Lenovo ThinkPad® X61 (76754KU) PC Notebook

For many, the Thinkpad X61 is the embodiment of serious ultraportable computing. For some, it's the original road warrior, for others, it's dated and overpriced. I needed a quality, reliable and high performing notebook when I started contracting. I handed back my shiny silver, widescreen Samsung that came with my old job. I loved that machine but it wasn't perfect. The text on the widescreen lcd was very small and a strain to veiw for long periods. The dimensions of the machine seemed compromised by the widescreen. It was wider than a standard 4:3 aspect 12.1" notebook and the screen bezel much thicker. I chose a Lenovo Thinkpad X61 because it has a good reputation with corporate IT buyers. The focus is on build quality, ease of upgrades and performance. The keyboard is a delight to use and the standard 4:3 XGA screen is easy on the eye for long periods. The X61 is tiny. It is quite a bit smaller than the widescreen 12.1" offerings. It's light too at around 1.6Kg with the extended life battery. The chassis is made of magnesium and quality carbon plastic. I love the way the X61 looks - like a thinkpad should i.e. black. There is no wasted space. The 12.1" screen mirrors the no-compromise keyboard and wrist rest almost perfectly. Lenovo have resisted making the X61 too thin so you can enjoy the efficiency of a full-speed 7200rpm 2.5" hard drive. The ultra thin ultraportables usually have slooooooow 4200rpm drives which seriously limit performance. Overall performance of the X61 is excellent. A well spec'd machine will achieve a Vista experience score of around 3.4. It's the video subsystem that holds it back which is fine for an ultraportable. The level of support from Lenovo is as good as they say. If you're thinking of buying, you should consider going for a model with a minimum of RAM as upgrading this yourself is incredibly cheap and easy. For Vista, an upgrade from 1GB to 3 GB will cost around £30.00. To sum up, the X61 is a no-compromise business quality notebook. It is aimed at serious use rather than consumers. Would I go back to the Samsung widescreen? No way.