Thinkpads Forum

Had a T43 before (2668 76U) and now I got the 2007 49U. All comparisons are with the T43.


1. Build quality/Aesthetics/Design

A lot of rough edges, didnt expect those. Black Ultra nav buttons are fine. The round volume buttons are hideous. Excellent hinges. Thin plastic near the pcmcia slot. Cheap gray cover for power connector. Lenovo badge on charger looks out of place. Feels very very solid even when compared to the T43. If u havent had a thinkpad before you have no clue what I am talking about. RAM slot placement stupid. No s-video! Speaker placement stupid. SATA compatibility mode brilliant!

2. Screen
Marginally better than the T43. Both were 14.1 SXGA+. As non-glossy screens go it is all right

3. Heat/Noise
Much much lower heat compared to my T43. Runs nice and cool after a couple of days use. I dont know why but it seems that the machine has settled down or I am used to it. But definitely cooler than the T43. Noise was a slight issue for me with the T43. The T60 on the other hand is quieter. Library and in bed usage are not an issue

4. Speed
I hoped to be blown away by the speed. Not so much. Doesnt exactly feel like twice the fire power under the hood. ( i am jaded by a lot of firepower i have available in school. Very very quick though.) Matlab flies on it and so does Solitaire.

5. Wireless
I had the Atheros card in the t43 and so was anxious to see how the 3495 performs. It does well. nothing noticable. Just as fast and just as stable. Had a lot of issues with Access Connections initally. (.NET issues!) But the card wasnt to blame.

6. OPtical drive
when running on lap the optical drive can shake the whole laptop quite easily. very very powerful vibrations. speed seems fine though.

7. Keyboard & Trackpoint
great!

8. battery life
around 4 hours when i am roaming around. i.e no games, max battery life scheme, wierless on all the time, no optical media. Used to barely get 3 on the T43. So I am more than pleased!

Thanks for the quick review! I have some questions:

The round volume buttons - how do they feel when pressed? I agree they look terrible but if they work well I won't mind so much.

Where is the Lenovo logo on the charger? I saw that the Z60 chargers just say ThinkPad on them, with no mention of Lenovo except on the sticker on the back. Did Lenovo change this?

a_d_y_a wrote:Had a T43 before (2668 76U) and now I got the 2007 49U. All comparisons are with the T43.


1. Build quality/Aesthetics/Design

A lot of rough edges, didnt expect those. Black Ultra nav buttons are fine. The round volume buttons are hideous. Excellent hinges. Thin plastic near the pcmcia slot. Cheap gray cover for power connector. Lenovo badge on charger looks out of place. Feels very very solid even when compared to the T43. If u havent had a thinkpad before you have no clue what I am talking about. RAM slot placement stupid. No s-video! Speaker placement stupid. SATA compatibility mode brilliant!

I dont like the buttons at all, but I have learnt to ignore them. I will try and post a picture of the charger.

I'm trying to decide between a new T43P and a 2007-72U T60. The heat and noise issues with the T43 concerns me. I guess I should go with the T60 although it will probably cost me several hundred more.

Bud

K. Eng wrote:The round volume buttons - how do they feel when pressed? I agree they look terrible but if they work well I won't mind so much.

The buttons feel fine when pressed. I too was worried, seeing the images posted before the T60 was shipping, that they looked cheap. But in person, to me, they're good enough. Frankly I felt like the little black buttons on the T4x looked kind of cheap too. Though the black color made them more non-descript and so I noticed the cheap look less there.

The new silver buttons do feel different on the Chicony vs. ALPS keyboard (I haven't tried a NMB). They are much mushier on the Chicony, which certainly adds to the sense of cheapness. On the ALPS keyboard they feel more solid. And, on the ALPS, the power button is extremely firm. I almost thought it was stuck the first time I pressed it. Though it's trivial, there is something extremely satisfying to me about the firm touch on the ALPS power button, which counteracts largely the sense of cheapness from the silver color.

It just occured to me that if Lenovo wanted to add a silver color to put their mark on the ThinkPads, what they should have done is made these buttons out of aluminum or some brushed metal. Perhaps the same metal the hinges for the LCD are made out of (to reflect them). That would have added the touch of color Lenovo seems to have been looking for and been stylish and solid seeming, rather than cheap.

K.Eng wrote:Where is the Lenovo logo on the charger? I saw that the Z60 chargers just say ThinkPad on them, with no mention of Lenovo except on the sticker on the back. Did Lenovo change this?

The Lenovo label is fairly discreet. It's near where the cable connects that goes to the wall. I agree that it doesn't really fit. It's confusing to brand the computers at once IBM and Lenovo. They should leave the Lenovo name off I think.

Just my two cents as I'm looking at a T43p and T60 side by side.

I prefer the old-style volume/mute/Access IBM (now called ThnkVantage) as the new buttons look and feel cheap.

I still prefer the look of the red and purple trackpoint colors and the rounded track pad buttons.

The LCD hinges on the T60 are very stiff and feel stronger than the T43p. Kudos to Lenovo for this improvement.

The T60 overall feels more solid than the T43p. I'm not sure if the roll cage has anything to do with it.

I like the T60 but there is no need to upgrade if you already use a T43, IMHO. And, btw, I don't notice the T60 being that much faster than the T43p, although the T43p has a faster HD and more RAM so my tests are biased.