Last minute T400 purchasing questions

Probably gonna get this machine before the current 20 percent off 48 hour sale is over

Upgrades I did not make
T9600(heard not much of a difference and is alot more expensive)
RAM(Machine can handle 8 gb of ram and I'm gonna only be running XP so figure I'm good)
HD(160 is enough for me and 200 is only a 25 percent increase for over 100 bucks, when and if I need more space I'll buy a bigger drive than what they offer)
Turbo(heard ppl had compatibility problems)
BlueRay(really expensive)
Battery(9 cell sticks out even more than the 6 and heard the batt life on the six is actually very good)
WiMax(Don't have that service in my area)

QUESTION:
1) I see the SSD drives, esp the 64, are not really that expensive right now, how much of a performance increase would I see. 64 is a little small but with running XP the only thing that really takes up space is torrents and I can, and probably will, just use my old machine to download.

2) Are coupon codes stackable, found the november sale 20 percent and another 10 percent somewhere, both worked but couldnt get them both on at the same time? Also with the 20 percent is that really as good as I am gong to get?

3) Does anyone see anything I should change in my order

4) Fingerprint reader, any disadvantages, and also do you just use it when you want to resume from standby and when logging in, not really sure what it does beyond the obvious


Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9400 (2.53GHz 1066MHz 6MBL2) 1
Operating system: Genuine Windows Vista Business downgrade to Windows XP Professional 1
Operating system language: Genuine Windows Vista Business with Windows XP Professional Downgrade and Vista Recovery media US English 1
Display type: 14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/ LED Backlight, Camera 1
System graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 with 256MB 1
Total memory: 2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM) 1
Keyboard: Keyboard US English 1
Pointing device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) 1
Hard drive: 160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm 1
Optical device: DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA) 1
System expansion slots: Express Card Slot & 7-1 Media Card Reader 1
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth PAN 1
Wireless card: Intel WiFi Link 5300 (AGN) 1
Mobile Broadband: Integrated Mobile Broadband upgradable 1
Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion Battery 1
Power cord: Country Pack North America with Line cord & 90W AC adapter 1
Language pack: Language Pack US English 1

 

looks good! may i recommend 3gigs of ram if you're going to run vista. It's always good to have extra memory if you're going a lot of multi-task and running intensive apps.

I'd suggest you stick with the hdd and forget about the 64ssd. You can upgrade your harddrive to a ssd when prices drop with higher capacities ie. 256gb ssd.

 

Hmmmm true that on the SSD. What about fingerprint reader, like to hear a few more ppls opinions on the SSD before I make decision?

 

Isn't SSD still in its infancy? 60 odd gig isn't much. I think its still not worth the money. Looks like a great config. Almost identical to the machine I just bought. I'm not sure about stackable coupons. You'd have to call them for that one. You can't do it through the web site. 2 gb of memory is more than sufficient for XP and it's cheap to pick up another dimm if you want to move to vista at some point. I think it's the best deal going.

 

The fingerprint reader can be used anywhere your Windows password would be used (login, resuming from standby/sleep). It can also be used in lieu of a password for many websites, if you choose. It's worth the extra $25.

You might also want to think about going with 3GB of RAM vs. 2GB. It's only a $40 upgrade ($32 after 20% off) and DDR3-1066 (PC3 8500) is currently selling for close to $50 per GB.

 

K will think about the ram upgrade. I did the chat with them and they said unstackable but I'll call them and find out for sure.

Just waiting for a few more opinions on the SSD, seems like most are against it, I can always upgrade in the future when the larger capacity SSD drives are cheaper.

 

2 days ago, I ordered my T400 with the extra USPNOVSALE coupon discount. The savings were amazing, making the T400 the no-brainer decision of the year, basically. I think my config is the same as yours (160g HD 7200), which totalled approx $1,360 (pre-tax) - free shipping.

2 questions:
1.) Sorry, what is SSD?
2.) I elected the TURBO - you heard of compatability problems? Please elaborate.

 

SSD is solid state drive, it starts up really fast and apps open quite a bit quicker, problem is they are really expensive if you want a disk with reasonable capacity. That is the same code that I used as well mine was I think in the mid 12s pre tax, probably mainly bc I didn't get the turbo.

Alot of ppl said with a fast drive, idk if 7200 or SSD is what they are referring to, and enough ram, probably 2 gigs would be enough, that the performance increase is negligible. You can always take the turbo out if it causes problems, search these boards and you will find some ppl talking about it.

 

Generally 20% is the about the best you'll see unless they decide to lower their starting prices.
That stated, you could always go through the cpp site if you can find a code
and that'll generally get you around a 15% discount with discounted upgrades
and there's usually a stackable 5-10% coupon on top of that, just none at the moment for t400 that I saw.

 

i would also wait on the SSD. do you know the exact SSD you will be getting with the T400? if not, for sure wait. there are huge differences in SSD performance depending on the drive you get. my advice is to research and buy an SSD in a year or so. Les on these forums is the man for SSD questions.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=208242

 

Ordered it with the 7200 drive and then upgrade RAM/SSD in about a year or so when Windows 7 comes out, I hope it's not a total piece of crap.