Thinkpads Forum

Candace Lombardi wrote:

The company announced the ThinkPad T61p, an Energy Star 4.0 notebook that has a 15.4-inch LCD screen, the Santa Rosa platform, Nvidia Quadro FX 570M graphics certified to the Open GL graphics GPU standard, Intel Centrino Pro mobile technology and an internal roll cage for both its motherboard and LCD screen.

The T61p notebook, which will be available July 17 starting at $1,814, also offers ultra-wideband (UWB), according to Tom Ribble, director of ThinkPad product marketing for Lenovo.

UWB is a next-generation frequency similar to Bluetooth that can be used for communicating with peripheral devices. UWB offers an average data exchange of about 100 megabits per second compared with Bluetooth's 3Mbps.

The Formula One racing team Lenovo co-sponsors with AT&T is using the T61p as part of the company's campaign to demonstrate the T61p's engineering computing power and robustness.

While Lenovo has been rolling out these features individually on its other computers, this is the first time the company has offered this combo of features, along with UWB capability on a notebook, said Ribble.

AFAIK, it won't be offered in standard screen.

Only 15.4'' ?

Dead1nside wrote:Only 15.4'' ?

Lets just hope it's not true.

Hmmm...

No 14" model? Kudos on the 570M, and I love the option of higher resolutions like WUXGA.

But it would have been a dream come true if they had an WSXGA+ 14" model.

Can they stuff a camera into the 15" lid?

T61p is now available to order from Lenovo Canada website. It's not a typo.

Specs:

Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate Screen: 15.4 WUXGA TFT 1920x1200 Onboard Graphic Chipset: nVIDIA Quadro FX 570M Onboard Audio: Intel High Definition Audio Included Modem: 56Kbps data/14.4Kbps fax Hard Drive Controller: Serial ATA Onboard Network Contoller: Gigabit Ethernet- Integrated 10Mbps,100Mbps,1000M Battery Type: 9 Cell Lithium-Ion PCMCIA Support: 1 Type I/II (ExpressCard or SmartCard or 4-in-1 MediaCard Reader) External Speakers: 2 (Internal Speakers) Warranty: Three year parts and labor Wireless:Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR

Noting yet on the US site.

Landing page updated to reflect the existence of the P, but no ordering options yet.

In other interesting news, someone on NBR pointed out the possibility of outfitting a 14" 4:3 T61 with the Quadro FX 570M on Lenovo's business site: http://shoprel.i2.com/SEUILibrary/co...557B97923A87A9

1. Does anyone know whether Lenovo is going to sell (and or certify compatibility with) any N-Routers to use with the Intel PRO/Wireless WiFi 4965AGN in the T61P? I see a Belkin N1 Wireless Router (part # 30R6462) on the Lenovo U.S. website. Is that the best or a good way to go? Does anyone have any other suggestions for N-Routers to use with a T61P?

2. Does anyone have any comment on the choice of ExpressCard or SmartCard or 4-in-1 MediaCard Reader? Are there apps/products that make anyone of these cards any more or less uniquely suited to the T61P than the other cards?

3. Any tips on how to order so as to minimize shipping delays? Any particular options for the T61P known/expected/suspected to cause delays?

I'd really appreciate any/all answers. If possible, please explain them to me like I'm a six year old.

t41user wrote:1. Does anyone know whether Lenovo is going to sell (and or certify compatibility with) any N-Routers to use with the Intel PRO/Wireless WiFi 4965AGN in the T61P? I see a Belkin N1 Wireless Router (part # 30R6462) on the Lenovo U.S. website. Is that the best or a good way to go? Does anyone have any other suggestions for N-Routers to use with a T61P?

I imagine any Draft-N compatible router would work. If you're worried about the final spec, I'm not sure what you can do other than wait on purchasing the WLAN option in the first place. But the chances of the final differing at all from the draft is extremely slight.

t41user wrote: 2. Does anyone have any comment on the choice of ExpressCard or SmartCard or 4-in-1 MediaCard Reader? Are there apps/products that make anyone of these cards any more or less uniquely suited to the T61P than the other cards?

I don't think anyone other than companies with specific security needs will care for the smartcard reader. Between the expresscard and 4-in-1, I'd take the expresscard every time. Why? You can easily get an x-in-1 PC card or expresscard reader for a few bucks, and it'll be removable too. But what if you get the 4-in-1 reader and someone comes out with a sweet expresscard add-on, like WiMax or something? You'd be out of luck because the 4-in-1 reader is nonremoveable.

I really wish they stuck the cardreader option in the slower PC Card slot instead.

Draft 2.0 in fact which has recently been ratified, is pretty unchangeable.

"Draft 2.0 in fact which has recently been ratified, is pretty unchangeable."

Please forgive my ignorance, but what does this mean? How does the ratification of Draft 2.0 relate to choosing a particular N Router such as the Belkin on the Lenovo website for a T61P? If possible, please explain this to me (and anyone else in similar shoes) like I'm a six year old.

Well t41user, there was a big debocal (sp?) about Draft 1 spec routers being released by companies, such as Belkin and D-Link. At that point in time the specification could have changed to make these products incompatible with the final 802.11n specification. However, Draft 2 hardware is coming out right about now, at this stage the specification will not see any major changes meaning you are safer now buying a 802.11n draft router than you were say six months ago.

Kenn wrote:I really wish they stuck the cardreader option in the slower PC Card slot instead.

ExpressCard isn't necessarily any faster than CardBus: CardBus is capable of 132 MB/s, while ExpressCard provides 80 MB/s through its USB connection and 320 MB/s through its PCI Express connection. If the card uses USB (as most appear to, today) it may actually be slower than its CardBus equivalent.

However, it is important to note that since ExpressCard connects directly to the chipset, it eliminates the need for a CardBus controller, thus reducing costs for the notebook manufacturers.

In any case, I find it hard to envision many applications where the difference between CardBus and ExpressCard (in either direction) would be noticeable, bar possibly an ExpressCard-based RAID controller. Even at the 66 MB/s half-speed mode, CardBus is far faster than WiMAX, and still twice as fast as the theoretical 802.11n maximum throughput, let alone any real-world performance.

In any case, as you suggested, just get your own card reader (Delkin sells nice CardBus- and ExpressCard-based readers) and you'll have the performance you crave and the flexibility you want.

t41user wrote: 2. Does anyone have any comment on the choice of ExpressCard or SmartCard or 4-in-1 MediaCard Reader? Are there apps/products that make anyone of these cards any more or less uniquely suited to the T61P than the other cards?

I was under the impression that all the 15.4" T61 ThinkPads included a 4 in 1 reader on the front bezel of the base. Thus I plan to choose the Express Card reader. I thought that was why the 4 in 1 reader wasn't offered on the T61 15.4 inch computers the way it is offered on the slot options for the T61 14 inch ones.

No news of the 7K200 Travelstar! I'm hoping that is an option on the T61p.

I thought today was the release date, but what's another week. I've been waiting for 8 months already to get my R50p's replacement. My WUXGA Z61p didn't work out. Now it sounds like this one is worth the wait.

The Z61p had an ATI 5200 GPU with 256 MB ram. The nVIDIA Quadro FX 570M has 128 MB RAM. I know the 570M is better than the ATI but why the step backwards in ram. I'm not enough of an engineer to know on my own.

It was nice to see the T61p on the Lenovo Canada site. Thanks for the suggestion.

barrywohl wrote: The Z61p had an ATI 5200 GPU with 256 MB ram. The nVIDIA Quadro FX 570M has 128 MB RAM. I know the 570M is better than the ATI but why the step backwards in ram. I'm not enough of an engineer to know on my own.

In fact, since this is a PCI Express card , the turbocache feature should be activated, which mean if the video card need some memory it will borrow some from the system memory. So as long you have 2gb & more this should not be a problem.

What bother me is the WUXGA resolution.... sure you can play in any lower resolution but it will not be as nice.

Nierdal wrote:

barrywohl wrote: The Z61p had an ATI 5200 GPU with 256 MB ram. The nVIDIA Quadro FX 570M has 128 MB RAM. I know the 570M is better than the ATI but why the step backwards in ram. I'm not enough of an engineer to know on my own.

In fact, since this is a PCI Express card , the turbocache feature should be activated, which mean if the video card need some memory it will borrow some from the system memory. So as long you have 2gb & more this should not be a problem.

What bother me is the WUXGA resolution.... sure you can play in any lower resolution but it will not be as nice.

Only certain models will have 128MB of video ram. They will also offer 256MB of video ram with the 570M. You can go here:

Link

then select "Notebooks and handhelds"
"Thinkpad T61p"
"6457"
"57C"

And continue....

This model has the 256MB option for the nvidia quadro FX 570M.

If you select 8889-39A you will also see that they will have a 4:3 14" screen with 1400x1050 resolution for all those wondering if you would have any option other than widescreen. I would also imagine that they would offer another 15.4" widescreen with 1680x1050 resolution but I haven't been able to find the right part number yet. I'm sure that they are not all posted on the site at this point since they are not really available yet. Just my 2 cents...

Nierdal wrote:

barrywohl wrote: The Z61p had an ATI 5200 GPU with 256 MB ram. The nVIDIA Quadro FX 570M has 128 MB RAM. I know the 570M is better than the ATI but why the step backwards in ram. I'm not enough of an engineer to know on my own.

In fact, since this is a PCI Express card , the turbocache feature should be activated, which mean if the video card need some memory it will borrow some from the system memory. So as long you have 2gb & more this should not be a problem.

What bother me is the WUXGA resolution.... sure you can play in any lower resolution but it will not be as nice.

Sure, but this should be completely avoided altogether, because of the higher latency of system memory and the fact that it is still shared, the bandwidth will be much lower.
This is one of the reasons why integrated graphics solutions are quite slow in comparison to discrete.

What is more bugging me, is that the only manufacturer that manufactures WUXGA LCDs in the T61p is..... Samsung - and we all know how "great" their screens are

Troels wrote:

Nierdal wrote:What is more bugging me, is that the only manufacturer that manufactures WUXGA LCDs in the T61p is..... Samsung - and we all know how "great" their screens are

Brrr..... Ok... that really settle me back.

I was waiting to get a deal on a T61P with a WSXGA lcd with the Canada VisaPerk deal... but looks like i'll be waiting for a long time.

tomh009 wrote: ExpressCard isn't necessarily any faster than CardBus: CardBus is capable of 132 MB/s, while ExpressCard provides 80 MB/s through its USB connection and 320 MB/s through its PCI Express connection. If the card uses USB (as most appear to, today) it may actually be slower than its CardBus equivalent.

Good point Tom, I didn't remember it had access to two buses.

Still, I like the idea of keeping the slot with greater overall bandwidth free for something more exotic than a cardreader Maybe we'll see some 1080p/4K expresscard encoders or something that will stress the bus a bit more than wireless broadband.

My budget for this machine was around 1900$CDN + taxes.

But right now, it's about 200$ for things I don't really need like the WUXGA screen.

For canadians :

Do you know if there's a wasy of buying A) this thing a bit cheaper than with the VisaPerks B) downgrade this configuration to a WSXGA lcd with the VisaPerks price?

The only cheaper way to buy would be EPP, which would require that you know someone who works for either IBM or Lenovo.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... ry=893934K

There are T61p with 14" 4:3 but who knows if they will be available for end users?

T61P is up on the UK website, 4 models listed at the bottom here,
http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/ ... d+T+Series

GarryF wrote:T61P is up on the UK website, 4 models listed at the bottom here,
http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/ ... d+T+Series

Indeed, though it would seem they have fully updated their database, since there doesn't seem to be any difference between those systems (when using the compare feature).

agarny wrote:Indeed, though it would seem they have fully updated their database, since there doesn't seem to be any difference between those systems (when using the compare feature).

Yeah, I can't see any difference either apart from the model number. I'm, curious to see what options we get in the uk.

They are currently updating the canadian website...I can see one notebook right now

How to find if this has a webcam. There is no info on the webpage

ThinkPad T61p Series - A Lenovo TopSeller Selection


Part Number: 646067U

Price: $2,184.05 (visaperks price)

Processor Operating
System RAM
(std) Hard Drive Media Wireless
Intel® Core 2 Duo T7500 - 2200MHz Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate 2048 100 DVD Recordable (Dual Layer) 24X Max Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR

Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate Screen: 15.4 WUXGA TFT 1920x1200 Onboard Graphic Chipset: nVIDIA Quadro FX 570M Onboard Audio: Intel High Definition Audio Included Modem: 56Kbps data/14.4Kbps fax Hard Drive Controller: Serial ATA Onboard Network Contoller: Gigabit Ethernet- Integrated 10Mbps,100Mbps,1000M Battery Type: 9 Cell Lithium-Ion PCMCIA Support: 1 Type I/II (ExpressCard or SmartCard or 4-in-1 MediaCard Reader) External Speakers: 2 (Internal Speakers) Warranty: Three year parts and labor Wireless:Bluetooth Version 2.0 + EDR

On the US site, the bullet-point comparison image shows that the 15" t61p has no webcam option.

Also, I haven't been able to select a webcam with the 14" 4:3 t61 either, and looking at the high-res images posted around the web it doesn't look like there's room for one.

well seems it's on the site somewhat... i got some news here too that Lenovo notebooks, fastest and greenest:

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=573106

and on this page the have the T61P comparison:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/cont ... 825513BCED

Tabook has now info on T61p.

corsac wrote:http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... ry=893934K

There are T61p with 14" 4:3 but who knows if they will be available for end users?

Data from that site:

Product: ThinkPad T61p 8939-34K

Original description: T7700(2.4GHz), 2GB RAM, 100GB 7200rpm HD, 14.1in 1400x1050 LCD, 128MB nVIDIA Quadro FX 570M, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, WinVista Business