Narrowing it down: ThinkPads

I definitely want a ThinkPad. Since my previous entry, I've done some serious scouting around for one. I want one. I do.

I'm really attracted to the R61 series (R61, R61i, R61e), but I've just uncovered some scary problems with the recent models:

1. Wireless issues: seems iwlwifi doesn't work for some users, and/or they use ndiswrapper.
2. Fingerprint issues: the R61 series will likely come with a fingerprint scanner that is completely inoperable in Linux. There's an open bug for supporting it in fprint (dsd's awesome project; go check it out), but I'm not hopeful. The manufacturer is entirely uncooperative. Why, oh why did Lenovo switch to them?!?
3. Touchpad issues: seems that some later-model 61s are shipping with an ALPS pad, rather than the tried-and-true Synaptics. Users are having to resort to all kinds of hackery to get the useful features out of their pad.

So, though I still want a ThinkPad, I'm now having second thoughts about an R61. I want some kind of ThinkPad, though. Basically, it needs to have all its hardware functional purely with open-source drivers, or something resembling open-source. This is going to be a Gentoo development laptop, so said drivers should be in Portage.

Requirements:

1. Physical dimensions: minimum 15.4" screen; weight no more than 6.5 pounds, ~5 pounds preferred.
2. Working wireless: open-source drivers (Intel desired; Atheros is close enough). Absolutely no ndiswrapper!
3. Intel X3100 graphics.
4. Working Synaptics trackpad. I want one that can do scrolling and all the other nifty tricks it's famed for.
5. Working ACPI. This means the buttons and Fn combinations work, as well as the fan (which had better be cool & quiet).
(Possibly optional)
6. Working fingerprint scanner. Really. One that works. Now that I know some ThinkPads have 'em, I want one. Seems like an awesome feature!

So . . . since I've only studied the R61 series, what other ThinkPads are worth investigating?

This entry was posted on January 7th, 2008 at 07:54:09 am and is filed under Gentoo, Linux, Hardware.

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11 comments

Comment from: Alexxy [Visitor]

· http://gentoo.ru

I've used ThinkPad R61 for some time
all of hardware worrks perfectly with kernels 2.6.23 and higher =)
1 fingreprint reader allow system login with syst-auth/thinkfinger
2 wifi works both with iwlwifi and ipw3945
but i prefer iwlwifi

So I think that ThinkPad'a are the right choise =)

01/07/08 @ 09:56

Comment from: Benjamin Schindler [Visitor]

Hi

I'm an owner of a Thinkpad T42 and I'm reeeally happy with it. However, I've got a few friends with newer Thinpads from Lenovo and most of them are not really happy. The quality since the deal has degraded quite a bit which is a shame... I can dig up a few specifics if you want

01/07/08 @ 11:21

Comment from: Chris Harcourt [Visitor]

· http://charcourt.com

I've had T-series ThinkPads for a good few years now - all running Linux (mostly Gentoo/Ubuntu). They're a bit on the pricey side, but well worth it imho. You get what you pay for... My current T60 works flawlessly.

I have heard reports of a drop in quality, but I can't say I've personally had any problems.

01/07/08 @ 11:53

Comment from: nysander [Visitor]

I got X61 and almost all hardware works on Gentoo, i needed some bash hacking to make hotkeys work. I could recommend it as intel hardware with open drivers make this stuff linux friendly.

01/07/08 @ 13:18

Comment from: welp [Visitor]

I'm a die-hard ThinkPad'er - First ThinkPad was an A20m, then we moved onto a ThinkPad T23, after that, my dad brought a T42p. Recently, we've just brought two ThinkPad T41 models, all of them have worked perfectly in Linux so far. (Although, I somehow managed to break my ThinkPad T41..).

Anyways, I'm hoping to order a ThinkPad T61 soon. Should be good. I'd personally recommend the T-series ThinkPads since they tend to be aimed more towards 'professional' users. The 15.4" T61 models start at $964 right now on the Lenovo website. The T61 models have a new cooling system, so run much cooler than previous models, or so I've heard. I *much* prefer the 14.1" models since I like the 4:3 aspect ratio, and Lenovo only offer 14.1" LCDs at 4:3 with SXGA+ resolution.

01/07/08 @ 13:30

Comment from: Roy Marples [Visitor]

· http://roy.marples.name

I'm the proud owner of a Z60m
This beast has a 15" widescreen, ipw2200 wireless and a lovely 1600x1050 128DPI screen. Everything is fully supported, including the SD card reader. It's also very quiet. FreeBSD-7 finally supports everything this laptop has as well, althought I've not tested the finger printer scanner on either it or Linux yet.

It's one of the more heavier thinkpads, and only has a single core which means a not quite so good battery life. Saying that, if you have the right software that adjusts the tick of the CPU on battery, you can do coding for around 3-4 hours.

01/07/08 @ 15:05

Comment from: Josh Saddler [Member]

· http://dev.gentoo.org/~nightmorph

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. Tasty!

Seems like the T-series and X-series are the favorites, the T40 and T60 series in particular.

@Alexxy,
My guess is that you've got one of the first R61 models on the market; the ones produced more recently (at least since October/November 2007) seem to have the nonworking fingerprint scanners.

@Roy,
Yeah, why is it that single-core laptops seem to have worse battery life than dual-core machines? You'd think that the extra core would suck up more juice, but a check of Lenovo's specs places a unicore Celeron-based R61 at significantly less battery life than an otherwise identical Core 2 Duo model.

01/07/08 @ 18:46

Comment from: welp [Member]

· http://dev.gentoo.org/~welp/

Intel's Dual Core processors have better voltage efficiency thingies, and power only gets delivered to areas on the processor which need the power, rather than to the whole processor at once, thus reducing overall power consumption, iirc.

01/07/08 @ 20:39

Comment from: welp [Member]

· http://dev.gentoo.org/~welp/

FYI, Just ordered a ThinkPad T61:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7250
14.1 SXGA+ TFT
nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB)
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
UltraNav
80GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo 24X/24X/24X/8X Max, Ultrabay Slim
PC Card Slot & Expres Card Slot
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
6 cell Li-Ion Battery

01/08/08 @ 01:58

Comment from: Yogesh [Visitor]

· http://blog.catprosystems.com

Hi,

I am using T61p with Gentoo-AMD64 and it works pretty good.

1. Make sure to have latest bios update
2. Using nvidia binary driver
3. iwlwifi with iwl4965

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7700@2.40GHz
4GB RAM, 200GB 7K rpm hdd, 1920x1200 screen resolution

Yogesh

01/08/08 @ 09:28

Comment from: Pete (latexer) [Visitor] · http://www.tenslashsix.com/

I have a new T61 for work, the larger screen + intel X3100. It doesn't have the fingerprint reader, but the touchpad (synaptics), wireless (iwlwifi), video (intel), bluetooth (shows up on the USB bus) all work perfectly. Definitely heavier than my X31 personal laptop, but still a great machine.

01/09/08 @ 17:37

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