Which is best NON-widescreen ThinkPad - the T61?

[ThinkFreak]

What is the best non-widescreen ThinkPad ever made – do you know model number / specs / machine type? 

Is it a T61 with a 14.1" display?

Wish list:

tall screen (old-school 4:3 (1.33-1) ratio, at least 14.1" diagonal / ~8.5" tall / ~11.25" wide, preferably larger)

upgradeable to 500MB HD, 7200rpm

4GB RAM

64 bit OS upgradeable to Windows 7

[GMAC-R60 Retired Guru]

@ ThinkFreak What is the best non-widescreen ThinkPad ever made

600x,R5x,T-R6x

[ajkula66 Guru]

T61/p in the conventional 4:3 aspect ratio are the *only* non-widescreen ThinkPads that can utilize 4GB of RAM - actually up to 8GB.

[TuuS]

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ajkula66 wrote:

T61/p in the conventional 4:3 aspect ratio are the *only* non-widescreen ThinkPads that can utilize 4GB of RAM - actually up to 8GB.

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They are a bit hard to find, and chances of one with a good nVidia chip are about nil...   

Can a 4:3 lid be transplanted on a widescreen body? or perhaps a widescreen motherboard into a fullscreen laptop? perhaps even a T60 (would be cheaper and easier to find in 4:3)

I also like the A31 series, but your not going to run x64os, nor get more then 2GB ram into one of them, but they do have a nice 15" screen and I have three that run like new, and have for ten years.

Personally I prefer the widescreen myself, they are nice for watching HD video.

[ajkula66 Guru]

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TuuS wrote:

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They are a bit hard to find, and chances of one with a good nVidia chip are about nil...   

Agreed...however, finding one with an Intel board should ensure its longevity...

Can a 4:3 lid be transplanted on a widescreen body? or perhaps a widescreen motherboard into a fullscreen laptop? perhaps even a T60 (would be cheaper and easier to find in 4:3)

Not under any circumstances. The boards on T61/p series are different for each screen size, as are the chassis...

[tinojax]

Howdy,

The best 4:3 T61 is a custom modification of a T61p 14" 4:3 motherboard into a T60p 15" UXGA case. I just built one with a T9500, 8GB RAM, and 500GB 7K drive. It flies! You can upgrade a WUXGA but the visual experience is much better with the FlexView, and it's much more portable than the wide screen.

It's not hard to do and only takes a few hours but the results are definately worth it. The only downside is you will NOT have a modem. However, looking at what i just did yesterday I believe one can be installed with a bit more modification.

You'll need a motherboard from a 14" T61p (preferably FRU 42W7876 with the updated video chip) and a 15" 4:3 T60p donor with a nice UXGA display.

There is minor cutting of the mag frame at the modem to make it fit. A trimmed down to a point hacksaw blade is all that is needed. It will be quite obvious what needs to be trimmed. A jewelers file to round rough edges is recommended but not mandatory.

After shortening one of the modem mounts from the bottom (hacksaw blade) I insulated the mobo at the docking port traces with a piece of high quality electrical insulation tape (Scotch Super 33+) to prevent an inadvertant short of the traces. Again, very obvious when you see it.

All in all an easy mod that will give you a very portable high power laptop with a Flexview display.

There is lots of info out there on doing this mod. You can start here:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=68248

Once you have all the parts side by side you'll see it's not as complicated as what you read. Just take your time on it.

Later,

Jack

[TuuS]

Agreed Jack, I'm making one myself, and I have all the parts needed to convert a T61 to 15" flexview if anyone wants to convert theirs.

I do however disagree with two minor things you said. One is with it being more portable then the widescreen. I don't think it is more portable at all, they are about the same size, a bit larger in one dimension, a bit smaller in the other, so no real difference, but the flexview screens are more fragile, so not was well suited for mobile use. Ihave or have had dozens of 15.4" widescreen LCDs and they are durable, I don't recall seeing more then one or two with any pressure marks at all, but of all the flexview screens I've seen that were also a few years old, finding one without pressure marks is rare. They sure are beautiful, but not as well suited for a mobile computer... but I concede this is subjective and only opinion.

The other issue is with a T61p board with updated GPU. I've seen no evidence any such  board exists. I think the 4:3 screen was a special order deal and you had to know about it to get one. When I bought my first Penryn CPU in January 2008, the 4:3 screen wasn't even on the website, and you can't be sure of the updated GPU until August, and I don't even know if any were made in August. I'd love to have one if there were. This leaves only systems that have had the board replaced by Lenovo, and only if the board was replaced recently. Even a warranty board installed in August 2008 could have been sitting in a repair depo for months, and there is no way of knowing what gpu is installed, you can't tell by looking, so I guess the only way to be sure is to pay $600 for a lenovo reman board. 

I'm hopeful that I'll get one someday, but for now I'll settle for Intel graphics.

ps. thanks for the input

[ajkula66 Guru]

Yes, the FrankenPad you (and numerous others) have built utilizing a 15" 4:3 shell from a T60/p with a FlexView display along with a T61/p board is likely as good as it gets. However, not everyone is up to building a machine on their own, and for these folks T61 remains the last viable 4:3 ThinkPad.