Thinkpads Forum

SOLD to forum member: Somewhat rare Z61p. The top-of-the-line in Z-class machines.

*Image removed*

This is machine is in perfect operating condition. I have upgraded the LCD cover from black plastic to titanium metal, the processor from a Core Duo T2500 to a Core 2 Duo T7200 and the memory from 1GB to 2GB.

The overall condition is excellent (not pefect, but excellent). There is minor wear on the LCD cover (no scratches at all) and the bottom label/sticker is scratched. The keyboad is new and the other plastics look excellent, including the touchpad. The 1920 x 1200 WUXGA LCD looks excellent. I carefully examined it and I can not see any stuck or bad pixels, and it has a lot of very small pixels. It looks very good and it is bright (pictures taken at highest setting). It is very nice and the machine is perfect for sending video/images to 1080p TVs.

The Z61p is the same generation as the T60p, with similar specifications including the ATI FireGL V5200 discrete video. Plus, it has an SD memory reader and Firewire, not found on the T60p.

Please see the high resolution pictures --> *Image link removed*

$400 delivered in the U.S. PayPal, USPS money order or cash accepted.

Product: ThinkPad Z61p 9450-3AU
Original description:
Intel Core Duo T2500 (2GHz, 2MB cache) --> now Intel Core Duo T7200 (2GHz, 4MB cache)
1GB RAM --> now 2GB RAM (2 x 1GB PC2-5300 sodimms)
100GB 7200rpm HD
15.4in WUXGA 1920x1200 LCD
Black plastic LCD cover --> upgraded with Titanium metal LCD cover
256MB ATI FireGL V5200
CDRW/DVDRW (burns both CDs and DVDs)
Intel 802.11abg wireless
Bluetooth/Modem
1Gb Ethernet
UltraNav
Secure chip
IEEE 1394 Firewire
4-in-1 digital media flash memory reader
Fingerprint reader
6c Li-Ion battery --> good condition with 276 cycles and 45Wh of original 56Wh capacity
WinXP Pro (COA intact, recovery partition is intact)
90w Lenovo AC adapter
Original warranty has expired

Ah, very cool machine! Too bad I am not interested in this category in general. But I am sure someone will be very happy with it.

The Z61p was a very interesting one. As underclocker mentioned, Firewire and card reader differentiate it from the T60 series in an interesting way. Furthermore, T60p widescreens for whatever reasons were never offered with WUXGA screen, while the Z61p were.

And the battery is in quite a good condition (I can actually see from the screenshot that it is a Panasonic). BTW, this machine will take any T60/R60 battery.

Good luck with the sale!

That a very nice machine! It's out of my budget but I'm thinking that a Z series could be a nice TP for my wife.

Good luck with the sale!

Thanks for the nice comments! I've had at least 10 Z61m's and I'm not giving up on them. I'm keeping another titanium lid Z61m around.

While researching the X100e, I saw it referred to as the first ThinkPad available in a color other than black (apparently red, and maybe blue and white). Wrong!!! The Z6x machines were offered in titanium! The Z6x machine designs were ahead of their time. I still have a Z61t titanium, too.

dr_st wrote:And the battery is in quite a good condition (I can actually see from the screenshot that it is a Panasonic). BTW, this machine will take any T60/R60 battery.

Well, the 9 cells from any T60/R60 or 15.4" T61, R500, T500 or W500 will work, but the 6 cells are rounded in back for the Z61m and notched differently on the side than the T6x 6 cell.. The 6 cells can not be swapped between Z series and the others, or visa versa. Of course, a Dremel could fix that!

underclocker wrote:While researching the X100e, I saw it referred to as the first ThinkPad available in a color other than black (apparently red, and maybe blue and white). Wrong!!! The Z6x machines were offered in titanium!

The i Series 1124 that I recently sold has a silver/gray color. It was made in April 2001, predating the Z6* by half a decade!

I am so totally lusting after this Z61p. Since I bought my WUXGA Latitude D820 just last week, I can't justify buying this. However, if I were still a collector, I would have already sent you the $400 because it's one of the handful of really interesting Thinkpad models that I haven't laid my hands on (another one is the 770Z with 13.9" 1280x1024).

The Z61p was the first Thinkpad to have a resolution of 1920x1200. After experimenting with all sorts of laptop screen sizes and resolutions, I have come to the conclusion that 15.4" 1920x1200 is ideal for resolution addicts. Better than 17.0" 1920x1200 because 15.4" is relatively easy to move around; MUCH better than 15.0" 2048x1536 because the pixel density of that screen is way too high; and better than anything below 1920x1200, for obvious reason.

pianowizard wrote:However, if I were still a collector, I would have already sent you the $400 because it's one of the handful of really interesting Thinkpad models that I haven't laid my hands on

When you get the opportunity, at least pick up a Z61m if you haven't had a Z61m/p/e model. So much thought went into the design, all of the sharp corners have been honed into curves, even the palmrest has strange creases to ensure it blends into the base in a smooth way. While I do like the blocky design of the newer models, this one is much more artistic. Plus the Z61m/p/e models are very easy to work on, top to bottom. Both the t and m/p/e models from the Z61 line are a pleasure to hold.

pianowizard wrote:The Z61p was the first Thinkpad to have a resolution of 1920x1200.

That's some fine trivia. I didn't realize that. Nice!

I remember configuring one of these when they first came out and looking at something close to three grand, fairly loaded, then saying "nah...don't really need it" and shutting down the order page...

By far - in my book - the prettiest widescreen ThinkPad and a well-configured this one is as well...very, very tempting. Must resist...for now...

Good luck with the sale be it to me or someone else...

underclocker wrote:Well, the 9 cells from any T60/R60 or 15.4" T61, R500, T500 or W500 will work, but the 6 cells are rounded in back for the Z61m and notched differently on the side than the T6x 6 cell.. The 6 cells can not be swapped between Z series and the others, or visa versa. Of course, a Dremel could fix that!

Interesting! I actually went and looked at the LTWBOOK and looks like you are right - they have different part numbers for the batteries (40Y6799 which is for T/R, and 40Y6795 which claims to be for Z/R). I wonder if it's a typo or whether the R series really will take both kinds.

Can you post a picture of just the battery which shows the difference?

ajkula66 wrote:By far - in my book - the prettiest widescreen ThinkPad

I agree 100%. I remember that back in around 2006, I saw a Z series for the first time at Staples and thought it looked disgusting. But later, I bought a Z61t and after playing with it for a while, the design grew on me and eventually I found it aesthetically pleasing. So, my initial negative reaction was simply because the design was so different from all the Thinkpads I had seen previously. However, none of the subsequent, non-Z series widescreen Thinkpads looked appealing to me -- I especially HATE their screen bezels. The Z series remains the only widescreen Thinkpads that look nice to my eyes, and it's a shame that Lenovo abandoned that design.

pianowizard wrote:However, none of the subsequent, non-Z series widescreen Thinkpads looked appealing to me -- I especially HATE their screen bezels.

New T400s/T410 design is quite nice. The bezel is not as slim, but it's not ugly at least.

There's a Vista sticker on the palmrest. Is this an XP downgrade that can be upgraded back to Vista?

Also, can you post that desktop image? I love it, and am surprised I haven't seen it before.

dr_st wrote:Can you post a picture of just the battery which shows the difference?

I'll do it.

Radioguy wrote:There's a Vista sticker on the palmrest. Is this an XP downgrade that can be upgraded back to Vista?

The palmrest was probably swapped from another Z61 or the sticker is a mistake, this one came with XP. I ran Win7 on this one without any issues, for me, Vista isn't worth it.

Radioguy wrote:Also, can you post that desktop image? I love it, and am surprised I haven't seen it before.

No problem, I'll copy it, upload it online and post a link to it. I think that background was used on all Z60t/m and Z61t/m/p/e machines.

I spent 45 minutes yesterday, trying to talk a friend into buying this, JUST so that I could play with it. Congrats on your sale...