Benchmarks
Benchmarks are nice and all, but they vary greatly based on your configuration, the Z60t I have is high-end and priced at $2,299 and the good news is you can buy your way to top performance with the configurations allowed, but remember these numbers don't reflect what you'll be getting with a Celeron M, 256MB configuration.
We use Super Pi to get a benchmark of processor speed. The Super Pi program (download: ftp://pi.super-computing.org/windows/super_pi.zip) simply forces the processor to calculate Pi to a selected number of digits of accuracy. Calculating to 2 million digits is our benchmark:
Comparison of notebooks using Super Pi to calculate Pi to 2 million digits (plugged in):
| Notebook | Time |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z60t (2.0 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 44s |
| Fujitsu S6231 (1.6 GHz Pentium M) | 2m 6s |
| Sony VAIO FS680 (1.86 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 53s |
| IBM ThinkPad T43 (1.86 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 45s |
| Asus Z70A (1.6GHz Pentium M) | 1m 53s |
| Fujitsu LifeBook N3510 (1.73 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 48s |
| Dell Inspiron 6000D (1.6 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 52s |
| Dell Inspiron 600M (1.6 GHz Pentium M) | 2m 10s |
| Sony VAIO S360 (1.7 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 57s |
| HP DV4170us (Pentium M 1.73 GHz) | 1m 53s |
| Sony VAIO S380 (1.86 GHz Pentium M) | 1m 45s |
PCMark04 and 3DMark04 were run to compare T43 numbers with the Z60t, notice that the processor based benchmarks put the Z60t ahead (as it was configured with a faster Pentium M) but as soon as you hit any graphics based benchmarks (starting with the Physics Calculations and 3D) the T43 wins because it has an ATI X300 dedicated graphics card.
Futuremark PCMark04 Scores ThinkPad T43 (1.86GHz, ATI X300 64MB graphics)ThinkPad Z60t (2.0 GHz, Intel integrated graphics) Multithreaded Test 1 / File Compression3.33 MB/s3.45 MB/s Multithreaded Test 1 / File Encryption27.19 MB/s29.11 MB/s Multithreaded Test 2 / File Decompression23.4 MB/s25.29 MB/s Multithreaded Test 2 / Image Processing10.88 MPixels/s11.44 MPixels/s Multithreaded Test 3 / Virus Scanning1914.17 MB/s1964.74 MB/s Multithreaded Test 3 / Grammar Check2.82 KB/s3.07 KB/s File Decryption54.11 MB/s57.91 MB/s Audio Conversion2496.87 KB/s2673.63 KB/s Web Page Rendering5.27 Pages/s5.41 Pages/s DivX Video Compression51.71 FPS55.18 FPS Physics Calculation and 3D159.19 FPS73.92 FPS Graphics Memory - 64 Lines868.44 FPS361.91 FPSFuturemark 3DMark05 Scores3DMark Score727 3DMarks224 3D MarksCPU Score3414 CPUMarks2103 CPUMarksGaming TestsGT1 - Return To Proxycon 3.3 FPS0.9 FPSGT2 - Firefly Forest2.2 FPS0.7 FPSGT3 - Canyon Flight3.4 FPS1.1 FPSCPU TestsCPU Test 11.18 FPS1.3 FPSCPU Test 22.9 FPS1.5 FPS
For those interested in hard drive performance, below is a screenshot of the output generated by the HDTune hard drive benchmark application:
For those interested in hard drive performance, below is a screenshot of the output generated by the HDTune hard drive benchmark application:(view larger image)
Heat and Fan
The Z60t is a winner in terms of being quiet and keeping temperature down. It beats both the ThinkPad T43 and X41 in it's ability to stay cool. I was actually disappointed the other day when using the the Z60t in a Starbucks where they chose to blast the air conditioning, my hands got cold so I tried an often used trick of placing my hands next to the laptops vent for some warmth -- but no heat was coming out. The darn thing was dissipating heat fast enough that the vents simply weren't blowing warm air. But if you are in a warm room, as my office tends to be, it keeps it's cool too and is very quiet -- impressively so.
Screen
The story with the Z60 series is of course it's the first widescreen ThinkPad to come about, which is a popular feature in the consumer space especially. The Z60t has a 14.1" diagonal screen and the resolution is WXGA (1280 x 768), there is currently no option for a higher res screen. I again refer to the picture of the Z60t next to the T40 above for you to see how the screen differs in height and width. The widescreen feature is nice for fitting two vertical windows next to each other, or for spreadsheets and of course widescreen DVD movies.
Outside of the widescreen feature, there's nothing else different going on. No flexview (wide viewing angle screen), no glare type screen and no extra bright backlight. But also no dead pixels on the screen.
The screen is fine and without defects -- but it's not the brightest star in the sky in regards to brightness (view larger image)
The screen brightness is somewhat lacking, it's rated at 200nit, the upcoming Z60m screen will offer a MaxBright option of 300nit. Ignorance is bliss, if you don't put the Z60t next to another laptop that is bright and glossy, you'll likely remain content with the screen. But put the Z60t next to a bright glossy screen laptop and you'll get screen envy and wish the brightness level on the Z60t went up a couple more knotches. Don't try using this laptop outside, the outdoor lighting will overpower being able to see the screen. Kind of a shame since the built-in EVDO would make it possible to go to the park and get some work done while being connected.
Keyboard + Buttons / TrackPoint / Touchpad
The ThinkPad keyboard is the best keyboard available for a laptop. The Z60t gets a couple of extra buttons we're not used to seeing on a ThinkPad, the Windows key and an Application key are on the bottom between the Alt / Ctrl buttons. This will make many people happy, and if you don't care about the buttons it's not really going to upset you (that much). I found the reach between the Alt-Tab button combination I often use to be a bit more of a stretch than usual, but nothing you won't get adjusted to. Also added are media shortcut functions for stop, play, forward, back using the Fn + Arrow buttons. On the front of the laptop is a button added to turn all wireless on/off, switching this pops up an applet on the screen indicating all wireless is on/off.
The feel of the keyboard is as good as ever, keys are firm and there's no flex, the spacing of the keys is perfect and remains a textbook example of supreme usability.
In the middle is the Z60t keyboard, on the left is the T40 and on the right is the X41 (view larger image)
The excellent trackpoint navigation and pointing stick feel the same as ever too. They took off the red stripes from the buttons (which I kind of liked), but the feel and contour remain the same. If you prefer a touchpad it's there for you to use, I always favor the pointing stick and am such a fan of it that I'll often choose it over the mouse because the stick allows you to keep your hands on the keyboard and poised ready to strike the next key.
Sound and Audio
I was hopeful that with two larger sized speakers on either side of the Z60t keyboard there was potential for a decent listening experience. And while the speakers are light years better than the X40 speakers (speaker is on the bottom of that machine) and better than the T43 speakers, the volume still isn't all that great and neither is the quality, there's little bass provided. Whatever though, I always use headphones in an office environment and external speakers at home for listening across the room so really it's a non-issue in my book.
Battery and Power Adapter
Lenovo quotes up to 5 hours of life using the 7-cell battery on the Z60t, you can sacrifice battery life and get a 4-cell battery if you don't want the battery sticking out at the back. I easily get 4 hours of life on my X41 with it's 8-cell battery, and the T43 I once had could achieve 4 hours (on low power settings), so I was hopeful the Z60t would cruise to this length of battery life. But it didn't. I conducted two battery drain tests and here's what I got:
In the forgiving test scenario, I hardly used the laptop so I was hoping to get to 3.5 hours. With the torture test I was using the laptop for web surfing, email and editing a document -- no DVD viewing or external peripheral usage. Sadly it seems that a 2 hour long DVD played at full screen brightness might not make it to the end credits.
The power adapter is the same size as the T40 series adapter, with the Z60 we lose the IBM branding on the adapter and it goes to a white ThinkPad logo with red dot above the "i".
The power adapter is about the size of a standard sized optical mouse
And definitely a little shorter than the thickness of an optical mouse
Wireless and Connectivity
The Z60t has a cornucopia of communication options available. The built-in wireless 802.11 a/b/g card in my unit comes from Atheros. There are configs available with an Intel card inside so you get a Centrino notebook. The Atheros card works flawlessly, thanks in large part due to the ultra connect ThinkPad antenna located in the screen for better reception. Don't get too hung up on having an Intel wireless card -- although I know that those concerned about Linux compatibility will want the Intel card as it is tested and proven to work on that OS. Not sure about this Atheros card, and the Z60 is not Linux certified yet.
The Z60 can come with a built-in EV-DO modem and antenna for cellular communication from anywhere, or at least all major U.S. cities. Verizon provides this service to existing Verizon subscribers for $60 a month (with 2-year plan), or non Verizon customers for $80 a month (Verizon plan info). That buys you high-speed wireless internet without relying on a hot spot. EVDO performance does vary by location. In testing I get great speed from my office and decent from my apartment. The Z60t EVDO performance is much better than the wireless EVDO card I have in my X41, so that antenna being located on the side of the screen of the Z60t (it's on the right side) does make a difference. I'd still take wi-fi over EVDO if the two options are available, but EV-DO really frees you up and can give you near broadband performance (on the download at least, uploads are throttled by Verizon, so it is much slower). Mobile sales people can really benefit from this.
Check it out, you can connect via regular Wi-Fi or a Verizon EVDO connection (that costs $80/month for a subscription -- cough) (view larger image)
Bluetooth and infrared are also built-into the Z60t, Bluetooth is an option. It's definitely nice to have these short range communications at your dispense.
Input and Ports
The Z60t gives us more ports than we're used to having on a ThinkPad. Here's a rundown of all the ports:
Not bad at all, I have no complaints and would love to see the T series come closer to the Z60t in number of ports offered. If there's not enough ports here, you can purchase the new ThinkPad Advanced Mini Dock made for the Z60 series that offers such things as digital audio S/PDIF, DVI, 4 USB 2.0 ports and various legacy ports.
Software
The Z60t comes with Windows XP Home or Pro. The nice thing about the Z60t is all the great IBM utilities for managing your laptop. The security, data and recovery tools you get with the Z60t is the most mature package on the market. For consumers the ThinkVantage features and number of security features will be more than you need, but nice to have. For business' up to enterprise size, the security features and data protection can be the main selling point. The Active Protection System included with the Z60t is a combination of software and hardware that detects any unusual motion and instructs the drive head to park and thereby protect data if there's any impact. It's too much to go into detail on the APS system here, but checkout the IBM white paper on it if you'd like to learn more: ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/aps2mst.pdf.
The ThinkVantage system (formerly Access IBM) has been updated. Simply push the ThinkVantage button at the top of the keyboard and a clean looking applet pops up on the left side of the screen with a web style interface for clicking links to do everything from managing your wireless connections via IBM Access Connections, to turning on the ThinkLight (keyboard illumination light), to backing up and restoring your Z60t.
Pushing the ThinkVantage button brings up a software applet on the left sid eof the screen with easy links to many tasks for managing your laptop
You can setup maintenance tasks for your laptop through ThinkVantage so that they run in "Whisper Mode" and only kick in when you're not using the processor too much -- there's nothing more annoying than disk defrags or virus scans killing your notebooks performance, so the Lenovo software designers give you the power to control this.
I could go on and on with the features ThinkVantage provides and improvements with the Z60t, instead I'll refer you to the Lenovo site and documentation that covers this better than I can: http://www.pc.ibm.com/us/think/thinkvantagetech.html
Conclusion
The Z60t ends up being a great compromise between a business and consumer oriented notebook. It's perfect for a business user that demands a well built highly usable notebook and wants a few consumer features. The widescreen is great for spreadsheets and viewing two windows at the same time, or for watching a movie. The number of connectivity options is fantastic, built-in EVDO will be a real sell for certain business users. All the typical IBM APS security and protection is built-in and better than ever. The battery life and screen brightness leave some room for improvement, and the number of multimedia / consumer options (such as multi card reader, glossy screen, built-in remote and quick boot movie playing) might not be enough for some pure consumers. But if you're a business user first and need all the trappings of a business notebook, but would like a few consumer features thrown in, then the Z60t is perfect.
Pros
Cons
Pricing and Availability: Click here to see the ThinkPad Z60 Product Page at Lenovo.com
Buying Choices for the ThinkPad Z60t (1.73 GHZ) - 40 GB
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