Hi all,
I was wondering if I could get some opinions on the matte screen version of the 15" MacBook Pro versus the the Thinkpad T400s with regards to the displays.
The main thing that is going to affect my decision on which laptop to get is the quality of the screen and the ease of reading/working on the screen. Both the Thinkpad and the MacBook Pro have 1440 x 900 resolution screens, so I don't think that matters so much. However, from my past experience, it has often been difficult to read on high res screen laptops because everything shows up really small. I assume that would be a plus for the MacBook Pro since it's a bigger display. Am I right about that?
Also, which laptop has a better screen in terms of vibrancy and clarity? I don't know much about the technical aspects of displays, so I don't really know how to compare screens without looking at the two laptops side by side.
Thanks.
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Well...are you basing your choice of platforms on the quality of screens?? Isn't that kinda of choosing between apples and oranges
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You should post this in the "what notebook should I buy forum" and fill out the FAQ with any specific requirements you want. Going to an individual company's forum will give you biased answers and will not take into account everything you might have considered.
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The deciding factor then is going to come down to the displays and ease of reading/working on the laptop. I've had a 13" laptop for the last two years, and I really think I need a bigger screen to work/play on.
I've taken a look at the 15" MacBook Pro, and while I like the way the glossy display looks, it has way too much glare on it; the matte screen, on the other hand, looks a little washed out to me. The Thinkpad screens that I've worked on in the past have seemed washed out/off color, and the icons and text show up really small.
A high res 14" screen seems like a good idea to me, but if it's going to be the same as working on a 13" screen in terms of text size, I'd rather go with the bigger screen MacBook Pro, despite the washed out screen. On the other hand, if the Thinkpad screen has the same size text as a 15" MacBookPro and has a better screen in terms of color and contrast, I'll go with that.
I don't have the ability to make a side by side comparison of the MacBook matte screen display with the T400s display. -
I've already narrowed down my selection to these two particular laptops based on a bunch of factors, and I want to see if anyone can provide any insight specifically about the displays that will help me make a decision. -
gloss will have more vibrance than a matte screen...but the down fall is that there is an increase of glare. But it isn't to bad at all. i had the Macbook pro before the recent unibody with the glass screen came out.(it had the matte screen) I wasn't too excited about the glass. but once i owned that one also, I can safely say that the color are more vibrant and rich.
If text size is an issue you can always bump the size up. Or you can lower the resolution. honestly i dont think you will see a difference in text size when you move from a 14" to 15" size screen -
I had a 15" MBP with matte display (santa rosa model from early 2008) which had an amazing display. In fact, it was so good that I always received comments and compliments about it. It wasn't only vibrant and uniform but it was also very easy to calibrate to match screen-to-print output and had phenomenal viewing angles. Also, the resolution matched the size perfectly IMO; it was very comfortable to use in just about any application.
I don't have it anymore and I now have the glossy unibody MBP. But I did have a T400s that a friend lent me for about a week a while ago. It was a nice system and the display was good but IMO wasn't nearly as impressive as my old MBP.
Now, I don't know how good the new matte screens on the current MBPs are and they may very well be different than back then. So take what I just said as it is; just a subjective opinion on an older MBPs vs the T400s'. -
The funny part of this discussion is that, while one screen is better than the other, you are essentially comparing a 9.5 to a 9.6 or vice versa. The differences in quality are so minute, the subjective elements start to become a bigger factor. Rather than objective measures, like measured brightness, the focus is now on "which one looks better in my eyes" or perceived quality/ aesthetics.
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My sister has an old 15" MacBook Pro (Intel Core Duo) with a matte screen for work. The screen is pretty amazing, and I would be very happy if the new MacBook had as good a screen or better. But I went to an Apple store recently, and the matte screen version of the new 15" MacBook pro looked a little washed out to me. I don't know if it was because of the store lighting or because I was comparing it to the glossy screen. I may have just been imagining things.
With respect to the T400s, what I'm concerned about is whether Windows will have small icons and be difficult to work with since it has such a high resolution screen. As I put in my original post, I've worked on a Thinkpad before (several years back), and it was terrible to work on at the highest resolution. Also, in the past the Thinkpad screens I've seen didn't look as good as Apple or Sony screens.
Now I'm wondering whether the problem is actually with the way that the OS is designed to render at different resolutions. The Apple OS seems to be designed so that everything looks very good on a 15" MacBook Pro. I'm not so confident that Windows will look as good on a 14" high res screen. -
No, it's not the OS. The Thinkpads have always been known for using subpar screens. While the T400s isn't that bad, it isn't the greatest screen. Is there any place you can take a look at a real T400s? Apple has retail stores where you can easily check out their screen. You can always get an anti-glare screen protector for the MBP if the glare bothers you too much.
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With regards to the size of icons, you can easily adjust those nowadays in vista or W7. Not really a problem at all. Especially with WXGA+, you will be just fine.
As for the MBP, the glossy and matte panels are the same, just the different surface coating.
To be honest, if you really did do enough research to narrow down to 2 choices, you would have already known everything about their screens. -
If you are really concerned about screen quality get a Thinkpad T60 with an IPS display, or any other computer with an IPS/PVA display. -
Unfortunately, 99% of notebooks now only use TN panels. Except the X200, I don't think any other Lenovo uses a non-TN panel.
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get a mac. they have the best resale value.
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I will have to check out Best Buy or Fry's sometime this weekend. -
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Though I haven't seen the T400s screen, I would say the (new) Macbook Pro 15" matte screen is quite good. The colors are vibrant enough; of course you can't really compare it to a M/PVA or IPS panel but it's quite good for TN. It's an LG panel, LP154WP4-TLB1. I am not sure if there are any other variations, as both matte screens I've seen (including mine) were of that type.
Thinkpad T400s vs. 15" MacBook Pro -- Screen
Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by larkinite0, Sep 17, 2009.