Z60m, an underrated model?

[danikayser84]

I've recently acquired two ThinkPad Z60ms in decent condition (one with Intel graphics and the other with the ATI Mobility Radeon X600), and I think it's a particularly interesting model, sort of a transition between the last IBM models and the first Lenovo models and had a lot of firsts:

- First model to use native SATA hard drives (Intel 915 chipset, same as T43/R52/X41, could be considered a widescreen T43 with a SATA mod in some ways), no AHCI however
- First model to use a widescreen display (sadly both of mine have the WXGA, which is OK but I'd have preferred the WSXGA+; neither of mine have the famous titanium lid)
- First model with optional WWAN-3G (through mini PCIe slot; WLAN still uses the old mini PCI card)
- First model to use the 20V AC adapter/jack (later used on T60, T61, etc.) and T6x/R6x battery connector (however standard 6 cell batteries do not fit, 9 cell will however)

On the X600 one, I put a 120GB SSD and Windows 2000 on it (just because ), running pretty well (even without TRIM); curious as to whether the mini-PCIe slot could take a WiFi card or other devices? I have no use for the Sierra WWAN myself

Could also consider it an unofficial successor to the G41, because like the G41 its models ranged from the bottom-end (Celerons without WiFi and integrated graphics and only a DVD/CD reader) to the top-end (Pentium M 2.0GHz with DVD burner/ATI 128MB/WWAN/Bluetooth)

[TPFanatic]

Z60m also was the first to have integrated SD card reader, firewire, and infrared and S-video. The traditional T43 had IR and S-video, and T60 had only infrared, and only with T61 did T-series get SD card reader and firewire, but then it lost the infrared too. Only T500 used its space as well with a Displayport. The Z-series was really sophisticated, although be aware they use thermal pads between the ATI X600's heat spreader and the Intel Northbridge and the heatsink.

[dr_st]

The Z series in general are very obscure, underrated and unremembered models, even though I think they are cool in a few ways.

However, the Z60 series in particular, in my view, does not hold much value, since the Z61 series offers dual core CPUs in the same overall package, which leave the Pentium M in the dust. As far as I remember, they are fully (or 99%) chassis-compatible, so everything you like in a Z60 you can get in a Z61, just with a more capable CPU. Late models of the Z61 even feature the 64-bit Core 2 Duo.

I like the 14" Z61t units as well. They seemed so cool to me back in the day, being so much prettier, and also smaller and lighter than the first 14" wide T61 machines. I felt they were just so much better designed. I even made a thread comparing them (and the 14" 4:3 T60): http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=73194

But the nice compact design forced functional tradeoffs. The USB port placement was far from ideal, and dual expansion slots could not be accommodated. As a result, the 14" Z series only have the (nowadays useless) CardBus slot as opposed to the modern ExpressCard which was available on T series since T43...

I think one reason that the Z series was so short-lived and is not remembered much nowadays, is that it was a transitional model. When it was first introduced, being the first widescreen Thinkpad, business users still were used to 4:3 and expected 4:3, so it was seen as somewhat a weird animal. And then, when the widescreen took over the laptop LCD segment by a storm, all "regular" Thinkpads got it as well, so there was no longer point to the Z series.

[brchan]

The Z60/Z61 15.4" laptops also had great screens, especially compared to other widescreen T, W, or X models. Even the 1280x800 panel had 800:1 CR: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-IBM ... 941.0.html

[Shredder11]

I've got three upgraded Z61p models with 1920 x 1200 IPS WSXGA+ screens, so yes you could say I live them a lot! One of the three has a problem though; it rarely boots to the desktop properly, due to not always recognising the graphics card and loading the drivers. I've made sure of the obvious things like thermal pad etc, but not totally sure of the issue and why it does this. Other than that it is flawless. My other two models work fine.

[ajkula66]

I've got three upgraded Z61p models with 1920 x 1200 IPS WSXGA+ screens

IPS?

Also are they WSXGA+ which would be 1680x1050 or 1920x1200?

[TPFanatic]

Z61p makes me think 1920x1200. The horizontal viewing angles are usually good enough to trick people into thinking they're IPS, it's happened to others before...

[Shredder11]

Ah I see I just went by how bright and how good they look from all angles including from the very side, e.g. no shadow ghosting or whatever it is called. I blindly assumed that all Z61p had IPS, but I guess I am wrong. Maybe looking up the model code will help and by looking in the pdf list of models ever made?

[ajkula66]

I blindly assumed that all Z61p had IPS, but I guess I am wrong. Maybe looking up the model code will help and by looking in the pdf list of models ever made?

I'll make it easy for you: no widescreen 14" or 15.4" ThinkPad ever had an IPS panel. There's not even an aftermarket mod to get one in, since there were no such screens in existence to begin with.

The only 1920x1200 IPS screen from that era is the 17" unit found in top-end HP 8740W models, and that's slightly too big to fit in a 15.4" lid...

[Shredder11]

Thanks for clearing that one up, so which type of screen do the Z61p 1920 x 1200 have? Also is it easy or a pain to swap screens from one machine to another? The screen on one of my three Z61p is much brighter and I assume newer, so I might as well take the screen off that one, and put it in one of my other Z61p that I use the most.

[RealBlackStuff]

Get the Z61p HMM: http://www.thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hm ... 846_02.pdf
It's documented/illustrated in there.

[jronald]

I gave up my 61T about 9 months ago for a T400. My wife gave up the 61m for a T500 just 2 weeks a go, both ran W7 flawless both with TI lids. My 61t has an all but brand new lid on it, as I lost a hinge and destroyed a hold down on the old one.


Ron

[ajkula66]

Thanks for clearing that one up, so which type of screen do the Z61p 1920 x 1200 have?

Every single one that I've seen pulled from Z61p were LG Philips TN panels.

Also is it easy or a pain to swap screens from one machine to another? The screen on one of my three Z61p is much brighter and I assume newer, so I might as well take the screen off that one, and put it in one of my other Z61p that I use the most.

It's much easier to flip the entire lid. Swapping the screens is doable by all means, though.

[TPFanatic]

I think changing Z screen is fairly simple, the lid is held together more by plastic clips than screws from what I recall. But check the HMM. Taking the front bezel off might be easier than taking apart the bottom case, although it's your call.

[jronald]

Ill do a lid anyday over the tiny screws (fat 50 year old fingers) that are found inside the screen.

Ron

[Kasm279]

What does the M even stand for? I'm fairly certain the T was for thin and not titanium as my Z60t is black. Was the e (Z61e) for education markets? Obviously the p models were performance.

[brchan]

The Z60m is the 15.4" performance version of the Z60t, which was only available in 14.1". Both were available with titanium lids.

The 'e' models are "economy" and are often available only with the lowest specs, including celeron processors.

[dr_st]

I believe 'm' stood for 'multimedia'.

[Puppy]

I believe 'm' stood for 'multimedia'.

And 't' for ... text editor ?

[dr_st]

A possible explanation, although I do think 'thin' was more what they were thinking about.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

curious as to whether the mini-PCIe slot could take a WiFi card or other devices? I have no use for the Sierra WWAN myself

The second mini-PCIe slot is actually just a USB slot and doesn't carry the rest of the mini-PCIe connections. That means most interesting cards won't work in it, but there's a few that do if they're USB only. I have a dual microSD adapter installed in mine, more because I wanted to use all the features of the laptop than because I actually needed the extra storage. I've also seen USB to mini-PCIe adapters that would work in the slot and might just barely leave enough room to plug in a USB device minus the case.

You'd need to a custom BIOS with the whitelist removed to use anything in that slot other than the Sierra WWAN card, though, and I'm not sure the Z60 has a custom BIOS. The Z61 does, but I haven't heard of one for Z60.

[RealBlackStuff]

Zender made a 1.24 BIOS without WL for the Z60.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

The second mini-PCIe slot is actually just a USB slot and doesn't carry the rest of the mini-PCIe connections. That means most interesting cards won't work in it, but there's a few that do if they're USB only.

Actually, I take this statement back.

This thread got me to check out mini-PCIe cards a little more and I saw that there actually is a mini-PCIe format WLAN card that just uses the USB interface (Realtek RTL8191SU, probably among others). That should free up the real mini-PCIe slot for a TV tuner card, which is something I've been wanting to get. So I bought both cards only to find that the AVerMedia TV tuner card I bought is also using USB interface (which is not present on the first mini-PCIe slot).

It seems like most mini-PCIe cards might actually be USB. WLAN cards are probably mostly true PCIe, but so far all the other cards I've tried have been USB. Maybe that's common knowledge, but it was unexpected for me.

[TPFanatic]

These Thinkpads may use USB connectors but I believe there's some whitelisting or physical limitations of the board involved that prevent use of unintended devices.

eg. I tried plugging the SD Card/S-Video board of a Z60m into the Palmrest connector of a T500 and it made the Trackpoint stopped working, and Windows was unable to install a driver for the device.

[TPFanatic]

I'm going to hijack this thread to share my thoughts about the Z series. The 15" Z series seems to be underdeveloped in the cooling department. Unlike T and R series models, there are no intake vents under the fan.

Well I drilled some holes in the bottom of my laptop so that's no longer an issue with my Z60m. I'll put in a nice grille sometime but this works until then.

Another interesting QC issue is that the thin part of the PATA DVD drive doesn't fill up the gap in the ultrabay. This issue also applies to R50 models. Only R500 and later SATA Ultrabay Enhanced laptops (eg T520) use DVD drives that fully fill up the ultrabay hole.