T61: Collection of reviews

Fellow prospective T61 buyers,

We are all here to find out about the T61 and whether we should buy it or not. I have found it difficult to get a good picture of what the T61 is really like. Most full reviews give it good points, yet there are many users complaining about their machines. Buried within those threads are users who say their machines are fine!

This thread is a place to post your own mini-review, even if you have already expressed your opinion somewhere else. Try to be as objective as possible and also establish a reference, ie. " The screen is way brighter than my HP nc6400" or " The battery life on the 4-cell isn't good enough for me." ( examples I made up.)

Let's try to keep this general, just tell us what you think about your T61. There are many other threads dealing with specific T61 issues, and let's put away the flame throwers Post reviews only, no comments please.

This is a collection of reviews that I have found after a quick search on the web.

Notebookreview.com : http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3708&review=ThinkPad+T61
LAPTOP magazine : http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T61.htm
PC Magazine : http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2127379,00.asp
XYZ Computing : http://www.xyzcomputing.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1078
Laptop Logic : http://laptoplogic.com/reviews/detail.php?id=164&part=full
CNET/ZDNET : http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-t61/4505-3121_7-32442903.html
PC World Australia : http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/taxid;2136212931;pid;3626;pt;1

Here are some unofficial user reviews from this forum, some good and some not so good:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=143543&highlight=t61
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=140468&highlight=t61
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=139332&highlight=t61
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=138091&highlight=t61
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=136792&highlight=t61
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=135955&highlight=t61
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=135783&highlight=t61
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=135586&highlight=t61
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=135543&highlight=t61
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=135224&highlight=t61
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=134779&highlight=t61


NOTE: If you have specific questions or issues, first try to search the web. Here are some excellent resources:
http://www.google.com (Google)
http://forum.notebookreview.com (Notebookreview.com forums)
http://forum.thinkpads.com (Thinkpads.com forums)
http://groups.google.com (Google Groups, aka. usenet)

Thanks!

 

As a previous owner of HP, Dell and Gateway laptops, I am very impressed with my T61 -- the first Thinkpad I've ever owned.

It is VERY durable and feels very strongly constructed. There are admittedly small build issues here and there, but nowhere near as many nor as as severe as I've experienced on previous laptops. In fact, from a build standpoint, the only thing I don't LOVE is the mousepad buttons which could stand to be tighter and less wobbly.

Two other mild complaints:

Viewing angles on the screen are not very good. However, it is a very sharp and clean LCD so, as I work 100% alone and in front of the screen, I'm happy. My panel (LG make) is being replaced next week due to stuck pixels so maybe the new one will have better containment of light leakage.

Also, the DVD player seems to read data quite loudly. In very limited DVD use, I found it reads in a manner loud enough to make it unpleasant to watch without headphones. However, this observation is from very limited usage and maybe this can be corrected -- or was the DVD itself.

I would definitely recommend the machine for others.

 

Here is a review my uncle did for the magazine he works for.

http://www.crn.com/hardware/201001097?queryText=t61p

 

What's the difference of battery life between these 2 graphics cards ?

 

Many people have received their T61s recently, here are their reviews:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=156231
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=156828
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=136231

http://themattcave.org/wordpress/?p=22

 

I just added my own review:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2345093#post2345093

 

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-t61.aspx
http://www.geek.com/lenovo-thinkpad-t61/
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-Thinkpad-T61-Notebook-Full-Upgrade.4381.0.html
http://www.trustedreviews.com/notebooks/review/2007/08/09/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T61/p1
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-IBM-Lenovo-Thinkpad-T61-Notebook.3972.0.html
More Reviews Enjoy!

 

T61p review
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=223337&page=5

Screen comparison LG vs Samsung http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3144981#post3144981

 

T61 4:3 SXGA+ Review T8100 X3100 UP:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3861172