Thinkpads Forum

I have two 2007-68Us sitting in front of me (specs in sig). I ordered the second laptop because of the pixel issues I'm having with the first.

Anyway, some of the parts are made by different manufacturers, so if you have any questions about the differences between these parts, I can try to answer them for you. I may not have the time or technical expertise to answer all questions, but I'll try.

1st laptop
LCD: Hydis
Keyboard: Alps
DVD: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4083N
Battery: Sony

2nd laptop
LCD: Samsung
Keyboard: Chicony
DVD: Matshita DVD-RAM UJ-842
Battery: Panasonic

There may be other parts differences, but these are the ones I noticed. If there are other relevant parts that might be different, let me know and I'll check.

Thanks for the info. Which keyboard do you prefer?

Serpico,

I'd also like to know which keyboard you prefer.

I am expecting my T60 any day now.

How do I find out what parts are included? Is there
a list included with the laptop?

Serpico,

Please describe the noticeable differences between the displays and keyboards of the two T60's you have.

Thanks

Samsung screen:
When the laptop first boots up, there is a bit of a greenish tint (before the XP splash screen). Also notice this when restarting (just before IBM splash screen). But fortunately, no bad pixels on this screen.

Did not see this tint on the Hydis screen.

Will post more, especially on keyboards after I've had a chance to really try out the Chicony keyboard.

Thanks Serpico!

DVD:
When dvd drive performance is set to "Quiet" in BIOS, does GSA-4083N sound as quiet as UJ-842 when playing DVD?

Thanks.

cj3209 wrote:Thanks for the info. Which keyboard do you prefer?

The Alps seems a little quieter - the Chicony keyboard seems a bit more "clickity". The Alps row of function keys (plus delete, end and pgdn keys) are elevated such that I can see part of the lever mechanism underneath the keys from my normal seated position in front of the laptop. This is also true of the left, down and right arrow keys. The left and right buttons below the trackpad on the Chicony feel more springy than the Alps, which feel just a touch "mushy".

In terms of key travel, they feel about the same. I don't detect any flexing with either keyboard.

So I guess I'd have to say I prefer the Alps, because of the quieter key action and despite the slightly "mushy" left/right trackpad buttons.

But IMHO, the differences between the keyboards in normal use (i.e., when they are not under serious scrutiny) is very minor.

I made very similar observations about the two keyboards here:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=22670

Interesting that you also have the elevated function and arrow keys, where you can see the lever mechanism underneath. That just seems like a weird design, if it's intentional. Maybe it's a bad batch of keyboards?

I definitely found the Chicony trackpoint buttons to be much fimer than the ALPS (as if they switched quality just on that one point).

I do think the better tacticle feel of the ALPS, the smoother travel, is significantly easier for fast touch typing. So for some people I think it could make a big difference.

One other observation - I find the Panasonic battery to be a poorer fit than the Sony. There is just a little bit of wobble with the Panasonic battery. It's not enough that I would worry about it, but it is enough that I'll put some tape on it as others have done.

I guess I should have just kept the Sony battery from my first T60 and sent back the Panasonic, but I didn't want to risk Lenovo socking me with a restocking fee because I switched some parts.

How is the samsung display compared to the hydis u returned?

I returned the 15" and the 14" is going back today for an exchange. That dead pixel just drove me crazy!!

bart wrote:How is the samsung display compared to the hydis u returned?

I returned the 15" and the 14" is going back today for an exchange. That dead pixel just drove me crazy!!

As I mentioned earlier, the Samsung screen has a bit of a greenish tint while booting and shutting down; other than that, it's fine. The Hydis didn't have that. If not for the stuck pixels on the Hydis, I would have marginally preferred that screen, but just happy to have a working screen without any noticeable stuck pixels.

How do you find out what parts are in your laptop?

My new T60 SXGA has a blueish tint to the screen and colors are not as vibrant to the XGA panels in a X20, T23, and T40.

bri wrote:How do you find out what parts are in your laptop?

Item #9 in the FAQ.

astro wrote:

bri wrote:How do you find out what parts are in your laptop?

Item #9 in the FAQ.

How does one tell what type of keyboard one has from that info, though-- Alps, Chicony, whatever? I did go to the page and run the ActiveX control.

jvarszegi wrote:

astro wrote: Item #9 in the FAQ.

How does one tell what type of keyboard one has from that info, though-- Alps, Chicony, whatever? I did go to the page and run the ActiveX control.

Item #1 in the FAQ.
Look up your model and go Parts Information, System Service Parts T60/p.

The link doesn't work. It just times out. I'm on a fast connection, etc.-- it's not me. Does it work for you?

jvarszegi wrote:The link doesn't work. It just times out. I'm on a fast connection, etc.-- it's not me. Does it work for you?

Works fine for me -- though a number of hours have since passed.

Here's the deep link to the T60/p system service parts:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-62741

I prefer not to post these links as people should instead become familiar with the way the Lenovo/IBM site works. There is a lot of excellent information on there. Please try the link again when you get time.

jvarszegi wrote:The link doesn't work. It just times out. I'm on a fast connection, etc.-- it's not me. Does it work for you?

something weird with the FTP setup on a T60. I could hit the link with a T40. Not sure how to diagnose ... would like to sort it out at some point though ...

Through two other links and cross-referencing, I was able to find out I have the Hydis LCD and Chicony keyboard. =]

bri wrote:

jvarszegi wrote:The link doesn't work. It just times out. I'm on a fast connection, etc.-- it's not me. Does it work for you?

something weird with the FTP setup on a T60. I could hit the link with a T40. Not sure how to diagnose ... would like to sort it out at some point though ...

Through two other links and cross-referencing, I was able to find out I have the Hydis LCD and Chicony keyboard. =]

I think I've got it. FTP started working in both IE and Firefox the instant I disabled the Symantec Client Firewall. Real helpful software.

I finally was able to determine that I have an ALPS keyboard and a TMD 14" SXGA+ panel. It doesn't change anything, but I am glad to have satisfied my curiosity. Thanks for the help.