Lenovo ThinkPad T61 6465-9TU 15.4-Inch Laptop (2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, XP Pro)

Amazon Customer Reviews

(5 out of 5)

Best Laptop on the market -- worth the extra money

I reviewed the Lenovo 3000 N200 Lenovo 3000 N200 0769 - Celeron M 540 / 1.86 GHz - RAM 512 MB - HDD 80 GB - CD-RW / DVD - GMA X3100 - WLAN : 802.11b/g - TPM - fingerprint reader - Vista Home Basic - 15.4" Widescreen TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - Microsoft Office Ready when I bought it earlier this year after my HP died. I had always been a big fan of the IBM Thinkpads and hoped that the 3000 N200 would be an economical replacement. Proving that you get what you pay for, I was very disappointed. I have subsequently wiped the N200 clean of Vista, installed Windows XP and gave it to my son. It works MUCH better under XP -- much faster.

I had always wanted to get the T61 because... well, I like thinkpads. I like the feel of the keyboard. Their displays are crisp and beautiful and the build is solid and durable. But at the time, my budget just wouldn't allow it. But after a few months, I was finally in a position to upgrade.

I was a little hesitant since all my experience with Thinkpads had been while they were still being made by IBM. After my disappointment with the 3000 N200, I was concerned that the poor quality was indicative of Lenovo rather than just the model. But I decided to give the T61 a shot because frankly, all of the other brands out there (...cough... HP.... cough) are known failures that I had to try.

I'm VERY happy to say that the T61 is NEARLY as good as the IBM Thinkpad counterparts. The look and feel are still nearly the same. The display is probably the most similar to the old IBM thinkpads. The speed and all the Lenovo support features are excellent making recovery in the case of catastrophic virus infestation etc a breeze.

What isn't QUITE the same (and the reason I knocked a star off my rating) are a few relatively minor quibbles compared to the old Thinkpads. The keyboard doesn't feel quite as solid as I would like. The touchpad is smaller than usual -- even smaller than the 3000 N200 (the one feature of that model that I actually prefer). In addition, the edge of the touchpad is very "prominent" so it is annoying when your finger is constantly bumping up against it. The case isn't quite as pleasing from a "tactile" perspective -- it feels more plasticy. And finally, the finger print reader is not as good as the 3000 N200.

However, I can tell that the build quality of this system is substantially better than the lower priced models. In addition, it doesn't have the annoying "shiney" display which the 3000 N200 has and it runs MUCH quieter and cooler than the 3000 N200.

All in all, this isn't IBM's thinkpad but it is far superior to any laptop on the market today in terms of quality and it is truly worth the money.

BTW, my T61 came preloaded with Vista. I have subsequently come to the conclusion that XP is truly a better OS in terms of speed and reliability. Unless you can afford the extra 300-500 for 3gb of memory, "downgrade" to XP. Otherwise, you might as well stick with a used T41.

(4 out of 5)

Great performance, a bit heavy...

This laptop is very good. It certainly can do any kind of analysis without crashing. However, when I got it, it felt a bit heavy to carry around.

A friend of mine has the T43 model, and I thought I would get something similar. It happens that on the T60 series the size was increased and with it the Kgs. If you are considering a really good and light laptop go for the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 7675 - Core 2 Duo T7300 / 2 GHz - Centrino Pro - RAM : 1 GB - HD : 120 GB - DVD?RW (?R DL) / DVD-RAM - Gigabit Ethernet - WLAN : 802.11 a/b/g/n (draft), Bluetooth 2.0 - TPM - finge, it is smaller, has very good performance, and is very cute :-) However, it does not have a CD player, which is sometimes a bit distressing.

If the portability is not the main issue and you are getting a laptop to work at your office, I would certainly recommend this one!

(1 out of 5)

ThinkPad x-series

I bought my first lonovo laptop after many years of owning Compaq and Dell notebooks. The main reason for buying a lenovo was the battery life on the computer (6-8hrs), the size and weight. I have now owned the unit for about 6 weeks and the battery life, size and weight are great. However, I have had so many problems with the unit (wireless connection getting dropped - requiring a reboot everytime, thinkvantage software not working right, problems with the fingerprint login etc etc). What is shocking is that both the techinical help and customer service are CONSISTANTLY bad. The service is provided by 800-ibm-serve, based in Atlanta. I could go on and on...but in short..save your time and money and buy another brand.

(5 out of 5)

Fantastic Professional Laptop - Highly Recommended!

The "Lenovo ThinkPad T61" is my company's default laptop for mobile users. I have been using the T61 for about 8 months and have never been happier with any portable computer.

Being almost 100% work from home, I find the battery life (about 3-4 hours) and strong Wi-Fi (works from anywhere in the house) to be very convenient.

The powerful processor and great video display rival even my desktop PC, so there really is no productivity loss when working solely on the laptop.

The built in DVD drive and long battery life are also nice when traveling, allowing to me to watch up to two movies before needing to use the charger.

The laptop is very rugged and able to withstand a good bit of abuse. I have dropped mine twice from about 4' and it continues to run just fine.

A very powerful and sturdy professional grade PC! Highly recommended and worth the cost!

(5 out of 5)

Great

Everything's perfect. the processing speed, tranporting speed, the products' quality and the aftersale service of amazon. Thank you.