My FINAL T400 Questions.

Ok, I hope you guys are not sick of me on these forums. This purchase is just very important to me and I like to harness everyone's knowledge to help me come to my final decisions. I would like to thank everyone that has helped me decide on the build of my laptop. Since Lenovo has notified the public that they will in fact be offering the free Windows 7 upgrade I am ready to order my laptop.

(In case anyone else needed a link: http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/windows7/).

Here are my final specs and the price I have quoted.

P8400 2.26GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2
Genuine Windows Vista Business 64
14.1 WXGA TFT, w/ LED Backlight
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with vPro
2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
(Adding : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148192)
160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
(Want to upgrade to this, but scared: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136314)
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo 24X/24X/24X/8X Max, Ultrabay Slim
Express Card Slot & 7-1 Media Card Reader
Intel WiFi Link 5100 (AGN) with My WiFi Technology
6 cell Li-Ion Battery

Total $747.89 (Including Tax)


I plan on using this computer for college and hope that it will last me for FOUR years. Does that seem obtainable as an undeclared business/accounting major?

I will not be playing graphic intense games.
I will be commonly using word processor and other microsoft office applications.
I will be mainly surfing the web, possibly watching some movies.

Is this processor too weak to last me my four years of college?
Does anyone have any other suggestions that I should of purchased?

My big question:

Ok, well I posted the WD 500GB 5400rpm HDD above that I would like to install myself.

Concern, not 100% positive I will be able to do this on my own because I have never installed a HDD. The problem is not the actual installation part of the Hard drive ( I found a nice youtube video that shows how to remove the old and replace it with the new HDD on a T400.) The part in question is restoring this hard drive to the same exact way the old one was formatted, etc.

1. I know I have to go to the Recovery help and create THREE CD's that will restore my settings.
2. I have to then remove the old HDD and install the new HDD.
3. I start with CD 1 and follow anything it says to do or do I have to partition/format/do something else with the HDD first?
4. CD 2?
5. CD 3?
6. I just installed a new HDD myself, awesome...?

Is it as simple as I stated above or do I need to download drivers, format my HDD, partition my HDD, do anything that a basic computer knowledge person would be capable of doing.

I can not decide if it would be worth me attempting to installing this HDD. Will I ever be able to see a notable increase in performance by upgrading from a 160GB to a 500GB? Would I be better off with an external HDD if no speed difference? Worst case can I just remove the new HDD and put in the old and it would work perfectly fine? I am just extremely worried spending an upwards of $800 for a brand new laptop, then $120+ on upgrades (HDD and RAM) for it to be unsuccessful and screw up my computer.

Thank you to everyone and I look forward to receiving my first Lenovo!

 

There is a $0.00 cost increase to go to the P8600 processor, so upgrading to it is an obvious choice.

There will always be a speed difference with an external HDD on the T400. Firewire will be the closest, but USB will never be as fast as the SATA internal. Upgrading a hard disk in the T400 is a piece of cake. Create the recovery discs off the first drive. Shut the system down. Swap the drive. Reload using the discs you created. Done.

RAM is also a simple upgrade. Lenovo has an illustrated guide on their support pages. It will take 15min for a novice, 5min for an experienced user. It's cheaper to order third-party RAM and upgrade than to put it in the order. You just need a small Philips-head screwdriver, which you also need for the HDD upgrade.

One other note: I'd absolutely, positively step up to a DVD writer, if for no other reason than you can back up far more files to A DVD. It's also a bonus if you ever resell the laptop. Everything else (e.g., higher-resolution display) is a matter of choice, though if you might even play at all with videoconferencing, know that this is your one chance to get the integrated webcam; you can't add it later.

Good luck. Know that while I've only had my T400 for a few days, I can already say it is by far the best laptop I've owned, and the best I've used (and I've used quite a few).

P.S. Let us know which options you went through to get your price; perhaps some of us can help you lower it if you haven't used any of Lenovo's special discount programs (e.g., CPP, Visa card discount program, coupon codes, etc.)

 

I recommend that you should buy an external HDD 500G with firewire connector as you don't playing intensive game, movies could be stored in external HDD.

 

Technology is the epitome of planned obsolescence—you are almost guaranteed your product will be replaced with something newer/better, sometimes significantly better, in a few years time. With that said, if you want this to last you four years, buy the best processor you can afford now. If your budget is tight, or even if you just like having new things, spend a little less now and plan on buying the next new hotness in two years.

As for your replacement HD, it’ll be a bit faster, but it appears you are really going for increased storage capacity vs. speed. As for the steps you’ve provided, you are good to go—no partitioning needed. If something should go awry, you can simply put the OEM HD back in and be back in business.

Cheers.

 

Really appreciate your opinions on the product. Unfortunately, I do not believe this is a possible choice anymore. Under the CPP program (the one I am trying my configurations) it is a $63 upgrade. I am kind of upset I did not try the CPP first because the offer I have my quote saved under has now expired. It was an outstanding deal and the same laptop I have configured above would be $786 BEFORE tax, meaning it would come to over $800 for the SAME configuration without adding the DVD burner that you recommended.

Kimhyun - Thanks for the recommendation, it is something I will still ponder. I want my laptop to preform to an outstanding level and if that means installing the 500GB over the 160GB I may just do it. This is the biggest thing I will have to ponder though.

BinkNR - Could not have said it better, it is definitely the epitome of planned obsolescence.

And I have heard that although it is still a 5400rpm the WD has outperformed some 7200rpm. Just heard overall good reports and would rather save battery life/prevent overheating by sticking with the best possible 5400. Thank you for all your help!

I may have to try waiting to purchase my laptop and see if any better deals arise in the next few weeks. Upgrading the processor is not out of the question. I would really like this one to last as long as possible. I just need this laptop in my possession by the end of August.

 

I would recommend putting another 2GB of RAM, Vista will be happy.

 

Don't worry. I planned on adding the 2GB myself.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148192

Seems like much better of a deal than $90 more through Lenovo.

 

Just to make sure, you are using the USETSAVINGS coupon for the additional 5% off as well, correct?

 

I strongly recommend u add a BlueTooth and a DVD burner, and other than that the laptop will positively walk u through ur study.

 

damn, that's a cheap 2GB stick.

 

Hi Y4NK335,

First up, let me congratulate you (and all ThinkPad owners) for being smart and sensible in choosing your ThinkPad(s). ThinkPads have a comprehensive and regularly updated suite of documentation, driver downloads and even DIY how-to videos to do your own upgrades.

Here you go. Knock yourself out:

Hardware removal and installation index - ThinkPad T400, R400

T400 User's guides and manuals

I believe the specs on your machine is good enough for even a CS/Engineering major unless he/she is a hardcore, die-hard power user who manipulates multiple hi-res Photoshop files, large format CAD projects, real-time HD video processing and other processor, hard drive & graphic-intensive applications all at the same time. A fully-loaded W700 would be the machine for such folks.

One key concern notebook owners must bear in mind is battery endurance. Unless you've ready access to power sockets, I rather place the premium on a processor that sips battery juice than one that soaks up more juice even when idling. Your P processor (which has a lower TDP than a T processor) helps in prolonging battery life. And it's powerful enough to do the heavy lifting without impairment to performance if need be.

If you plan to have your T400 with you thru your 4 yr college journey, I highly recommend that you purchase a 3/4 year warranty to give you peace of mind. Better yet if you can afford on-site or even ThinkPad protection that includes accidental damage. Trust me. It's money worth spending even though it'll set you back a few c-notes. If yours come with only a basic 1 yr base/depot/mail-in warranty, you'll have to shell out for service & support should your lappy require any after that 1 yr. And let me assure you: such pay-per-service is not cheap.

ThinkPad's formidable reputation was built not only with superb engineering, design and build quality, but was/is also supported by an excellent 3 year warranty programme. Our ThinkPads are built to last beyond 4 years ( 5 yr depot/onsite warranty upgrades do exist).

Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. We pay for what we get. Pony up some green to match peace of mind with the build quality you're getting. 4 years is a long time not to get assured support and servicing on the same machine without shelling a cent more after you've purchased your warranty. (Protip: not entirely satisfied with your legendary ThinkPad keyboard? No worries! They'll send you a replacement keyboard via courier without any fuss, subject to return of the old keyboard depending on your region. Now that's service & support!). Electronic equipment like all things have a finite life, and wear & tear accelerates towards its EOL.

tl;dr? Get the extended warranty if you intend your T400 to complete your college degree with you. You'll be glad you did.

Apart from the above, the opinions of the gurus and topguns who've stated their opinions here apply.

 

I would get the DVD burner unless you already have a USB DVD burner. If you are satisfied with WXGA resolution (1280x800) on a 14" widescreen, then all is okay.

 

(This is going to be kind of long-winded...)

I'm going through the process of getting a new laptop for my post-grad degree (I'm still torn between the T400 and the T500 )

I previously got a T42 for my undergrad and absolutely loved it. Lasted me 4 years. It's still around; I lugged it everywhere in my backpack. Survived a half-dozen bike crashes, a few careless tosses of my backpack, and more. I did get the 3-year next business day onsite and the accidental damage coverage.

Things were a bit rough in the beginning - there were some problems in the motherboard that support was unwilling to recognize (BIOS errors were "a software problem"...). Eventually, however, I had a tech standing in my living room replacing it and a new docking station to compensate me for my trouble.

Much later in the game, after almost 2 years, my laptop was sitting up on the edge of a chair and someone snagged the cord and pulled it off. Mechanically, the system was perfectly fine, but I had some noticeable cracks in the case. Called them up, told them what happened and they gave me a depot to drop it off for repairs. Waited a day or two and then I was good to go (accidental damage isn't an on-site repair).

All this is the long way around of saying that I probably didn't get the absolute dollar value of my investment in the warranty - I likely could have sent back the laptop within my return period for the restocking fee, and the cracked case later on could've been paid for too. However, I knew that, theft aside, I was guarenteed a laptop for 3 years (and if it made it through 3, it would survive the 4th).

The only extra non-upgrade cost was that I bought a new battery at the 2 year mark (and it's starting to go on me again). You'll want to budget for that if you need the capacity you had at purchase.

I figured I could go cheap and plan to replace it in two years, or go for a more expensive system and have it last. The warranty was just a part of that "have it last" mindset. Unless other laptop brands have gotten much better, even without the warranty you'll watch EVERYONE you know go through at least 2 laptops in the 4 years (seriously - I don't know anyone but me who stayed with the same machine. Even students that I know for a fact were woefully low on cash had to make room in the budget for at least one laptop replacement).

 

Yeah, I agree, having a DVD Burner is pretty dang useful. Unless you'll have a desktop rig to take with you that can burn DVDs, that might be a good option to have. I didn't really recognize the usefulness of having one on my Thinkpad until I actually bought a Thinkpad with one.

On the other hand, I don't have a desktop machine (not enough space on my desk, don't really game, kind of pointless). The DVD Burner was a free option when I purchased my notebook so it was a no brainer.

 

To everyone that has answered my thread:

I truly appreciate your thoughtful insight and responses based on experience. It is a great feeling to receive a plethora of positive remarks and helpful criticisms on my purchase.

The warranty is certainly a large possibility after my purchase.

Nearly everyone has made note about the DVD burner. My only problem, the deal I used to create my quote of $747 is no longer valid, meaning if I still go through the CPP program my EXACT same configuration would be nearly $100 more, so if I wanted to add the $70 DVD burner it would look to be more like $170. I would not have a problem purchasing a USB DVD Burner. Just did a quick search and most seem to be around this price of $59.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151182
On top of that I believe (not 100% sure) that my desktop has a DVD burner (It says DVD-Rom..?)

As far as the screen resolution. I can not get a WXGA+ with the LED only CFFL and I know everyone says LED is the way to go.

 

As another person said, make sure to get internal bluetooth. I thought it was useless at first and thought I would never use it, but I was wrong. It is so nice to have a dongle free and clean connection to my bluetooth mouse. I have a DVD burner with mine, but I really never used it. The only time I used it was to make recovery discs for myself. Since I store and back up all my main files from my desktop, on to DVDs, I don't really use the one on the laptop. Something for you to think of.

Also make sure to get a good warranty since you will be using this laptop a lot in college for 4 years. If I was to use my machine outside I would probably get the 4 year accident coverage warranty.

I have a non LED backlite screen and my very satisfied with my picture quality. I would rather get a higher res screen with the quality of picture I have now, then have a lower res screen that was brighter with a LED backlight.

I would skip the fingerprint reader if you were thinking about it.

Maybe a larger battery if you need it to unplugged for long periods of time?

 

Bluetooth can be purchased as a USB device as well correct?

Back to the screen, I just heard some CFFL's crapped out after 2 years and if I am looking for this to last 4 years I would rather the better quality screen, but I really wish I would have the higher res.

 

What's the price of the DVD burner on its own? You'll have an ultrabay - you can always swap in the new drive without any trouble (at least, that's how it is on my T42). If the pricing makes sense, go forward as-is and buy the ultrabay burner at a later date.

Oh, and Bluetooth can be had with a USB dongle; some of them are small (and some are not...). It's useful for cell phone syncronization or Bluetooth mice/keyboards.

 

x2 -- get the bluetooth internal. It'll cost as much or less as a dongle but won't take up a USB port or stick out & catch on stuff. Handy for transferring stuff to/from a smartphone or cellphone and it's fantastic for a bluetooth mouse since there's no dongle to mess with. I use a Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 I got on sale for ~$30 a while back.

 

If by "crapped out" you mean completely dead, I haven't had that happen to any of my laptops. CCFL screens do get slightly dimmer over time, but that's pretty much unpreventable.

Getting Bluetooth through a dongle takes some of the advantages of Bluetooth away though - you're still using a USB port on your laptop. I'm using a Microsoft Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 (normally $100, Amazon had it for $25) with Bluetooth mode and it's great.

 

For this reason, I chose the WXGA+ CCFL. It's very bright (esp. on AC power, and completely uniform, with no bleed. Resolution was more important to me than the backlight.

I have found it rare for a CCFL to burn out --we have plenty of laptops at work that are long obsolete with working LCD panels. If resolution is a big deal to you, don't take LED just because people say "it's better". Get what is better for you.

 

I just called a Lenovo representative to see if I could get anything on my quote changed, he said no but tried to get me a better deal. I told him if he could get me a better deal I was going to change the screen and possibly upgrade a few more things.

He said I must of received a very good CPP offer because he was unable to reconfigure the computer for any cheaper. I said its fine and I will just purchase the quote I have. I know I did not purchase the bluetooth, DVD burner, or upgrade the processor but for the price I had to take that offer. The bluetooth can be manually installed as well as a DVD burner, etc. The configuration on the first page is the one I ended up going with. I will probably purchase a warranty at a later date, if I do decide I need anything else I can always just purchase and install it myself. Thanks for everyone's help and I will still be installing the RAM and HDD myself.

May I also add it was a pleasant experience talking to the representative, he was extremely helpful and knew the answers to everything I asked.

 

Did you have to order now or could you have waited? Just curious.

 

Hi Fire Snake,

Surprisingly, I use a Microsoft Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 6000 even though my X61 is Bluetooth equipped.

Why not a Bluetooth mouse, you may ask, since that capability is already present in my machine and doing that will free up a USB port?

Well... at the time I bought my mouse, I thought I'll have an RF mouse so that I have the option of using it on another machine that's not Bluetooth-capable.

Although I did wonder if I'd be better off with a Bluetooth mouse to save a USB port and be as minimalist as possible, I was glad I was able to whip out my RF laser mouse when a desktop machine I needed access to was missing its wired mouse. Desktop aren't equipped with Bluetooth as a rule.

So I'm happy.

 

I could have waited, but he did not see a better deal arising so I was not going to wait around. I want to hopefully receive the laptop before I go on vacation the 10th of July. I just gave all the payment info through the phone and he processed the order in seconds and then sent me a confirmation e-mail.

 

I would add Intel WiMAX/WiFi Link 5350 (AGN) with My WiFi Technology [add $51.00] because you plan to keep the computer 4 years and Wimax might be widely available in that time.

 

Extremely unlikely. WiMax is available in a very tiny number of metropolitan areas.

A feature is only a feature if it's usable, and WiMax's future is very uncertain at this point.

 

bluetooth can't be installed without voiding warranty. you would need to get not just the card but also an antenna and a different cable. routing the antenna is a rather painful task as well and will void your warranty.

 

Could do that, or get the bluetooth module(one that looks like a flash drive and about the same size) that plugs into a free usb port. Then the bluetooth mouse will work with the laptop.

 

Got it. Congrats! I think you will love the machine. I have been using my T61p for the last year and the machine is beautiful. It really appeals to the whole pride of ownership thing, which is so hard to get with anything you buy these days.

 

Right that is true. That is what I did originally as well. I have a VX revolution RF mouse that I was using on my Thinkpad originally and it worked great, but I really didn't like the fact that I had this dongle. I hate having to pull the thing out of the usb slot before putting the laptop in the bag and if you forget it can break off. I went with a RF mouse since it is the most versatile and that I heard a lot of bad things with lag with bluetooth mice. Well I decided to try a bluetooth mouse and haven't looked back since. The lag is barely nothing and it works seemlessly with my laptop's internal bluetooth in both Vista and Linux. I love it. Clean awesome performance, no dongles and using a feature that I paid for on the laptop. Plus this was the first time I used a bluetooth device at all, so that was a learning experience. I highly reccomend it, especially with usage like office work and surfing the web. With games, I am not sure, don't play too many of them anymore. I think it would work fine on most games as well if your not too hardcore.

 

Yes, you can always add a bluetooth dongle. But the whole point of choosing a bluetooth mouse over other wireless mice is to not have to use a dongle with the mouse.

Even the low-profile bluetooth dongles stick out some and can catch on stuff when putting the laptop into/out of its bag or sleeve. It's nice just not having to worry about it at all.

 

I am well aware of that, thats why I recommended the OP to go for the internal one when configuring the machine. My comment was in response to zenit who was mentioning opening the laptop up to add a internal bluetooth module and how it might void the system.

 

The other neat thing about Bluetooth --If you have a Bluetooth headset, you can pair it with your laptop and Skype with it. It has worked really well for me.

You can also sync Bluetooth-enabled smartphones without a cable.

 

Hi LoneWolf15 and Fire Snake,

Pardon me for asking a n00b question (yes, that'll be me at this forum for quite a while - so much to learn, yet so little brain cells and time, heheh) but how many concurrent Bluetooth devices can we connect to our machine?

It is possible to connect a BT headset, BT smartphone, BT mouse, BT external keyboard (when will Lenovo update its wired USB UltraNav external keyboard to Bluetooth?), etc all at the same time?

Under what conditions will BT be overwhelmed?

Not to be off topic here, but can anyone provide any good info sites that detail the BT user/technical experience/limitations/things to watch out for.

Thanks.