ThinkPad T61- 8month review

IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad T61 review~
*** 8month review***

Notebook spec’s:
Intel Core 2 Duo- 7300 (2.0Ghz)
3Gb DDR memory
Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit - lenovo OEM
14.1” WXGA+ (1440x900) TFT
Integrated Webcam
120 GB Hard drive (5400rpm)
Fingerprint reader
Intel Wireless WI-Fi Link 4965AGN
Bluetooth
DVD-rw slim drive
6 cell battery
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Intel Turbo Memory 1GB
Price- $1295.25 after tax $1330.00

Receiving my ThinkPad-
I still remember when, where, and how I purchased my ThinkPad. I love ThinkPad’s this is my first ThinkPad of mine. I purchased my ThinkPad at home on my old Dell Inspiron 5160 in the afternoon of July 3, 2007. It was perfect. But I was a little worried about the things that I was hearing about Lenovo at that time. Anyways it worked out pretty well I got an email saying that my ThinkPad was shipped and on its way to me. Man I was really happy I was jumping in joy. It finally came on July 9, 2007 around 11:20 via UPS. Man it was really great. I came home from work it was waiting for me. I have not been so happy in my life. I received my laptop in like 5days. Well it was better than my cuzin who waited 3weeks. Lol

Built quality and design-
It is great I have always been a fan of the boxy plain look of the ThinkPad. I forget to tell you guyz that I had a ThinkPad for a little from school but when I left they took it back. Anyways this laptop is like a tank. It built so well. And first of all it was light. I loved it. It was like love in first sight. Well anyways I have been using the laptop and on the 2nd day I accidently dropped this laptop one the tiled floor. Man I was really upset about it. I couldn’t really come to myself . I paused like for 5minutes. It was like moment of silence. Well I came to my senses and turned it on. It worked perfectly no scratches, cracks, or anything. There no flex in the laptop especially the lid and handrest. The only thing that I really noticed was a little tapping noise on the left corner of the handrest.

You guyz maybe thinking why is guy acting as his laptop is a baby it just a computer. I know trust me I know my cuzin tells me that too but you know something I have worked for my laptop and plus I wont be buying a new laptop in like 5-7yrs. So I have to take care of my laptop. Overall this laptop was thin, light wieght which was my main concern because I am going to be carrying it around campus. 14.1” screen is perfect to watch a movie or just typing notes the keyboard is really great.

Performance-
The laptop has a Intel Core 2 Duo – 7300 with 2.0ghz processor. It was really good. Just remember I was using a laptop which was a desktop replacement so just needed a laptop which just take its place. And the 2.0ghz processor worked fine. I can run AutoCAD, pidgin IM client, firefox, and watch a movie with out my computer crashing. It works fine. It is not sluggish at all. Since I have vista ultimate 32bit which supports 3Gb of memory. So just max’ed it out. It turns on in 43secs. And shuts off in 40 secs. Which I think is fine.

The video card not great but it is pretty good. To be honest I don’t play any games. And even if I did I would just be playing counterstrike. And that game just run fine.

Screen-
Well the screen is fine. Sure lenovo could have made it much better but with the understanding that it is a business laptop you really don’t need a HD screen or anything like that. I have a LG screen it is perfect. No problems what so ever. I have had this laptop for 8months and it has been dropped like 2 times and just works perfectly.

Keyboard, Touchpad, fingerprint reader-
FingerPrint reader is great. It just works fine. I have used it in vista, fedora, openSuse, debian, and ubuntu. And it all works. No problems. The touchpad is very responsive with out any problems. It is not like dells or HP’s I really didn’t like the touchpad theywas to sensitive. And the keyboard is just great I love it. ThinkPad are well known to have the best keyboards out in the laptop market. But later on I found out that lenovo was offering 5 different keyboards and the orignal keyboard was NMB. It was really good. And luckily I have gotten one. It is very durable. And the funny thing is that I have tested out the draining vents in the keyboard and they all work. The only thing I just didn’t like about it is that my keyboard is getting shinn y. well because I have been using it a lot. That is the only thing.

Audio and speakers-
Speakers first of all is ok. But I just hoped that it would have been better. At first it wasn’t loud but after using the laptop for a while it worked fine. It is pretty loud but not as loud as the dell laptops. Since I am using this laptop as my primary computer I just wished it could have been better in quality.

Networking-
I have the Intel 4965AGN wireless card in this laptop and it work perfectly. I have never had the connect drop or stop working. It is perfect. I have been using the N network and it is blazing fast. It works with most router I have tested it on a Belkin and Linksys. And it works

Heat and noise-
it never gets hot. And it never blows loud like my other laptop(Dell). If my dell is on the fan would be running for 80% of the time. But for the ThinkPad i cant even tell when the laptop is on/off I never hear any noise from the laptop. I put it on my lap and it just never gets hot or warm.

Battery-
This laptop is powered by a 6-cell battery. It extends out alittle from the laptop but it is not a issue. I get pretty good time out of this battery about 4hrs and I can watch about 2 movies.

Overall-
I have this laptop for about 8months and I just love it. It just perfect for anyone especially someone who is planing on carrying it around and also wants power. This laptop is packed with power. It is very compatible with Linux. Like I have mentioned before I have tried several different OS and they work perfectly. The only thing I just wish it would have is an external remote. Because I dorm and I used this laptop for everything I just wish it came with a remote controller. So I can play movies, music, or just lower/increase the volume with out getting up. Otherwise this is great. I will highly recommend this laptop to everyone. It well built, affordable, and supported by IBM tech support.

Accessories –
I have purchase d a laptop sleeve for this laptop form Case Logic. It is excellent it protects the laptop form water, snow, rain, or just plain dirt. I have clearly mentioned that I am going to keep this laptop for at least 5yrs so I have protect my investment. I also puschased a Brenthaven backpack. It is great when it comes to drop resistances. After buying everything to protect this laptop I have backed it up with 5yrs warranty from IBM. ThinkPad T61 is a crazy powerful laptop.

 

How did you manage to get 14" WXGA+ w/ integrated webcam. Was this an option eight months ago?

 

sure i made sure that i was getting the best screen that they afford

 

so you actually poured water in your keyboard? hehe
coool

 

Nice review ! I've had my T61 for about 7 hours so far, and would not trade this computer for anything ! Simply the best !

 

yup i wanted to c if he keyboard would work. so i just poured water. and it works perfectly.

this laptop is the best laptop i have ever owned and i dont know think i am going to buy another brand in the future

 

I had mine from around 8 mths ago, and I had the 14" WXGA+ with integrated webcam.

 

Just curious, what is the resolution of the integrated webcam?

Anyone knows the working hours for a 7 cells battery for this T61 widescreen?

I got a T61 14" standard screen with 9 cells and is thinking of getting a T9300 T61 widescreen with 4 or 6 cells. If the new Penryn chips really works out great, it should give just as long working hours with a lighter machine for me.

Thank you

 

Why do they not offer a 14" with integrated webcam anymore?

 

Mine lasts about 3 hours on the net with half brightness and wifi turned on, I have the nvidia card and T7500.

To be honest, you can't really change cpus on laptops, even if you diy it, it wil be quite messy, unless some thing that runs on your laptop and your laptop is not powerful enough to run it, I would say: don't bother. The T9300 would gain about maybe 20 mins battery, it's really not worth it. Well, if you do have the cash, get a x300 which I believe will come out soon. Or wait for the next chipset will fully take the advantage of the Penryn(faster better battery) and it will happen around summer time.

 

You really get 4 hours out of a 6-cell battery?

 

Out of my 6-cell battery, I tend to get at the most maybe 3 hours and 30 minutes. That is also without anything major running, like the DVD player, etc. When I'm on the road, I sometimes use the T61 for Internet surfing, and the other half is watching DVD's. The battery does tend to draining significantly faster when watching DVD's.

 

I get about 3 hours and 10minutes, with a mildly aggressive power plan. But the trick it seems is to fire it up, let it do all it's booting up, throw it into deep sleep, and then just wake it up. Although on resume from sleep it sometimes forgets the screen and you have to press the function key to get it to wake the screen up.

6 Cell Sanyo Battery.

I am debating getting the ultra-bay battery to help supplement, as some of my classes are 3 hour stretches, and sometimes the battery starts giving me the warning and I hit the forced hibernate.

t7300, 4GB DDR2-800(yes yes I know but it was cheap!), NVS-140M, 7k200, 14.1" WXGA, with a current 2gb OCZ ATV drive for ready boost, and the intel memory set for ready drive.

 

with my 6 cell on my t61 ..on Max power , I get atleast 3 1/2 - 4 hrs.. I could probably get 5 hrs if I change the settings

 

You have got some typos, you may want to go through it and revise it for spelling errors and such. I only read the first quarter.