Lenovo model best suited for school

I'm headed off to get my masters this coming fall, and will need a new laptop. I've been comparing various Lenovo models, but without having played with the laptops in person, I'm having some difficulty reaching a decision. I am considering the following models:

T400s
X200
X200s

I will be lugging this laptop to campus every day, so having something light will definitely be appreciated. My current work laptop is about 5.1 pounds, and gets a bit heavy after long trips. I won't be using this for any incredibly intensive or demanding tasks, mostly models in excel, powerpoint, etc. I find myself gravitating toward the T400S and the X200 due to their faster processing options, but I get the impression that the X200s processors would be sufficient.

Battery life is another spec that I've been paying close attention to. I might be on campus all day, and may not always have access to re-charge. So, when it comes to battery life, the longer the better.

The main issue I have with the X200 and X200s is that I am currently a touchpad user. I'll have the laptop in situations where I may not always be able to plug in a mouse, so this is a factor I will need to weigh. I've played around with the trackpoint on my current laptop, and while I'm noticeably slower with it, I'm certain I would get used to it eventually. Are there any major cons with not having a touchpad that I may not have considered? For example, any tasks or maneuvers that are incredibly challenging with a track point?

The last issue for me is screen size. For the last six years, I've been using a laptop with a 14.1" screen. While I plan to eventually get a larger screen for home usage, I'm not certain whether I could get used to a 12" screen on the X200 and X200s if I'm looking at large spreadsheets. Perhaps some of you who have made the same transition would be able to weigh-in.

Lastly, my budget for this laptop is about $1200, which is why I didn't list the X301 as an option. I noticed the Lenovo coupon (if memory serves, it was a 15% discount) expired yesterday. Does anybody know whether any other deals are coming up?

Thanks in advance!

 

T400s would be a good choice if it had a larger capacity battery. I have the feeling the 6 cell may tie you down a bit. An excellent choice would be the X200s with the 9 cell option which could net you around 10 hours of battery life. If you get a X200s with the LED 1440x900 screen you won't be missing out on any screen realistate versus the T400s.

I wouldn't worry about the trackpoint. It may feel weird the first hour you use it, but after that it is second nature. It is so nice to not have to move your hands from the keyboard to use the mouse. I find it more accurate and faster than touchpad myself.

 

I've been a touchpad user my whole life until I got my T60 and now T61. Now I only use the trackpoint and using the touchpad on other laptops just feels wrong...

Regarding the laptop to choose I would recommend the X200(s) for your use. You don't want to keep the weight to lug around to a minimum and the X200 will offer plenty of power even for demanding tasks.

 

I recently purchased my first ThinkPad and thought the TrackPoint was going to be an afterthought. Boy was I wrong! I use the TrackPoint 95% of the time and the other 5% I use a mouse to game.

 

As someone who got used to using notebooks with 15” screens for a few years, I gave a 12” a try and it was too small for me. While it was okay, I was getting a bit frustrated when I’d need to use the notebook for more than a few hours a day. As a result, I moved to a 13” screen—and while it was a bit better, it still wasn’t enough for long hours in front of the notebook. I eventually moved to a 14” screen and feel this is the ideal spot for me in terms of portability and being highly productive (I multitask heavily) with a notebook for long hours. While my T400 is definitely bulkier than my last two systems, it is still quite portable—and with the new slimmer and lighter T400s, a 14” screen might even be more ideal now.

If you don’t plan to use the notebook for long periods of time, a 12” will be fine, but you might find it a bit cramped.

 

If you're used to touchpads then the X200 is probably best avoided. The trackpoint is an acquired taste and I've not met anyone not used to one that prefers it over the touchpad.

I used to pove the trackpoint but have found myself gravitating to a touchpad-only person now.

As for the T400s.... how is that gonna fit into your budget of <$1200? Even with the CPP/EPP discount I've not seen one for much under $1300.

 

besides, a logitech notebook mouse and nano receiver will always do what you may miss when you're at school left with a trackpoint.

i carried my 15" dell along to university. having to carry my 12" tablet really made a HUUUGE difference. i had to carry it wherever i went, because i didn't want to leave my bag anywhere where it could have been stolen.

go for the x200s with led wxga+ screen. my 2 cents

 

Thank you all for your replies. It looks as though I should go for the X200 or X200s. Is there a noticeable difference between the 1.8 processor in the X200s and the 2.4 processor I would have the X200 equipped with? I'm guessing that there wouldn't be much, if any, noticeable difference on the apps I'll be running.

I think I can get used to the track point after a while. The screen size is going to be the biggest hurdle I'll need to clear. I will likely be taking notes on the laptop during classes, and using it to work on spreadsheets during group meetings on campus.

Lastly, I noticed the ship date on the X200s is currently about 17 days from now. Does anybody know whether Lenovo has any huge sales coming up? Otherwise, I should probably order this laptop within the next couple days.

 

if you just use it for note taking, and web browsing, 1.8 is good enough
also, lenovo has a price guarantee, if you buy the laptop, and before they ship it out, there is a lower price, they will refund the difference. so i would say buy it now

the screen resolution on the x200s and the t400s is the same, so there really is no difference

 

No, it's 21 days after recipt of system or purchase can't recommend which but it's not before ship.

 

I've got the T400 (not T400s) and it's perfect for school. It's just the right size and runs comfortably cool enough to use on your lap. It's also got a pretty small footprint overall and definitely usable on the small, college style desks as well as on your lap. With the 6-cell battery I'm able to edge out about 5 hours of battery life with the WiFi on and the screen reasonably bright, more than long enough for all my classes plus some extra computing, if you want more get the 9-cell but it will make the T400 a bit bigger.

The T400 also feels solid enough to survive the everyday wear and tear found in college so it should last you a long time. So if you wanna save some money and want a laptop that's perfect for school get the T400. I really do not think the T400s is worth the premium over the T400, save the extra money for books because they will be expensive!

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

 

First off, I don't think the processing power between these models will be noticeably different as long as you avoid the Celeron-equipped X200S. The factors you have to consider are weight, cost, screen size, and the trackpoint.

Either of the S variants will be more expensive, but have better battery life.

The 400 size is pretty standard: 14 inches and 4.5 lbs. This is very middle of the road in terms of size and weight, it is powerful and is missing no features - DVD drive, trackpad, etc. The 200 series of course have a smaller screen and significantly lighter weight. IMHO 1 lb is very noticeable and significant. Equally noticeable is 2" in screen size. Have to pick your poison.

I believe the X200 should be designed with a 13 inch screen and the two product lines could practically be merged (along with the x300), but this does not exist.

If you want a trackpad you can't get the X200, of course.

I was in the same position as you and got the X200. If I had more money budgeted I would have gotten the X200s for the better power management and battery life. I didn't really consider the T400 due to the weight. However, I am considering getting a cheap 20" monitor for the home (these can cost $100 or less).

 

Another vote for the x200s (or Tablet if budget allows). The weight is great, battery life is superb, and performance is good as well.

 

I vote for the X200. For $1400 (final price I paid), I got a near top-of-the-line model back in December with these specs:

P8400
Vista home premium
3GB RAM
64GB Samsung SLC SSD
BT
Intel 5300
9 Cell

 

Thanks again for the suggestions, everybody. I'm going to order in about an hour, and am currently leaning toward the T400s. I've gone back and forth with this, but it seems this may offer most of what I'm looking for.

I'll have to buy the expansion battery, since the 6-cell alone only lasts about 6 hours, from what I've been hearing. I liked the X200s, but the fact that it's trackpoint only (I may not ever get used to it), doesn't have an optical drive (realized I may actually need this from time to time), and has a 12" screen (1440x900 resolution may be tough on my eyes when digging through spreadsheets in Excel) makes me think I may be compromising too much, even if the battery lasts 10+ hours.

 

Since I'm going to upgrade the operating system to Windows 7 in October, which Vista version should I have it installed with? I'm ordering the laptop with 2GB of RAM, but will be adding another 2GB right when it shows up.

 

I think if you get Vista Home Premium you are eligible for Win 7 Home

If you get Vista Business you are eligible for Win 7 Professional

Not sure about if Win 7 will come in an Ultimate version.

 

I priced out the 400s, got it in the cart, and realized that $1500 shipped is slightly more than I want to spend right now. I'm going to be poor during school, so I have to save where I can.

I'm going to order the X200s, but have two last questions:
Did you X200/X200s owners buy an external optical drive? It seems like it'd be tough to get by without an optical drive.

Lastly, what is the true battery life expected for the 6-cell? I'm leaning toward the lighter, more compact, cheaper battery choice if I can get in excess of 7 hours of life.

 

I have a USB DVD+RW for my X200 Tablet. I used it for OS installs, but aside from that it just sits in a desk drawer 99% of the time. If you can borrow one from a friend to make the recovery DVDs and install win 7 you might be able to do without.

The 6 cell should be adequate. However, if you want 7+ hours with decent brightness and Wi-Fi, the 9 cell may be a good investment.

 

I was thinking the same thing about the cost since you said you wanted to keep it lower. The T400s is expensive.

I am not an owner of the X200(s) but I am spending a lot of time researching about it. About the optical drive, thats tough to answer. Most people are installing software directly from the web and are transferring files using the USB drives. I don't use my optical drive much but there are times I would need it. Here are some times that you would need it...

1.) To make recovery discs(I don't think Lenovo provides them with the machine)
2.) If you need to install your own software that you have on CDs/DVDs
3.) If you want to swap the stock harddrive for a new harddrive of your choice.
4.) Clean installing the OS to remove the bloatware
5.) Installing Linux(I have since found out that it can be installed off of a USB drive though).
6.) Watching Movies on DVDs
7.) Listening to Cds

These are some of the areas where I think I might need the optical drive, mainly for me I would run into a few roadblocks with wanting to swap my harddrive and clean installing the OS. The other stuff I don't really do.

Do you really need to buy right now or can you wait and research more? You do know that you can save your config and price with the quote option right?

 

Unfortunately, I need to get something soon. I have a bunch of stuff on my work issued laptop and external hard drive that I need to transfer over to my personal laptop. My last day is in early August, and the current ship date from Lenovo looks to be about 9 days out.

 

Really, if you don't lust for an ultraportable, you should just go with the 400 series. The new makeover looks pretty nice. It has everything you need.

Me, I have always liked ultraportable computers, from the 12" powerbook to the cheap Averatecs, and now to the X200.

 

Having owned several ultra-portable notebooks (now an X200), I rarely ever use the DVD drive outside of the desk setting when the notebook is plugged in. Besides the first few days of ownership when you would usually create a restore disc (for a clean installation) or install software (though I haven't installed software from a CD in 2 years), it's fairly easy to phase out the DVD drive from daily usage.

If you need to read/burn DVD media, an external DVD drive can be had for as low as 50 bucks. The way I see it, the weight savings from moving the DVD drive out of the overall system weight is a plus for me.

It's easy to get 6-7 hours with the 6-cell battery. Everyday, I go though six hours of lecture with 21% battery left to spare. I usually task through Onenote, PDF Annotator, Powerpoint, etc., brightness at the low, with Wifi off a majority of the time (I surf a bit between breaks).

 

Good to hear that the 6-cell provides decent battery life. I suppose the next question I need to ask myself is whether the X200s is worth the extra cost to me compared with the X200. The high resolution screen for spreadheets may make it a nice thing to have.

 

Check "Top Seller" models. These tend to ship almost immediately and are often cheaper as well. Just lookup a machine type in the Tabook and Google the desired model numbers for resellers.

e.g. a T400s 2808-C4U - $1431. The x200s is probably best configured with a coupon. But for the T400s and x200 Tablet, Topsellers seem to be the way to go at present.

I'd say yes. The 's' model is quite a lit lighter (8.5 ounces) and gets about 25% better battery life as well (low voltage CPU and LED display). However, the 's' model doesn't offer a webcam or WWAN.

 

I'm going to join in with the people who encourage you to get a T400. It's still highly portable, and it costs far less than the 400s or the x200 models.

 

Thanks again to everybody for the advice. I ended up going with the T400, adding a couple pounds to my bag. With the 9-cell it should be slightly heavier than my current work issue laptop, which should be acceptable. Here's the configuration:

T400
P8600 2.4
2 GB RAM (will be adding 2GB)
250 GB 5400 HDD
ATI discrete graphics
WIFI Intel 5300
9-cell battery
3-year depot warranty upgrade

Price (without shipping): $978.40