Thinkpads Forum

Hello!
I did a search and was unable to find pictures of the different keyboards for the T60/T60Ps.
I read many threads about which keyboard is better.
I have

39T7118 KEYBOARD FRU

absolutely love it and don't see anything wrong with it.

Anyone have detail pics and/or reviews of the different keyboards availlable?
Pictures would be best.
Thanks!

The keyboard you have is the ALPS keyboard. The other keyboards that are available are NMB (39T0958) and Chicony (39T7178).

There isn't really a visual difference between the keyboards, rather it is the feel that is different. You can use the search function to look for reviews that have been posted on this forum about these different keyboards.

Great new keyboard thread!!

Has anyone gotten a NMB (39T0958) Keyboard on a recently purchased T60?

I just received my new T60 about a month ago (3/18/07), and it has a ALPS keyboard also.

Michael

Hanson wrote:The keyboard you have is the ALPS keyboard. The other keyboards that are available are NMB (39T0958) and Chicony (39T7178).

There isn't really a visual difference between the keyboards, rather it is the feel that is different. You can use the search function to look for reviews that have been posted on this forum about these different keyboards.

I did a search but unable to find a good comparison of the feel.
Im curious on how 3 exact same keyboards can have such a different feel.

I love my keyboard and nothing wrong and not sure how much better it could be!

Hanson wrote:The keyboard you have is the ALPS keyboard. The other keyboards that are available are NMB (39T0958) and Chicony (39T7178).

Thank you for that information. I previously had a T42 with I can't remember the keyboard, but it was the supposed better one from reading the reviews by other people on here, but I absolutely hated it.

I got this T60 around Jan 2007 and I've got the Chicony (39T7178) keyboard. I like it much better than the T42 keyboard that I had and find, although it can be a bit noisy. The ultimate keyboard I have though is on my X40 - it can be typed on almost silently if you want and it is very solid with great feedback.

edit: Ok, this thread got me curious about my X40's keyboard and I just decided to do a parts lookup. Turns out I have *drumroll* part no. 93P4638... which is also a Chicony! Guess I must just be a Chicony type of guy.

I own an NMB t60, alps T60 and chicony t60. all are still sold

The difference between ALPS, Chicony, and NMB keyboards:

I tried all the keyboards and prefer the NMB (Made in China one). Haven't had the pleasure of using the Thai-made NMB (rare, no longer manufactured) keyboard. Here are the difference between the keyboards:

1. ALPS: long keystroke, makes "clacky" noise when typing when installed on T60, but quiet when installed on Z60t (strange).

2. Chicony: long keystroke (similar to ALPS), but noiser than ALPS

3. NMB: shorter but firmer keystroke than ALPS, and quieter than ALPS

I prefer the shorter keystroke of the NMB keyboard, firmer or not. Unfortunately, I think you can only get ALPS keyboards on new T60s and if you order the keyboard as parts. Correct me if I am wrong.

Michael

Just got my T60p in and received the alps keyboard incase that is any indicaiton. (can post the fru if it helps. I don't have it on me right now)

My new T60p (delivered last Monday) has the Chicony keyboard. I'm not really that crazy about it and am considering ordering the NMB.

I would like to have a quieter keyboard with the shorter keystroke as described above.

Do you guys think it's worth the $48.50 to swap to the NMB?

By the way, how do you check which keyboard you have without opening the chasis? There should be a link to check it, but I can't find that.

This may not be the easiest way, but this is one way to get to the "Parts Lookup" page:

1. using Internet Explorer, go to http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do

2. click the "auto detect this system" button, you should get a page with "Warranty status" in a box in the upper right of the page

3. click the "Warranty status" link, you should get a page with a "View parts lookup results for this system" link at the bottom of the page

4. click on "View parts lookup results for this system" at the bottom of the page

5. you should get a "Parts lookup results" page with all the part numbers for your Thinkpad.

6. finally, look for "KEYBOARD FRU" and the part number under "FRU part #".

Here are the part numbers for the T60 keyboard types:

39T7118 - ALPS
39T7178 - Chicony
39T0958 - NMB

For the complete list of keyboard part numbers go to:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-62728


Hope this helps.

Michael

I have a T60p WS (8744-J2U) and it has the NMB keyboard. Delivered about a month ago.
Steve

I ordered my T60p on March 28 and received it a week later on April 4. I was fortunate enough to receive the NMB keyboard, but it is not quite as good as the NMB on my T42p (the T60 NMB is not quite as firm/springy and a tad more noisy). All things considered, the T60 NMB is still very comfortable. I have no idea how it compares to ALPS and Chicony models.

R.

I got my T60p in December of 2006, it says the mfg part is 39T0928 and the replacement part is 39T0958

My T60p was built at the end of March, and came with the ALPS keyboard.

Steve

Further complicating matters, the trackpoint buttons are now in the keyboard and they have a different tactile feel with each brand. My favorite trackpoint buttons are on the Chicony (but the keyboard is a bit loud). The trackpoint buttons on the ALPS require more effort to press. The NMB that I tried has a squeaky left-click button so I didn't investigate it past that (although the keyboard was butter).

-darren