I have the extended warranty which lasts until June of this year. I've had it since June of 2008 and let me point out how outstanding Lenovo's warranty is: they try to help you fix it and if they can't they will send you a UPS box and then have it back to you in less than 3 days.   Okay, here are the good things: its fast, has a decent sized hard drive, and a nice graphics card. I can play starcraft 2 when I have time on the lowest settings SMOOTHLY. Keep in mind this is a 2008 computer!  But one thing I have to mention is that 3rd party drivers are required to play on it. The Quadro cards are strange, in that sense.   Finally, it has broken 3 times on me. Once, for a hard drive failure Another time because the keyboard's A button was broken (they just sent me a new keyboard) and once, because of a motherboard issue.   Lenovo stands up to its history, and is extremely reliable.

supracuhz

Arcadia, CA

I bought this computer over 3 years ago, when i first entered college. I wanted a new computer and I always thought Thinkpads looked so cool. So i took out a student loan and ordered one custom from Lenovo. At the time, it was the best on the market. Mine had a dual-core processor. I ordered it with little ram and a small hard drive and just replaced them on the cheap. The processor is very fast, compared to my single-core intel Toshiba notebook I had. And it also has many cool features like the light built in, the steel top cage, and very good battery. But now, 3 years later, it is starting to break down, as all computers do. One of the first things to go was the cd drive and this is actually a common problem i've seen on the internet. So beware. And also the fan is hot and noisy- i opened my machine up and cleaned it, but still it persists. Bottom line: This computer is amazing when it's new. However, it may not be built to last. Probably Dell is more reliable. I would not buy it again for the price I did. Probably will get another thinkpad and take better care of it, but it would be a refurbished one or something.

metalmeric

Davis, CA

Like all those Youtube Videos of thinkpads, you will become a believer once you own one. This was my second thinkpad, the first of the T line.  I got a solid 13.3" wide screen model core 2 duo.  While it may be a dinosaur compared to today i5 and i7 processor, I don't plan on updating this baby anytime soon.  This thing still keep on ticking despite multiple drops and food spills.  It survive a college life, and not many laptops could say that.  The build is just solid all-around.  While the laptop many not be pretty or flashy as a macbook...it is very rugid and dependable.  It comes bundle with all the IBM/Lenovo softwares, include thinkvantage for quick recovery of the computer in case of any crashing.  Then there's the legendary thinklight...always nice to have for reading in dark locations.  Battery life is decent with the 6-cell but could been much better.Overall, a definity must own, especially if you have kids that are going to college. This will be a very good investment that will be with them till they done...and then some.

monkeygod

Houston, TX

I love my Lenovo Thinkpad T61. It a very durable computer. It has a very classic design based on a bento box. It is all black, but people may dislike it for its lack of design. The Lenovo T61 Thinkpad has multiple configurations. I had the 15.4" LCD with 1680x1050. From my point of view, the LCD viewing angles are pretty good. The resolution is very high which makes text very small which some people may dislike. The weight of the computer is quite heavy. It would be better to get a 13" or 14" computer if you plan on taking the computer with you all the time. My particular Lenovo T61 Thinkpad also had dedicated graphics, the Nvidia NVS 140m.The dedicated graphics card makes the battery life extremely low. Unless you are gaming or doing CADD, then a integrated graphics card should be good enough for you. In addition, you can remove the DVD burner and replace it with a hard drive provided that you purchase the appropriate Ultraybay for it. The DVD burner does not use a standard slimdrive optical disc drive IDE connector. Instead it is proprietary to Lenovo's Thinkpad line. The top covering of the computer is made of rubber like coating to make it have more grip. In addition, the notebook has a rollcage skelton that makes the motherboard less likely to bend and cause electrical connection problem. This laptop is very good and reliabilty and highly recommended.

rchungtw

Orlando, FL

I purchased this laptop in the summer of 2007. My boyfriend bought a dell desktop at the same time. His computer has completely broken down several times (OS problems, dead motherboard, etc.) while the largest problem my laptop has ever had was a bad fan a couple of months ago. That was the only time I had to use my warranty and the problem was fixed in no time. The laptop is getting noticeably slower, but oh well, it's aged... The look is simple and professional. In terms of weight, I actually don't think it's that bad since my previous laptop (a Toshiba 17'') was a lot heavier. One thing I regretted not having is a larger hard drive. 100GB, while seemed like a lot 3 years ago, is not nearly enough nowadays. I had to put my music and photos on an external hard drive since I was running out of space.  The battery life is decent. With an extended battery, the laptop usually lasts 3-3.5 hours unplugged. That's good enough for most of the domestic flights, which, along with international flights, are possibly the only time I need to use the battery.   

superhistorical

Boston, MA

The Lenovo ThinkPad T61 is a great laptop. I purchased this laptop for its durability and reliability. The construction of the laptop is excellent. I really like the magnesium shell as it provides rigidity and stability to the laptop. The thick beefy metal hinges ensures the lcd is stable. The anti glare screen is a real plus too as oppose to the glossy screen you find on most of today's laptop monitors that reflect all the ambient light back. The keyboard is one of the best in the business, nice and soft with just the right amount to travel and tactile feedback. There is no flex in the keyboard but there is some flex on the lower left palm rest where the pci expansion slot is. The laptop is on the heavy side but is typical for a laptop of this size. The laptop runs cool and is virtually silent. My system came with a core2duo and a discrete Nvidia gpu so it was very fast and responsive. I was even able to do some light gaming. I have the widescreen version and while the off center lcd screen seemed awkward at first, I never really notice it during actual use. My battery life with a six cell battery is typically 2-3 hours. 

royalpix

Diamond Bar, CA

I have had a Lenovo T61p for almost three years.  It has been a fast dependable machine. Mine came equipped with 2GB of ram, and an 80GB 7200rpm hard drive. I prefer Apple products, but for work purposes, this machine was required, I'd say that IBM/Lenovo have some of the best built Laptops, this side of Apple. The screen has an extremely high native resolution of 1900x1200 and seems to have good color fidelity, but could be somewhat brighter. The T61p sports both a touch pad, and the little nubby pointer joystick. It also has an SD card reader, two PC card slots, and a DVD burner. My T61p is equipped with a 9 cell battery that provides about three hours of life, if you're not trying to save energy.  One thing that I think many people overlook the usefullness of is the 'Think Light,' which is really just a white LED positioned above the screen that can shine down on the keyboard and make it easier to type in a dark room. Wifi performance is good, and can hold onto a signal located in the far corner of our house. The Lenovo T61p is  dependable solid laptop.  

main

Keller, TX

I've always been amazed at the performance, stability, and usage of Lenovo t61 laptops. Built with a solid frame, the T61 I the workhorse of many companies. These companies use the T61 because of its long track record of reliability. If properly cared for, these laptops can last for years, assuming you're okay with an aging laptop with what will eventually be outdatted hardware. But just a few words of caution - these pc's are often sent without product cd's. The reason this is bad is if you need to boot windows from a product cd, or use any of the other diagnostics on that cd to figure out what's wrong with your computer. Instead of product cd's, lenovo sections off a partition of the hard drive, containing a disk image of the laptop at factory condition. So, if you're computer breaks down irrecoverably, you load this image and copy it onto your hard drive. The T61 also comes with a lot of bloatware - software that isn't necessary nd often proprietary programs offered by the manufacturer of your pc.

wingyuu2

Staten Island, NY

My lenovo specs: Intel Core 2 duo 3 GB Ram I am a designer who has to use a lot of programs that can be very heavy on the ram. I have used 3d programs along with adobe suite and it runs smoothly. There are however many useless functions which causes the laptop to run and startup slowly. atleast they can be removed. the security fingerprint works well although i have also removed that function. i have nvidia graphics card but somehow cannot bring the resolution up more than 1024 x 768 pixels, which is really ugly. it is also not widescreen which i find unpleasant. it runs as well as a mac book pro and is a lot cheaper, which is why i got it. after one year the internal harddrive died on me, so when you buy a lenovo you should buy with 3 year warranty and you get a new harddrive for free. the customer service people were very helpful too. i have had the laptop for two years and constantly worried that the internal hdd will die. also the fan is making a whirring noise, you can get this fixed for free too. would i buy it again? i think i want to invest in a mac book pro with good warranty.

mchazzle

Los Angeles, CA

I have had my Lenovo Think Pad T61p for about a year now and it still works great. I even bought mine used from a friend. I find that my Lenovo has taken more abuse than most computers yet still works very well. My husband stepped on it when we move making the screen unusable but the CPU still good. We just hooked it up to another monitor. Then about a month ago, my son kinda knock a jug of milk on it. We just turned the computer off and let it lay upside down for a day. It is still working! Sometimes I do feel like my computer is kinda slow, but it is normaly just my internet, my computer seems to work better than my old one. My only real dislike about this computer is the volume. It never really gets loud enough to watch a movie or listen to music so I had to buy a speaker to plug in. It's not always easy when your in the car or out and about. I do happen to love my Lenovo Think Pad T61p so I would reccomend it for any computer lover.

zorgkk

Pflugerville, TX