New Z61t is very nice.

[jjfcpa]

Just received my Z61t (model 9440-2CU) and I've already got a T60. I was somewhat concerned that the resolution might be too small (1440 X 900) for the 14" widescreen, but I have to say, it's is excellent.

I was also concerned that the screen brightness might be more like the T4x series (which I think is too dim) than the T60 series (which is very good). Fortunately, I think the brightness is much closer to the T60, so I'm really pleased about that!

I've copied about 20 gig of data and development files to this laptop and I find it to be almost as fast as the T60. They are both 2 ghz and have 1 gig of ram.

Everything seems to be working out of the box, so I was able to get it hooked up to my wireless network at home and start copying and installing programs.

No problems encountered and so far, I'm really liking the form factor. I'm going to take it to Starbucks tomorrow morning and see what it feels like to carry around in my backpack. It really doesn't feel that much lighter than my T60, but the smaller size is really nice.

I only have the 4 cell battery, so I'm a little concerned about the battery time, so I'll have a chance to check this tomorrow.

Incidentally, one more nice thing - it also runs just as cool as the T60. No heat generated anywhere and I've been using it on my lap for the last hour or so. I think that's one of my favorite features about Thinkpads... heat generation is a non-issue.

I would highly recommend this laptop to anyone looking for a 4 lb DTR. I think I like it so much, I could almost do without the T60, but I really need a backup just in case one goes south all of a sudden. In the software business, you can't afford any down time and my laptop is the computer I use.

If anyone has any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them for you.

[solo]

Thansk for the thorough review.
I just ordered Z61T as well. Mine will be eqipped with 1.83 Core Duo and 1GB ram, 100GB 7200RPM HD.

I had a couple of quick questions.
1. I want to confirm that there will be one RAM slot open for future upgrade. I spoke with the sales rep and was told that it will be 2x 512MB, but the website says it's 1x SODIMM.
2. Do you find the 7200RPM HD loud? Does it vibrate more than the usual 5400? Quiet PC was on the top of my priority list, so I considered ordering 5400RPM, but I heard Hitachi made a great stride in reducing noise and vibration in the new 7K100. Is this the correct drive in the new Z61 series?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Ted

[mfratt]

I dont actually have a Z61, but I think I can answer your questions.

1. I would trust the website over the rep. It is easier for him to make a mistake than to have such a mistake on the website. Also, if it comes in with 2x512, you have more grounds to complain on.

2. 7200 RPM Drives shouldnt produce significantly more noise/vibration than a 5400rpm drive. What they will do, though, is cut maybe 10-20 mins off your battery life.

[jjfcpa]

Thansk for the thorough review.
I just ordered Z61T as well. Mine will be eqipped with 1.83 Core Duo and 1GB ram, 100GB 7200RPM HD.

I had a couple of quick questions.
1. I want to confirm that there will be one RAM slot open for future upgrade. I spoke with the sales rep and was told that it will be 2x 512MB, but the website says it's 1x SODIMM.
2. Do you find the 7200RPM HD loud? Does it vibrate more than the usual 5400? Quiet PC was on the top of my priority list, so I considered ordering 5400RPM, but I heard Hitachi made a great stride in reducing noise and vibration in the new 7K100. Is this the correct drive in the new Z61 series?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Ted

According to the specs sheets for my particular model 9440-2CU, if there is 1 gig of memory installed, there are no memory slots available. There must be two 512MB simms installed. You can verify your model here...

ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitu ... tabook.pdf

The 7200 RPM drive is whisper quiet and I wouldn't buy a laptop without it. Apps load noticeably faster and just about any disk intensive activity will run much quicker. You won't be disappointed.

[solo]

Thanks, guys, for your responses. I look forward to getting the laptop.

Ted

[pointwood]

Hi everyone, first post by me here

I just bought my first laptop ever (I use laptops @ work, but only had normal desktops @ home until now) and it is a z61t.

The hardware is really nice, it is very low noise and doesn't get very warm either. The screen is nice and the resolution (1440x900) fits it well.

I'm one of those wierd ones that prefer to use Linux I'm no Linux guru though. Part of the reason I choose this model is that it uses Intel graphics which is well supported under Linux (open source drivers, supported by Intel).

To sum it up: I'm very happy with my purchase so far.

[jjfcpa]

Hi everyone, first post by me here

I just bought my first laptop ever (I use laptops @ work, but only had normal desktops @ home until now) and it is a z61t.

The hardware is really nice, it is very low noise and doesn't get very warm either. The screen is nice and the resolution (1440x900) fits it well.

I'm one of those wierd ones that prefer to use Linux I'm no Linux guru though. Part of the reason I choose this model is that it uses Intel graphics which is well supported under Linux (open source drivers, supported by Intel).

To sum it up: I'm very happy with my purchase so far.

Are you planning on installing Linux on your Z61t? If so, which flavor of Linux. I know Lenovo is now shipping with Suse pre-installed, but only on certain models.

I've heard nothing but good things about ubuntu, but I've yet to take a look at it. Not sure if I need to think about Linux because the business side of things is still a Windows world.

I read some interesting specs the other day. Inspite of all the MAC hype, they still only have 2% market share (OS X) AND Linux is less the 1/2 of a percent. This was very recent stats, so it appears that while OS X and Linux are moving forward, it's not fast enough to make any progress in market share.

If there was a compelling reason to try OS X or Linux, I wouldn't hesitate, but I've yet to find that reason.

[pointwood]

I already installed Kubuntu Linux on it Kubuntu (in case you aren't aware of it) is Ubuntu but with the KDE desktop environment instead of Gnome.

Yes, Lenovo has just started supporting Suse on a T60p (IIRC), but that offer is not worth much IMHO (read this thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=28677).

I doubt those markedshare numbers are accurate (don't know where you read them). How do you estimate Linux markedshare? You can't really do that since Linux can be downloaded for free. As an example, their (whatever company that produced them) stats will never include the fact that I bought this laptop with Windows XP preloaded but since removed Windows and installed Linux. That isn't registrated anywhere and in the stats it will read +1 for windows, where it actually should be +1 for Linux. when you buy a new machine, it more or less always comes with Windows preloaded. How many of those aren't used? How many has done as I've just done?

I've run out of time now, I'll update my reply later today.

UPDATE:

If there was a compelling reason to try OS X or Linux, I wouldn't hesitate, but I've yet to find that reason.

Well, that is difficult to answer. There are loads of reasons why some people use Linux or OS X, just as there are loads of reasons why people use Windows.

I can say only state some of my reasons for using Linux (note that in some of these things are a matter of personal opinion/taste):
# The primary reason I use it is because I really like it. I think the KDE desktop in many ways is far superior to Windows. KDE is just so much more powerful and nice to use.
# The Linux/Unix command line is another thing. Often the command line is the best tool for the job but the command line in Windows is quite bad. I know they are working on a new command line that is much more powerful. Not sure when it will be ready though - I think it was supposed to be in Vista, but it has since become one of the features they have removed.
# It is constantly improved and bugs are usually fixed pretty fast.
# The community. The fact that you can often go online and chat directly with the developers of a given piece of software is very nice.
# No viruses: for now at least, A/V software simply isn't needed.
# Freedom: There is no lock-in.
# Choice: Of course this can be confusing as well, but in general I believe choice and competition is good and there are loads of that in the open source world.
# The price isn't bad

I can't say anything about OS X because I have never owned a Mac.

If I had to use this in a business where I had to connect Windows networks all the time, then I would most likely also use Windows, but this is my own personal laptop.

[jjfcpa]

pointwood - Thanks for the informative reply. I listened to a podcast the other day about ubantu and it was very thought provoking, but the only reason I would install it at this point would be to say that "I did".

I'm working on business apps all the time and they are all in Windows, and of course, I have to use what my clients are using. There doesn't appear to be any apps in Linux that just scream, "you have to try this", so my inclination is to experiment when I have time. Probably not for a while.

I have heard that it takes some work to dual boot into Linux and there are some tweaks that have to be done to get Linux to work properly on a NTFS drive.

Is it any wonder that people just say, "Hey, I can buy a computer with Windows pre-installed and all I have to do is re-install my apps and copy my data over."

It's got to be very difficult to get people to switch to Linux and / or OS X unless they have the choice to dis-connect from the Windows world. Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury, but someday, perhaps I will.

[pointwood]

pointwood - Thanks for the informative reply. I listened to a podcast the other day about ubantu and it was very thought provoking, but the only reason I would install it at this point would be to say that "I did".

That's not really a good reason to do it

I'm working on business apps all the time and they are all in Windows, and of course, I have to use what my clients are using. There doesn't appear to be any apps in Linux that just scream, "you have to try this", so my inclination is to experiment when I have time. Probably not for a while.

I wouldn't say that. There are loads of apps that are fantastic, however I don't really understand this search for a "killer app". I use Linux and KDE because of "the whole package".

I have heard that it takes some work to dual boot into Linux and there are some tweaks that have to be done to get Linux to work properly on a NTFS drive.

You can't run Linux on an NTFS drive. NTFS is a proprietary MS filesystem. Linux supports a lot of filesystems though, some of them are ext2/3, reiserfs, xfs and jfs. You can access NTFS partitions from Linux though support isn't great (readonly support). Lately though, there has been progress and there is a driver with read/write support that supposedly should be pretty good. I haven't tried it though.

Is it any wonder that people just say, "Hey, I can buy a computer with Windows pre-installed and all I have to do is re-install my apps and copy my data over."

That is clearly an advantage for MS. Furthermore, Windows is what most people are familiar with.

It's got to be very difficult to get people to switch to Linux and / or OS X unless they have the choice to dis-connect from the Windows world. Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury, but someday, perhaps I will.

True, but it all depends on what you use your computer for. I don't really care what people use or prefer. What I do care about is free, open standards. I consider free, open standards to be much more important.

[Cath]

On the Z61t (model 9440-2CU) you got from tabook, is it possible to add RAM when ordering? I'd like to have 2 GB of ram.

[pointwood]

I ordered my z61t from a distributor (an online shop here in DK). At first I would have bought it through EPP, but it was cheaper in online shop.

As for your question, I couldn't re-configure it. I could order 2x1GB memory blocks, but I would have to sell the 512MB block myself. I ended up with simply ordering a 1GB block which of course means I now have 1.5GB memory in my machine. I should be able to live with that for now