Questions about T400 (keyboard, GPU) and purchase

I have decided to buy a new notebook, but there are not desirable configurations in my country, so I am forced to buy it abroad (*), but I don't have any experience in buying things this way, so I would be most grateful for some answers. Thank you.

(Note: italic - problem solved, bold - unsolved)

There are 3 models which come into question: Lenovo Thinkpad, Dell Latitude a HP Elitebook. Finally I have choosen the first one - Thinkpad T400, followed by Elitebook 6930p and Latitude E6400 at the end. On the other hand if you preffer another type, any suggestions are welcome. But there is one thing (concernig to T400) I am afraid of - the keyboard. Has Lenovo come back to well-known keyboard of erlier Thinkpads yet, or still provides the "lite version", which came with releasing T400? (1) The second question is about GPU or acceleration thru it, to be specific. The most demanding program will be Photoshop (CS4), so good-working GPU accelation would warm the heart of me. Unfortunately I have found 2 posts mentioning that Intel GMA X4500HD (which would be cheaper choice) does not support acceleration thru GPU in Photoshop and also intel graphic cards are not included in adobe list of supported GPUs, although X4500 matches adobe requirements about OpenGL and Shared Model. Do you have any experience with this GPU and acceleration thru it in PS? (required RAM size in this case?) (2)

And finally there are some questions about purchase of T400. It is cheaper to buy it on lenovo website or in shops with preconfigurable T400? (3) Are there any shops you are satisfied with, or it does not matter and the best way is just google a type and choose the one with the best price?(4). I am asking you because of international warranty service. Does Lenovo provide IWS for notebooks, which you can configure and buy on us shop.lenovo.com, if it doesn't, can you buy it in addition? (5)If you buy from lenovo site, is there a possibility to exchange regular a/c adapter for the slim one and not to buy both of them? (6) Do you pay any aditional taxes, when the order is not shipped to California? (but e.g. to Colorado) (7) I have heard about EPP, can you use employee serial number although your country is not in the list lenovo.com/epp? (8) Can you use eCoupons with EPP, if you cannot, where can you get them from? (9) If I have to buy from another store (in case of IWS' nonavailability) can you exchange some parts of ntb for another one? (For example Intel 5350 instead Intel 5100, slim a/c adapt instead regular, etc.) (10) Last question is about time of purchase. Any suggestions ranging from March to August? (11)

Thank you very much and sorry for too many questions.

 

Actually Lenovo has switched over to using the older keyboards on the T400. Most likely that's what you'll get.

I haven't really noticed a difference in Photoshop between my ThinkPad which has the Intel card and my desktop with the 8600GT. I'm only doing low to mid level stuff. Your needs may differ.

You will not be able to exchange the adapter or any other parts for that matter.

Lenovo charges tax in all states. Your only option to avoid taxes is to a pre-configured model buy on-line.

I don't know about EPP. I would suggest asking the employee who is letting you use their serial number. Tread very lightly here. We don't allow much EPP discussion here.

IWS is offered on some pre-configured ThinkPads by machine type. You cannot order it when configuring a machine on Lenovo's website, nor can you add it later if it is not sold with IWS.

Prices fluctuate all the time. Your guess is as good as mine as to what's the best time to buy.

 

1. I've got a T400 and the keyboard is solid. As ZaZ said, they've switched to using the old Thinkpad keyboards and they have little to no flex as far as I can tell.

2. I'm pretty sure you need at least a 128mb graphics card to take advantage of CS4's GPU acceleration, which means that you probably won't be able to use the Intel GMA card. I'm still using CS3 so I can't speak from personal experience. If you want to use the GPU acceleration in CS4, it seems to me that you will definitely need to get the 3470 in the T400 - or the 3650 in the W500, for that matter.

8/9. You should check on Google for answers about these types of things.

11. I bought my T400 from Lenovo's website, and it seems like they have new sales every week or so. Keep a close eye on the site and check to see when the prices dip. It happens frequently. They also have a policy where, if the price goes down within a certain number of days after your purchase (I think it's 21), you can get them to match it and pay you back the difference.

Good luck!

Isaac

 

First of all I would like to say thank you for quick answer.

Ideal configuration of T400 on lenovo site:

But because of IWS' absence on lenovo web site the likeliest choice is to buy pre-configured T400 in another store. (*)Would you suggest me any types of T400 with IWS you are satisfied with and their configuration approaches the "dream" one above? (e.g. 2765-33U) (12)

AD:

Thank you for your experience. Have you enabled GPU acceleration? (into the Performance section of the Preferences window "Enabled OpenGL Drawing") My needs are similar. Do you think that is worth extra pay for ATI MR 3470 only because photographing is my hobby and I need edit photos? What size of memory would you recommend with intel gpu? (13)

 

I actually have GPU- Acceleration enabled on my T400, and it seems to work. Is it faster than my desktop? Not a chance. Is it fast enough fo quick edits? Yes.

 

It sounds good. So if you have to decide between integrated and dedicated gpu under these circustamces, which one would you choose? (14)
- most demanding program: Photoshop (Creative Suite 4 Web Premium)
- common use of PS (editing photos from DSLR, etc.)
- no games
How much memory does X4500 usually usurp? Are you satisfied with 3GB RAM? (15)
Thank you

 

3GB works just fine for me. I have no idea how much ram the x4500 uses, but will find out later today. And in this case, I think having the dedicated gpu would be helpful, and I would certainly get it again.

 

I believe the x4500 is set to use between 32MB and 768MB as needed (32MB in most cases). 3GB is probably fine, and unless you are running a 64-bit OS is the most you can realistically use.

 

Thanks, according this (and fact that dedicated is switchable and better choice for the future) I have rejected the integrated solution. What OS would you suggest me? (16) (I doubt I will buy more than 2(3)GB RAM) Do you know any shops, where you can at once buy T400 and apply for exchange of wifi card (5350 instead 5100), or in this case you should turn upon lenovo?(17)

 

If you never plan on using more than 3GB of RAM, then Vista 32 bit will probably be fine. I would suggest at least Home Premium (Aero Glass, and other features) instead of Home Basic. If you need to connect to a domain and/or use Remote Desktop, you will need Business or Ultimate. I use and like 64 bit Vista, but I primarily got it because I intend to upgrade to 4 or 6GB of RAM in the future. The one thing to consider is that I believe Photoshop CS4 has a 64-bit version. This will probably perform better than the 32-bit version for very large images ( read this lengthy review for more information on GPU acceleration and the 64-bit performance advantage in CS4 [benchmarks on page 5]).

If you want the 5350, you will probably have to get a custom build from Lenovo, or replace it yourself.

The 5100 requires less antennas, and a T400 with the 5100 card may not have all the antennas that the 5350 requires. This would complicate your upgrade as you would either need to run the 5350 w/o 1 of the antennas (may or may not work), or wire in a third antenna yourself (not an easy task).

However, in my experience the 5100 is good enough (read this thread). Unless you have access to a WiMax network, and need this feature, I would just stick to the 5100.

 

so Jon, if I ordered a t400 with the 5100, I can't upgrade to a 5300 WAN card?

 

On NotebookReview is great forum, but it wouldn't be without all of you. Thank you very much.
(Btw: Do you know what this shortcutes in lenovo tabook means? Workhorse [W], Global [G], GMP

, Educ)? (18)

 

A workhorse model is guaranteed to be available for at least a set period of time. This is for business purchasers who have already tested and certified a model with their customized preload and don't want any surprises in the middle of a phased rollout.

Global means...available globally although not necessarily in every single market.

Educ means the configuration and software preload is geared towards the educational market.

I don't think I know what GMP is. Not ringing any bells.

 

For the GPU acceleration in Adobe, techreport.com says the requirement is an Nvidia GeForce FX or better graphics cards with 512MB of memory. Nvidia & Adobe came up the acceleration together, so I don't think it will work with Intel gpus.

 

I have heard that maybe Windows 7 will be released in 3rd quarter of this year, so I would like to ask you if you can return the licence of Windows Vista and wait for the successor.
Thanks.

 

You won't be able to return the license. However, if you wait a few months (until after M$ has released a Windows 7 release candidate), you can probably get a free upgrade certificate with a new purchase.

If you intend to buy now, and want to use Windows 7, just get the cheapest OS you can (probably Home Basic, but PC-DOS is an option through some channels), and run the Beta (but be aware of the risks of running Beta software).