T61 Questions.

Hey everyone,

I've started [thread=252003]another thread[/thread] in the buying help forum but have some specific Thinkpad questions that will probably get answered better over here.

- What are the displays really like? Search results turn up everything from "Terrible", to "Awesome". I keep reading that they're really dull and grainy. I do a bit of DSLR photography, so this is kinda important.

- What the deal with the T61p? I can't find it on the website. Is it a US only thing and not available through Canadian distribution channels?

- The only ultrabay battery I found on the website was a 3-cell, is this correct?

- Is there anything else I should be considering, given my answers in the thread linked above?

Thanks.

 

Well my screen is great you can check out the review and comparison in my sig.

Here is the link http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...-category-id=EDF9B632F1BC41729ACCB25B2F44E097

Yes only 3-cell ultrabay about 45min-1hr extra run time

As for your other thread

Mine is very quiet and that seems to be the general consensus

It weighs 6.26lbs (2.84kg) with the larger 9-cell battery

And Thinkpads are known for their durability and reliability

 

Screens aren't as good as the ones in a Vaio, but it's decent. And it's matte, not glossy like the one you prefer in the other thread. If you do photo editing, you'll find the stock screen a bit lacking, and you'll have to tweak the settings a bit. It also depends if you get the LG or the Samsung one.

Not sure with the T61p issue.

Otherwise, the T61 suits your needs. I do recommend getting the 9-cell battery, though. But it's not flushed with the back.

 

The regular WXGA 15.4'' is pretty decent in my opinion, but seeing as how my entire family owns a line of IBM products i cannot really compare the qualities to other brands, like Sony Vaios or Toshibas...

But i do know that on battery settings the maximum brightness is a little bit lacking, because when i sit in lecture halls with my laptop out at max brightness, i see other laptops that totally outshine mine. But then it's not a big deal either...

Some people say that the LCD is grainy, but i think it's fine...

 

if you look at one of the older threads, we spoke more about screens. i have some screenshots on page 2 of my R61 and a Dell 1530, they show the difference well.

Link

 

The spec below is looking a lot like what my final order is going to be. I might still change a few things like processor speed, and there's still a very slight chance I'll go with a Latitude, but before I make the final call I want to make sure the configurations I've chosen will run ok on Linux, so I have that option available.

Here's what I'm looking at getting:

ThinkPad T61 15 Widescreen - 6459

Intel Core 2 Duo processor T8100 (2.1GHz 800MHz 3MBL2)
Genuine Windows XP Professional
15.4 WSXGA+ TFT
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M 128MB
2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 (2 DIMM)
Integrated fingerprint reader
160GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
CD-RW/DVD-ROM, Ultrabay Slim
6 cell Li-Ion Battery

Display type 15.4 WSXGA+ TFT
System graphics NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M 128MB
System expansion slots PC Card & Express Card Slots
Card Reader 4 in 1 Media Card Reader
WiFi wireless LAN adapters10 Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
Bluetooth Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Wireless WAN accessories None

I'm still really worried that the display won't show photographs very nicely, but I'm hoping the WSXGA+ upgrade will be better for that then the regular WXGA display... I guess I'll find out.

Also, the only reason I'm getting the discrete graphics over the integrated graphics is because I keep reading the integrated graphics is grainy. Is this true?
Otherwise I wouldn't get the discrete graphics since I don't usually run games or anything.

Thanks for the advice.

 

I don't know if Integrated GPU has any effect on the graneyness, never heard that argument. With Integrated you get better battery life, but poorer 3D performance. Is battery life very important to you? One of the nice things that the Nvidia GPU gives you, other than 3D performance, is the ability to calibrate your screen, like gamma, color saturation etc. This can help correct for a bad screen and make it look a lot better. This was one of the main reason for me to get the Discrete card.

Also, drop your memory to 1GB(1DIMM) and order from Newegg. This is much cheaper to do. Memory install is very easy and does not void your warranty.

 

I agree ! GPU don't impact the screen rendring quality. If the panel is grainy, it will stay grainy with any graphic processor. With the Quadro, the control panel allow some nice settings witch can correct some panel defaults.

 

looks like your color profile needs a little work, not the screen.

 

Integrated GPU does not effect the grainyness

 

So... what is the determining factor in how grainy the display is? Is it just a random, luck of the draw?

 

Yes it is random.

 

Are they making good and fixing the ones that are bad, or will I be stuck with a bad one if I'm unlucky?

Just seems really odd that a laptop that has such a good reputation has such a significant quality control issue.

 

I'm betting they won't be bothered much replacing it for you unless it extremely horrible to the extent that you can't used to without severe pain.

 

Thats the problem. It is a crap shoot. You might get a decent panel or a really bad one. Lenovo's policy in general seems pretty inflexible with swapping the screens out. And even if they did, the replacement would probably be very similar to the original.