Current screen upgrade status on T60/T61

[nachetb]

Hey guys. Ive been looking to get a t60/t61 for a while. Thing is id like it to have a better screen than 90% of thinkpads come with when buying them. As far as I know, only t60/61 that came with official IPS screens was 15 inch t60 right (thus the 60/61 frankenpad)? Are there any worth it ips modifications to any of the t61 models (4:3 or 16:10) higher resolution screens? Do the tft higher resolutions screens look good enough for it to be a worth it upgrade?

I dont know much about this lineup of thinkpads, on the one hand id like to have a really good looking screen for this laptop, but on the other hand i dont wanna spend a fortune on such an old laptop. I was thinking of getting a t61 widescreen 15 inch and getting a 1920x1200 tft screen (if i can find one, which i dont know where to or if they are hard to find), since even if it is a tft pannel it will probably last the 2-3 years ill be able to use this as a daily driver

[atagunov]

I've been thinking the best screens for 15" 4:3 T60/R60/R61 is 1600*1200 HV150UX1-100 (CCFL) and HV150UX2-100 (LED). Either panel seems expensive on their own if purchased separately. There will be a good amount of extra work or good amount of extra expense to fit HV150UX2-100 (LED) into T60/R60/R61 because as-is connection does not work and there is extra work to do to power the backlight. Old 1600*1200 CCFL panels are often extra-dim.

T60 can use up to 3Gb of RAM so is a questionable choice as a daily driver. T61 takes up 8Gb but it's DDR2 which is very rare and expensive these days. So you're right about T60/T61 Frankenpads. People build them since it's basically the only way to get a 15" 4:3 machine with a half-decent CPU and 8Gb of RAM. Well the other way is to get a 4:3 R61. Also worthy of attention for 4:3 lovers is 14" 4:3 T61(p). Beware of nVidia issues on T61..

If you want a cheaper daily driver and you are okay with 16:10 you can look at any of these machines: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/PC3-8500 These are "old" and hence hopefully cheap Thinkpads that take DDR3 (only 2Rx8 not 1Rx8 in case of 4Gb RAM sticks which are the only way to get 8Gb) L.. and SL.. models not advised, not "real" Thinkpads, W.. models way too expensive. They will all only have LVDS connector for screen panels so I'm not sure you will be able to get anything outstandingly good for them.. 16:10 is becoming a bit rare plus more modern models use eDP connector for screen not LVDS.

My choice for daily driver is X230/X230t/T430/T530/W530 with classic keyboard mod or X220/X220t/T420/T520/W520. All these are relatively modern, you can purchase KingSener batteries for them from AliExpress, they take up to 16Gb of DDR3 RAM, I guess any DDR3 ram without limitation at all. The screens are still not that great, and it's still the LVDS connector. My T520 has a 1600*900 screen and it's too dim to work outdoors in summer. Theoretically it can take FHD. There are popular mods used on X220/X230/T420/T430 to fit a higher resolution panel. They involve soldering. Nitrocaster board and similar more modern variants. They steal one of the two DP lanes in docking connector and provide a eDP connector to plug the panel into. There were issues with brightness control at least on some of these boards. At least for some users the only way to cycle through brightness levels are short presses on power button.

As far as I know the famous T440p does have a eDP connector and they say it's very easy to swap panels on this model. This should allow you to fit most modern panels. You should still check the number of lanes in that eDP and what maximum resolution it will support. They say T450 and upwards can be had with rather nice screen from get-go without any fuss.

[RealBlackStuff]

You have to be more specific when you talk about T60/T61/R60/R61.
Those were available in different sizes and with different screen-options [non-standard]:
- 14.1" 4:3 non-widescreen, XGA, SXGA+, [UXGA]
- 14.1" 16:10 widescreen, WXGA, WXGA+
- 15.0" 4:3 non-widescreen, XGA, SXGA+, UXGA, [UXGA-LED, QXGA]
- 15.4" 16:10 widescreen, WXGA, WSXGA+, WUXGA

[nachetb]

I've been thinking the best screens for 15" 4:3 T60/R60/R61 is 1600*1200 HV150UX1-100 (CCFL) and HV150UX2-100 (LED). Either panel seems expensive on their own if purchased separately. There will be a good amount of extra work or good amount of extra expense to fit HV150UX2-100 (LED) into T60/R60/R61 because as-is connection does not work and there is extra work to do to power the backlight. Old 1600*1200 CCFL panels are often extra-dim.

T60 can use up to 3Gb of RAM so is a questionable choice as a daily driver. T61 takes up 8Gb but it's DDR2 which is very rare and expensive these days. So you're right about T60/T61 Frankenpads. People build them since it's basically the only way to get a 15" 4:3 machine with a half-decent CPU and 8Gb of RAM. Well the other way is to get a 4:3 R61. Also worthy of attention for 4:3 lovers is 14" 4:3 T61(p). Beware of nVidia issues on T61..

If you want a cheaper daily driver and you are okay with 16:10 you can look at any of these machines: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/PC3-8500 These are "old" and hence hopefully cheap Thinkpads that take DDR3 (only 2Rx8 not 1Rx8 in case of 4Gb RAM sticks which are the only way to get 8Gb) L.. and SL.. models not advised, not "real" Thinkpads, W.. models way too expensive. They will all only have LVDS connector for screen panels so I'm not sure you will be able to get anything outstandingly good for them.. 16:10 is becoming a bit rare plus more modern models use eDP connector for screen not LVDS.

My choice for daily driver is X230/X230t/T430/T530/W530 with classic keyboard mod or X220/X220t/T420/T520/W520. All these are relatively modern, you can purchase KingSener batteries for them from AliExpress, they take up to 16Gb of DDR3 RAM, I guess any DDR3 ram without limitation at all. The screens are still not that great, and it's still the LVDS connector. My T520 has a 1600*900 screen and it's too dim to work outdoors in summer. Theoretically it can take FHD. There are popular mods used on X220/X230/T420/T430 to fit a higher resolution panel. They involve soldering. Nitrocaster board and similar more modern variants. They steal one of the two DP lanes in docking connector and provide a eDP connector to plug the panel into. There were issues with brightness control at least on some of these boards. At least for some users the only way to cycle through brightness levels are short presses on power button.

As far as I know the famous T440p does have a eDP connector and they say it's very easy to swap panels on this model. This should allow you to fit most modern panels. You should still check the number of lanes in that eDP and what maximum resolution it will support. They say T450 and upwards can be had with rather nice screen from get-go without any fuss.

I shold clarify what I said. I mean that I want to have a good screen on a T60/61 without spending too much but within the realms of moderate expense, I love thinkpads and I got very clear that T60/61 arent really worth upgrading for the money, I just want to have one of these models, already got some of the others you mention.

[atagunov]

I shold clarify what I said. I mean that I want to have a good screen on a T60/61 without spending too much but within the realms of moderate expense, I love thinkpads and I got very clear that T60/61 arent really worth upgrading for the money, I just want to have one of these models, already got some of the others you mention.

Hi, sure, two points..

[1] your post got me under impression that you

- don't have a machine yet, e.g. that you'd like to purchase both machine and a new screen for it
- that you don't want to spend too much money overall
- you're potentially okay with the machine having 16:10 screen ratio
- you'd like to use the machine as a daily driver

Looking at these requirements taken together I see that

- they don't point towards purchasing a vanilla T60 because 3Gb RAM is way too limiting for a daily driver
- they don't point towards purchasing any machine with T61/T61p/R61 motherboard either, because though you can fit 8Gb DDR2 RAM this will be extra-rare and extra-expensive in year 2020; e.g. either the requirement not to spend too much money will be violated - if you do purchase 8Gb DDR2 or the requirement to purchase a decent daily driver will be violated - if you stay on 4Gb

Therefore I suggested a solution that in my view satisfy all your requirements above: purchase a Thinkpad that is older than T420 but still new enough to take DDR3. There's a full list of such machines here: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/PC3-8500

However my view even http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/PC3-8500 are somewhat of a compromise for a daily driver. So instead I would advise that you asses the possibilities of purchasing something in the following list (all 16:9): X230/X230t/T430/T530/W530 with classic keyboard mod or X220/X220t/T420/T520/W520

Also I'm not a huge expert in which screens are available for any of these (T60/T61, http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/PC3-8500, X230/X230t/T430/T530/W530/X220/X220t/T420/T520/W520) but I know that all of them use LVDS connection and modern panels use eDP. Also only *30 and *20 are 16:9 all others are 3:4 or 16:10. This also means your choice of screens may be limited. Therefore I fear that you may be unable to find outstandingly good screen for any of them especially in extra-high resolution.

Okay you may find some good screens but I fear they will be expensive. So much expensive that you may as well consider T440p or T450 and above. HV150UX2-100 for example is outstandingly good (1600*1200) screen for 15" 4:3 T60/R60/R61 but it costs upwards $100, you need to find one (from Asia?), they've been used in Boeing navigation system so you may somehow get a used one from Asia and fitting it into a machine is either considerable amount of work or this - please scroll all the way down for prices.

[2] if you'd like to know particularly about T60/T61 screen options please pay close attention to RealBlackStuff's post. He is your man. He is the expert. But you need to tell him which screen size you're interested in.

[kfzhu1229]

Okay you may find some good screens but I fear they will be expensive. So much expensive that you may as well consider T440p or T450 and above. HV150UX2-100 for example is outstandingly good (1600*1200) screen for 15" 4:3 T60/R60/R61 but it costs upwards $100, you need to find one (from Asia?), they've been used in Boeing navigation system so you may somehow get a used one from Asia and fitting it into a machine is either considerable amount of work or this - please scroll all the way down for prices.

US$100? That's just outright insane! I saw QXGA screens on Taobao selling for less than that! I was about to buy one to mod and fit in a T43p but my T43p died right before I was able to buy one. Though I got its mobo replaced I decided to quit it as a daily driver so I never got to buy it.
See this if you wanna know what I am talking about:
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1 ... dmg8j26111

[atagunov]

I saw QXGA screens on Taobao selling for less .. https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1 ... dmg8j26111

Interesting! Do you think this would fit 15" 4:3 T60/R60? It's a CCFL isn't it? How bright would you expect it to be? Of course for me TaoBao is +15% loss on currency conversions, and also you need to get the screen shipped out of the country.. Which is another £15 at least.. But it's still interesting

[kfzhu1229]

Interesting! Do you think this would fit 15" 4:3 T60/R60? It's a CCFL isn't it? How bright would you expect it to be? Of course for me TaoBao is +15% loss on currency conversions, and also you need to get the screen shipped out of the country.. Which is another £15 at least.. But it's still interesting

Yes I believe this IS a screen that came out of a T60p and is thinner than the QXGA screens from R50p which will only fit R5x and R6x (you need to trim the bezels on T4x).
That title of the listing says live stock IAQX10N QXGA screen, for upgrading IBM T60p, R60i, R60e notebooks 2048X1536, so that guarantees compatibility like you've said.
I was so close to buying one, until my T43p mobo fried a month before I went back to China, and then I've decided to retire it for it no longer being structurally strong enough for daily driver so I never bothered upgrading from UXGA to QXGA.
There should probably be a few groups on wechat in the UK that handles Taobao shipments.
And then there's the question mark of whether this thing is real. If it is not you lose the postage for coming to the UK. But hey if they turned out to be real, you've gotten yourself a big bargain!
The problem is that this seller isn't a big seller and hasn't have a lot of feedbacks so his reputations are a bit unknown.
But this is the only result for the QXGA screen on Taobao. For UXGA screens I find them on the 2nd hand market called Xianyu, and they come with a bit of imperfection here and there as you might expect but since I bought one T6x UXGA screen with a bright spot on the bottom left corner for C$25, it's great value still! I've included this in a kit to a fellow Canadian on this forum as a T43 to T43p upgrade kit and it's got good use!

[atagunov]

IAQX10N QXGA screen

Thanks a bunch for all the info. 2048X1536 is interesting, what I have a little doubt about is brightness..
Apparently HV150UX1-100 is rated at 200cd/m2 while IAQX10N stands at only 150cd/m2?

...for comparison my rather aged X220 TN panel should have been 200cd/m2 from birth as well and it's not
that bright now; okay for home use but that's about it

So it seems we have a real choice between brightness (HV150UX1-100 or more adventurously HV150UX2-100) and resolution IAQX10N
I guess this also partially answers OP's original question by naming the 3 best panels which fit a 15" 4:3 T60/R60/R61

[Droider]

Well, idk what you guys choose to spend on an ancient machine but i upgraded my T60 15.4 ws variant with LG philips lp154wx4-tlf1 for nickels and it is just dope. You just need to adjust the hinge to get the perfect viewing angle. The panel has 300nits brightness and 600:1 contrast ratio. Super cheap and glossy. 1280x800 resolution. It looks better to my eyes than the elitebook 2760p ips panel which is higly regarded as good. It really made my X1400 T60 worthy of using as a multimedia device to watch movies, tv shows online.

[kfzhu1229]

The panel has 300nits brightness and 600:1 contrast ratio. Super cheap and glossy. 1280x800 resolution. It looks better to my eyes than the elitebook 2760p ips panel which is higly regarded as good.

If you want a cheap panel that looks like a premium panel and don't mind widescreen, there are the earliest 16:10 panels to choose from. The panels from the likes of a Latitude D800 or Inspiron 8500/8600 are also of the WXGA resolution but has the same kind of constrast, viewing angles and colour as the more premium panels (because those WXGA widescreen panels were considered as premium).

[ajkula66]

Yes I believe this IS a screen that came out of a T60p and is thinner than the QXGA screens from R50p which will only fit R5x and R6x (you need to trim the bezels on T4x).

The only QXGA screens ever seen in ThinkPads were shipped in R50p. Therefore, I fail to understand your "came out of T60p" comment.

They do fit a T60/p - been there and done that - but I found the brightness to be insufficient. Impressive panel if one has good eyesight otherwise.

[atagunov]

They do fit a T60/p - been there and done that - but I found the brightness to be insufficient. Impressive panel if one has good eyesight otherwise.

Had they been cheaper would have made excellent LED mod material

if one has good eyesight

Oh-oh..

[Droider]

The panel has 300nits brightness and 600:1 contrast ratio. Super cheap and glossy. 1280x800 resolution. It looks better to my eyes than the elitebook 2760p ips panel which is higly regarded as good.

If you want a cheap panel that looks like a premium panel and don't mind widescreen, there are the earliest 16:10 panels to choose from. The panels from the likes of a Latitude D800 or Inspiron 8500/8600 are also of the WXGA resolution but has the same kind of constrast, viewing angles and colour as the more premium panels (because those WXGA widescreen panels were considered as premium).

Those panels from D800 or inspiron 8500 dont shine like this. The left one is a regular thinkpad t60/1 1400x1050 panel, the right one is lg philips one that i mentioned.

[atagunov]

The left one is a regular thinkpad t60/1 1400x1050 panel

Seems like some sort of 16:10 to me, not 1400x1050
Is that that mysterious 600nit LED backlit screen on a T400?

Incidentally my 1400x1050 is horribly dim - but it's aged

[TPFanatic]

I agree the 15.4" panels are much nicer than the 14.1" standard screens.

[Droider]

The left one is a regular thinkpad t60/1 1400x1050 panel

Seems like some sort of 16:10 to me, not 1400x1050
Is that that mysterious 600nit LED backlit screen on a T400?

Incidentally my 1400x1050 is horribly dim - but it's aged

I mistyped the left and the right one.

Left one is 15.4 1280x800 lg philips cheapo panel with 300nits, 600:1 contrast ratio. Looks and feels like a natural LED panel for real. LP154WX4 TL-F1 which is % 100 compatible.

Right one is 14.1 1400x1050 samsung panel found in T60 and T61. This panel is simply an eyetorture even in brand new condition.

I sold all of my T60 14.1 4:3 machines and settled with the 15.4 t60 with x1400, runs way cooler than any 4:3 t60 systems and provide a much better and cheaper range of panel options.

[kfzhu1229]

Those panels from D800 or inspiron 8500 dont shine like this. The left one is a regular thinkpad t60/1 1400x1050 panel, the right one is lg philips one that i mentioned.

Ah I see it's a 300 nit one. Well if you mean literally then no those things aren't as bright.
But they do stack up against the legendary IAUX14S panel from the A3xp series as you can see here (albeit an aged one). Can't compare brightness though because the CCFL tube has been replaced on that A30p (as typically the case with these things). The IAUX14S when new is slightly better in colours and better in viewing angles, but not when that thing ages horribly. Plus I got it for cheaper than you did - free. Latitude D800 were more of a first generation product (but has no sentimental value) and wasn't nearly as good as its predecessor so those can be found for nothing. It is a question though whether the core 2 era machines supports such old panels for the EDID part of things.
BTW your LP154WX4 TL-F1 only has 45 degrees of horizontal viewing angle and 15-35 degrees of vertical viewing angle though. That's noticibly worse than the premium TN panels offered by T6x 15.4" widescreen and a LOT worse than the 85 degree all around viewing angle of the IAUX14S. A 45 degree viewing angle basically means your effective contrast ratio is about 2/3 as much because you are never gonna see the screen at exactly 6 o'clock angle. I know because I have two Samsung panels of the exact same contrast ratio, one with 65 degree viewing angle and one with 45.
Still though having 600:1 on a WXGA screen is not common at all and it's still worth that money nontheless
https://1drv.ms/u/s!At7-rt1KJ7WviPwNtqp ... g?e=0L5lu4

[nachetb]

I shold clarify what I said. I mean that I want to have a good screen on a T60/61 without spending too much but within the realms of moderate expense, I love thinkpads and I got very clear that T60/61 arent really worth upgrading for the money, I just want to have one of these models, already got some of the others you mention.

Hi, sure, two points..

[1] your post got me under impression that you

- don't have a machine yet, e.g. that you'd like to purchase both machine and a new screen for it
- that you don't want to spend too much money overall
- you're potentially okay with the machine having 16:10 screen ratio
- you'd like to use the machine as a daily driver

Looking at these requirements taken together I see that

- they don't point towards purchasing a vanilla T60 because 3Gb RAM is way too limiting for a daily driver
- they don't point towards purchasing any machine with T61/T61p/R61 motherboard either, because though you can fit 8Gb DDR2 RAM this will be extra-rare and extra-expensive in year 2020; e.g. either the requirement not to spend too much money will be violated - if you do purchase 8Gb DDR2 or the requirement to purchase a decent daily driver will be violated - if you stay on 4Gb

Therefore I suggested a solution that in my view satisfy all your requirements above: purchase a Thinkpad that is older than T420 but still new enough to take DDR3. There's a full list of such machines here: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/PC3-8500

However my view even http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/PC3-8500 are somewhat of a compromise for a daily driver. So instead I would advise that you asses the possibilities of purchasing something in the following list (all 16:9): X230/X230t/T430/T530/W530 with classic keyboard mod or X220/X220t/T420/T520/W520

Also I'm not a huge expert in which screens are available for any of these (T60/T61, http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/PC3-8500, X230/X230t/T430/T530/W530/X220/X220t/T420/T520/W520) but I know that all of them use LVDS connection and modern panels use eDP. Also only *30 and *20 are 16:9 all others are 3:4 or 16:10. This also means your choice of screens may be limited. Therefore I fear that you may be unable to find outstandingly good screen for any of them especially in extra-high resolution.

Okay you may find some good screens but I fear they will be expensive. So much expensive that you may as well consider T440p or T450 and above. HV150UX2-100 for example is outstandingly good (1600*1200) screen for 15" 4:3 T60/R60/R61 but it costs upwards $100, you need to find one (from Asia?), they've been used in Boeing navigation system so you may somehow get a used one from Asia and fitting it into a machine is either considerable amount of work or this - please scroll all the way down for prices.

[2] if you'd like to know particularly about T60/T61 screen options please pay close attention to RealBlackStuff's post. He is your man. He is the expert. But you need to tell him which screen size you're interested in.

What I meant before is that the points you assume werent well enough explained.

- I own an x61 as my daily driver, and I love it, only thing id wish it had would be a brighter, bigger and overall better screen, which made me think instantly of the t series 60 and 61.
- I dont want to spend tons of money but that doesnt mean im not willing to pay a reasonable price, maybe this was the conflicting and missunderstood part, but as I said im well aware these old laptops arent worth the money, and again, a dude that uses an x61 daily and has spent around 300€ in upgrades knows it.
- im okay with any aspect ratio
- i do wanna use the machine as a daily driver, but consider that my x61 (with 8gb of ram, which costed me 70€ and i know its expensive, but it could be worse) does great for me, so im not a person that needs an extremely powerful machine

So yeah, sorry if i explained myself wrong in the original post, I just want a t60 or t61 as a collector you may say or just cause i like that model, and I dont mind spending some cash but I do wanna know what the choicess are

[atagunov]

Okay, no problem. What I write about T61 applies to T61p as well.

T61/T61 mobos - only Intel graphics advised. nVidia chips fail unless the machine is 08/08 or 08/09 - very rare. Note this option - not sure if entirely sold out by now. These boards fit T60 and T61 bodies of the following sizes: 14" 4:3, 15" 4:3 (with an addition of T60 "interposter" board) and possibly 15" 16:10 - with more work, but certainly not 14" 16:10.

15" 4:3 - the question has been answered, 3 best panels named; 15" 4:3 with 8Gb RAM are R61 or T60/T61 Frankenpad. R61 is Intel graphics only

14" 4:3 - sorry, no clue about the best screens; T61 of this size is unmatched, it's worth having

15" 16:10 - T500 is better than T61 of this size in every possible way and probably takes exactly the same range of screens

14" 16:10 - T400 and T410 are better than T61 of this size in every possible way and probably take exactly the same range of screens
I'm intrigued by the mention of a 600nit LED backlit screen; I'd check that out - it must be pretty good

P.S. in the last two cases I just fail to see the advantage of having T61 over the latter models. They look and feel the same but are better and probably easier to get batteries for.

[kfzhu1229]

- I own an x61 as my daily driver, and I love it, only thing id wish it had would be a brighter, bigger and overall better screen, which made me think instantly of the t series 60 and 61.
- I dont want to spend tons of money but that doesnt mean im not willing to pay a reasonable price, maybe this was the conflicting and missunderstood part, but as I said im well aware these old laptops arent worth the money, and again, a dude that uses an x61 daily and has spent around 300€ in upgrades knows it.
- im okay with any aspect ratio
- i do wanna use the machine as a daily driver, but consider that my x61 (with 8gb of ram, which costed me 70€ and i know its expensive, but it could be worse) does great for me, so im not a person that needs an extremely powerful machine

So yeah, sorry if i explained myself wrong in the original post, I just want a t60 or t61 as a collector you may say or just cause i like that model, and I dont mind spending some cash but I do wanna know what the choicess are

Well I see that you value portability quite a bit. In that case unfortunately you just have to live with inferior screen options. The big and nice looking displays are only available on 15/15.4/15.6 options without you spending quite some time modding a newer panel to fit.
And well in my frank opinion, if 4:3 screen doesn't give you any extra pleasure, none of the T6x series are of any good price at all compared to the HP and Dell options from this same era.
If a museum piece is what you want, then perhaps the 15" T42/T43/p units are just better machines if performance is not considered.
I know these 4GB DDR2 stick prices are completely off the roof in this Coronavirus pandemic, right now you are lucky if you pay US$50 per stick for a branded one!

15" 4:3 - the question has been answered, 3 best panels named; 15" 4:3 with 8Gb RAM are R61 or T60/T61 Frankenpad. R61 is Intel graphics only

14" 4:3 - sorry, no clue about the best screens; T61 of this size is unmatched, it's worth having

15" 16:10 - T500 is better than T61 of this size in every possible way and probably takes exactly the same range of screens

14" 16:10 - T400 and T410 are better than T61 of this size in every possible way and probably take exactly the same range of screens
I'm intrigued by the mention of a 600nit LED backlit screen; I'd check that out - it must be pretty good

P.S. in the last two cases I just fail to see the advantage of having T61 over the latter models. They look and feel the same but are better and probably easier to get batteries for.

Well you just proved my point. Though I thought the 14.1" 4:3 screens are of the exact same kind of mediocre screens like from 14.1" T4x units? These units might be a good amount lighter and more portable but the screens are barely any better than X61 screens. You get much better CPU options though.

[unixed]

Firstly there are XGA and SXGA+ IPS screen options for the X61 (which also can have T9300 CPUs) but the pinout is different -- search the appropriate subforum for information on how to deal with this and for all subsequent references.

The 14.1 4:3 T61 does have a couple of good TN screen options, an SXGA+, a QUANTA, with good specs except for poor viewing angles and an XGA, a CMO, with good specs. The latter needs a minor cable mod.

The 15.0" T60 with a T61 planar (dubbed a T601 frankenpad) is popular for good reason, it has the best screens (IPS flexviews which are unavailable for all the other *61 form factors and the *500 series). If an X61 satisfies your requirements, you will be satisfied with the integrated GPU T61 planar or even easier, the 15.0" R61.

The 15.4" T61 basically has the same screen height as a 14.1" T61 (again the same Intel iGPU as your X61 so should suffice) but has a better choice of screens available. Noteworthy are WUXGA and WSXGA+ LG Philips, Sharp and CMO screens. Using a WUXGA is akin to using a high quality UXGA in a 14.1" T61, at the cost of a larger footprint.

One can pick and choose between the *500 and the 15.4" *61 series, they have their pros and cons and the choice should come down to what use you put them to or your predilection. You've stated your preference for the *61 series but to balance what has been posted the *500 series have brittle USB ports, a LHS hinge so tight (T/W) it can destroy the structure frame and the German forum regards the discrete GPUs (T/W) as failure prone. A big pro is the true SATA ultrabay if you know how to exploit that and a better choice of CPUs by default.