Aging T61p...

[ELCouz]

Hi,

My robust well designed T61p is starting to show it's age, even after many upgrades (SSD,RAM,BIOS patched SATA,CPU,WIFI)...

Now i'm lost in the new era of Lenovo thinkpads. Design has drastically changed. (mainly keyboard)

Can someone recommend me an upgrade of the T61p alike but more recent around 2011-2012?


16:10 screen is a must! (IPS a bonus)
High resolution screen. (1920x1200 or more)

Good construction is also a must.


Thank you very much!

[brchan]

There is no newer thinkpad that meets all your constraints besides the W500, which is only marginally faster than your current system. A T410 with 1440x900 display would probably be your best bet.

[ELCouz]

Forget the 16:10 WUXGA requirement, I can live with a FHD display.

I want the same old keyboard not the new gen one.

What do you recommend (staying in the T series)?

[FryPpy]

16:10 screen is a must! (IPS a bonus)

W701 and X201 are a last 16:10 Thinkpads.
While W701 is a big behemoth it can have a lot of firepower with 1st generation Core i7 quad and 16Gb RAM;)
X201 can have normal 1st generation core i processors and can have IPS (all tablets have and nontablets can be modded)...
After that begins 16:9 era. All T, W and X thinkpads 4x0, 5x0 and 2x0 series have 16:9 screens

If

Forget the 16:10 WUXGA requirement, I can live with a FHD display.

you can choose one from x20 series. X220 is the last classic keyboard ultraportable Thinkpad.
Or W520 for get more firepower.

[ELCouz]

Thanks guys but W series are just too much everything

I think the most recent T model without keyboard change is the T520.

What you think about it?

[brchan]

I think the most recent T model without keyboard change is the T520.

What you think about it?

Same as W520, but with lower specs. It is a great machine if you can get one with a FHD display. Also, I believe it is possible to swap in an IPS Philips display, but I am not certain.

[Qing Dao]

16:10 screen is a must! (IPS a bonus)

W701 and X201 are a last 16:10 Thinkpads.
While W701 is a big behemoth it can have a lot of firepower with 1st generation Core i7 quad and 16Gb RAM;)
X201 can have normal 1st generation core i processors and can have IPS (all tablets have and nontablets can be modded)...
After that begins 16:9 era. All T, W and X thinkpads 4x0, 5x0 and 2x0 series have 16:9 screens

If

Forget the 16:10 WUXGA requirement, I can live with a FHD display.

you can choose one from x20 series. X220 is the last classic keyboard ultraportable Thinkpad.
Or W520 for get more firepower.

Don't forget about the T410! That was also part of the last 16:10 crowd with 1st gen Core i processors. It's screen can be upgraded to MVA. Not quite IPS, but close and definitely better than a regular TN panel.

[Temetka]

The T410 is a great laptop. I have been using one as my daily driver for almost a year now. I have treated her to an SSD and a full 8GB of RAM. She takes excellent care of me, and I her. I got the T410 because I refuse to let go of 16:10. Don't let that 1st gen i-series CPU get in the way. The i5's and i7's of this generation are very powerful. I have never once been using my computer and thinking to myself, man I wish this laptop was faster. Not. Once. Ever.

I gave my old T61 to my co-worker. He's been using it for the last year as his daily driver. Now he's been asking about the T410, how it performs and so on. Looks like I will be picking him up one on here.

Awesome, awesome machines.

[bmwman91]

I think the most recent T model without keyboard change is the T520.

What you think about it?

Same as W520, but with lower specs. It is a great machine if you can get one with a FHD display. Also, I believe it is possible to swap in an IPS Philips display, but I am not certain.

Got any info on the IPS swap? I looked for a while for info to swap an IPS panel into a W520/30 and it sounds like there are no options because it uses a LVDS connector and just about everything else uses eDP. Please prove me wrong!


OP, from what I understand the screens on the T420/30 are awful. Cheap TN panels. I can attest that the TN screen on the W520 is pretty good. Viewing angles are not as good as IPS, but they are above average and brightness and color are very good. It makes my T60p Flexview IPS look dated and flat. I have been in the same boat as you lately and there are precisely ZERO good options for newer machines that also replicate the good parts of the T60/1p. Everything is a trade off between specs, the keyboard, lack of trackpoint and screen quality. The "best" option seems to be the W530. The screen is as good as a TN panel can get (and 95% sRGB coverage), powerful hardware, dedicated trackpoint buttons, and the keyboard is great. Do not be afraid of the island style keys on the -30 series, I actually like them more than the traditional ThinkPad keys! They are fantastic. Maybe you could swap in a better screen into a T420/30 if you want a decent screen in something a little more portable than a W5x0?

I was close to going with a Dell M3800 or M4800, but it sounds like there are serious issues with hardware quality and driver support. Too bad since they have great hardware specs (on paper).

[ajkula66]

Got any info on the IPS swap? I looked for a while for info to swap an IPS panel into a W520/30 and it sounds like there are no options because it uses a LVDS connector and just about everything else uses eDP. Please prove me wrong!

Here you go:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-15-6-FHD-DI ... 5d4a101484

It's already been installed by at least one fellow forum member.

[bmwman91]

Darn, I was hoping that suggestion might work in a W5-0. Here are pictures of the backs of the screens. The IPS panel has the connector in a different position, it seems to have a PCB hanging out the bottom and the bracket is very different. So....probably not impossible to mount, but it would be a bit of work!

http://www.laptopscreen.com/img/screens ... W01_V4.jpg
https://www.laptopscreen.com/img/screen ... 4_SLB1.jpg