My new Thinkpad arrived this past Thursday and I'm still getting everything set up.
It's a T60P, the 2623 D8U model.
Core Duo 2500 - 2.0 GHz
1 Gig pc-5300 DDR2 RAM at 667 MHz
100 Gig 7200 RPM Hard drive
ATI FireGL V5200 256 MB (512 hypermemory)
14" 1400 x 1050 screen
9 cell battery
3 year warranty
A/B/G wireless with bluetooth and Verizon WAN
All the other ThinkPad bells and whistles
I've been primarily using a Sony VAIO 360 for the last few years, so some of this will clearly be comparitive to a different class of notebook. The VAIO is quite different, but it does make the ThinkPad seem very large as it is a 9 inch larger screen and 4:3 aspect ratio rather than 16:10.
Packing: It was in a surpisingly small box, which had the notebook and the few accessories it came with packed very securely. It came with an AC adapter, modem cable, warranty information, notebook information and two alternative trackpoint heads.
Physical: Solid as one would expect from a ThinkPad. The battery fits flush with none of the wobbling that had been reported in some models. The case feels very solid, but the left palm rest above the PC Card/Express Card slots does have some slight flex at the edge over the empty bays. If I had cards in I imagine that it would not flex, but since I haven't needed any cards in I have not tried this yet. The keyboard is great to work with, although I'm still adjusting since it feels rather different than my last keyboard.
Ports: Nothing too out of the ordinary, 3 usb (two on rigtht, one on left), headphones, microphone, modem, ethernet (10/100/1000) and VGA out.
Trackpoint: I've used the touchpad barely at all, but the trackpoint is great to use. Scrolling with it is extremely fast and takes a bit of practice to get the speed just right. I'm using the textured flat head with no rim and find it very comfortable. While I will still use an external mouse most of the time (Logitech G5 or a Belkin wireless for travel) I could very easily get by with just the trackpoint. The buttons are almost completely silent. The touchpad has a veyr nicely textured surface as well, allowing you to glide very smoothly but still feel like you have a firm grip. I did prefer the red stripes and texturing on the older T series, but that's mostly just an issue of preference. No complaints.
Screen: Very nice and bright, possibly a bit too bright since sites with a lot of white or light colors can appear to be oversaturated. I have the brightness decreased right now to two notches below the top to compensate for that a bit. But the 1400 x 1050 resolution is absolutely great for me, letting me look at whole documents and do some sid by side work. But the screen is very readable at all brightness levels. This is the non-flexview with a nice matte finish. Since it has been raining I have not tried it outside yet, so I can't yet speak to the visibility under bright sunlight. It is very readable under both incandescent light and flourescent light with no appreciable glare. So far I have seen no ghosting or any other artifacts, but I have only played one game as of yet, so we'll see. Viewing angles are good, but as always direct on is the best one.
Security: A bit overkill for most people's needs, but nice to have. The fingerprint reader works very well, and the other integrated security features are nice also. Secure space on the drive as well as the ability to lock a number of things down at the hardware level are very useful if you have any security concerns. The Secure Data Destroyer software can also be useful for when you switch computers and want to make certain that no one will be able to access your old drive's data. There are other methods as well, but this one seems very simple.
Wireless performace: Not really tested yet, but I managed to pick up signals at some fairly extreme ranges. My own wireless router is currently about eight inches behind the notebook, so that waouldn't be too much of a test.
Portability: It's been raining for the last few days so I haven't really taken it anywhere as of yet. That will change this coming week so I'll try and remember to update. It feels about pound or so heavier than I am used to, so it may take a few days in the briefcase to adjust, but not in the backpack since the weight will be distributed differently.
Battery life: As portability, I haven't really tested it yet as it has been plugged in since arrival.
Gaming: I only have one game installed, Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War with the Winter Assault expansion. It runs flawlessy with all of the options turned up to maximum. In the coming weeks I'll install some other games and see how they run. I used 3dMark 06 before I used the System Update to update to the latest drivers. Running at 1280 x 1024 with no AA the score was around 1,400. However, I think that the hypermemory lowered the score as well as the older driver. I should probably pop in another gig of RAM and take advantage of the dual channel properties as well.
Heat: None that I've noticed. Even during the 3DMark test and gaming the air coming out from the back was only slightly warm. This is with the "Always On" power profile so the CPU's are turned up to maximum as well. I do seem to have far more processes running that I am used to, but I haven't had the time to look into all of them and that may be affecting performance.
Noise: Almost dead silent. The hard drive can spin up a bit loudly at times, but relatively speaking it is stil very, very quiet.
Speakers: A very pleasant suprise. They produce excellent sound at very comfortable volumes. I had very low expectations, but they sound very nice and are excellent for listening to music and watching movies. Much, much better than I expected and very appreciated since I prefer not to wear headphones.
Sadly, no pictures since my digital camera took a bit of a fall and hasn't been replaced. If I missed anything, let me know!
It's a T60P, the 2623 D8U model.
Core Duo 2500 - 2.0 GHz
1 Gig pc-5300 DDR2 RAM at 667 MHz
100 Gig 7200 RPM Hard drive
ATI FireGL V5200 256 MB (512 hypermemory)
14" 1400 x 1050 screen
9 cell battery
3 year warranty
A/B/G wireless with bluetooth and Verizon WAN
All the other ThinkPad bells and whistles
I've been primarily using a Sony VAIO 360 for the last few years, so some of this will clearly be comparitive to a different class of notebook. The VAIO is quite different, but it does make the ThinkPad seem very large as it is a 9 inch larger screen and 4:3 aspect ratio rather than 16:10.
Packing: It was in a surpisingly small box, which had the notebook and the few accessories it came with packed very securely. It came with an AC adapter, modem cable, warranty information, notebook information and two alternative trackpoint heads.
Physical: Solid as one would expect from a ThinkPad. The battery fits flush with none of the wobbling that had been reported in some models. The case feels very solid, but the left palm rest above the PC Card/Express Card slots does have some slight flex at the edge over the empty bays. If I had cards in I imagine that it would not flex, but since I haven't needed any cards in I have not tried this yet. The keyboard is great to work with, although I'm still adjusting since it feels rather different than my last keyboard.
Ports: Nothing too out of the ordinary, 3 usb (two on rigtht, one on left), headphones, microphone, modem, ethernet (10/100/1000) and VGA out.
Trackpoint: I've used the touchpad barely at all, but the trackpoint is great to use. Scrolling with it is extremely fast and takes a bit of practice to get the speed just right. I'm using the textured flat head with no rim and find it very comfortable. While I will still use an external mouse most of the time (Logitech G5 or a Belkin wireless for travel) I could very easily get by with just the trackpoint. The buttons are almost completely silent. The touchpad has a veyr nicely textured surface as well, allowing you to glide very smoothly but still feel like you have a firm grip. I did prefer the red stripes and texturing on the older T series, but that's mostly just an issue of preference. No complaints.
Screen: Very nice and bright, possibly a bit too bright since sites with a lot of white or light colors can appear to be oversaturated. I have the brightness decreased right now to two notches below the top to compensate for that a bit. But the 1400 x 1050 resolution is absolutely great for me, letting me look at whole documents and do some sid by side work. But the screen is very readable at all brightness levels. This is the non-flexview with a nice matte finish. Since it has been raining I have not tried it outside yet, so I can't yet speak to the visibility under bright sunlight. It is very readable under both incandescent light and flourescent light with no appreciable glare. So far I have seen no ghosting or any other artifacts, but I have only played one game as of yet, so we'll see. Viewing angles are good, but as always direct on is the best one.
Security: A bit overkill for most people's needs, but nice to have. The fingerprint reader works very well, and the other integrated security features are nice also. Secure space on the drive as well as the ability to lock a number of things down at the hardware level are very useful if you have any security concerns. The Secure Data Destroyer software can also be useful for when you switch computers and want to make certain that no one will be able to access your old drive's data. There are other methods as well, but this one seems very simple.
Wireless performace: Not really tested yet, but I managed to pick up signals at some fairly extreme ranges. My own wireless router is currently about eight inches behind the notebook, so that waouldn't be too much of a test.
Portability: It's been raining for the last few days so I haven't really taken it anywhere as of yet. That will change this coming week so I'll try and remember to update. It feels about pound or so heavier than I am used to, so it may take a few days in the briefcase to adjust, but not in the backpack since the weight will be distributed differently.
Battery life: As portability, I haven't really tested it yet as it has been plugged in since arrival.
Gaming: I only have one game installed, Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War with the Winter Assault expansion. It runs flawlessy with all of the options turned up to maximum. In the coming weeks I'll install some other games and see how they run. I used 3dMark 06 before I used the System Update to update to the latest drivers. Running at 1280 x 1024 with no AA the score was around 1,400. However, I think that the hypermemory lowered the score as well as the older driver. I should probably pop in another gig of RAM and take advantage of the dual channel properties as well.
Heat: None that I've noticed. Even during the 3DMark test and gaming the air coming out from the back was only slightly warm. This is with the "Always On" power profile so the CPU's are turned up to maximum as well. I do seem to have far more processes running that I am used to, but I haven't had the time to look into all of them and that may be affecting performance.
Noise: Almost dead silent. The hard drive can spin up a bit loudly at times, but relatively speaking it is stil very, very quiet.
Speakers: A very pleasant suprise. They produce excellent sound at very comfortable volumes. I had very low expectations, but they sound very nice and are excellent for listening to music and watching movies. Much, much better than I expected and very appreciated since I prefer not to wear headphones.
Sadly, no pictures since my digital camera took a bit of a fall and hasn't been replaced. If I missed anything, let me know!
