T61p first impressions

I just received my T61p about an hour ago, and I just started it up. It's my first laptop, but here's some things that stood out.

Packaging - bad. I think my laptop was bouncing around inside all the way from China. I don't think it is damaged, so it's all good.

The laptop itself is big. (not a downside just an observation)

Screen - *sigh* Now I know what people mean by grain. It's bad... really bad. It's really noticeable on a white background. The backlight bleed isn't terrible, but the vertical viewing angles are. There isn't even a sweet spot that I can find where no portion of the screen is washed out. There's always some part that looks weird. On the positive side I have no dead pixels. Heh.

Brightness - it's as bright as you need it. It'd be interesting to see how bright a LG screen can get in comparison.

The startup took forever. I'm going to say upwards of 3 minutes. Insane? Maybe, but some of it is due to the fact that I only have a gig of ram (other stick I ordered is still in the box).

So yeah. It isn't terrible, but the grain might get to me. We shall see if I get the BSODs in the next few days.

PLEASE NOTE: Had I not been here and read about the grainyness problems since July, I don't believe that would be a huge issue. However, now that I know what to look for it is definitely there. Ignorance, at least in the case, would be bliss.

 

dude you paid 1000 dolars for a computer. what did you expect?

 

Dude I paid $1800 dollars for a computer. Should I have bought an Alienware?

And honestly, did you have to come in and troll on the first reply?

 

I dunno what everyones issue is with the long start ups. Even when I only had 1 gig and vista I was still up to windows logon under min.. What could it be?

 

obviously the first thing to do is remove all that bloatware/reinstall and startup times will improve drastically but I think you already know that

 

I have no idea. I'm definitely going to do a fresh install of Vista this weekend.

 

meh - sorry to hear you're disappointed with the screen. That's a bummer.

[I know what you mean about ignorance, with hindsight, seeming like bliss - but that's really only true for the stupid!]

Hope you can find a fix.

Dave

 

I hope someone from Lenovo reads these things in the forums so they can fix them... the bloated image and the screen seem to have been around for a long time now.

 

my first impression when i got my t61p was...wow this thing is big. i'm still trying to get use to the widescreen. the keyboard is way better than my dell i used to have.

 

I know it's probably no consolation meh_cd, but I'd take a measure of grain over dead pixels any day of the week.

It's hard to get used to dead pixels, but with grain, who knows.

 

Good to hear. I'm sure I'd be more angry about dead pixels as well since Lenovo's standards for that are fairly low i.e. 8 dead pixels before they do anything about it.

I did try adjusting the gamma and other display settings but they had no effect on the grain.

Other than the screen it seems wonderful. I'm not sure which keyboard I have, but to be quite frank I think I'll just stay ignorant about that.

 

Did you get a LG or Samsung?

 

Yeah, the screen is grainy. I got used to it quick, and I changed the background, so I can hardly tell now.

I have the Samsung screen.

Oh yeah, the angles do suck. It is plenty bright. I click it down 2 or 3 from max.

 

congrats on your purchase.
sorry about the grain issues.

 

Upon further inspection I've discovered that it has the CPU whine. I found it when I installed the extra gig of RAM and went into the ThinkVantage crap before the bios. It's loud! On top of that the backlight bleed is quite noticeable when watching movies. There's also an area of the screen that receives too little light and is darker than the rest.

I don't know what I'm going to do.

 

I just wanted to say that I received my T61p 2 weeks ago and I am pretty happy with it. You do not get many happy campers on here so I just want to let people know that you will probably not regret your purchase especially with the great US deals these days. The built is top notch, the hardware is great, and the screen is actually pretty good. It is sharp, no dead pixels, and is pretty bright (thought could be brighter) considering the matte finish. As for grain, I do not really see any, but perhaps I do not know how to look for it. I am a big video-audiophile so even if its there its definitely not noticeable to me. The keyboard feels great. It has never crashed on me, and I am running vista ultimate. It does have a lot of processes starting up but that can be modified by simply uninstalling, and tweaking. Lastly, while it is a big laptop, its still significantly sleeker/thinner than say an inspiron, or most other 15.4 inch laptops for that many save a MBP, and an hp8510p.

 

Indeed this is true... if you get the LG screen. The Samsung screen isn't terrible, but the grain + that dark blob in the lower right corner is really making me angry. And as I said in my original post - the vertical viewing angles are so bad that either the top or bottom of the screen is always washed out.

About the CPU whine - has anyone else had this problem? I didn't realize Lenovo had a problem with it.

 

If you have a dark blob on your screen call Lenovo and return your laptop.


C2D is a Intel issue. It exists over all manufactures of laptops using the C2D processor. From macs to dells to lenovos to whoever else is using the C2D processor.

 

Indeed. I plan on calling them this weekend. I don't think the screen will fail to meet their "standards" however, so I may have to pay the restocking fee. Chock that up to experience, I guess.

Don't worry, I'm not accusing Lenovo of using bad CPUs. I just hadn't heard anyone on the board complaining about the whine as an issue with the T61.

I'm sure there are a lot of people reading this, so I'll throw this out there: The problems I'm experiencing aren't confined to Lenovo. Other manufacturers are using crappy LCD panels as well - Dell, Asus, and Apple all have the grainy issues on some of their screens. Just like the Core 2 Duo whine problem is Intel's fault, the screens are the screen manufacturer's fault. I didn't like Samsung before I got this laptop and I definitely don't like them now. So don't think Lenovo is a horrible company for having these problems. Should they be putting those screens in the laptop in the first place? No, but other manufacturers are doing it as well.

If I do return the T61p I won't be ordering a new laptop for a few months. That was the problem with this generation of laptops - after 2 months of researching nothing stood out to me. I never said "WOW! I want that laptop!"

Oi vei.

 

I hear ya. Personally I really think they shouldn't be putting these screens on their laptops, they made a mistake going with those crappy samsung LCDs and the public is voicing their opinion. The funny thing is that I've herad better comments about the Samsung on the 14.1" standard vs the Toshiba 14.1" standard screen, go figure.

Hope it works out and you can get that returned w/o the restocking fee.

Also I've been wondering who is that in your avatar?

 

It's Depeche Mode. A band that brought you such hits as "Personal Jesus" and "Enjoy the Silence".

At least, those are their two most well known songs.

 

Ahh ok. I know the music well, not so much the faces.

 

Sorry to hear about your T61p experience. It sounds like you got some pretty bad components. Again, I just want to let any potential buyers out there know that I however am not experiencing these problems on mine. I also have zero CPU whine. The computer is actually pretty quiet, even with the fan noise.

 

Recieved mine 30 minutes ago, all i can say is WOW....you guys if you want a 1k laptop this is the one. All i can say is if you have a complaint about the t61p go buy a dell and then come back. I got a free upgrade to shipping and it only took two days for it to arrive. The screen has one dead pixle and very VERY little light leakage. The first bootup did take about 3 minutes but thats because it had to install a few things, second bootup was about a minute and with only 1 gig of ram. I'm about to install my 2 gig stick and do other assorted things. I'll post back later with more info.

PS the atheros abg wireless card is 100x better than the intel that i used on the vostro 1500.

 

Unless you got a T61P 2.4GHZ w/ 4GB of RAM, 1GB ITM ready drive, 4GB readyboost, and the nvidia 570m w/ 256MB vram I have a really hard time feeling sorry for you.

Don't buy an econobox Lancer or Impreza and then complain that it doesn't go fast like the Evo or STI.

 

Once you add the extra 1GB of ram meh_cd you will definitely notice an improvement. When I put in my 1GB to make my configuration 2GB I noticed a faster bootup right away. You should also disable unimportant start up programs. Search "msconfig" and click the startup tab. Before disabling a startup program google it to see if it is needed for the laptop to run. Hope this helps a little bit.
Tim

 

Now, that's just plain ole bollox.

Besides, I mean, come on, how many signatures, in all seriousness, have you seen on the Lenovo forums with those kinds of specs, huh?

And waht you saying, we don't have those kind of fancy specs, you suggesting, we all driving round in Lancers?

$1,800 Lancer's in the OP's case.

I don't think so!

Okay.

End Rant.

 

Tell me - did you read my post? I'm not complaining about the speed, I'm complaining about the obviously subpar/defective screen that they used. Using your oh so intelligent car analogies, it'd be like buying a new car with a bunch of noticeable pits in the windshield. That doesn't fly with any car.

You must be one of those guys who has to have the best of everything all the time. You're that guy.

I've already installed the 2 gigs of RAM I purchased and the speed is fine, even with all of Lenovo's garbage running in the background. That doesn't mean I want to keep a laptop with a dingy screen.

 

You where warned about that already and just like DELL, HP and TOSHIBA its luck of the draw. Only screens i haven't seen complaints about are sager asus and alienware. As for my notebook I'm very impressed, the atheros is just blazeing fast.

 

I don't care if I was "warned". They shouldn't be using the screens in the first place, so I'm not keeping it. I'm sure you'd be 100% on Lenovo's side as well if you were saddled with a grainy screen? Yeah, I'm sure you would. I'm more than a little frustrated considering that people who ordered before me AND after me got good quality screens.

Can you honestly tell me that you would be fine receiving a bad screen?

"Oh yes giant multinational corporation, I will roll over and accept your attempt to cut costs by using an inferior screen!" Nah. If everyone did that we'd all end up with lovely screens in the future.

 

Sorry you ended up with a Samsung. However, i don't think it is so much a cost cutting measure, rather simply to get more supply in note of rising demand. It's not like they do not use good screens (LG), but with the recent shortages i don't think any notebook company can just cut Samsung off. If anything, someone needs to do something about Samsung's quality standards.

 

Exactly. Lenovo only shares part of the blame along with Samsung and every other manufacturer who thinks it is okay to shaft customers with these screens. Samsung isn't the only LCD manufacturer that is experiencing problems either. I wonder what the cause is? A problem with the glass itself?

Once I get this settled I'm going to wait until these screen problems are ironed out and order something else in a few months after the Penryn refresh. I'll probably get an LED screen as well just to avoid any major backlight issues.

EDIT: When I was referring to cutting costs I meant that Lenovo probably ordered these screens a while ago. I imagine they don't want to just throw them away so they toss them into notebooks hoping people won't care. Well, let me tell ya, when you have bad eyes like I do it isn't fun.

 

Ok so you where warned and you still bought it......you have the right to complain why? Now you say your going to WAIT till a later time to call lenovo up and complain and hope you get a better screen.....yah that makes a lot of sence. Why the hell did you not just wait in the first place then???

 

I think he meant he will return his t61p, and wait until the manufacturer's get their acts together and up build quality.

 

Would you just leave the thread? Either that or bring your reading comprehension up a level. Thanks.

And what is with these "you were warned" posts? You're telling me that a consumer should expect bad quality and be fine with it?

 

If he isn't satisfied he has every right to return it, its his money. I just think its crappy how if he had ordered few days earlier or few days later there's a good chance there won't be any issues at all. Me I'm very picky when it comes to screens and I can understand someone not being entirely happy if they get a subpar screen.

On the other hand I've also heard of owners with Samsung screens who liked their lcds and even come on the forums to dispute the perceived lack of quality in Samsungs. I was just reading a Dell thread bashing the Samsung screens and there were just as many ppl saying their Samsungs were fine, go figure.

 

This is true as well. Indeed even some LG screens have grain. It's a very strange problem.

And yep, the fact that I researched this for over two months and the fact that I ordered just in the right timeframe - between the 7th and the 13th I think - I get a bad screen. Haha someone hates me.

 

If that was true you would have bought the notebook during the labor day sale. Just return the notebook if you have that big of a problem with it....other than that it sounds like it just sucks to be you.

 

Oh, now this guy is calling me a liar!

Tell me, how did you manage to concoct such a profound statement as "it just sucks to be you". My guess is that you're probably 14 years old and mommy and daddy purchased your laptop. That explains everything.

And also - notice I'm actually trying to have a discussion with the other people in the thread. I'm getting sick of your childish behavior.

 

We could talk about 80s music?

Ever listened to joy division? I love them.

 

Hmm. No, I haven't. What are their more popular songs? Perhaps I've heard them without knowing who they are.

 

Love will tear us apart was their most popular song. New Dawn Fades is my favorite. They were only around for a few short years.

 

Your on a forum complaining about your computer nothing more. If you had really researched notebooks for the last two months, you probably never would have bought one.

Why do i say that, because you are on here complaining about your bad computer screen, not like others posting about turbo memory, bsod, problems installing xp exct.

Need more ok how about if you really had researched for 2 months you would have seen that just about every computer manufacturer is having problems with screens. So if after the last two months you couldn't understand that buying a laptop right now and getting a good screen is like flipping a coin, then yah I would say you didn't research for two months or you are just ignorant.

 

Honestly, at least he's no MonsterMaxx, his distaste is well stated and even acknowledges Lenovo is not all to blame.. there's no reason for you to be attacking him.

By the way, if you want to talk about hypocrisy, look at your very own signature:

Seems like you had your own shares of woes, i don't see a similar statement in meh_cd's signature. To be quite honest my girlfriend has a Vostro 1500, and it runs great, was a awesome deal.

 

you don't seem me complaining either. I sent back a notebook that DIDN'T WORK he wants to send back a notebook that works just fine.

 

touche'

I sent my dell back also as I wasn't happy with it, its just you don't see many people on here throwing stones at others whilst living in a glass house.

don't judge others unless you also wish to be judged, I've seen meh_cd on here for ages, I can't say the same about you

 

Glad to hear you won’t accept equipment you aren’t happy with – but I think you should only look at Lenovo for any defects. Lenovo’s name is all over the product and Intel, Samsung, LG, etc… are only a few out of hundreds of suppliers that make a laptop. I don’t see Samsung’s name anywhere.

It help’s your argument to return it also.

 

Samsungs name is on the back of the LCD.

 

Where? Can you see it right now?

 

Should be on a barcoded sticker in one of the corners on the back of LCD. I can't see it right now as my computer is all in one piece at the moment.