Thinkpad Z61m Mini Review

[rambot]

I received my Z61m earlier this week and I have to say outright that I am very happy with it. If you are contemplating getting one of these machines, hopefully the information I have below will be
useful to you.

Lenovo Ordering and Service

I wanted a z61m machine that was fully loaded: 2GHZ Core2 duo, 2GB RAM, 3 yr full protection, WSXGA+, fingerprint login, titanium, 7200RPM drive, etc and I was unable to find anything close to this
configuration in the employee discount site or any of the various other sites where I could have received a 5-10% discount over the Internet price.

So I finally decided to pay full price at lenovo.com and ordered one in the above configuration on Friday 26th of Jan at 3.40PM. I was concerned that it would take me forever to receive it but the salesperson assured me that it would ship out by Feb 9th from China and reach here in about 5-10 business days (I chose the free ground shipping)

Imagine my surprise when the machine actually arrived on Monday morning exactly 3 days later! I was floored by the speed and service.

The Machine

First Impressions: I owned a Thinkpad T20 many years ago. I remember it being a very sturdy machine, elegant and businesslike. I used it intensively for about 4 years before retiring it (gifted it to my mom) The Z61m retains all the best parts of that original thinkpad except that feels even more sturdy and looks even more stylish. The Z61m has no flex almost anywhere (except just above the keyboard where the ThinkVantage button is located, where it felt just a tad "unthinkpad" like)

The 1680X1050 screen is plenty bright though there is noticeable light leakage at the bottom of the screen. This doesnt bother me much but it might bother you if you are super particular about
dark darks.

The Keyboard

I had almost forgotten how a good laptop keyboard is supposed to feel until when I started to use this machine. I am somewhat of a keyboard connoisseur, owning several M series IBM keyboards and other mechanical keyswitch keyboards. The Z's keyboard has good travel, nice resistance and feels quite close to a mechanical keyboard.

Negatives:

Price: you can get a similarly configured machine from other manufacturers(dell?) for much less money. There is a bit of light leakage at the bottom of the screen. This is a minor issue for me.
Oh, and the 9 cell battery rattles slightly. Compared to the rest of the machine which is really built like a rock, this is a little bit disconcerting.

[agarza]

Interesting review. Have you had the opportunity to stress your machine's CPU to the max and report the temperatures using TP Fan Control?

[rambot]

No I havent. Is there some software you recommend to stress the CPU? I'd be happy to test and post the results.