Lenovo T400 vs Dell Latitude E6400

(This has already been posted in the Dell E6400 Owner's Lounge, but I figured I would share with Lenovo owners or prospective owners as well as I now literally applaud the Thinkpad's ruggedness)

Yesterday (forced inside because of a thunder/hail/tornado-storm and very bored) a co-worker and I began to do a non-technical comparison of my E6400 (specs below) and his T400. Here are our results:

+E6400:
Backlit keyboard (everyone laughed at his "Thinklight" compared my "awesome" "cool" backlit keyboard
Blue lights (green status lights are so last decade)
Sleek, serious look (Thinkpads still look like plastic)
Only 1 screw to access 90% of the insides
Screen thickness (about 60% the size of the T400)

+T400
Footprint width (left to right when using) is slightly less than E6400
Thinkpad keyboard (need I say more?)
Has PC and Express slot
Switchable graphics

Neutral:
E6400's edges taper up, while T400 tapers down

Here's where it became a little ridiculous:
The ooo's and ahhh's I got from my backlit keyboard must have set something off because he felt compelled to prove the Thinkpad's ruggedness.
With the computer on, he poured a glass of water onto his keyboard. The computer didn't bat an eye and kept working just fine. Then he took it, closed the lid and stood on it with all his weight on one foot (he's not a big guy so ~150 lbs/68 kg). Again, the computer didn't seem to mind a bit.
Granted he spent the next hour with the computer taken apart drying, but anyone would be impressed by that (whether his arrogance/stupidity or the build of the laptop).

We didn't do any benchmark testing because our builds were so similar spec-wise it wouldn't have been worth it. Mine is newer so my T9600+SSD would've probably won.

We got it on video (albeit cell phone quality). We're waiting to make sure everything's still fine before we upload to Youtube, for obvious warranty reasons. I'll link once we do.

Just thought I'd share

 

You're missing at least the eSATA and DisplayPorts which the E6400 has and the T400 doesn't. Much more important than LED color or sleek looks.

 

eSATA is use for ?

 

Esata for fast external drives (faster than a usb2connection). I can't believe your friend did that to his thinkpad. I know they're rugged but they're not bulletproof!

 

It is used for external hard drives. Also, recently there have been thumb flash drives that support both eSATA and USB. When plugged to eSATA the file transfers are MUCH faster, basically as fast as accessing your own internal hard drive.

 

I would actually say the E6400's two biggest advantages over the T400 are the eSATA port and the DisplayPort.

Regarding the status lights: on my old laptop, I had blue status lights, and they were extremely annoying if I left my laptop on at night - they'd light up the whole room. With the Thinkpad's lights, which are covered by a sort of rough translucent plastic, the lights are not bothersome.

Regarding display thickness: Ah, yes, the E6400's display is thinner, but which one would you feel more comfortable stuffing into a backpack with some textbooks (or standing on, for that matter...)?

The other points are valid, although I do prefer the Thinklight. I really wish the T400/500 had easier access to the RAM.

 

midnightsun
does the E6400's display still thinner then the LED WXGA T400's?

status lights equal to status indicator ? is this referring to T400 or E6400 ?

 

I like the green lights on t400, they are small and not overly in your face. My G1s has a blue display thingy next to the keyboard which is a bit annoying. As for back-lit keyboards it is a total gimmick. At this point i know the keyboard so well that i dont even look down on it when i work. Lit up keyboards in my opinion are purely for looks.

The things i dont like about t400 are only 3 USB ports (i often have 3 external hard drives hooked up to the computer, so that leaves no port for the mouse), no eSATA (my 2 year old asus even has one), and the awkward location of heaphones/microphone jacks (i prefer them on the side). The vertical viewing angles on the LG LED panel leave something to be desired as well. Takes forever to find a good sweet spot and the bottom and top edges still wash out occasionally. The dell e6400 i played with has panel which is a little bit better.

 

I find the blue lights not that intrusive, but I agree that the least you notice them the better. Still, I like them blue, but would like them about half as strong.

Fully agree on the backlit keyboard, a few people find it useful because they work in the dark or have frequent power failures, but for me it is totally worthless, that's why I didn't get it. Still, I think the backlit keyboard is a better solution than the ThinkLight, especially if it throws light directly in your eyes as mentioned in a thinkpad review somewhere.

I find the vertical angles on the E6400 already not very good. They're fine to use it by myself but if someone else needs to look it is almost certain they won't see properly. If the T400 is worse than that it must be quite annoying.

 

I think the e6400 is a better value for MOST users. The screens are also nicer. However, that being said the thinkpad keyboard is totally superior. And that is worth it alone for me, plus I am not really a fan of the dell's new look. It doesn't really look that nice in person (in my opinion). I'd rather just have a black ugly thinkpad.

The thinklight is great on the x200 luckily for me. I would never want a backlit keyboard as it would ruin the keyboard that thinkpads are known for.

 

No offense, but if you often have three external HDs hooked up to a notebook, you should probably have a docking station for this.

 

As promised, here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeTiNndRAmM
Note: Yes, it's from a cell phone.
That would be my friend in the background saying "OMG IT PEED!"...he acts like a five year old lol.

 

Spill-proof aren't exactly a Thinkpad exclusive... To me, the video goes more to prove that the Thinkpad OWNER got some water on his circuits at some stage in life.

 

I bet he's still a virgin.

 

Whaddya mean? He's probably done it online AT LEAST a few times!!

Oh wait ... ... ... does that count?

 

lol i suppose

 

Are those company-issued machines? I would never attempt such things on my own device.

 

He is a philosophy major :/

Virgin? No. His girlfriend is actually very hot. Immature? Very.

Nope, it was his own laptop. Our company (Texas Tech University) issued machines are currently Dell Latitude D-series laptops of all sizes and weak Optiplex desktops. We all use our own laptops 95% of the time since they're more powerful.

And as far as the T400 vs E6400 debate goes...the Thinkpad may have won it in my book. Here are a few reasons:

• Input: The backlit part of the keyboard is the only good thing about it. The Windows key somehow gets "stuck". Not physically, but out of nowhere I'll be typing and my keys start throwing Windows commands. The pointing stick is a joke. In short: I envy the Thinkpad keyboard. The E6400 trackpad is finicky as well.
• Ports: I want a T400 with an Express port and 7-in-1 card reader...I don't have that on my E6400 (that's really a fault of my own for getting from outlet)
• Longevity: Roll-cage...enough said

So: selling the E6400...getting a T400