Thinkpads Forum

I currently have a 2623 T60P and was thinking about upgrading in the next few months. The W700ds looks interesting but I was wondering about the build quality. I know the old Z series which were workstation replacements and did not have the same level of materials and quality as the T60P/T61P. Is this the case with the W700 series or are they simialr to the T500 series in quality? I'm not at all worried about size and performance my questions are solely about the overall quality the materials as well as fit and finish.

Thank you in advance for your answers

I've owned the following ThinkPads: 755cx, 760CD, A21P, R50P (many), R51e (many) , X40, Z61p, T61p, and W700. Ony the 7XX series ThinkPads are out of service. All the rest I use daily in my office. I use Windows 2000 Professional. XP Pro SP2 and SP3, Vista x64 Ultimate, and 7 beta x64.

The W700 is the best from build quality point of view.

If your T60p has an IPS LCD be prepared for a rude awakening with any newer ThinkPad, W series included...although the W700 has some great tools for improving picture quality, TN panel is a TN panel. Period.

T60/p were the sturdiest amongst newer ThinkPads in my experience, along with oldies such as 600 series and T30. Newer machines do not feel as sturdy, but are well-made, regardless.

Apart from aforementioned LCD issue, I have yet to hear from anyone who is really disappointed in W700.

I do have the IPS screen and am dreading loosing it but I guess I will have to at some point...

Thanks for the information guys!

I'd also check out the difference in size and weight.
The W700 is a Whopper.

So no current Lenovo notebooks offer IPS screen ?? Do any of the other manufacturers (HP, Dell, etc.) offer IPS screens on their current notebooks? I'm still using and enjoying my T42 (with 15" SXGA "Flexview" matte screen) but need to upgrade.

chrisnyc wrote:So no current Lenovo notebooks offer IPS screen ?? Do any of the other manufacturers (HP, Dell, etc.) offer IPS screens on their current notebooks? I'm still using and enjoying my T42 (with 15" SXGA "Flexview" matte screen) but need to upgrade.

No. Only tablet-models have slightly better screens. But it's not really equivalent to IPS. I'd recommend you check those out.
Not that I know of.
Full ACK. To my knowledge the only model you could upgrade to is a 15" T60p 2623 with SXGA+ or UXGA Flexview.
HTH

Actually, X200 tablet uses an IPS panel.

Actually I was just reading another post with a review of the W700 -- sorry I can't link to it -- anyways he was absolutely raving about the quality of his W700 UXGA screen, said it was way better than the IPS Flexview screens we have been discussing.

So how's that ??

chrisnyc wrote:Actually I was just reading another post with a review of the W700 -- sorry I can't link to it -- anyways he was absolutely raving about the quality of his W700 UXGA screen, said it was way better than the IPS Flexview screens we have been discussing.

So how's that ??

That's probably the reviewer subjective opinion.. W700 would have a WUXGA Widescreen format.
And from what I've seen testing a W700 myself, it's a good LCD but not matching IPS/Flexview,
but I'm not a photographer.

The review can be seen in "Off Topic" forum under the name "Widescreens are not bee's knees" and W700 pretty much split the first place with an IPS-equipped T60 which had a backlight on its way out...working at 65 percent of its original brightness...

So no, W700's LCD is not as bad as the rest of them, but it's not that great either...

Can anyone comment on the screen(s) available on Lenovo's consumer-grade notebooks, specifically the 17" WUXGA screen on some of the IdeaPad notebooks? I think the specifications say is is 300 nit. It's not the same screen as on the 17" W700 series, so just how good is it ?

My main concern with a new notebook is in fact a good screen, high resolution, bright, good viewing angles, overall best quality ; also matte and not glossy.

Thanks.

All I can say, according to everything I read and heard, is that the screen on the W700 is probably as good as TN panels on notebooks get.

A friend of mine from the East Coast was in CA for a conference and brought his newly acquired W700 along. A side by side comparison of the W700 WUXGA display vs. my T60p UXGA IPS display revealed that while the colors, contrast, and depth of the W700 are indeed quite nice, it is no match for the IPS of the T60p. This while not surprising, it is disappointing, as I would really like to purchase a W700 but the display is noticeably inferior to the T60p I work with daily. As such it would bother me, having to live with the lesser quality of the W700. However that said, if one does not use an IPS on a daily basis, the W700 would probably be fine.

This thread makes me so sad. Ive been looking into getting the W500 with the WUXGA, and from reports here the its even worse than the W700's? (In terms of brightness). Thankfully my T60p's LCD just got replaced after a deflective backlight, so it should be good for a few more years. Not having a good high-res 15" thinkpad available its really disappointing though

whakojacko wrote:This thread makes me so sad. Ive been looking into getting the W500 with the WUXGA, and from reports here the its even worse than the W700's? (In terms of brightness). Thankfully my T60p's LCD just got replaced after a deflective backlight, so it should be good for a few more years. Not having a good high-res 15" thinkpad available its really disappointing though

I think all recent 15'' ThinkPads are not bad, but you are probably referring to the screen. I agree that it´s somewhat sad that they didn´t put LED backlights to the high-res 15.4 screens of the W500 and T500 line. As for the W700 screen, it has brightness of 400nit according to the tech specs provided by Lenovo. AFAIK, this screen has 4 LEDs, so any other laptop screen would hardly compare to the W700 one in terms of brightness.

Marin

Pity that they have not been able to find a supplier for IPS screens again. I was hoping that the W700 with its color calibration would have been of good enough quality, but so I am stuck with my 4 year old T42p because I have not been able to find a screen of sufficient quality to replace it with. I can only hope that there will be a replacement before my T42p breaks down

I think you still have two options:
1. Getting a T60(p) 15'' or
2. Getting a tablet



Marin

Moroner wrote:Pity that they have not been able to find a supplier for IPS screens again. I was hoping that the W700 with its color calibration would have been of good enough quality, but so I am stuck with my 4 year old T42p because I have not been able to find a screen of sufficient quality to replace it with. I can only hope that there will be a replacement before my T42p breaks down

Well, a T60/T60p SXGA+/UXGA IPS with a nice Core 2 Duo T7200 and higher would be a nice upgrade. The ultimate machine, IMO, and can still pack some punch. Just got myself one last week. Hope to keep it for a few years

Currently I am stuck with my T60p in the sig. However, the ultimate performance of W700 makes it a strong temptation to me. I will snatch one when the price of W700 goes down to a affordable level. At that time, a new monster (shall we call it W800?) may be announced!

This is indeed depressing. Oh well, I upgraded my T60p w/ S-IPS and UXGA to the T7600 (Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz) CPU, which is the strongest CPU it can handle. It'll last me another what, year or two before I may need to upgrade.

I see laptops sold left and right with CPU's LOWER than mine, so that's encouraging at least. lol...

Guys, if I was you, I wouldn´t even think of buying a new laptop to replace the current T60p

Marin85 wrote:Guys, if I was you, I wouldn´t even think of buying a new laptop to replace the current T60p

I agree with that statement. Windows 7 Ultimate x64 runs like a champ on it. The SSD, wireless-N, and T7600 upgrades were all upgrades I make use of every single day.

I wonder if Lenovo still has replacement IPS screens!??? I gotta decide as to whether to extend the warranty later this month. Should I?

Crunch wrote:I wonder if Lenovo still has replacement IPS screens!??? I gotta decide as to whether to extend the warranty later this month. Should I?

Having a few recent threads in mind, I think they still have replacement IPS screens. Regardless of that, I would definitely extend the warranty. Some other component may die before the screen.

And btw, yes, Win 7 x64 runs great (not only on an Intel SSD)

Crunch wrote:I wonder if Lenovo still has replacement IPS screens!??? I gotta decide as to whether to extend the warranty later this month. Should I?

They do. Don't know if the will have it in a year or two, or three, but I too am contemplating extending the warranty on my T60 till 2012...

Does anybody know where to get a T60p with FlexView in the US? I prefer a new one - overstock, or something similar. Vendors selling to governmental organizations are OK (it is going to be a university purchase).

Bring_back_IPS wrote:

I prefer a new one - overstock, or something similar. Vendors selling to governmental organizations are OK (it is going to be a university purchase).

You have a better chance of seeing The Beatles playing at Shea Stadium in 2009....

Welcome to the forum, BTW!

ajkula66 wrote:Bring_back_IPS wrote:


You have a better chance of seeing The Beatles playing at Shea Stadium in 2009....

I have had the budget for a new W700 for a while - it is grant money, and I really have to spend it - but the TN screen puts me off. Also, I have to get the big and heavy 17" screen just because I need the vertical dimension. I guess I will stick with my T43p for another year or so.

Welcome to the forum, BTW!

Thanks.

By the way, is the W700 to heavy to stay on your laptop for hours? How is the fan noise?

Bring_back_IPS wrote:By the way, is the W700 to heavy to stay on your laptop for hours? How is the fan noise?

I borrowed one from a friend for a day and here is my take:
I don't find it heavy as it's got a large footprint which distributes the weight quite nicely. As far as the fan noise, it's detectable and that's about all, certainly not distracting or objectionable. More reassuring as it only comes on when it's needed and you know it's working.

The only complaint I have with it is more personal preference. And that's my dislike for the numeric keypad for which I have no use. It forces the keyboard to be placed in an offset position to the left and I dislike that immensely. So much so, it's a deal breaker for me. Very disappointing, as otherwise I would buy one in a second. With a 17" MacBook Pro for example, the keyboard is nicely centered and for me that makes all the difference in the world. However that said I'm not about to pay the premium as I see them as quite overpriced....AND its' NOT a ThinkPad.....

Cheers...

My business partner just bought a M6400 so I'm pretty close to going with the W700... Does anyone know if it will support 16GB?