But now there is a white one on the screen (it's not dirt or some other mark). And also, a couple hours ago there's another white one in another position, but disappeared now. How is that possible? A deal pixel should be the result of manufacture and "inborn" and shouldn't suddenly appear?

(This happened just after I was praising the TMD!)

I just tested again. It is really a dead pixel. It shows different color using the test for "black and white", "cyan and red", etc... I'm just puzzled why it appeared now but not earlier?? And it's changing location! When I'm typing this edited paragraph, its position has changed! It seems when I close/reopen the browser (bright light color), the dead pixel either appear or disappear. My desktop is of a dark color. Could anyone explain?

 

Ooops I meant cleartype... doh Do you know how to turn on cleartype, should be under display properties > appearance, then in Vista you go to effects and turn it on in there.

 

Its a stuck pixel if its changing colors, it might just go away. That is really strange how it just popped up.

 

braddd, I have XP, not Vista, so I guess no "cleartype".

Re dead pixel, I found this:

http://forums.mactalk.com.au/showthread.php?t=11560&page=2

So maybe I've got several of them Right now, they all disappeared mysteriously!

 

A my stuck pixel moved around on my screen, I did a little more research and found this:

http://www.psp-vault.com/Article168.psp

There's a video program to help fix the problem. I just played it and the stuck pixel is no longer there. However it had reappeared before so I'll check later to see if this program really works!

Edit: Nope, the stuck pixel is now in another location!

 

XP does have cleartype, that's where it was first introduced. Right click your desktop and choose 'properties'. Goto the 'Appearance' tab and choose 'Effects'. You'll want to check the 'smooth edges of screen fonts box', and choose 'ClearType' from the pulldown menu.

Regarding stuck pixels, I'd massage them whenever you see them while they're still volatile (for lack of a better word). When I do it, I always use a damp microfiber cloth. If you have an LCD cleaning solution like pixel clean, I use that. Otherwise, water is fine. Don't actually rub the screen, just gently shift the weight of your finger on and around the pixel with the tip of your finger in place. Don't push too hard or you'll damage the pixels.

 

Oh, by the way, that kind of behavior could indicate a bad panel. Keep an eye on it for the next few days to see what happens, and call Lenovo. I have a feeling their QC tolerances are lower than normal since there's a shortage of a lot of these panels.

 

If it's changing location then it's not a dead or stuck pixel.
Could it be a little drop of moisture (oil) locked in-between the glass panels of the screen?

 

IGCAR, how's your palmrest heat doing? After disabling a lot of things in vista, my heat has gone down considerably. However, when i watch video on youtube, the palmrest does heat up....

 

I just tried cleartype, but it actually makes the text more blurry, so I switch back to standard.

The reason I said it's a moving deal/stuck pixel is that I always have just ONE on the screen, but its position changes, sometimes bottom, sometimes top, left, or right or middle... If it's an oil drop then it should only "drop" DOWN, but this one sometimes goes up. I've never seen two at different locations at the same time. On dark desktop it's always white, but using dead pixel test its color varies. If I call Lenovo I think they'll ask me to send the whole laptop to them, which I can't afford now since I'm now using it as my only computer and am using it a lot.

My palmrest has always been fine, never warmed up. It's the processor that gets warm, but now it seems better than the first day. I have XP pro. Maybe the cause in your case is Vista. Do you have discret graphics?

 

Nope just integrated graphics....

 

What processor and HDD do you have? I have T7100, 5400rpm.

 

I think my issue is porbably the HDD + wireless card....here is my config:

T7500 2.2 GHz
**** 100 GB @ 7200 rpm**** (this contributes to some heat)
They say that the AGN card sits somewhere under the palmrest area, which also contributes to some heat (i have the AGN card)
2 GB RAM
Integrated graphics
Samsung screen, which looks decent (to me)

 

Are you using the wireless connection? I have ABGN card but not using it. Both your processor and HDD are faster, so no wonder.

 

I exclusively use wireless at home....i really think the card might be to blame....streaming video from youtube while on wireless steadily increases the temp....

Lowspeed, what wireless card did you have on your initial T61? Were you on wireless or wired?

 

I had an Intel AGN. not too happy with it. but it was ok.

I just ordered a 15.4 with a thinkpad agn card. i bet it's much better.



--

 

Do you mean the thinkpad a/b/g? I only see 3 options on the lenovo website:

Wireless cards [10] Help me decide Help me decide
ThinkPad 11a/b/g Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe US/EMEA/LA/ANZ [subtract $5.00]
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN [add $40.00]


I don't see a Thinkpad AGN option.....

 

They are available in some education portals, and the weirdest part is that i ordered the 19th. and it got shipped yesterday. 2 days to build and test ?

And it was over the weekend.



--

 

Awsome! Congrats!

Can you pls post your config?