Another T61 Review (and comparison with HP dv6000)

I have been enjoying my new ThinkPad T61 for almost a week now, and I wanted to post a brief review and comparison to my previous notebook, an HP dv6000. First off, shipping ending up being very fast although there is a disappointing inconsistency in the information coming from Lenovo.

Ordered: 5/28
Shipped: ?
Arrived: 6/6

My estimated ship date after placing my order was 6/18. I never received a ship notification e-mail and the order status website still says that my order is “in-progress” with an estimated ship date of 6/18. I also called a few times before my ThinkPad arrived to check the order and I was also told each time that it would ship around the 18th. Since I have my notebook and all is well I am not too bothered by this, but it seems like shipping and order status information is an area where Lenovo could improve (other threads would appear to reinforce this). Now, onto the system.

I configured a T61 with the following specifications:

Intel Core2Duo T8100 2.1 GHz
2 GB RAM
160 GB 7200 RPM hard drive
15.4 inch WSXGA+ screen
Intel integrated graphics (X3100)
Intel wireless
DVD recorder
6 cell battery
Windows Vista Business
2 year warranty with depot pickup and return plus ThinkPad protection

First let me say that after working with the machine pretty regularly for the past week I am very impressed and pleased with my purchase. The notebook is a pleasure to work on, and I found myself using it more then my desktop at work (which was never the case with my HP). There are a few small issues which I will detail below, but overall I extremely happy with my first ThinkPad and feel it is a definite and noticeable step-up from the HP.

Build /overall quality – the machine of course feels very solid and I can see no gaps, unevenness or other build related problems. The plastic right above the keyboard flexes a bit when pressed, as does the plastic on the left palm rest area. I would prefer that it didn’t do this, but it doesn’t bother me a not. The T61 feels a bit larger then the HP despite having the same screen dimensions.

The overall feel of the machine when picked up is solid, although I have to admit I was expecting more of a difference from my HP. Although many have reported build quality issues with the dv6000, mine is a pretty solid machine for a consumer level notebook and I think the feel of the ThinkPad and the HP are pretty close (although I know that the roll cage makes the ThinkPad actually much stronger). One nice thing is that I no longer have to worry about the ugly fingerprints that were a constant problem on the glossy HP.

The keyboard on the ThinkPad is extremely easy to type on, and as expected a step up from the HP. The touchpad, although a bit smaller, also seems much more responsive and is easier to use with its textured overlay (as opposed to the glossy overlay used on the HP).

One small problem is that my DVD burner dosen’t eject consistently. Sometimes it will open just fine, and sometimes it will try to open but appears to get stuck. I have to push on the Ultrabay release tab when this happens which causes the drive to pop open. Not a huge deal, but I might send the drive in down the line which is an easy task thanks to the Ultrabay design.

Screen – I find the WSXGA+ screen fantastic. The increased resolution is a joy to work on, and Photoshop and graphics tasks are so much easier (it was basically impossible to do any Adobe suite work on the HP, simply because there was not enough room on the screen to work effectively). I am not sure who my screen maker is, but I am guessing Samsung. If I look for them I can see the horizontal lines that some have reported. I can see this being an issue for some, but they don’t bother me personally and I generally don’t notice them. The screen is very sharp. I have not noticed any dead pixels (although I have not specifically looked for them either).

My HP had an AUO screen which I believe is regarded as one of the better screens for HPs. I would say that it is a bit brighter then the ThinkPad screen and has a slightly wider viewing angle. Its too bad that the ThinkPad screen can’t match the HP in these categories, but for me the increased resolution more then outweighs these other advantages and I am perfectly satisfied with the screen on my T61.

Noise – My number one complaint with my dv6000, and perhaps the main reason I decided to replace it, was fan noise. The HP would start throttling up its loud “hair dryer” almost immediately, even with the system idle. After 30 minutes or so of use the load fan would just run consistently. This was a problem with the system almost immediately after purchase, so I don’t believe its related to dust build-up. I tried various things to adjust this noisy fan but nothing seemed to work and it was driving me crazy.

The T61 is blissfully silent. You can hear a fan running, although it is extremely quiet. In a very quiet room I can tell when it throttles up to a higher speed, but the change is so minor that you would never notice unless it was perfectly silent and you were specifically listening for it. I have read a few complaints about hard drive noise with the 7200 RPM drives, so I was a bit worried about that. Fortunately, my drive is totally silent. Even in a quiet room I can’t hear it unless I put my ear to the palm rest.

Performance – The machine feels very fast and responsive. It is speced similar to my desktop machine, but the ThinkPad feels much snappier (might be just from a fresh Windows install). The wireless connects very quickly and performs well.

I removed Norton but I am keeping the Thinkvantage apps for now. Compared to the bloatware installed by other companies, I actually think most of these apps will be useful to me, and seem to do their job well (your needs my vary of course).

Besides the DVD writer problem, the only other issue I have is again related to communication from Lenovo. I upgraded to a 2 your warranty with accidental damage protection. In the box there was no information about this warranty, and if I go to Lenovo’s warranty status website and plug in my serial number it reports only the standard one year warranty. I don’t know if this is because Lenovo’s system still doesn’t think my machine has shipped or what. I will probably call them in the next day or so to inquire about it.

Wow, that ended up being much longer then expected, but hopefully this information will be useful to some. Just to reiterate, I am very very happy with my ThinkPad and I look forward to putting it to regular use for several years. I would strongly recommend the T61, especially with the current pricing that is available.

 

The comparison is not fair and it will only serve to further degrade the HP dv6000 (and overall perception of HP products). A fair comparison would be to put the T61 next to an 8510p, and likewise the dv6000 to the Ideapad, i.e. business vs business and consumer vs consumer. A consumer vs business notebook comparison will skew positively towards that of the business notebook when you consider factors such as build quality, system performance and support levels.

 

Hi ethant,

Nice review ... anytime someone takes the time to do a decent review it is great.

ethant ... have few Q's for you ...

Q1: Could you tell me what was your specs on your dv6000 ... just curious!?!?

Q2: Did you configure this Thinkpad for work or personal use?

Q3: What threw me off was your comment that your Laptop was more responsive than your Desktop!?!

I have read reports that HP dv's warm up on the "Left" side palm area because of the HD being there. And I myself hate the feel of their mousepad ... it seems my finger just does not slide as easily compared to any other laptop.

THANKS for your Great Review ... helped me a whole lot.

G!

 

chrixx - Very true, I certainly didn't intend for it to be a fair comparison, I was just comparing my new notebook to my old one for those that are interested. To be honest, as I indicated I think the dv6000 compares very favorably when it comes to build quality and screen quality. My main issue with it (the fan noise) would be a problem for either consumer or business users.

gonwk - Glad I could help! I don't recall the exact processor type in my HP, but here are the specs, its still no slouch (only about a year and a half old):

Core Duo 1.73 GHz
2 GB RAM
80 GB hard drive
nVidia GeForce Go 7400 (maybe the reason for the loud fan?)
Intel wireless
Windows Vista business

I purchased the ThinkPad as a "personal" machine, although I will be using it at work on a daily basis (I use my personal copy of Adobe CS3 at work almost every day, since my company doesn't own a copy :/).

My desktop machine has almost the same specs as my ThinkPad except for a much better graphics card (8800 GTS) and a slightly slower processor (Core2Duo E6300 1.8 GHz). The ThinkPad feels much faster and more responsive, although as I said I imagine a lot of this has to do with a fresh Windows install vs. a 1+ year old Windows install. I have not run any benchmarks, so these are just my personal feelings which might not be super accurate. The ThinkPad is certainly plenty fast though.

 

ethant, that is an interesting comparison although I would say that they're "slightly not as comparable" since one is more "general consumer-oriented" & the other is more "business-oriented."

Anyway, congrats on your new laptop.