Z61t - "true" weight?

I'm close to ordering one of these guys, but I've read all the reviews and threads I can find and I'm having a hard time assessing how much a Z61t will actually weigh, depending on the config.

Any owners or other knowledgable parties who can speak to actual weight out of the box with just the 4-cell battery and bay bezel (lightest I can think of). Also, any insight on:

4-cell w/ optical
4-cell w/ bay battery
7 cell w/ optical
7 cell w/ bay battery

How do the above configurations wind up comparing to the T60?

Finally, how much weight does the titanium lid actually add? I understand the plastic would be lighter, and lenovo's website touts that flexibility, but they don't seem to be offering the choice to go with plastic now.

Any other weight factors I'm missing?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

 

i ordered one haven't received it yet, but i know the titanium lid adds 3 ounces, i went for it, supposed to look really nice

 

Can't wait to get your reaction when it shows up. I'm so close to pulling the trigger, but want to feel good about the weight vs. other options. I'll have to find out how much that 3-cell Ultrabay battery adds.

 

Good time to buy, FREE upgrades on RAM, HDD & Burner.

Found this here: Z61t Specs

Physical specifications

Note: Actual specifications and weights may vary based on features, vendor components, or manufacturing processes. All weights and dimensions are approximate.

For systems with 356-mm (14.0-in) widescreen TFT display:

Width: 334 mm (13.1 in)
Depth: 228 mm (9.0 in)
Height: 26.6 to 30.9 mm (1.05 to 1.22 in)
Weight: With black top cover, four-cell battery, and travel bezel: 1.9 to 2.1 kg (4.23 to 4.67 lb)

Accessories
Li-Ion battery pack: 325 g (0.72 lb)
AC adapter (two-pin or three-pin): 360 g (0.795 lb)
Power cord for ac adapter: 90 g (0.19 lb)
DVD/CD-RW drive: 195 g (0.43 lb)
Multi-Burner DVD Recordable drive: 195 g (0.43 lb)

 

I'm looking at the z61t as well. Especially with the current deals on upgrades....pretty nice pricing. If they had the option to upgrade the video card, I'd have pulled the trigger already. Anyway, I found these numbers that I think might be helpful.

FYI...this PDF has more info on the z61t than you'd ever need...
( http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_ca/1/897/ENUS106-721/ENUS106-721.PDF)

* With black top cover, four-cell battery, and travel bezel:
1.9 to 2.1 kg (4.23 to 4.67 lb)
* With black top cover, seven-cell battery, and travel bezel:
2.1 to 2.3 kg (4.58 to 5.02 lb)
* With titanium top cover, four-cell battery, and travel bezel:
2.0 to 2.2 kg (4.48 to 4.92 lb)
* With titanium top cover, seven-cell battery, and travel bezel:
2.2 to 2.4 kg (4.83 to 5.28 lb)

If accurate, it looks like the the titanium cover adds 0.25 pounds and the seven cell adds 0.35 pounds. They give a 0.44 pound "range" for each...I assume that represents the weight of the optical drive, if you have one.

Does anyone know what the "travel bezel" is? Can't find it on the accessories site. Maybe it ships standard?

-Dave

 

Another name for the travel bezel is weightsaver. Basically you replace the CD drive with a plastic filler.

 

Another name for the travel bezel is weightsaver. Basically you replace the CD drive with a plastic filler. The machine does not ship with a travel bezel.

 

How does one acquire this travel bezel? I ordered a z61t last night and could not find it in the accessories.

 

Hi Uniquestco,

I also ordered Z61t with a simialr config yesterday. The estimated ship date is 12/14/2006, a month later. Can't believe it. Have you received yours yet? Can you post your estimated ship date here?

My config.

Core 2 Duo 7200 2GHz
14.1'' WXGA+ (1440X900) with integrated camera
1.5 Gig RAM
120 GB SATA disk
DVD multiburner drive
Intel Pro wireless
Titanium cover
4 cell battery
3 year onsite warranty

 

is there a way to get it without?

 

I ordered my z61t last week (11/08) and have a ship date of 12/04. I already received a carry case and second battery. So at least I've got those. I called to get more info (since the order confirmation screen said 8-10 business days) and was told those dates are pretty much always just an estimate. Since I didn't get the stock config, it would take much longer. Then he checked inventory and if I recall correctly, said they really don't have any z61's in stock, so they're all coming in from overseas. I'll call back in teh next day or so and state my case again. I can live with the delay, but I'm not happy about it. If they told me up front at the time of order, I wouldn't be so bothered by it.

 

bump how do you get the travel bezel?

 

Hi Dave, any updates on when you might receive ur laptop. My order date is 11/14th and est. ship date is 12/19th. ****!

 

I'm pretty sure most Lenovo laptops are now arriving nearly direct from overseas... my current one still has an export sticker attached, and a Lenovo Singapore Windows XP license sticker.

And usually, the ship dates are pretty conservative. They often arrive much earlier, but no guarantees.

 

I ordered a z61t 9440-D9U on 11/10 and have an estimated ship date of 12/6. As long as I get it in time to use my time off at Xmas to install linux, I'll be happy. Just got scared that I would want to try to get on this students & alumni pricing bandwagon, but it looks like I came out $20 ahead with the 1.5G RAM + DVD RW + 100MB 5200 RPM deal they had earlier this month. I didn't really need the camera, but I don't plan on taking it anywhere the cam would be forbidden, so no sense in spending more on the new regular pricing to not have it.

Still hoping to hear how to get this fabled "travel bezel." Does it really exist?

 

I'm in the same boat as you, awmoore, except I placed my order 11/11 with an estimated ship date of 11/30 and my z61t (9440D7U) was just seen leaving Hong Kong yesterday afternoon (11/21), with an estimated delivery date of 11/27. This is on the tail end of the 8-10 day build window that Lenovo were promising during the sale, but still pretty reasonable by their standards.

So it does seem, as others have said, that the estimated ship dates are pretty conservative, although there have been whispers of RAM shortages in some other threads I think, which may account for some of the more recent delays. Here's to hoping your machine shows up soon.

 

Cool. I'm watching the lenovo.com 'order status' page... I presume it will show me the good news when it's shipped? Report back when yours arrives if there's any clue how to get a travel bezel included.

 

awmoore:
some searching of the lenovo site reveals that the part number for what they call the "travel cover" is 13N5108, and there's a thread on thinkpads.com here which confirms that suspicion, so I think you can just call them up and order one. Worth a shot at least.

​

 

Hey, just checking back in ... my delivery date was 11/17 and that's been changed to 12/4 ... man, i hate waiting ...

 

Bummer! Bully, how much RAM in your d7u? I got 1.5GB in my d9u. Since uniquestco got the 2GB, that is one diff. That and the screen. I am gonna be disappointed if my ship date gets pushed out. I am replacing this Sharp MM-10, which I adored for travel, but it was getting a little underpowered and worse yet, the hard drive is now on the fritz (a heat-related electronics issue I think).

Thanks for digging up the travel cover part number, too. Maybe I will call for a price on that and try to get a confidence factor on my ship date too.

This is like when I got my Prius -- everyone was on the forums comparing how long their stays on the waiting list were.

 

Back to the travel cover. I tracked down 13N5108 on the IBM parts phone line today. $8.61 .... + $13.50 shipping! OK, $22 + tax isn't THAT much, but that shipping charge for a little piece of plastic just hurts.

Googling for '13n5108' yields some thinkpads.com threads that suggest these turn up on ebay occasionally. Maybe I'll wait a bit and see if one comes up.

 

Can someone explain what the travel cover and what the travel bezel both are? I believe from what I read the bezel is a filler for one of the bays...hopefully that's right. What travel cover are you talking about? Thanks.

 

Well, not that I have either the travel cover or my z61t yet, but this is my understanding. The travel cover is a little piece of plastic that you can snap in place of the CD/DVD drive if you don't need the drive while on the road, and you find that that difference in weight makes carrying it survivable vs. not. It will keep lint and stuff out of the hole with no CD/DVD drive in there. Do a search on images.google.com for ' thinkpad "travel cover" ' and you will get the idea. That particular one is not for the z61t, I think, but it communicates what it's all about. Experts, please correct me if I've got it wrong.