Lenovo Thinkpad Z60m Review
Overview
Today we're taking a look at the new Thinkpad Z60m, big brother to the Z60t. We were happy with Lenovo's first foray away from the standard IBM mantra and are even happier with the Z60m. The 15.4" form factor is a very crowded market, with even budget machines being available in this popular size. Lenovo certainly had a challenge at their hands when trying to enter the 15.4" race, and they stood up proud and tall to that challenge. The Thinkpad Z60m is here to show the competition how it is done.
Quality is the name of the game here and the Z60m oozes it. From the moment you pick this beast up to when you start gaming away, you can't help but enjoy the quality of the Thinkpad line. Build quality is exceptional, with Lenovo's unique "roll cage" design offering a stiff chassis that doesn't flex or creak. The silver "titanium" lid cover adds flair and stiffness to the LCD, where form meets function. Our test models packs a speedy 2.0GHz Pentium M, 1GB DDR2 RAM, Hitachi's 100GB 5K100 hard drive, and ATI's Mobility Radeon X600 GPU. The unmatched Thinkpad software package is included, letting you customize and protect your notebook to near any degree. The features, quality, and performance are all present here, making the Z60m a top notch machine. The only minor complaints we have are in the size and GPU department. It is on the heavy side of a 15.4" machine, weighing in over 7lbs with the 9-cell battery. There are sleeker and lighter 15.4" notebooks out there, but the larger size allows for future technologies and a better cooling system. Now yes, we did mention the X600 as a negative. While this is a great upgrade for Thinkpads, an X700 would have satisfied gamers much more with little impact on thermal performance. Overall, we have a powerful, high quality notebook that is finally moving towards consumer needs. The price tag is a little steep at $2299, but you get more features and better quality than any other 15.4" notebook out there.
Design Portability
As one would expect with most any 15.4" machine, portability really isn't a desirable option. At 1.5" thick and weighing in at 7.3lbs, don't expect to want to take the Z60m everywhere you go. It still weighs less than the Dell 9300 and the Fujisu N3510, but at about the same thickness. For those who have a large enough case to comfortably carry this machine out and about, the Z60m is balanced enough that it doesn't feel as large as it looks.
Case and Design
Opening the titanium covered screen, you find what looks like a standard Thinkpad interior with a few updates. The good ol' TrackPoint is still there, with a slightly smaller touchpad and mouse buttons. The red and blue striping on the TrackPoint buttoms is gone, actually making for a more clean look. The speakers are situated on either side of the keyboard, providing a much better location than below the front bezel like on previous Thinkpads.
Once you take a look at the outside, everything changes. The optional titanium cover really spices things up, adding a more stylish and sophisticated look to the plain old black design. It also feels to add some stiffness to the LCD, not that it needed it. The Z60m was built with classic Thinkpad design, with a very rigid and sturdy chassis. The notebook internals are now mounted in a one piece magnesium roll case, designed to decrease stress on components. It certainly does its job well, this machine feels as solid as any other Thinkpad. Also for those who have removed their hard drive from a Thinkpad, now you no longer have to open the screen in order to do so. Most people know that Thinkpads have a spill-proof keyboard, but most people don't know that there are drain holes on the underside of the notebook. The Z-series adds a second drain hole to help with your Thinkpads fateful enounter with a can of soda.
On the outside of the lid, you have LEDs indicating if the AC adapter is plugged in, the battery status via color and blinking, as well as a Sleep indicator.
There is an even larger plethora of LED status indicators below the screen. From left to right, you have WiFi, Bluetooth, NumLock, CapsLock, HDD activity, System power, Battery power, AC power, and Sleep mode.
Since we received our Z60m test model several weeks after the Z60t, it appears that there are no pre-production build quality issues with our unit. We are happy to report that the Z60m is a very well designed, well built continuation of the Thinkpad line.
Keyboard
As seen in our Z60t review, the legendary Thinkpad keyboard is intact with the Z-series. The keyboard on the Z60m is a little wider thanks to the bigger chassis, all of the keys a little bigger. We still feel that the Start key is still too much of an after thought and it needs to be made bigger to be of any practical use. While the Z-series keyboards are as comfortable to type on as any previous Thinkpad, they seem to be nowhere near as quiet. Our Z60m's keyboard does clack quite a bit, a large difference compared to our 15" T42 workhorse. There may be multiple keyboard versions, with some that are quieter than others, but so far two out of two notebooks have this louder keyboard. This isn't a deal breaker by any means and only the most noise sensitive of you out there may mind, but it is something we'd prefer had stayed unchanged.
More operations can be performed via the Fn keys than ever before, avoiding too much clutter with extra feature buttons. In combination with the Fn key you have the following the controls at your fingertips: F2 allows you to quickly lock your computer (same as Start+L), F3 launches an OSD (On-Screen Display) window with all power schemes (same as using Battery Maximizer in toolbar), F4 puts the machine to sleep (unchanged), F5 brings up a WiFi control OSD, F7 launches the Presentation Director OSD, F8 controls your pointing device input options, F9 allows you to easily "eject" a system device (i.e. disable optical drive, external drive, or other non-integrated device for easy removal), and F12 puts the system into hibernate. You can also control the screen brightness and ThinkLight from the Home/End and PgUp keys, respectively. Another new set of functions are found in the arrow keys, with Play/Pause, Stop, Forward, and Back for media player controls. Hopefully we will see this armada of Function keys carried over to next generation of existing Thinkpad lineups, they are a welcome change.
Design Continued Touchpad/Ultranav
Lenovo is one of the few computer manufacturers that includes a 'pointing stick' combined with a touchpad. For those who haven't used this combination, it is not an option to under-estimate. The ability to mouse around the screen, click, and scroll without removing your hands from the keyboard is invaluable. As you can see below, there is a red pointing stick in the middle of the keyboard, both mouse buttons, and a middle button that is set to scroll by default. The quality of the Z60m's Ultranav is on par with previous Thinkpads, but the Ultranav buttons do click louder; they aren't as soft as those on the T43. You can reprogram the middle button for scrolling or screen zooming.
For those who prefer to use a touchpad, the Z60m has an excellent one. The responsiveness and texture is ideal, with a plethora of customizable options. The software allows you to set scrolling zones, tapping, tap zones, virtual scrolling, and many other options. A minor complaint is the small size of the touchpad, but it was not very limiting in day to day usage.
The mouse-click buttons have a good feel to them, with a firm, but not harsh response. These aren't as soft and lush-feeling as the T43's buttons, but no one should be displeased with them.
Connectivity Options
We see Lenovo trending towards giving mainstream consumers what they want in a notebook and we are happy to see these changes. Instead of a paltry two USB ports and no firewire on the legendary T-series, we see a much wider range of connectivity options on the Z60m. Three USB 2.0 ports, an IEEE 1394 port, 3-in-1 card reader, and several other welcome changes are present.
On the front of the machine you'll find a brand new WiFi enable switch, IR port, and 3-in-1 memory card reader. The WiFi switch enables/disables all wireless radios and returns them to their previous state when enabling them. Thus, if you had Bluetooth and WWAN enabled, but not WiFi, then only Bluetooth and WWAN would be re-enabled with the button. You can also of course control wireless radios within Windows and the Lenovo WiFi OSD.
On the backside you have the power connector and a lone USB 2.0 port, along with an exhaust vent. Given this machine will be in a desktop replacement role mostly, we appreciate Lenovo leaving a port on the backside for desk peripherals; this helps keep those pesky cords out of the way.
As you can see from this angle, the rear USB port is slightly extended from the back. We can't think of any reason why it was designed this way except pure old common sense: when peering over the back of your laptop it is darn near impossible to see exactly where that pesky port is. The extended plastic shroud over the USB port allows you to see exactly where you're trying to plug that USB device in; thanks Lenovo!
On the left side you'll find VGA output, modem & network ports, headphone jack, microphone jack, 4-pin Firewire (IEEE 1394), and the Express Card/PC Card slot. The addition of Firewire is a nice change for Thinkpads (at least from the T-series) and the card slot is even more significant. To save space on the 14" Z60t, a PC Card slot only was present. The Z60m features a card slot that is compatible with both the current PC Card and upcoming ExpressCard formats. While it is predicted that ExpressCard won't gain wide adoption until 2007, we feel it is important for manufacturers to make this a standard feature as soon as possible.
Finally, we come to the right side of our Z60m. It is relatively barren with S-Video output, optical drive, two vertically stacked USB 2.0 ports, and a Kensington lock slot. The USB ports on the side are convenient for extra peripherals at your desk, while still being in a convenient location for those using the Z60m out and about. We would like to see an extra USB port towards the front corner of the machine, especially as Lenovo notebooks move towards mainstream consumers.
Overall we are satisfied with the Z60m's ports and layout. A card reader that supports all memory cards would be a nice change, considering the more rarely supported Compact Flash is still used quite a lot. Thinkpads are usually set apart from most notebooks by their numerous extra features; we hope a full-featured card reader on their DTR models will become one of those features. Another USB port couldn't hurt on such a sweet DTR either.
Heat and Noise
Desktop replacement notebooks generall trend one of two ways: either with a cool & quiet cooling system or they just run blatantly warm. Lenovo designed the Z60m's cooling system surprisingly well. Working on the battery with wireless on and the CPU set to Adaptive, temperatures always stay below 40 degrees Celcius; even below 35C usually! This is very surprising given the hotter running discrete graphics in the Z60m. The larger chassis can effectively help dissipate more heat, but that alone isn't enough to provide such cool temperatures; the Z60m's cooling setup is top notch. Now temperatures will break 60C when gaming, but that is not unusual for just about any notebook.
Similar to the Z60t, the larger Z60m's fan noise is pretty minimal. It is a little louder with a faint "whirr" most of the time, but most people shouldn't be bothered by it. Since the Z60m isn't designed to be in as many different places as smaller notebooks, it is not surprising to expect a little more noise. However we happily accept it for such a cool running machine. Hard drive noise can be a little much, thanks to the Hitachi SATA 5K100; but as we recently figured out in our Hard Drive Roundup, you can quiet Hitachi drives with some simple software tweaking. Unfortunately the loudest part of this machine is the keyboard. If you start typing away in a fury during a quiet meeting or in a hushed classroom, you'll quickly be the center of attention. We surmise that as with previous Thinkpads, there are several different keyboards for the same machine. While the tactile feedback of this keyboard is great, the noise leaves a lot to be desired on a portable machine. At least the Z60m isn't as likely to be in one of those "quiet" situations out and about.
Upgrading and Expansion
Upgrading your Thinkpad Z60m has been made both easier and more difficult than previous models. As most previous Thinkpad owners know, to replace the hard drive you have to open the screen. This is not a major inconvenience, but a minor annoyance nonetheless. Lenovo has changed this and there is simply a small access panel held in by one screw, after which you can remove the hard drive via a small plastic tab.
On the negative side, memory is now more of a pain to change. Previously, Thinkpads had one memory slot on the bottom and another under the keyboard. Now both memory slots are located directly underneath the touchpad. Removal of the palm rest is similar to that of a keyboard, requiring the removal of four screws and then popping the palm rest off. It seems as though the palm rest is just supposed to pop off in places, but it feels like if you had to remove it too many times then the tabs might just break off. Other than the slight memory inconvenience, upgrading is the same old story in a notebook. You can change the mini-PCI wireless card and add up to 2GB DDR2 533 RAM, as well as a Serial ATA hard drive. T43 owners are familiar with its limitation of only officially supporting drives sold by IBM/Lenovo. The use of a SATA to IDE adapter in the T43 necessitated a BIOS check to see if the drive uses an IBM/Lenovo firmware, causing a boot error that was bypassed with the ESC key if the drive didn't have the proper firmware. We hope there is no issue like that on the Z60m, but unfortunately don't have any Serial ATA drives in the lab to test this with. If we do encounter such a difficulty, we'll be sure to make note of it in our news.
Features Processor/Chipset/RAM
The Z60m uses Intel's latest Pentium M platform, codenamed Sonoma. As most of you know, this update to the popular technology brings a faster front side bus, PCI Express, High Definition Audio, Serial ATA, DDR2 RAM, and more. Our model came loaded with the Pentium M 760, running at 2.0GHz with 2MB L2 Cache on a 533MHz FSB. The Intel 915PM chipset is used, providing discrete graphics via ATI's Mobility Radeon X600. The higher bus speeds help improve performance as does the faster RAM running synchronous with the FSB. DDR2 is also Dual Channel capable, meaning that using two identical memory modules effectively doubles your memory bandwidth. In our recent Sonoma Platform article, we determined that dual channel brings very little real world performance improvement. While DDR2 is also clocked higher than DDR 333, it has higher latencies which reduce the positive effect of the higher speed. Latency refers to the amount of time it takes for data to enter and leave the memory, thus higher latency produces less performance. Regardless, the Sonoma platform's new features are a big step in the right direction. The new feature sets added to the Centrino platform make mobile systems capable of doing everything a desktop can, with battery life to spare.
The only downside to the Sonoma platform is the higher power consumption. The processor itself consumes more power, as a result of the higher bus speed. The 533MHz FSB Dothan processors have a thermal design power (TDP) of 27W, compared to 21W of the 400MHz FSB chips. Due to the higher bus speed, the new Pentium M chips 'idle' at a lowest clock speed of 800MHz, up from 600MHz of the previous generation. The chip is powerful enough that one could run it locked at 800MHz to maximize battery life and still enjoy speedy performance. The 5400RPM hard drive in our model helps increase general performance as well, so to help maximize battery life locking the CPU speed at its minimum clock is probably a good idea on this machine.
GPU
As part of the Intel 915PM chipset package, the ATI Mobility Radeon X600 powers the video of the Z60m. PCI-Express GPUs demand more power compared to the AGP solutions, potentially affecting battery life. The chip inherits the architecture of the Mobility Radeon 9700, but includes a number of enhancements such as new power-saving (POWERPLAY 5.0) and image quality (LCD-EE) technology. The POWERPLAY 5.0 technology monitors system activity and dynamically adjusts clock and voltage based on system usage. The LCD-EE technology compensates LCD response time and allows better image scaling. According to ATI, in idle mode, the chip consumes around 1W of power, while under maximum load the graphics processor uses about 9W to 10W. Other key features include DirectX 9 hardware acceleration support, 4 rendering pipelines, 2 vertex pipelines, and 128MB of dedicated video DDR RAM. The core clock is rated as 400MHz while the memory runs at 250MHz, or 500MHz effective.
The X600 is a surprisingly robust GPU for only having 4 pixel pipelines. The high clock speeds and 128-bit memory bus help keep those pixels flying around the gorgeous 15.4" WSXGA+ screen. Half Life 2 traditionally favors ATI GPU's, making for a good gaming experience even at 1680x1050. AA and AF had to be turned off to keep things flowing, but overall image quality was decent and gameplay was enjoyable.
Now we know that Lenovo intends this to be for small business use and the X600 is more something to satisfy the occasional office gamer, but we would really have rather seen the ATI Mobility Radeon X700 GPU in this machine. If we were looking at an XGA/WXGA resolution screen, the X600 isn't a bad option; but for butter smooth gaming at 1680x1050 one really needs an 8 pipeline GPU, enter the X700 (or NVIDIA's GeForce Go 6600). It is possible that with ATI's Mobility Radeon X1600 around the corner that Lenovo didn't want to get too settled in with a higher cost part. Hopefully we will see the MR X1600 or NVIDIA's Go 7-series equivalent in the dual core Thinkpad DTR we should see in early 2006.
Display
We've never been disappointed with previous Thinkpad displays and we feel the same here. Our test model came with a 15.4" WSXGA+ screen, running at a native resolution of 1680x1050. Even though Lenovo offers a MaxBright (300 nits) WXGA screen, the 200 nits WSXGA+ is plenty bright even on battery. Clarity is top notch and ghosting is minimal in games, although the more picky gamers will prefer the lower response time of an LCD or even just a straight up CRT. Blurring while scrolling through long pages of text is surprisingly non-existant, especially compared to the Z60t.
Viewing angle on the WSXGA+ panel is much better than standard Thinkpad screens. Only the Flexview options on T-series provided truly exceptional viewing angles, and while the Z60m isn't quite onpar with Flexview it is must improved. As long as users don't mind the higher DPI of the WSXGA+ screen, everyone should just love the Z60m's display. The WXGA screen should be of the same quality, of course with lower resolution. We haven't yet seen the "MaxBright" WXGA, a panel that has a super high 300 nit brightness, but at the same time simply can't imagine needing a brighter screen. The Z60m's WSXGA+ is easily readable even in a bright room and don't even think about having it on highest brightness in a dark room, you'll be seeing spots! If we get a chance to check out the WXGA MaxBright, we'll be sure to post an update.
Sound
One of the features touted as being improved over the T/R-series is the sound quality, in regards to both the speakers and the audio chip. Lenovo decided not to continue the weak speakers built into the front bezel, as they were on the T/R-series. Now they have expanded the speakers to be on either side of the keyboard, making them larger and more powerful.
Previously the basic Soundmax audio chip was used to drive those speakers, providing satisfactory if underwhelming performance. The Z60m is now one of the few machines that uses Sonoma's high definition audio chip, Azalia. We have included a quick look at the specs versus the standard AC'97 integrated audio:
| AC'97 | Intel High Definition Audio |
| 20-bit output, 96 kHz stereo Max - 12 Mb/sec Max | 32-bit output, 192 kHz Multi Channel - 48 Mb/sec (SDO), 24 Mb/sec (SDI) |
| Fixed bandwidth assignment | Dynamic bandwidth assignment |
| AC'97 DMAs: dedicated function assignment | High Definition Audio DMAs: dynamic function assignment |
| Codec enumeration at boot time (BIOS) | Codec enumeration done by SW (bus driver) |
| Codec configuration limitation | No codec configuration limitation |
| 12 MHz clock provided by primary codec | 24 MHz clock provided by the ICH6-M |
| No ISOCH support | ISOCH support enables power savings opportunity (CPU in C3 state with audio activity) |
The audio quality is greatly improved over previous Thinkpads, and on par with most consumer level machines. Volume is sufficient, but not over powering. Playing Half Life 2 actually didn't sound horrible, lacking the tinny sound that most laptop speakers have. Since this machine isn't really designed to be used in any real kind of multimedia capacity, we can't really ask for much more. Higher quality speakers like those on HP's multimedia consumer notebooks would be a plus, given the small business orientation we aren't going to complain.
Features Continued Wi-Fi
The WiFi card included in this Z60m is the defacto standard Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG. Like previous Thinkpads, the UltraConnect wireless antennas are built into the side of the LCD panel. We did encounter a difficulty with the Lenovo software and Intel's wireless card. Using the Access Connections software that all Thinkpads come loaded with, we were unable to connect to one of our wireless access points. Specifically, the problem originated from the network being WPA encrypted on our Netgear 802.11g router. As soon as we disabled encryption it connected fine; or as soon as we uninstalled Access Connections and used Windows Wireless Zero Config. We checked for the latest updates from Lenovo, but none of them fixed our issue. Other than that, wireless performance was satisfactory, never showing any major issues. Below we have included our discussion of Lenovo's excellent Access Connections software from the T43 review, as it has remain mostly unchanged.
From Thinkpad T43 Review:
A small menu will pop up in the center of the screen, with two tabs and a plethora of options. The default menu tab lists your 'Location Profiles,' which are setup in IBM's Access Connection software; we will cover that shortly. You can select a default location profile, click 'Find a Wireless Network,' or explore more settings.
Under the second tab, Wireless Radio, you are given the option to turn any of the applicable wireless radios on or off. In our case, the only wireless radio present is the IBM 11a/b/g II mini-PCI wireless card. If our laptop were equipped with Bluetooth, that radio would be listed as well.
Now we've come to a nifty little application, the Access Connections utility. This program replaces Windows' wireless networking configuration, and does a great job at it. While the Microsoft 'Wireless Zero Config' does a more than satisfactory job at managing wireless connections and configuration, Access Connections goes above and beyond the call of duty. The first and most noticeable feature is the ability to setup different profiles. Under a profile, you can specify a name, whether to use the wired or wireless adapter, which wireless SSID to connect to (or to choose the best signal available), and many more options. You can even set file sharing preferences, Internet Explorer start page, and a default printer! For those who use a number of different networks throughout the day, Access Connections is like the Swiss Army knife for the mobile user.
Once you have your profiles and everything else setup, all it takes is a click of the Access Connections icon to bring up a list of your profiles. Select a profile to connect to and WHAM - you're connected.
In regards to the wireless card, performance was average, as expected. We've never been impressed by Intel WiFi cards overall, but they do save power compared to most other brands. The 2915ABG also connects to 802.11a networks, for those who maintain them!
End Excerpt From Thinkpad T43 Review
Bluetooth
The Z60m also features integrated Bluetooth wireless technology to wirelessly sync with Bluetooth enabled devices like printers, mice, keyboard, PDA, and cellular phones. We connected a Radtech BT500 bluetooth mouse with ease, thanks to the Add Bluetooth Device Wizard that detected the mouse immediately with no software drivers needed in order for it to operate. Although Bluetooth works within a smaller scope, it is useful for connecting multiple devices simultaneously. If Bluetooth and WiFi are not enough, the Z60m comes with infared (IrDA) communication that allows you to synchronize with PDAs or mobile phones.
Optical Drive
Our Z60m test model came with an LG DVD-RAM optical drive, capable of writing any disc you throw at it except Dual Layer DVD's. This of course includes both DVD formats, CD-R's, and even the obscure DVD-RAM. Since this is the more common 12.7mm optical drive size, compared to the Z60t & T-series' 9.5mm drives, we finally see some 8x DVD write speeds in a Thinkpad (R52's also have a high speed DVDRW option). With burn speeds competitive with other notebook drives, we are very pleased with the Z60m's optical drive.
Lenovo's software also includes different "performance" settings for the drive, so you can adjust the read speeds to make the drive entirely silent or perform at its best, at the sacrifice of it sounding like a jet taking off.
The supported read and write capabilities are as follows:
- Read: 24X CD-ROM/CD-R, 8X DVD-ROM, 6X DVD-ROM Dual Layer, 4X DVD +/- R/RW, 2X DVD-RAM
- Write: 24X CD-R, 16X CD-RW, 8X DVD +/- R, 4X DVD +/- RW, 3X DVD-RAM
Hard Drive
The Z-series is the first Thinkpad to use Serial ATA hard drives, which offer theoretically higher transfer rates. The hard drive in our test model is a 100GB Hitachi 5K100, spinning at 5400RPM with 8MB cache. Using SATA only does limit the choice of drives, but both Hitachi and Seagate offer high capacity drives in 7200RPM spindle speeds. We would really like to see the higher performance drives offered. In terms of the Hitachi drive itself, performance was more than satisfactory. To see how the IDE version of the 5K100 performs, check out our 2.5" Hard Drive Roundup. The same noise complaint applies here, but as mentioned in the roundup you can reduce noise with a bootable tool CD from Hitachi. We also recently discovered you can change drive acoustic settings with Notebook Hardware Control, as long as your drive supports it!
We really like the rubber shock absorbers affixed to each side of the hard drive. Previous Thinkpads only have a metal cage (still present on the Z-series) and a plastic bezel. There is also a small plastic tab at the bottom of the drive, which is used to remove it from the laptop.
Battery
The rated capacity and voltage of the 9-cell lithium ion battery is 7800 mAh and 10.8V, respectively. The physical shape of the battery with grip support makes for an excellent carrying handle when toting the notebook around by hand. With 85Whr of juice, the 9-cell high capacity battery actually lasts a reasonable amount of time. Average usage with WiFi will yield you a little under 5 hours, down to around 4 hours with moderate to heavy usage.
Lenovo does offer a 6-cell battery and optional UltraBay slim battery, but we've not had a chance to test those at this time. We hope to run some more tests with those batteries and will update this review at that time.
Few manufacturers include custom software for managing power settings, instead leaving users with the limited controls in Windows. Even those who do provide such software don't provide as much control as IBM offers.
As you can gather from the pictures, there are a large number of customizable options available. You can control CPU speed, hard drive timeout, display brightness, and the other usual options. What really stands out is that you can lower display brightness and refresh rate when idle, as well as control fan performance! The Global Power Settings replicate the same options in Windows power control.
Once you have selected a profile of your liking or created one of your own, just click the battery level indicator on the Start bar once and a menu will pop up listing the possible options. Select a profile and all of your settings are applied instantly. I haven't seen another manufacturer with such a practical utility.
AC Adapter
The included AC adapter measures 4.5 ' long x 1.9 ' wide x 1 ' thick, which is on the small side for AC adapters. The computer-side cable is 6 feet long and the wall-side cable is 4 feet long. These cables could be a little longer for additional flexibility, there were a number of times during my use of the notebook that I wish I had a slightly longer power cord. On the upside Lenovo did include a Velcro strap to wrap up the cables, which is more than most manufacturers provide. Lastly, the wall power connector is a two-prong plug. Sometimes certain buildings don't offer as many three-prong power plugs, thus giving you added flexibility on the go.
Thinkvantage Productivity Center
This nifty little application is new to the Thinkpad lineup, making it easy for even the most novice user to manage most every aspect of their machine.
Regular maintenance tasks, system backups, security settings, system updates, and a wealth of information are all accessible from this one little application. Busy business professionals and IT support personell alike will appreciate the simplicity this program offers. Often times IT people work with a number of different makes and models, making it difficult for them to service and maintain all of them with ease. The Thinkvantage Productivity Center puts all of the information they need in a single location, making their job almost too easy!
Lenovo includes a number of other VERY useful applications, for managing every detail of the machine. For a detailed look at the features offered by those programs, take a look at our T43 Review .
Setup MethodThe Lenovo Thinkpad Z60m was set to run at full performance by setting the power scheme set to 'Home/Office Desk' with the AC plugged in, meaning that the CPU will not underclock while running the tests. For the battery performance test, the power scheme was set to 'Portable/Laptop'. This activates Intel's Enhanced Speedstep technology, which lowers CPU speed when not needed, thus increasing battery life. Screen brightness and audio were both set to 50% and Wi-Fi were turned on. Each test was repeated 3 times to ensure accuracy. Before each test was run, the laptop was rebooted and its hard drive defragmented.
Bapco SYSmark2004SE is popular benchmark suite consists of two different performance scenarios and generates an overall score by taking the geometric mean of the individual scores.
- Internet Content Creation: In this scenario, the content creator creates a product related website targeting a broadband and narrowband audience. The user first renders a 3D model to a bitmap, while preparing web pages using a web site publishing tool. The user opens a video editing package, creates a movie from several raw input movie cuts and sound cuts and starts exporting it. While waiting on this operation, the user imports the rendered image into an image-processing package; modifies it and saves the results. Back in the 3D modeling software, the user modifies a 3D model and exports it to a vector-graphics format. Once the movie is assembled, the user edits it and creates special effects using one of the modified images as input. The user extracts content from an archive. Meanwhile, he uses an animation creation tool to open the exported 3D vector graphics file. He modifies it by including other pictures and optimizes it for faster animation. The final movie with the special effects is then compressed in a format that can be broadcast over broadband Internet. The web site is given the final touches and the system is scanned for viruses.
- Office Productivity: In this scenario, the office productivity user creates a marketing presentation and supporting documents for a new product. The user receives email containing a collection of documents in a compressed file. The user reviews his email and updates his calendar while a virus checking software scans the system. The corporate web site is viewed and the user begins creating the collateral documents. The user also accesses a database and runs some queries. A collection of documents are compressed. The queries' results are imported into a spreadsheet and used to generate graphical charts. The user then transcribes a document.. The user edits and adds elements to a slide show template. Finally, the user looks at the results of his work (both the slide show and the portable document) in an Internet browser.
The Lenovo Thinkpad Z60m was set to run at full performance by setting the power scheme set to 'Home/Office Desk' with the AC plugged in, meaning that the CPU will not underclock while running the tests. For the battery performance test, the power scheme was set to 'Portable/Laptop'. This activates Intel's Enhanced Speedstep technology, which lowers CPU speed when not needed, thus increasing battery life. Screen brightness and audio were both set to 50% and Wi-Fi were turned on. Each test was repeated 3 times to ensure accuracy. Before each test was run, the laptop was rebooted and its hard drive defragmented.
Bapco SYSmark2004SE is popular benchmark suite consists of two different performance scenarios and generates an overall score by taking the geometric mean of the individual scores.
- Internet Content Creation: In this scenario, the content creator creates a product related website targeting a broadband and narrowband audience. The user first renders a 3D model to a bitmap, while preparing web pages using a web site publishing tool. The user opens a video editing package, creates a movie from several raw input movie cuts and sound cuts and starts exporting it. While waiting on this operation, the user imports the rendered image into an image-processing package; modifies it and saves the results. Back in the 3D modeling software, the user modifies a 3D model and exports it to a vector-graphics format. Once the movie is assembled, the user edits it and creates special effects using one of the modified images as input. The user extracts content from an archive. Meanwhile, he uses an animation creation tool to open the exported 3D vector graphics file. He modifies it by including other pictures and optimizes it for faster animation. The final movie with the special effects is then compressed in a format that can be broadcast over broadband Internet. The web site is given the final touches and the system is scanned for viruses.
- Office Productivity: In this scenario, the office productivity user creates a marketing presentation and supporting documents for a new product. The user receives email containing a collection of documents in a compressed file. The user reviews his email and updates his calendar while a virus checking software scans the system. The corporate web site is viewed and the user begins creating the collateral documents. The user also accesses a database and runs some queries. A collection of documents are compressed. The queries' results are imported into a spreadsheet and used to generate graphical charts. The user then transcribes a document.. The user edits and adds elements to a slide show template. Finally, the user looks at the results of his work (both the slide show and the portable document) in an Internet browser.
Bapco MobileMark 2005 is the latest version of the premier notebook battery life and performance under battery life metric based on real world applications.
- Office Productivity: The workloads in this category model a mobile professional at a fictitious automobile company. The worker creates documents using Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, accesses email, and creates graphics and animation with Photoshop and Flash to include in a multimedia presentation. An Internet browser is used to view presentations. The user also invokes file compression and virus detection in the background.
- DVD Playback: The DVD playback 2005 workload is based on a 1 hours 55 minute movie that BAPCo has created from content provided by BMW�. The DVD playback test starts the movie playerapplication, sets up a full screen playback, and the loops over the content on the disk in the DVDplayer. This playback will continue until system shutdown at battery depletion.
3DMark 2001 SE PRO build 3.3.0 measures graphics performance by benchmarking the CPU, memory, and graphics through a series of 21 tests, including simulated games, theoretical tests, DX8 feature tests, and image quality tests. Resolution was set to 1024x768 with all default settings.
3DMark 2003 build 3.6.0 measures DX9 performance through a series of 3D game based sound, graphics, and CPU tests. Resolution was set to 1024x768 with all default settings.
3DMark2005 build 1.2.0 is a graphics intensive benchmark best suited for the latest generation of DirectX 9.0 graphics cards. It combines high quality 3D tests, CPU tests, and is the first benchmark to require Pixel Shader 2.0 support, making this a highly stressful 3D benchmark.
PCMark 2005 Advanced build 1.1.0 is the latest update to Futuremark's popular overall system benchmarking program. The 2005 version adds multithreading, DirectX 9, Windows Media Player 10, virus scanning, High Defintion video playback (WMVHD), and a vast number of other tests to its suite. Testing your computer's CPU, RAM, hard drive and graphics card, PCMark05 drives your computer to the max to determine its strengths and weaknesses.
Doom 3 (Version 1.1) using the built-in time-demo, initiated with the console command �timedemo demo1 precache�.
Test1:
| Test2:
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Half Life 2 (Source Engine 7) timedemo Canals 08 with the following tests and graphic settings:
Test1 (Low Image Quality):
| Test2 (High Image Quality):
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Configurations
Editor's Note: Unfortunately at this time we have no current benchmarks of truly comparable models, since we recently updated our benchmark suite to better serve our readers. We cannot directly compare battery life numbers with the previous Winstone suite, but they are close enough for users to get a general idea if you would like to peruse our other reviews of more comparable models like the Acer Ferrari 4005, Acer Travelmate 8103/8104, or Fujitsu Lifebook N3510. Performance numbers between Winstone & Sysmark are not comparable unfortunately.
| Specifications | Lenovo Thinkpad Z60m | Lenovo Thinkpad Z60t | MSI MS-1029 |
| Processor | Intel Pentium M 760 (2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Cache) | Intel Pentium M 760 (2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Cache) | AMD Turion 64 MT-37 (2.0GHz, 1MB L2 Cache) |
| Front Side Bus | 533MHz | 533MHz | 800 MHz (HTT) |
| Chipset | Intel 915PM | Intel 915GM | ATI RX480M + SB400 |
| Wireless LAN | Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG | IBM a/b/g II 802.11a/b/g | MSI 802.11b/g |
| LCD | 15.4" WSXGA+ TFT LCD (1680x1050) | 14" WXGA TFT LCD (1280x768) | 15.4" WXGA Glossy TFT LCD (1280x800) |
| Hard Drive | 100GB Hitachi 5K100 5400RPM 8MB Cache (HTS541010G9SA00) | 100GB Toshiba 5400RPM 16MB Cache (MK1032GSX) | 80GB Western Digital 5400RPM 8MB Cache (WD800VE) |
| Memory | 1GB DDR2 533 PC4200 SDRAM (1 x 1GB) | 1GB DDR2 533 PC4200 SDRAM (1 x 1GB) | 1GB (2 x 512MB) DDR400 PC3200 SO-DIMM in Single-Channel Mode CL 2.5 |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon X600 128MB | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 | ATI Mobility Radeon X700 128MB |
| Graphics Interface | S-Video/TV-out/VGA-out | S-Video/TV-out/VGA-out | S-Video/VGA-OUT |
| Optical Drive | 8x DVD+/-RW | DVD+/-RW | Dual-Layer Multi-Format DVD+/-RW |
| Modem | Integrated V.90 Modem | Integrated V.90 Modem | Integrated V.90 Modem |
| Ethernet | 10BASE-T/1000BASE-TX Ethernet | 10BASE-T/1000BASE-TX Ethernet | 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX Ethernet |
| Audio | Intel High Definition Audio (ICH-6) | Intel High Definition Audio (ICH-6) | AC'97 2.2 |
| Audio Interface | Microphone, two stereo speakers, headphone/line-out with SPDIF support | Microphone, two stereo speakers, headphone/line-out with SPDIF support | Microphone, two stereo speakers, headphone/line-out with SPDIF support |
| Ports | 3-in-1 Card Reader FireWire 1394 3 x USB 2.0 PC Card/ExpressCard | SD Card Reader FireWire 1394 3 x USB 2.0 PC Card | MMC/SD/MS 3-in-1 Card Reader FireWire 1394 4 x USB 2.0 PC Card |
| Weight | 7.3 lbs. with 9-cell battery | 5.1 lbs. with 7-cell battery | 6.39lbs with 8-cell battery |
| Size (W x D x H) | 14.1" x 10.3" x 1.47-1.58" | 13.1" x 9.0" x 1.05-1.22" | 13.98" x 10.04" x 1.18" |
| Operating System | Windows XP Pro w/SP2 | Windows XP Pro w/SP2 | Windows XP Pro w/SP2 |
| Battery | 7,800 mAh | 5,200 mAh | 4,400 mAh |
Bapco SYSmark2004SE
Internet Content Creation
Office Productivity
Total Score
Here we see some odd results. In the Internet Content Creation test, the Z60m leads the Z60t by a fair margin. The RAM and CPU are the same on these models, so we can chalk up the advantage to Hitach's 5K100 hard drive and no integrated graphics overhead. In Office Productivity, we see the two Thinkpads switch sides. Since we see a smaller margin here than in the Internet test, it is fair to say that the Toshiba MK1032GAX's 16MB cache in the Z60t helps it pull ahead a little, but the margin of error also comes into play making these scores close enough not to worry too much. The MSI MS-1029 is competitive, mostly held back by its weak Western Digital WD800VE hard drive.
PCMark05 Advanced
Performance was very respectable across all systems. CPU performance is close, but the 2.0GHz Pentium M's pull ahead. DDR2's high latency shows its weakeness against the CL 2.5 DDR 400 in the MS-1029. Graphics are no contest with the MS-1029's X700 GPU and while hard drives are all very close, the Hitachi 5K100's high areal density wins.
Here are the associated scores:
| PCMark05 | Lenovo Z60m | Lenovo Z60t | MSI MS-1029 |
| CPU | 3157 | 3193 | 2878 |
| Memory | 2782 | 2781 | 2897 |
| Graphics | 1819 | 757 | 2769 |
| HDD | 3572 | 3067 | 3116 |
and the PCMark05 Advanced Overall Score:
The Z60m leads the other systems, but not over the MS-1029 by much. PCMark05 favors Intel's Pentium M slightly over the Turion 64 and that is the main reason why we see the MS-1029 trailing the Z60m. The Z60t doesn't compete with either of these machines, mainly due to its integrated graphics.
3D Performance3DMark 2001 SE
3DMark01 is generally CPU limited, but with an all integrated graphics shoot-out here there is still some GPU dependancy. We see the same trend you will see in all the 3DMark tests: the MS-1029's X700, then the Z60m's X600, followed by the Z60t's GMA900. Who wants to bet on the 3DMark 2003 results?
3DMark 2003
3DMark 2003 is mostly GPU limited, at least in the notebook realm.�The X600 in the Z60m does respectably here, as�we would expect.�
3DMark 05
3DMark 2005 is pretty much 100% GPU limited in all but the NVIDIA Go7800GTX, which isn't featured here. Yet again, we see the same score distribution.
Gaming PerformanceSince we don't have any useful gaming benchmarks of the Z60t or MS-1029, we are going to include results from the Acer Ferrari 4005. The relevant system specifications are below:
| Specifications | Lenovo Thinkpad Z60m | Acer Ferrari 4005 |
| Processor | Intel Pentium M 760 (2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Cache) | AMD Turion 64 ML-37 (2.0GHz, 1MB L2 Cache) |
| LCD | 15.4" WSXGA+ TFT LCD (1680x1050) | 15.4" WSXGA+ TFT LCD (1680x1050) |
| Hard Drive | 100GB Hitachi 5K100 5400RPM 8MB Cache (HTS541010G9SA00) | 100GB Seagate Momentus 5400RPM 8MB Cache (ST9100823A) |
| Memory | 1GB DDR2 533 PC4200 SDRAM (1 x 1GB) | 1GB DDR333 PC2700 SDRAM |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon X600 128MB | ATI Mobility Radeon X700 128MB |
| Audio | Intel High Definition Audio (ICH-6) | Realtek AC' 97 |
| Audio Interface | Microphone, two stereo speakers, headphone/line-out with SPDIF support | Microphone, two stereo speakers, headphone/line-out with SPDIF support |
| Operating System | Windows XP Pro w/SP2 | Windows XP Pro w/SP2 |
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Doom 3
Despite only being a 4 pixel pipeline GPU, the ATI MR X600 holds its own in Doom 3. D3 typically favors NVIDIA GPU's and ATI's GPU's struggle to keep up. Players should see reasonable frame rates at 800x600 with low settings, but once you turn up the resolution and Anti-Aliasing things get ugly. Actually it looks quite good, but it is more of a slideshow than a game.
Half Life 2
Half Life 2 on the other hand favors ATI GPU's and even a relatively basic one like the X600 can maintain very reasonable frame rates. Low settings make the game very playable at 1024x768, and the game still looks reasonably good. Now once you add AA into the equation along with the high graphics settings, things slow down considerably. The X600 just doesn't have the processing power to support AA nicely on modern games, and we don't recommend enabling it. However in the Z60m's defense, the X600 performed almost identically to the Ferrari's X700 GPU. HL2 just overwhelms both GPU's with all those high end details, but we can also attribute the X600's competitive performance to quality drivers from Lenovo.
Battery Performance
Despite being a desktop replacement, we see some excellent results from the Z60m. Over 6 hours of battery life is more than most would ask for on a DTR, of course at the cost of the larger 9-cell battery sticking out the back.
The same trend is apparent in the Office test, showing usage that better reflects what most readers will experience.
With enough time to watch two movies, or one Lord of the Rings, the Z60m continues to impress. We hope to be able to test the standard 6-cell battery and the optional UltraSlim Bay Battery at some point, and you'll see an update to this review if we get the chance!
Conclusion
Pros:
- Top notch build quality
- Unparalleled software package
- Decent GPU Option
- Superb WSXGA+ screen
- Respectable battery life
- Runs very cool
- Plethora of Function keys
- Modular drive bay
- ExpressCard
- Fingerprint Scanner
Cons:
- Heavy and bulky
- Expensive
Recommendation
We were thoroughly impressed with the petite Z60t and the Z60m is no different. Lenovo's first 15.4" widescreen notebook has the best build quality we've seen in the 15.4" form factor, un-matched software features, and competitive performance to boot. While we feel the Z60t left certain users excluded, like people needing discrete graphics or a high resolution screen, the Z60m really has something to offer for just about anyone. Gamers will appreciate the rather peppy 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon X600, the high resolution screen option will appease multi-taskers and graphic designers, and the solid design will leave everyone appreciating Thinkpad build quality. Lenovo's inclusion of Firewire ports, more USB ports, and an 8x DVDRW are welcome additions that bring the Z-series closer to mainstream focus than any previous Thinkpad.
Very few things about the Z60m left us wanting. Unfortunately at the time of writing there are no 7200RPM drive options for the Z-series, despite Serial ATA drives available from both Hitachi and Seagate (Hitachi generally being a preferred supplier of Thinkpads; we've not seen a Seagate drive there yet). Die-hard Thinkpad lovers who migrate from a T-series to the
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