t60p wide poor build quality?

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Raptor47 · #1 Post by **Raptor47** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 6:34 pm

I got my first thinkpad, a t60p widescreen (8741c2u) about a month aog. After all of the ranting and raving about build quality and durability of the laptop, I thought for sure it would be better than this. For pete's sake, my Dell D620 doesn't creak when I'm typing and feels more solid than this. I think that when lenovo expanded to the widescreen they just left open spaces in the casing, at least that's what it feels like. Some of the serious trouble spots:

The palm rests, especially the right, creak when any pressure is applied
The ultrabay DVD drive has millimeters of clearance and shakes, as though it should fall out any moment
The plastic casing along the sides, especially near the PCMCIA slots, flexes a lot when pressure is applied
Portions of the keyboard, when pressed, indent several inches around them by quite a few millimeters

I've used other thinkpads, namely a T43, X60, and X30. They all seemed to be made of a single piece of metal, and didn't seem nearly as "plasticky" or flimsy as this. Is this just mine or is this a common problem? The laptop is great performance-wise, but I worry when I carry it around and can hear it creaking as I move. Also, is there a way to fix the keyboard creak? It's annoying typing in a quiet room.

Thanks.

jeffm · #2 Post by **jeffm** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:41 pm

Good grief. If I keep hearing stuff like this I'm never going to buy a new ThinkPad. Let's see, if I order that T60 widescreen today...

I have a 50/50 chance of getting an acceptable screen (not a good screen - just acceptable).

I have a 1 in 3 chance of getting a "good" keyboard.

The build quality is going to suck.

The fingerprint reader won't really work.

#3 Post by **jdhurst** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:18 pm

jeffm wrote:Good grief. If I keep hearing stuff like this I'm never going to buy a new ThinkPad.<snip>

Each person should do as they wish, of course, but having own more ThinkPads than I can count any more (short memory), I tend to disbelieve the majority of "the sky is falling" stories and just happily use my ThinkPad(s). ... JD Hurst

GXCross · #4 Post by **GXCross** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:50 pm

Weird, I'm really happy with the build quality of my T60 Widescreen. It is much better than my previous T60p, and better than my previous T42. I'd say it's still not as good as the old days - 600/570/etc.. but it was certainly a pleasant surprise nonetheless! Sorry to hear that yours seems to have issues.

#5 Post by **JaneL** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:33 pm

jeffm wrote:Good grief. If I keep hearing stuff like this I'm never going to buy a new ThinkPad.

Are you taking into account that very few people will seek out a forum to say "My xxxxxxxxxxxx is working great"?

creed_mty · #6 Post by **creed_mty** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:40 pm

I'm extremely happy with my laptop especially in the event when i almost lost my personal data. so, the think vanage help me recover all my files even when i never made a backup i rescued the files through the think vanage in bios mode before that i forced to make a factory restore because not saved any restore point.

#7 Post by **gator** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:41 pm

Check if all the screws in the bottom are tightened properly. I suggest unscrewing them a bit and tightening - esp the ones for the palmrest. I had similar "flexing" (in quotes because it is not really flex as you see in some cheap laptops) but once I tightened my screws a bit, it went away. But take care not to tighten them too much. Let us know if this works.

If just tightening doesn't work, simply remove your palmrest and put it back yourself . Maybe it is not properly seated. If nothing works, ask Lenovo to send a technician with a different palmrest and check that. Simply blaming Lenovo is not going to solve your problems

jeffm · #8 Post by **jeffm** » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:59 pm

Are you taking into account that very few people will seek out a forum to say "My xxxxxxxxxxxx is working great"?

Very good point.

Raptor47 · #9 Post by **Raptor47** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 12:23 am

@jeffm:

Besides the aforementioned flimsiness, I have absolutely no complaints about the laptop. The screen I admit I have heard quite a few people complain about, but I have the LG panel and it's the best laptop screen I've ever had (not hard to say coming from Dells). Also, the fingerprint reader has been great from the start, and is easy to configure to your own security preferences. The fact that this laptop's performance beats the living daylights off of even my desktop computer doesn't hurt.

If you're considering not buying a ThinkPad because of what you're reading on forums, keep in mind what JDHurst said about most people coming on to complain (like me). From what I can tell, ThinkPad problems are a lot less common than those from other manufacturers. Even with the flimsiness problem, my Lenovo experience so far has been much better than that with any of my previous laptops.

jeffm · #10 Post by **jeffm** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:35 am

Thanks for the perspective Raptor47. I'm definitely going to take the plunge soon - I'm just waiting for the right deal.

nxman · #11 Post by **nxman** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:11 am

Always go for the 14 inch its rock solid my 15 inch T60 has the same problems except the drive being loose.

scoot1212 · #12 Post by **scoot1212** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:04 pm

I have a T60 WS 8741-49U and I couldn't be happier with it. The screen is great. The keyboard is great. It's very cool to the touch. The fan really doesn't kick in all that often. I have absolutely zero problems running XP or Ubuntu 6.10. I have had T41's and a few 600X's and I have to say that my T60 is the best Thinkpad I have used. Granted the LCD is a crap shoot for now but overall it's a great laptop.
Scott

t60p wide poor build quality?

t60p wide poor build quality?

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