Need advice - T410 or X201

I was browsing the Lenovo UK website and they seem to be doing a special coupon deal which takes 15% off the list price. I did plan to buy a laptop in 2011 but Intel’s news to delay USB 3.0 to 2012 made me think that I might as well get it sooner rather than later (couldn’t wait!).

I did thought of the Dell Latitude E6410 but I think the charm of my T61 draw me back to the trusty Thinkpad brand. I’m thinking of buying either the T410 or the X201 and need advice to weigh up the pros and cons. I tend to use it for marketing work such as brochures and writes ups, digital design and the odd multimedia such as watching movies (my T61 stutters on HD playback). I occasionally would need to take it out and about but most of the time would be spent on the desk.

The specs are as follows:

Thinkpad T410 – Price: £958.36

- Intel Core i5-520M Processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB)
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
- 14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/ LED Backlight (WWAN antenna)
- Intel HD Graphics
- 2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
- UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
- 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
- DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
- 9 cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode
- Bluetooth w/ antenna
- Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)
- Integrated Wireless Wide Area Network upgradable
- ThinkPad Upgrade to 3 Year On-Site Service Next Business Day

Thinkpad X201 – Price: £928.29

- Intel Core i5-520M Processor (2.40-2.93GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB)
- Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
- 12.1" WXGA LED Panel, 3x3 UltraConnect II antenna; Wireless Broadband Upgradeable
- Intel HD Graphics
- 2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
- TrackPoint with Fingerprint Reader and Touchpad
- 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
- ThinkPad X200 Series 9 cell Li-Ion Battery
- Bluetooth w/ antenna
- Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 (3x3 AGN)
- Integrated Wireless Wide Area Network upgradable
- ThinkPad Upgrade to 3 Year On-Site Service Next Business Day

Just to let you know i'm also a MSDN member so the operating system doesn't matter. I've also purchased a spare 2GB PC3-8500 DDR3 RAM for £19.99 elsewhere rather than £58 suggested by Lenovo so that makes it 4GB altogether. Any advice or suggestions on the listed specs would be appreciated, thanks.

 

If it's going to be on a desk most of the time, I don't see a point in getting the x201.
But why does your T61 stutter on HD playback? My T60 has pretty much the same specs (T7400, 4gb ram but only 3 usable of course, 7200rpm HDD, and v5200 gpu) and plays HD video just fine. Have you tried going back to XP? I know when I went to Vista on my T60 I lost 10fps playing CoD4 as compared to XP.

 

The ATI V5200 GPU has a bit more grunt in power than the Intel X3100 965GM which is probably why you don't notice stuttering when playing back in HD. (See results of X3100 and V5200). Plus the Intel X3100 graphics lacks the hardware acceleration to play back in HD smoothly. I'm pretty much adapted to Windows 7 now so it would be a step backwards to return XP.

 

Ah, I figured video playback was just CPU based, but I figure a lot wrong it seems.

Well, I have the 15" T60 and an X201, and if it's just going to stay on a desk may as well get the bigger screen. Not that the X201 seems small when you use it, but when you step up to the 15" (or a 14" I'd say), you notice a big difference.

 

The V5200 is based on the X1600. The X1600 can help with playback, but I'm not so sure about the V5200. My R60 played 1080 video just fine. It had the T7400 and the X1300. The X1300 does not help with decoding at all.