14" t61p questions

I think I am not alone here with my desire to purchase a business class 14 inch laptop with hi spec graphics. For this size of laptop,an nvidia 8600gt/570m, or ATI hd2600 would do. The Asus F8sv series are not considered business class although it has a good number of the specs I want, but I do not think the F series are going to be something that holds up with 60,000 miles in the air annualy. The V and W series are business class, but in a 14in laptop they both lack a high spec graphics solution. Battery life is also less than 2 hours for the Asus laptops in this class. Its a bit frustrating to not be able to purchase the V2 with a higher spec card and better battery life. I have spent a great deal of time on this issue, the Zepto 14 inch, as far as I can tell is not really available in the US without paying excessively for it. Current leader in my search is the lenovo t61p with all the appropriate discounts it prices around $1936. My only hesitation is the screen on the 14" t61p, comments here and on thinkpads.com seem to trend towards the screen is not very bright, and has poor viewing angles. I usually keep my laptop for 2 years so I do not want to be reminded every day I use it that I made the wrong choice.

My question to users of the t61p 14 inch model is what items, including the screen would the most like to see improved in a t61p 14 inch model refresh.

Thanks
Scott

 

You expressed your desire to purchase a business class 14.1" laptop with hi spec on graphics card, then asked about what items users would most like to see improved in a T61p 14.1" model.

So are you doing a satisfaction survey or just wanting to know the flaws of the T61p before you decide on whether to buy it; or, just what exactly ?

 

I am not doing a survey, I just thought that people would be willing to offer /share their likes and dislikes about this model. If 20 people reply and say yes definately they would upgrade the monitor, then I would be more likely to believe there is a real issue with the monitor quality. To me this a better approach to make a good decision buying a laptop then to listen to the person bitterly complaining about their notebook.

 

Screen is pretty bad but you get used to it. The LG on my 15.4 is much better. The laptop is bigger than I thought it would be, its only slightly smaller than the 15.4....... Graphics aren't that great as it is the crippled FX570.....

 

highend graphics in a 14.1" notebook would make the notebook very HOT and kill battery life......highend graphics just aren't needed in business notebooks, face it.

 

this is true on my T61p at full brightness I get maybe 2-2.5 hours max

 

how many cells in your batt?

 

Sounds about right for a 6 cell.

 

9 Cells with the 6 Cell I get 1.5-2hours

 

I think the screen is fine. It's nothing amazing, but it's not bad either.

The 128mb version has enough power to run most games as long as the resolution isn't dialed up. In tests of the 128 vs 256 mb versions, the lower memory 570m only starts to lose out in performance once resolution is upped.

Personally, I run Bioshock and the Orange Box just fine on my 14 incher. I don't game that much anyways, and if you want it to last two years you'll certainly get a lot of entertainment out of it. I just find 15.4 inch widescreen to be too bulky and heavy. Even the Macbook feels too wide and heavy to me.

 

I agree with your balanced view, Shoeguyus.

 

the 14" is also pretty bulky, its only marginally smaller than the 15.4 widescreen.

 

I got a new T61 (not 61p) for work, it's my 3rd Thinkpad in the last 7 or 8 years. One stint with a Dell made me come back to Thinkpad. Same as you, I travel a lot. My old T41 logged a LOT of air miles with me without a single problem, so it was easy to pick a Thinkpad again.

I could pick whatever I wanter for under $2000 and I picked the T61 14.1" 1440x900. The only catch was I had to buy off-the-shelf. The closest match was this one at PCmall.com

I since added another gb of Ram, a 7 cel battery and a dock, got rid of Vista and added Linux and XP.

Anyhow, to your question of graphics and battery life - I wish I had got the X3100 model. This one has the nvidia dedicated graphics and I just don't need it. I'd prefer more battery than GPU power. I have heard of getting 4 hrs. of battery life with the X3100, but who knows for sure. I can't think of a situation where the X3100 wouldn't do what I want except for games, and I'm not playing games on the laptop.

As it stands I get about 3+ hrs battery on the 7cel, a bit under 3hrs on the 6-cel. That's with Wifi on. Both of the batteries stick out of the back, unlike the old T41/T42's. I set it to battery-conserve mode when it's off the AC power.

I have not had a problem with screen brightness, although it's not as bright as other brands. The viewing angles though are excellent. I don't see how anybody could complain about that.

Anyhow I do like the T61 and I recommend it. The 1440x900 screen is excellent, it was the main reason I got this laptop. Also, I don't think the T61p is offered in widescreen 14.1", only standard square screen. I could be wrong though.

 

It looks like the WSXGA+ displays are much better than the SXGA+ 4:3 displays. The 4:3 displays are the ones that are terrible.....You cannot get the Wide display on the "P" series.

 

you would have saved a significant amount of money getting a preconfigured model with the x3100....

saving battery life is the primary reason why i got the x3100.....i also never game

i get around 4:30 with brightness set to half way..and wifi on for surfing and document processing