Purchasing a T400 tomorrow

k first off my mom doesnt want to input her credit card info , she wants to tell it to the lenovo staff via the phone, i called them sunday and no one answered I am going to assume they only open 9-5 mon-fri someone confirm this please

i live in canada

these are my specs

http://img17.imageshack.us/i/32017391.jpg/

ThinkPad T400 - 1 Yr Depot Warranty
Edit
Ships within 9 to 13 bus. days**

Intel Core 2 Duo processor P8700 (2.53GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2)1
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium12
14.1 WXGA TFT w/LED BL
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium - English
Display type 14.1 WXGA TFT w/LED BL
System graphics ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 with 256MB
Total memory 2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (1 DIMM)
Keyboard language US English Keyboard
Camera with Camera
Hard drive4 250GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Optical device5 DVD Recordable, Ultrabay Slim
System expansion slots Express Card & Media Card Slots
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters ThinkPad b/g/n Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe
Modem Yes - AMoM
Mobile Broadband Integrated WWAN upgradable
Battery60 4 cell Li-Ion Battery
Power cord 90W AC Adapter; NA, LA, (2pin)
Language pack English US Publication


Subtotal: $1,810.99
Sale Price: $1,234.90

eCoupon:
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Note: The eCoupon code is case sensitive

[CAEBTSSAVINGS] -$185.23
Estimated total: $1,049.67*
Savings $761.32


***** is there any way i could save some money.. like did i add something thats useless, like i was looking at the dvd burner i was thinking i could pick one up for a cheaper price...*****

***also would this last me 3-4yrs university student hopefully going to med school***

 

I think an aftermarket DVD burner isn't likely to save you much and you may have connection/fit issues with an aftermarket burner. You might want to go with a bigger battery depending on your need.

 

Lenovo Sales does not work during the weekends, so you'll have to buy it some time during the weekdays. Pay attention to which time zone they're in too.

You may want to try configuring from various levels (ie, getting a base Elite model or a slightly upgraded Enhanced model versus a fully upgraded base model), because the price does vary. Your price seems quite high based on the price most people are getting their T400's at nowadays.

 

Why do you want the ATI 3470 ?

 

Also you sure you want the 4cell?

 

reallly ... but i live in canada... what do you mean the price seems too high.... should i go into the lenovo store and configure it there instead?

also size is an issue for me along with price thats why i went for the T400 ...

also whats wrong with the Ati 3470, doesnt it have switchable graphics...i know it isnt too powerful

 

Get a 3 year warranty
I would order it with 1 gig of ram then upgrade to 4 gigs for $66 from newegg

are you using spp or cpp?



see http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5229986&postcount=12

 

I am also in Canada and just recently ordered a T400 (plus I understand what students need in university) so I can suggest some modifications.

Screen: Upgrade to the WXGA+ LED (you can call the sales rep and request this option - this was recently removed from Canada site, but is available on US site).

Processor: If you are going to keep the machine for a few years, try to go for the P9500 (25w) with 6MB L2 cache - future proofs it, plus higher L2 cache is really good.

HD: Go for the 7200 one. There is the 160GB 7200 available on Canada site for only $40+.

Battery: Go for the 9-cell option. It's so much cheaper to include the high capacity now (only $20). You can always buy a spare 6 cell later.

Also, I endorse what another poster said. Configure it from the highest option available (the "enhanced elite" on Canada site). It will cost you much less to upgrade/include all these options. Trust me, I spent (wasted?) many hours comparing prices with different options.

Finally, this may sound like heresy on a Thinkpad forum, but there are many other brands that provide systems that cost much less and provide much more bang for the buck. But, if you really want a Thinkpad, then the coupon gives you the best price in Canada.



P.S. Yes, phone sales only works until 6 PM Eastern time (M-F). Canada sales seems to be handled from North Carolina.

 

Only in CPU intensive stuff will the better CPU make any difference, even then it will not be huge. General usage doesn't push the CPU enough to where you'd notice a difference. There's no future proofing any computer. Regardless of what one purchases today, in three years, it will be old by comparison.

 

I agree that most tasks don't stress the CPU at all. In fact, I think it is almost cdeplorable that people own so many machines that are underutilized almost all the time. Yet, if these same machines could be linked together, they would provide so much more computing power (even more than expensive supercomputers) to solve many critical scientific problems.

Even the Atom processor might be more than enough for most average joes. By "future proofing" I meant to imply that he could spend just a few more bucks to go for the 25 W option (that this is a lower power processor something is not at all clear on the Canada site, because this info is omitted). It will help him/her to prolong battery life to some extent (but again, these days, there are really very few people who need to depend on their batteries so much).

 

They were getting the P8700, which I believe runs at 25w as well.

 

Just my personal opinion but I think alot of people buy discrete graphics cards out of some delusion of future proofing. If you don't have a specific need for a discrete graphics card, then going with the intel gma x4500 offers benefits like: lower price, less power usage, cooler running.

Yes the switchable graphics is a nice feature. But if you don't need the discrete why buy it. But I don't really know what usage you had in mind so that's why I asked what you wanted the ATI 3470 for.

 

Can I purchase on the Canadien site and have it shipped to the States?

 

I think I can provide some perspective. On my old built desktop at home, it has a Vanilla Geforce 6800. This is a very old card but it has allowed me to play Counterstrike Source and the Half Life 2 games at relatively good speeds and quality for years.

So in some ways, it may not be "future-proofing", but it could allow to do enjoy certain things that the GMA graphics simply won't allow at all.