R400 vs T400

Any big differences on the physical build between the R400 and the T400? Thanks.

 

From a review here Lenovo ThinkPad ? rozdíl mezi 14? notebooky T a R » NotebookBlog / Post?ehy a zku?enosti ze sv?ta mobilní techniky (in czech) the guy says the two models are nearly identical, just the T400 looks slimmer and neater. However he says that from build quality they are identical. With the T500 and R500 he mentioned it is not that way though.

Hopefully you can find here someone who can tell you if the R400 has all the rollcages that the T400 has.

 

The T400 and the R400 is pretty much identical, they both use the same top screen casing with the inbuilt magnesium rollcage. The R400 has slightly thicker bottom chassis, due to the use of the ultrabay enhanced slot rather than the ultrabay slim slot.

In every other way they are pretty much identical, you can also install the WWAN card on the R400.

 

R400 is slightly thicker, heavier (about 100gr), lower configurations and cheaper. Design, build quality and materials are nearly exactly the same.

 

How do you do that?

Thanks

 

You'd be hard pressed to tell the R400 and T400 apart standing right next to them.

 

Generally, I have noticed that the screen specs on the R400 are lower than that in the T400. For example, the R400 (generally) comes with the 1200 x 800 version, whereas the T400 has better resolution screens. Though, I think when the R400 was originally released on the market, the screen could be reconfigured at a cost. Of course, I could be very wrong, so please correct me if I am.

 

At the end I think they stopped offering the WXGA+ screen on the R400, but in the beginning you could get it with the WXGA+. The T400 and R400 screens are interchangeable as long as you have the correct cable and inverter.

 

Thanks. Interesting to know. Perhaps I should hunt for a T400 WXGA+ screen and set it aside. Replacing it now would void the 3+1 year warranty on my machine. It is possible to source the WXGA+ screen even now right? Maybe even directly from Lenovo (probably more expensive)?

 

The spec of the R400 will depend on where you buy it and how much customisation is available to you.

For example in some countries you can get a T9xxx CPU, hybrid GPU and WWAN.

If you want to install the wwan, you would need the 3 wwan antenna installed in the lid, there is free slot on the motherboard to install the WWAN card.

You can have a look at the Hardware Maintenance Manual on the parts and installation procedure.

You can get the WXGA+ from the web, for around 150 to 200 USD.

 

Best to get this installation done by a professional right? Can the IBM service people do this (even though their services will be expensive)? And, just to make sure, changing the screen does void the warranty correct?

 

I think it's unlikely they'd do it for you and it does void the warranty. You're on your own here. Having done some myself, it's not too bad. If you are careful and put it back together correctly, they may not notice if you had to send it in for support, but it's a risk you'll have to decide whether you're willing to take. If they want to make an issue of it they can.

 

ask the people whom work in the depot or repair centre, the place where you went to. To see whether they are willing to do the replacement for you, if you can reimburse the technician for the labour involved.

 

Yeah...this is exactly what I was thinking about. I do know that some (rather, most) of these guys do some independent jobs outside. So, that is the way I am going to go about this. Now to get the screen and to consider whether I should do the replacement immediately thus voiding the warranty.