Thinkpads Forum

Been using an r52 for a year and am delighted with it. Getting ready to buy either an r60 or t60. Have questions - does r60 run cooler than t60?, also is it true that r60 has slightly better wifi performance because of plastic lid? I don't take laptop out of house so is there any significant advantage to t60 over r60? Thanks.

retired wrote: also is it true that r60 has slightly better wifi performance because of plastic lid?

I have most definitely noticed better wireless speed and range from my R51 (with Intel 2200) than from my now-sold T60 (with Intel 3945).

In general, T6x or R6x machines with lower resolution, lower performance GPU chipsets and slower processors will run the coolest. It also stands to reason that 15" units run cooler than 14" units and R6x units run cooler than T6x units, all things being equal, since there is more room for airflow.

I wouldn't worry about a wifi performance difference between series, since the T6x antenna ends are mounted against a plastic housing that is notched into the metal lid. (I have personnally found the wifi peformance of both R6x and T6x machines to be equivalent to older R5x or T4x machines. However, I noticed that the power savings can be more agressive on the newer machines, but this can be manually adjusted under the driver settings tab.)

All that being said, any 14" or 15" R6x or T6x machine with either an Intel GPU or ATI 1300 GPU, an XGA display and a processor under 2.0 GHz will be cool. The higher end GPUs and CPUs run warm to hot, depending upon what you are doing. The GPUs run hotter than the CPUs.

I suppose if you were looking for the coolest running mahcine of this class, a 15" XGA R60 with Intel video, a 1.66GHz Core 2 Duo CPU and a 5400 rpm drive would be pretty cool. There were Core Solo machines, but I believe Core 2 Duos run cooler.

As for noticing a difference, with similarly spec'd machines, the R class is about 1/2 to 3/4 lb. heavier, about 1/2" thicker and the cover has a plastic finish versus a rubberized paint. For about the same price, a T series is worth it. If you find dramtic savings with an R series, the R will be fine. (FYI, you can use your R52 optical drive with the R60 but not with a T60.)

A few notes. With the T series, a 15.4" widescreen was offered. Also, 15" T series machines with SXGA+ or UXGA LCDs were high quality FlexView models. And, if you need performance, T60p's had high performance GPUs not offered in the R series.

good info - thanks.

I've had a 14" and a 15" R60s. Both have been excellent, but I'd agree the flexview screens on the T60s are much higher quality, better than anything you'll see a on a new notebook today outside of the tablets.