Relief After Struggle (Talking About a 4:3 T61 ThinkPad)

[dispher]

I never really liked widescreens in notebooks & was waiting for the new ThinkPad T series to be released so i can buy what would be the last batch of T61p with 14.1" SXGA+ LCDs. I knew that Lenovo would be phasing out the 4:3 format for good & screwing the customers who want a standard aspect ratio screen. you can read more rant about this in a previous post http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=63107 & I’m fully aware about the "no reliable supplier" excuse but I don't really buy it. I didn't know that they would be doing this sooner than later! A couple of months ago, I was shocked to see all options for buying a 14.1” SXGA+ screen are gone... T61/p is only available in widescreen format...
I freaked out & as soon as possible, I talked to our internal Lenovo Sales guy about the possibility of obtaining a T61p with SXGA+ but the answer was "sorry, no stock & by the way....why would you want an old screen format anyway!"
I finally found a low-spec brand new T61 from an eBay seller. The machine is a 8897-03U and man.... let me tell you...it was one of the newest / least configured T61s I have ever seen: T5270(1.4GHz), 1GB RAM, 100GB 7200rpm HD, 14.1in 1400x1050 LCD, Intel X3100, CDRW/DVD, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Modem, 1GB Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, 6c Li-Ion, WinXP Pro & last but not least….the “ThinkPad” branding instead of the “IBM” branding…bummer!
the reason i chose an integrated X3100 instead of a Quadro is that i wanted max battery life while i was mobile & i can always install a Workstation Class VGA card in the PCIe slot on the Advanced Dock while doing my designs at home.

So what to do regarding this (somewhat) week puppy?

Simply, I knew that this machine would be a Love child of mine so there were no need to hold back in anything. i started to max it out with the configuration I was most comfortable seeing my ThinkPad in so i went on & did some $Ka-Ching!$ magic:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 (2.4GHz / 4MB / 800MHz)
Hitachi 7K200 160GB Hard Drive
Arctic Silver 5 thermal grease
Sony MSA-CEX1 (Memory Stick Duo ExpressCard™ Adaptor)

In addition to the following FRUs:

42W3651 (LCD cover kit with IBM logo)
40T6629 (Kingston KTL-TP667/2G) [x2]
39T0497 (Bluetooth daughter card (BDC-2)
42W3657 (Clear plate kit)
42T3143 (NMB Keyboard) <=== Real NMB
42W3659 (Keyboard bezel assembly)
42W2957 (Palm rest assembly with fingerprint reader, with IBM logo)
42T0907 (Intel Turbo Memory 1GB)
42T0865 (Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN)
39T2851 (Panasonic UJ-852 DVD-RAM/RW drive, 9.5 mm)

I have collected all the parts & hopefully i will finish assembly first day of July (Can't Wait!)

Stay tuned for more info!

[mattbiernat]

congrats on getting 4:3. i can't stand wide screen as well. they simply lack vertical pixels for typing up reports.

[Quagmyre]

Personally I'm not a big fan of widescreen either.

On the other hand, if you go for 1680x1050 widescreen, where is the lack of vertical pixels compared to a 1400x1050 screen?

[exTPfan]

The screen is still shorter, and the computer is much bigger and heavier.

[dispher]

Thanks for the replies!

It’s kinda comforting to know that there are people who actually don't want a widescreen in a business class notebook.

[SHoTTa35]

i never liked the idea of widescren notebooks also but then my friends with their 14.1" HPs and all kinda made me see they aren't too bad. If i could get a WSXGA+ 14" i'd be more than fine with that. The highest though is WXGA+ which is decent enough. It has the same pixels wide just not the same high. Only 150 pixels though so not that bad, AS looking at my screen now i'm thinking it would be from the submit button to the bottom of the LCD. That's not that much to loose when i really think about it. The weigh, well it's about the same as the one i have now but then again i like to watch HD feeds on my laptop and of-course they are all 16:9 so it would be a plus also for widescreen for me i guess.

[RaysMD]

good deal and nice on the mods.

i still have a T61p 14" that's still on order. I'm hoping it gets shipped.


rays

[mashimus]

dispher,

What is the

42W3651 (LCD cover kit with IBM logo)

Could you post up a picture of it..?

Thanks

[rbena]

Thanks for the replies!

It’s kinda comforting to know that there are people who actually don't want a widescreen in a business class notebook.

I'm sure if you took a poll, you'd see more than a few business users preferring the 4:3 screen for viewing standard office documents.

[dispher]

dispher,

What is the

42W3651 (LCD cover kit with IBM logo)

Could you post up a picture of it..?

Thanks

sure:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28171152@N08/?saved=1

sorry about the quality of the photos but i was in a hurry (gota go to work)

[mashimus]

sure:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28171152@N08/?saved=1

sorry about the quality of the photos but i was in a hurry (gota go to work)

Thanks for the pictures..! ..

So that's what it is...hmmm. wouldn't it be easier just to change the sticker only? ... That's what I did...!

[dispher]

wouldn't it be easier just to change the sticker only?

Well...

I was thinking about that (sticker only) but once I received the ThinkPad, I noticed that it had a "hump" on the outer LCD cover. To me, it was a cosmetic defect & did not affect the functionality what so ever. To my surprise, it turned out to be a "feature" that the LCD rolecage is utilizing. Having this hump to improve its shock resistance performance. I was not sure if the rolecage in the 4:3 models was the same as the widescreen models (it is the same) so I was not sure if the outer LCD cover is Magnesium like T60 or not (it is not) so when I saw the "hump", it seemed that the actual metal is bent.
But anyway, it turned out to be a nice idea to have a backup LCD outer cover incase this one gets the un-avoidable surface scratches

[icantux]

Personally I'm not a big fan of widescreen either.

On the other hand, if you go for 1680x1050 widescreen, where is the lack of vertical pixels compared to a 1400x1050 screen?

Wait a sec... isn't that res part of the 15" widescreen format? That machine is HUGE and quite heavy!

A few of my colleagues have those (provided by their respectful companies) and they absolutely hate having to carry around those large systems while on business trips. Oddly, the IT people in their departments used the same argument... since it's 1050 you lose no vertical resolution... but at what cost!

They envy my X61.

[marvel]

dispher - you got the "real nmb" kbd. According to a post in this forum, one could tell if it was "real" NMB by blue key attachments. Is that right?

I´m asking because I have been looking for the real thing for my T60p and ordered a keyboard (swedish) with FRU39T0979 from a retailer here, but all I get is keyboards that resemble FRU39T7139 (the first shipment got me this one). Info on the back of keyboards say FRU42T3230 and parts 42T3198. The only thing that´s different is ID. Has the NMB keyboards been manufactured differently lately (without blue key attachm.)?

Has anyone compared the NMB and Alps side by side on a T6x? (Sorry, I know - classic question here...)

[dispher]

marvel,

yes it dose have the blue rubber attachment. but the keyboard is made in china? It really doesn’t make any sense to me but none the less, it dose feel like a NMB (from passed experience)