P9500 worth the premium?

I'm configuring a new T400 and wanted to get folks' opinions on some components. I have three broad goals: to get decent battery life from a 6-cell battery (4-5 hours); to have a machine that can easy deal with image processing in photoshop/illustrator and occasional video/sound editing; and to have a machine that runs fairly cool (quiet). No gaming, no hard-core programming.

I'm trying to figure out if the premium for the P9500 processor is worth paying over the P8600 (smaller L2 cache) or the T9400 (higher power consumption/heat). Also curious how the WXGA+ CCFL screen compares to the LED version in terms of power consumption and brightness. And also curious if anyone actually uses the "My WiFi" feature of the intel cards. I'm tempted to shave $35 off the price and get the Atheros AGN card instead.

Rest of the system will be as fast as possible (4GB, 7K160, discrete graphics, running XP/vista/win7 32 bit).

 

When I bought it was worth the extra. Granted that will all depend on what your tasks are, if you do alot of encoding then it may pay off in the long run. Otherwise Id stick with the p8600.

 

Yeah, it's about a $100 premium but I'm wondering if I'll really notice any difference if I get the P8600 over the P9500 (considering my current T61 is a T7300). If anyone does video editing on their T400/500, how much faster will the P9500 be over the P8600 in reality? Are we talking a few seconds or many seconds for a short clip?

 

Well if it were up to me I'd take the P9500 but I'm odd. I used to be a computer benchmarker. Really, it depends on your applications and what you intend to do.

Define "short".

Renee

 

IMO, the P8600 is plenty powerful for photo and sound work. A $225 increase just for a slightly faster processor is overkill. That money is better spent on getting a faster hard drive (an SSD for example).

Nevertheless, if you're aiming for 4-5 hours on a 6-cell battery, definitely get a P-series processor. Newer Penryn chips run significantly cooler and uses less power without the huge sacrifices in power (as seen in LV processors).

Which version of Photoshop are you planning on using? CS4 now comes with GPU acceleration so it will make good use of your dedicated card. If you are using CS3 and lower, a dedicated card may be an unnecessary option since it draws more power and runs hotter than the integrated X4500.

The difference between the Atheros card and Intel cards isn't just that feature. Intel WiFi cards are generally more power efficient and stable. My x200 with the 5300 can get signals my HP didn't despite it being an ABGN card. If you plan of moving around a lot (i.e. campuses, coffee shops, etc.), having a good wireless card an be indispensable.

If you want to make use of 4GB, you'll need a 64-bit OS.

 

Well I code a lot and the p8600 works perfect for that. But since you don't do anything really cpu intensive then go for the p8600. I would say off the bat compiling something big you may save a few seconds here and there with the p9500 over the 8600, but I cant say anything for encoding unfortunately.

 

Upgrading your choice before or after purchase to a SSD to replace the HHD will do far more to vary heat levels, battery life and sound than your options. The T series does have higher higher power limit, but it also has slightly more grunt.

 

Thanks all... I currently use Adobe CS3 but will probably upgrade to CS4 later this year. Guess I'll stick with the P8600, since I have more time than money right now And I'll probably dial back RAM to 3GB for now. SSD's are still silly money IMO so maybe next year I'll see if their price drops at all. Then again I guess SSDs don't take such a performance hit as HDDs when they start to fill up, so perhaps I could get away with a smaller capacity drive.

I'm curious when Intel wireless cards overtook Atheros in performance? My T43's Atheros AGN card got way better reception than the equivalent Intel card a couple years back.

Now I just need to wait and see if Lenovo will throw the LED WXGA+ screens back into the mix anytime soon.

 

Based on what you said, I would recommend the P8600 processor for your T400 - the minor clock speed difference and the increased cache memory makes little difference.

I do not use the My WiFi Intel network card feature. My Intel 5300 ABGN card gets a better signal than any other laptop's card I've used to date, Intel or Atheros or Dell or otherwise.

Recently, I was in Anaheim for a conference, staying in the Hilton. From my room, I was able to connect very well to the Marriott's network, across the street. From right outside the Hilton, I was able to connect to the Travelodge's free WiFi - 3/4 mile away.

I have heard that Intel's WiFi cards use the least power, although I don't have any data to back that up with, so take that with a grain of salt.

I would not expect the T400 to get the WXGA+ LED screen. It seems that Lenovo is saving that supply for the T400s, which has that as standard.

 

best is set yourself a budget. if you have cash left, then its worth the premium to spend. if not its not worth it. the faster or better a component, the better always. price is the only limiter

 

OK, P8600 it is. One other question for you all... is there any indication that a 7K320 disc runs any hotter than the 7K160? Since it probably has more platters I would expect it to, but I could be wrong.

As for the screen, Lenovo has offered the WXGA+ LED screen on the T400 in the past. Remains to be seen whether it makes a comeback or not. I guess that depends in part on how well the T400s sells.

 

The card for the T400/500 is not an Atheros this time around; it is Realtek-based. For that reason, I went with an Intel card; I might have been okay with an Atheros AGN card, but I'm picky, and Realtek isn't high on my list for WiFi.

The differences between the Intel 5100 and 5300 are that the 5300 has three antennas rather than two, and supports more channels. It should be more robust in high-noise or high-net-traffic areas, as well as having slightly better range.

P.S. Remember that Photoshop also makes good use of SSE instructions in addition to GPU acceleration, and both chips have that. I'm not sure it's really necessary to spend the bucks over the P8600, unless you're doing really heavy work (e.g., multiple Gaussian blurs, etc.). I couldn't justify the cost myself, and Photoshop CS3 runs just fine on my P8600-based T400

 

Good to know. Thanks. P8600 and Intel 5300 it is

Question is, how long to wait for those darn screens

 

You will probably be waiting for a long time or possibly forever. I would think all 14.1 led WXGA+ will go to the 400s department...

 

I know... I hold out hope since some people who ordered earlier this year got an LED WXGA+ on a T400.

 

If it helps at all, I'll tell you my CCFL WXGA+ display is excellent; I'm quite impressed.