Lenovo ThinkPad T61 7658 Notebook

I reviewed the Lenovo 3000 N200 Lenovo 3000 N200 0769 – Celeron M 540 / 1.86 GHz – RAM 512 MB – HDD 80 GB – CD-RW / DVD – GMA X3100 – WLAN : 802.11b/g – TPM – fingerprint reader – Vista Home Basic – 15.4″ Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) – Microsoft Office Ready when I bought it earlier this year after my HP died. I had always been a big fan of the IBM Thinkpads and hoped that the 3000 N200 would be an economical replacement. Proving that you get what you pay for, I was very disappointed. I have subsequently wiped the N200 clean of Vista, installed Windows XP and gave it to my son. It works MUCH better under XP — much faster.

I had always wanted to get the T61 because… well, I like thinkpads. I like the feel of the keyboard. Their displays are crisp and beautiful and the build is solid and durable. But at the time, my budget just wouldn’t allow it. But after a few months, I was finally in a position to upgrade.

I was a little hesitant since all my experience with Thinkpads had been while they were still being made by IBM. After my disappointment with the 3000 N200, I was concerned that the poor quality was indicative of Lenovo rather than just the model. But I decided to give the T61 a shot because frankly, all of the other brands out there (…cough… HP…. cough) are known failures that I had to try.

I’m VERY happy to say that the T61 is NEARLY as good as the IBM Thinkpad counterparts. The look and feel are still nearly the same. The display is probably the most similar to the old IBM thinkpads. The speed and all the Lenovo support features are excellent making recovery in the case of catastrophic virus infestation etc a breeze.

What isn’t QUITE the same (and the reason I knocked a star off my rating) are a few relatively minor quibbles compared to the old Thinkpads. The keyboard doesn’t feel quite as solid as I would like. The touchpad is smaller than usual — even smaller than the 3000 N200 (the one feature of that model that I actually prefer). In addition, the edge of the touchpad is very “prominent” so it is annoying when your finger is constantly bumping up against it. The case isn’t quite as pleasing from a “tactile” perspective — it feels more plasticy. And finally, the finger print reader is not as good as the 3000 N200.

However, I can tell that the build quality of this system is substantially better than the lower priced models. In addition, it doesn’t have the annoying “shiney” display which the 3000 N200 has and it runs MUCH quieter and cooler than the 3000 N200.

All in all, this isn’t IBM’s thinkpad but it is far superior to any laptop on the market today in terms of quality and it is truly worth the money.

BTW, my T61 came preloaded with Vista. I have subsequently come to the conclusion that XP is truly a better OS in terms of speed and reliability. Unless you can afford the extra 300-500 for 3gb of memory, “downgrade” to XP. Otherwise, you might as well stick with a used T41.

A word of warning to anyone looking to purchase a T61 thinkpad. Stay away from any Nvidia GPU’s. These had major overheating problems. If you have one of the defective GPU’s the computer will eventually start overheating and fry itself.

Stick with the Intel 945.

Good laptop. Keyboard and light over workspace really makes it a good used choice.

The day that I got the T61, I was a little skeptical. It came with Windows Vista Business and it was very laggy and unresponsive, although the PC itself was in great condition. I took windows completely off and put Ubuntu 12.04, since all I do on this is surf the Internet and word processing. I also took the liberty of adding 2 more gigs of RAM. It literally takes about 5 seconds to boot up, I cannot tell you how fast this thing is now. 5 stars all around for a great product!

I wish I had known how good ThinkPads were a long time ago, so I wouldn’t have bothered buying any other laptop. The trackpad and keyboard are very responsive and pleasing to the touch. While on the heavier side, this laptop is very thick and durable. The battery life is not so great–from two and a half to three hours on mine. The screen brightness is lower than on other laptops I’ve used, but bright enough without hurting the eyes. The hardware is perfectly supported on every Linux distro I’ve tried. Everything works out of the box. 5/5 pretty good

Computer arrived in very good condition and as described. While heavy, the T61 is a solid workhorse that runs Win 7 just fine. Put Linux on it and it will run very fast indeed. How can you do better for $200?

Overall: Best laptop choice for work on the go and for those on a budget.
Pros: VERY comfortable keyboard, low price online, GREAT performance for work use.
Cons: Screen is not very bright, bigger battery adds bulk

Performance: (typical day to day use)
Scores a 3.1 on Windows ratings due to low graphics scores. Shouldn’t be a factor if all you’re using it for is MS office/web-browsing/emails. Other then graphics use, surfing web, multitasking MS office apps, and general day to day online activities are as buttery as any other modern day laptop.

Battery: (using extended battery 6600mah)
Typical 3 hours of real life use (outlook open in background, Pidgin chat, and music playing in BG) at 60% screen brightness, can be stretched to 4.5 if I was just web-browsing (no others windows/apps). I had the regular 4400mah battery at first, but it barely ran for 1.5 hours, 2 if I was stingy with it. The bigger 6600mah battery adds bulk, but travelers will appreciate the extra work-time.

Design: (will grow on you as time goes on)
At first glance I thought, real ugly piece of machinery. Then my work place forced me to use one and boy, it has really grown on me. The keyboard is probably the best I’ve ever used, EVER. That’s coming from owning a couple of Toshibas, Gateways, Sonys, Apples (powerbook & new MBPs), Asus, and HP laptops before. The keyboard alone makes me want to keep this thing forever. Kudos to Lenovo for developing such a great input product. On the downside, the screen isn’t very bright, so if you want to work outside one day or are near some one with a newer model laptop (which means newer kind of display technology), the screen will appear very dark.

Recommended for: Those on a budget, traveling business types
Seriously, the price you pay (amazon for around $200-300 last time I checked) can’t be beat. Those who are on a budget that just want a laptop for browsing the web, chatting online, and streaming movies- this one is a winners’ choice. My reason for buying one was my previous job took the Lenovo T61 back, and stuck me with an “upgraded” Dell (arg), I’ve missed it ever since. Get it, you wont regret it.

my sister recommended me to get one as my new laptop. I bought it as a restock back in December 2008. It had that horrible virus called “Windows Vista,” which was cured by putting Windows XP pro on it instead. It runs great, feels sturdy, is very ergonomic, and is very powerful. The only complaint i have about it is the hard drive space – it only holds 80GB.

other than, if they made laptops like Lenovo’s all the time, i’d sell my soul for one.