Lenovo Thinkpad Z60t Review
OverviewWith the launch of the Lenovo Thinkpad Z-Series, a lot of fears have been revealed as well. Many die hard Thinkpad-fanatics, current Thinkpad customers, and potential Thinkpad owners have all expressed concern about how Lenovo would handle the first launch of a new Thinkpad. And we are here to say, put your concerns away. This Thinkpad is definitely different, but still maintains a lot of the core principles that make up the traditional Thinkpad. There will be naysayers that think this is a completely Lenovo-designed notebook and thus inferior, but they are wrong on both counts. The Z-series has been in the works at IBM for a while before Lenovo entered the picture. While it is unclear what changes the Lenovo buyout may have had on the Z-series, none of them were a step in the wrong direction.
The Lenovo Thinkpad Z60t is a stark departure from the standard Thinkpad hierarchy, shaking things up with rounded corners, optional display covers, and a Start key. Our model came with the optional titanium display cover, and it is stylish looking. The Thinkpad line has long been criticized for its plain black styling, with only the logo adding any amount of color to the mix. The titanium cover adds a sexy coat to the machine, making it look more like a hip accessory than a powerful business tool. Despite being a very portable 14" widescreen under 5lbs, the Z60t is not lacking in performance. A selection of Celeron M and Pentium M chips are available, with a speedy Pentium M 780 (2.0GHz) in our test model. Hard drives are available up to 100GB 5400RPM and DVDRW drives are optional, both of which are on our Z60t. The only lacking part performance-wise is the graphics, Intel's GMA900 integrated GPU is the only option here. The good news about this is that the lack of discrete graphics will allow the current Z-series chassis to be used for dual core in early 2006. Even though the Z60t steers away from pure professional use like the T-series, it still has small business in mind with the fingerprint scanner, legendary Thinkpad security platform, and superb build quality.
Design
Portability
Most people will agree that a sub-15" chassis is ideal for portability while retaining user comfortability. The 14" widescreen form factor is one of the best sizes out there, maximizing portability and comfort of use. The Z60t makes the most out of this chassis, providing a lightweight platform to do just about anything you might need to do. Most users who plan to actually use this machine in a portable sense will want the 7-cell battery, which sticks out from the back similar to the 9-cell battery on previous Thinkpads. With the 7-cell you're looking at a weight of 5.1lbs, but going with the meager 4-cell battery will drop the travel weight down to only 4.5lbs. It is a little over an inch thick, measuring 13.1" x 9" for a small and light package. Toting the Z60t around by hand feels almost like you're handling a spiral-bound notebook, a heavy one albeit, and overall is a pleasure to take anywhere you go.
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 Z60t was built in classic Thinkpad style, 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 Z60t 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, WWAN, NumLock, CapsLock, HDD activity, System power, Battery power, AC power, and Sleep mode.
On the build quality downside, there are a couple of squeaky, loose places on our test model, as well as an issue with the screen not latching properly when closed. However we have been assured by Lenovo that these are pre-production issues only and customers will get a fit and finished product. Judging from the rest of the Z60t's build quality, we're confident that these couple minor issues are taken care of in production notebooks.
Keyboard
Keyboards are one of the most important parts of the Thinkpad line, with the Z60t having to keep up with a long heritage of typing bliss. There is no reason for worry however, the Z60t's full-size keyboard lives up to its legendary predecessors. While most manufacturers employ a small, 6-row keyboard the Z60t manages to fit a full size 7-row keyboard for a better typing experience. As with previous models, there is an excellent tactile response when typing away and key placement is done well enough to avoid having to take your hands off the keyboard too often. We have no major complaints about this keyboard compared to other Thinkpad models, it is equally comfortable and precise. It does seem rather loud compared to the Thinkpad T43 we reviewed, so be prepared to garner some attention when typing in a quiet room. Regardless, most users should be satisfied with the comfort and quality of the Z60t's keyboard.
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.
Lastly, one of the most noticeable and controversial changes to the Thinkpad keyboard is the addition of the Windows Start and Context Menu keys. IBM originally left these keys out for ergonomic consideration and gave users the option to map a Start key through software. This update has been in design plans for a while, but just now makes it to market in the Z-series. From this reviewer's perspective, the Start key is a mixed blessing. For those used to having a Start key, you will probably get into the groove using the Z60t. The biggest issue with adding these two keys is how useful they can be in such a small space. Since Lenovo put the speakers on each end of the keyboard, part of the usable space for the keyboard is taken up. The Start Key is abnormally small, making it feel like you are hunting for a needle in a haystack when trying to avoid stopping to find the key. We really prefer the way HP setup their dv1000 notebook, with the speakers angled upwards on the front bezel and the keyboard occupying as much of the laptop's length as it can. The addition of these new keys is a bit of a mixed blessing, and each person will have to make up their mind how much they like or disklike it. Personally, I don't use it very often and in the end will probably just map Start to the Right Alt key.
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 Z60t'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 Z60t 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 normal 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
The Z60t is a rather large step up from the relatively meager connectivity offerings of previous Thinkpads. Having been oriented for professional business use, previous generations of Thinkpads have never had a wide array of connectivity or multimedia features; a lot of this changes with the Z60t. Three USB 2.0 ports, an IEEE 1394 port, SD card reader, and several other welcome changes are present.
On the front of the machine you'll find the Microphone & Headphone jacks, brand new WiFi enable switch, IR port, and SD memory card slot. 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 only S-Video and Power connectors, along with an exhaust vent.
The left side is also rather barren, sporting only a VGA output, network/modem jacks, and a heat vent.
And now we get into the goodies! Towards the left you have a PCMCIA slot stacked on top of two USB ports and a 4-pin Firewire. Please note that this slot is NOT ExpressCard compatible, only PC Card. This is a disappointing note for future compatibility, but was apparently a necessary concession for space. After that is the modular optical drive, vertical USB port, and a Kensington lock hole. The last vertical USB port is a welcome addition. People who use a mouse, external drive, or other external USB device constantly will appreciate the rearward placing of that port to keep a regularly connected device out of the way. You can also see in this picture the antenna for the WWAN card attached to the side of the LCD; more on that later.
Overall we are satisfied with the Z60t's ports and layout. The front headphone plugs are a nice change, as are the more "standard" features like WiFi button, extra USB, and Firewire. The lack of an ExpressCard slot isn't a huge issue, but with so many other manufacturers including that support it is a strike against the Z60t.
Heat and Noise
As many of you are aware, the Thinkpad T43's had some cooling issues that left a number of users irked. Luckily, Lenovo didn't make the same mistake with the Z60t and developed a robust cooling system.
The only negative of the Z60t's cooling is that an intake port is placed on the bottom of the notebook, which can cause temps to increase a bit if you have it in an un-ventilated position. Luckily the cooling system is so efficient that while sitting on a desk, idle temperatures barely reach 40 degrees Celcius. If the machine is not well ventilated and the CPU is spiking above 800MHz frequently, temperatures easily break 50 C. The Z60t gets warm on the bottom, but never too hot. Some 14" machines have trouble with cooling due to the small size and higher TDP of the Sonoma platform, but the Z60t is not one of them.
If you're planning on using a notebook out and about, noise can be a big concern; particularly in a class or meeting. Fan noise from the Z60t is mostly unnoticeable. In a dead quiet room though, you can hear the fan. It has a light hum most of the time, but almost never spins up. The Lenovo Battery Maximizer settings allow some control of fan/cooling settings, with the "lower cooling performance" setting you almost never hear the fan. Temperatures rise a little on this setting, but not in any disconcerting manner. This machine is a quiet road warrior as far as cooling is concerned, now only if we could quiet the keyboard down a little bit. As we mentioned in the Keyboard section, a fast typer will make a good deal of noise clacking away.
Upgrading and Expansion
Upgrading your Thinkpad Z60t 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 Z60t, 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 Z60t 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 915GM chipset is used, providing integrated graphics via the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900. 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 16MB cache 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 915GM chipset package, the integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 900 (GMA 900) powers the video of the Z60t. According to Intel, the GMA 900 provides an increase of 2X in graphics performance over the previous generation Intel graphics solution (Extreme Graphics 2). Key features include DirectX 9 hardware acceleration support, Pixel Shader 2.0, 133-320MHz core clock, 4 pixels pipes and 128MB dynamically shared memory (8MB minimum, 128 maximum). The Intel GMA 900 utilizes shared memory architecture, meaning the system memory (RAM) is shared with the graphics card. Since shared memory is dynamic, it will be allocated for graphics usage based on application demand. Once the application is closed, the memory that was allocated for graphics usage is then released and made available for system use. During general use, the graphics memory uses 10MB of system memory and can use up to 128MB during graphic intensive usage. As a result, the system may slow down when heavy graphics from an application are in demand. The engine clock and memory clock are both rated at 200MHz.
Unfortunately, as most of you know, the GMA900 is a poor excuse for a 3D accelerator. For 2D uses, it is one of the best integrated solutions out there. It shares RAM dynamically, maximizing the amount of systems resources you have available. The downside is that no matter how much system RAM is uses, GMA900 is incredibly limited in 3D processing. We did not even bother to benchmark the GMA900 in Half Life 2 and Doom 3 this time; both to avoid overstating the lack of performance and save Laptop Logic editors tedious hours watching game slideshows. Those who want an idea of real world GMA900 gaming performance, take a look at our Sony FS550 3D Performance Results. 3DMark test results for our R52 are included in the 3D Performance section. Unfortunately users will not have an option of discrete graphics on the Z60t, due to Lenovo designing the chassis to be used for dual core mobile platforms next year.
Display
14" widescreen displays are one of the best form factors for portability; combining respectable desktop real estate with a portable design. The Z60t uses Lenovo's first ever widescreen panel and the screen is a joy to use. At full brightness on AC, the screen is more than bright enough in just about any environment. There is some noticeable blurring when rapidly scrolling pages, but nothing horrible. It is a standard 14" widescreen resolution at 1280x768, a 16:10 ratio.
The viewing angles of the Z60t are sufficient, but not as superb as the Flexview Thinkpad T-series. There is noticeable color inversion when viewing from reasonable angles; it could be better, but is on par with most non-transreflective screens. One area where the Z60t's display does shine is when viewed in sunlight. Even with sunlight shining directly on the screen, text is still perfectly visible. Dark images on screen like a movie won't be very visible, but for those wanting to type outside or in the car will appreciate the quality of this display. Hooking up an external display is very simple thanks to the Presentation Director, although it appears that in order to use both screens you must set the Z60t LCD to a non-widescreen resolution (like 1024x768).
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 Z60t 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. We still have yet to see a small form factor notebook with speakers like the HP dv1000. While the Z60t isn't specifically designed for multimedia, we would've appreciate some better low end response from the speakers. Vocals and high range noises come through loud and clear, but low end noise like bass just isn't there. Hopefully as Lenovo introduces more consumer oriented notebooks, with the Z60t going for small business, we will see better multimedia features. Regardless, sound quality is much improved over previous Thinkpads.
Features Continued
Wi-Fi
The WiFi card included in this Z60t is one of IBM's 11a/b/g II mini-PCI cards. Like previous Thinkpads, the UltraConnect wireless antennas are built into the side of the LCD panel. 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 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 above average. It was able to detect a number of weak signals at a local university, and connect to most of them. Throughput was always excellent in full-signal situations, and adequate even with low-signal connections. This card is also capable of connection to 802.11a networks, which worked flawlessly and provided good throughput at the short ranges that 802.11a is designed to operate. The IBM a/b/g II mini-PCI card looks to consume more power than the options from Intel, but offers better performance overall.
End Excerpt From Thinkpad T43 Review
Bluetooth
The Z60t 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 Z60t comes with infared (IrDA) communication that allows you to synchronize with PDAs or mobile phones.
Optical Drive
Our Z60t test model came with a Matshita 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. Unfortunately write speeds on this model are not quite up to snuff with competing recordable drives, due to the meager 4x DVD write speeds. Many notebook drives today have an 8x DVD write speed, putting the Z60t behind the times. We spoke with Lenovo about this, as the same drive is used by a number of Thinkpads, and the issue stems from a lack of development in 9.5mm optical drives. Right now 4x DVD+/-RW is the fastest available in 9.5mm drives, so those wanting fast burn speeds will have to sacrifice a little thickness and go for a larger notebook that uses the more common 12.7mm optical drives.
Lenovo's software does include 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, 12X CD-RW, 8X DVD-ROM, 6X DVD-ROM Dual Layer, 4X DVD-R/RW, 2X DVD-RAM, 4X DVD+R/RW
- Write: 16X CD-R, 8X CD-RW, 4X DVD-R/RW, 2X DVD-RAM, 4X DVD+R/RW
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 Toshiba MK1032GSX, spinning at 5400RPM with a massive 16MB cache. As you will see in our benchmarks, the extra cache almost makes you forget this is a 5400RPM drive. The Z60t's offer storage in 40GB, 60GB, 80GB, and 100GB capacities. Unfortunately all drives are at 5400RPM and not all of them are sporting the generous 16MB cache. Using SATA drives 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.
We did 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 Z60t) 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 7-cell lithium ion battery is 5,200 mAh and 14.4V, respectively. The physical shape of the battery with grip support makes for an excellent carrying handle when toting the notebook around by hand. With 65Whr of juice, the 7-cell high capacity battery actually lasts a reasonable amount of time. Average usage with WiFi will yield you about 4 hours, down to 3 1/2 hours with moderate to heavy usage. When I first only saw a 7-cell high capacity option I was skeptical of Lenovo's choices, but the 7-cell performs very satisfactorily.
Lenovo does offer a 4-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 Z60t 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 & Bluetooth 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 Z60t 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 & Bluetooth 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.
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.
Configurations
Editors 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 our 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 Thinkpad T43, Asus V6V, or HP dv1000. Performance numbers between Winstone & Sysmark are not comparable unfortunately.
| Specifications | Lenovo Thinkpad Z60t | HP L2000 | Fujitsu P7010 |
| Processor | Intel Pentium M 760 (2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Cache) | AMD Turion 64 ML-30 (1.6GHz, 1MB L2 Cache) | Intel Pentium M ULV 753 (1.20 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache) |
| Front Side Bus | 533MHz | 1600 MHz (HTT) | 400 MHz |
| Chipset | Intel 915GM | ATI RS480 | Intel 855 GME Chipset |
| Wireless LAN | IBM a/b/g II 802.11a/b/g | Broadcom 802.11b/g Bluetooth IrDA | Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG |
| LCD | 14" WXGA TFT LCD (1280x768) | 14" WXGA TFT LCD (1280x768) | 10.6-inch XGA |
| Hard Drive | 100GB Toshiba 5400RPM 16MB Cache (MK1032GSX) | 80GB Hitachi 5400RPM 8MB Cache | 100GB Fujitsu 4200RPM 8MB Cache |
| Memory | 1GB DDR2 533 PC4200 SDRAM | 512MB DDR 333 SDRAM (2 x 256MB) in Single-Channel Mode CL 3 | 512MB (2 x 256MB) DDR333 PC2700 Micro DIMM |
| Graphics | Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 | ATI Radeon Xpress 200M | Intel �855GME graphics |
| Graphics Interface | S-Video/TV-out/VGA-out | S-Video/TV-out | S-Video/VGA-OUT |
| Optical Drive | DVD+/-RW | Tray-Load DVD-RW Super-Multi Double Layer | 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) | AC'97 | Realtek ALC203 |
| 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 | SD Card Reader FireWire 1394 3 x USB 2.0 PC Card | 6-in-1 Card Reader | Memory Card Reader Compact Flash Card Reader FireWire 1394 2 x USB 2.0 PC Card |
| Weight | 5.1 lbs. with 7-cell battery | 5.38 lbs. with 6-cell battery | 3.3 lbs. with 6-cell battery |
| Size (W x D x H) | 13.1" x 9.0" x 1.05-1.22" | 13.15" x 9.1" x 1.29" | 10.27� x 7.38� x 1.26�-1.38� |
| Operating System | Windows XP Professional w/SP2 | Windows XP Professional w/SP2 | Windows XP Home w/SP2 |
| Battery | 5,200 mAh | 4,400 mAh | 4,800 mAh |
Bapco SYSmark2004SE
Internet Content Creation
Office Productivity
Total Score
Performance is not a contest in the SYSmark tests here, as the Z60t has a faster CPU, higher performance hard drive, and more RAM.
PCMark05 Advanced
Unfortunately we could not get PCMark05 to run on the Fujitsu, possibly due to its older chipset and Intel Extreme 2 graphics.
Here are the associated scores:
| PCMark05 | Lenovo Z60t | HP L2000 | Fujitsu P7010 |
| CPU | 3193 | 2257 | N/A |
| Memory | 2781 | 1976 | N/A |
| Graphics | 757 | 726 | N/A |
| HDD | 3067 | 3250 | N/A |
and the PCMark05 Advanced Overall Score:
The Z60t wins in every category except hard drive performance, and even there it is close. Overall the Z60t is a very speedy machine thanks to its high end CPU, hard drive, and RAM.
3D Performance3DMark 2001 SE
3DMark01 is generally CPU limited, but with an all integrated graphics shoot-out here there is still some GPU dependancy. With the Z60t's GMA900 and the L2000's Radeon Xpress200M both being much more advanced than the Fujitsu's Extreme 2 graphics, we unsurprisingly see the P7010 at the bottom. However the Z60t's faster CPU allows it to pull ahead of the L2000.
3DMark 2003
3DMark 2003 is almost completely GPU limited, at least in the notebook realm. None of the machines do well, but the Z60t again pulls ahead slightly thanks to its faster CPU and 1GB RAM.
3DMark 05
3DMark 2005 is definitely GPU limited. However we see an interesting turn-around here. For the first time, the L2000 pulls ahead by a relatively large margin. Almost doubling the Z60t's score, we can attribute this only to ATI's Radeon Xpress200M IGP. ATI claims performance similar to the Mobility Radeon X300 with this chipset, and it appears they're right on! Despite the L2000's anemic 512MB RAM and slower 1.6GHz CPU, it manages to pull ahead. Do keep in mind that both scores are really bad slideshows of 3DMark05, neither being sufficient for modern gaming.
Battery Performance
We see very respectable performance from the Z60t here, lasting only 30 minutes less than the power-thrifty Fujitsu. Despite having a much more power hungry CPU than the Fujitsu's Pentium M Low Voltage, the Z60t manages to impress with its longevity.
We see the same trend here, with the Fujitsu leading, the Z60t in a close second, and the L2000 trailing behind.
No surprise here. The Fujitsu easily surpasses the other machines thanks to its very low 5.5W TDP, compared to the 27W Pentium M and 35W Turion 64. However the Z60t performs very well for its size, averaging around four hours with normal usage. The standard 4-cell battery will give you about half that, so we strongly urge any potential buyers to get the 7-cell battery. It is well worth the extra weight!
Conclusion
Pros:
- Lightweight
- Top notch build quality
- Unparalleled software package
- WWAN Option
- Trackpoint & touchpad
- Runs cool
- Plethora of Function keys
- Modular drive bay
Cons:
- No ExpressCard
- No discrete GPU
- Slow DVDRW
- Expensive
Recommendation
Despite the criticism of naysayers, we can officially say Lenovo is continuing the Thinkpad heritage. It may be a little sleeker, a little more colorful, and a little less "IBM," but it is still a Thinkpad; tried and true. The top notch build quality, unmatched hardware & software features, and industry-leading capabilities are present more than ever in the Z60t. The Z60t is the first notebook on the market to offer an integrated EVDO WWAN card, bringing unparalleled computing mobility. Lenovo recognized the popularity of widescreen aspect ratios, as well as the superb balance of size and comfortability of the 14" widescreen form factor. We have to congratulate Lenovo on the introduction of their "first" Thinkpad since the purchase of IBM's PC division.
But what about everyone else? While this may be a great addition to the Thinkpad lineup, the 14" portable market is crowded. Dell, HP, Fujitsu, and most other major manufacturers have competing models, ranging from 13.3" to 14" to 14" widescreen sizes. Looking at the Z60t's more direct competitors, we see HP's Business notebook nc6230 coming out to around $2000 similarly configured. The same is true with a Dell Latitude D610, weighing in around $2000 similarly configured. The big advantage we see with the Z60t is the integrated EVDO WWAN card. Those looking for integrated EVDO capability can look only to the Z60t; right now it is the only player on the field with that card integrated. Dell and HP have plans to introduce that option, but not until sometime in 2006. Lenovo also has the upper hand with software features; their networking, security, and general PC management features are unique and innovative. Lenovo does offer the best security features of the bunch, with an integrated fingerprint scanner and ultra-secure hardware based encryption/password protection. HP offers a very similar system, instead using a Smart Card reader (fingerprint scanner available on other models). Dell, however, offers no hardware security features. Build quality is also top of the line, but we expect something comparable from HP and Dell. From our interaction with different HP and Dell models, and not based on an official review, we believe Lenovo build quality is higher than its competitors, but not enough to make that a sole deciding factor.
Really the biggest factor we're looking at here is price. Our test model runs $2299 at the time of publication, but only comes with a one year warranty. With HP and Dell 14" SXGA+ models costing $300 less but including a full three year warranty, the Z60t starts to lose its appeal. Adding a three year depot repair warranty, similar to the base three year warranties from HP and Dell, brings the price up by $132. Now we're looking at over a four hundred dollar premium on the Z60t, for which you get a stylish silver cover, lower resolution screen, awesome software package, high tech security, and high build quality. We feel that the plethora of extra features and higher build quality justifies the $300+ higher price tag, it is just a matter of how much YOU will use those features. If WWAN is a moot point to you, then there goes most of the justification for the Z60t. The same goes for the security features.
Being a computer designed for business users, the Z60t doesn't have much value for everyday consumers. A lack of multimedia features (comparatively), weak GPU, and high price tag will (and should) dissaude your average home user from looking at the Z60t. The only model we would be able to recommend is the 2511EEU, sporting a Pentium M 740, 40GB drive, CDRW/DVDROM, 256MB RAM, fingerprint scanner, and 4-cell battery for $1299. RAM is easy to add on your own and an extra battery doesn't run much, but you get the two important features with this model: a Pentium M processor and fingerprint scanner. Unfortunately for those who really lust for EVDO capability, you're looking at a minimum of $1879 (model 2511EGU). There really is no model right now that gives you a little bit of everything: Pentium M, EVDO WWAN, and the fingerprint reader. Lenovo will be adding more models and making them more customizable in the future, but for now the Z60t just isn't for everyone. Despite not being the most economical option, we still love the Z60t's style and features. For this we are happy to award the Lenovo Thinkpad Z60t with the LaptopLogic Recommended award.
Availability/Warranty
The Lenovo Thinkpad Z60t (model 2511E7U) is available now for $2299 in the United States. The default warranty coverage is for one year parts and labor, including the battery. Z60t models are available starting at $1099.
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