R400 vs T400? build quality/materials.

Hi I'm about to buy a new computer and for ~1000€ I get either a R400 with P8700 cpu or a T400 with P8600 cpu, i really dont care about the cpu since they are very close in performance I would be happy with a P8400 too, no problem.

Buuut what is the difference between these 2 computers?
This computer will be used at home most of the time, but when I travel it will come with me, and i have no plans getting a separate computer bag for it, it will go straight in the backpack as everything else and it should be durable enough to cope with it.

I have read in this forum that the T400 has a top shell of polycarbonate plastic
and bottom/base carbon reinforced plastic, rollcage unknown.

And on Lenovos US site I read the R400 has carbon top and bottom and magnesium rollcage.

Can anybody confirm this with 100% certainty?

What is the difference between these 2 computers except possibly the different choice of shell-plastic/carbon?

My first post! Do I get a cake?

 

Careful what you wish for, you may get it.

As for the R400, it's slightly thicker and heavier, but offers the same construction as the T400. The T400 does offer some premium options like WWAN for example, which are not available on the R400. Other than that you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart standing right next to them. Good Luck and welcome to NBR. Feel free to hang out and contribute where you can.

 

How would you interpret this?

Durable design
A new cooling system, larger vents and more efficient fans make R400 and R500 the coolest and quietest R Series models ever.

On 14.1" widescreen models, the top-cover roll cage helps protect the display. Combined with the ThinkPad roll cage in the notebook body, this innovative new feature enhances the R Series reputation for toughness and durability.
Featuring carbon-fiber reinforced plastic and other advanced materials, the ThinkPad R Series is designed to be lightweight without compromising durability.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...F338EB4B3178B3B6554&tabname=Features#tabstart

I would like to know if its all carbon or some parts carbon, and I know a few of you here probably know this.

About the rollcages, is there magnesium rollcages on both?

 

Because they're thicker, the R series generally run cooler. The R400 is near the same as the T400 construction wise. The T500 and R500 vary a bit more. The R500 is a more portly and it lacks the roll cage in the lid, but I would in no way describe it as flimsy.

 

They generally run at around the same temperature (provided the T400/500 is running on integrated graphics mode). My T500's P8700 is currently running at 30C, in the sunny California Bay Area afternoon (as measured by CoreTemp).

The R400 and T400 are both built very well, with the R400 being bulkier and thicker. I would go with the T400, as the P8700 offers only minimal performance increase over the P8600, but the T400 is lighter than the R400, for better portability on the road.

 

Hi...

I just bought a R400. As of now, I can say that it is of excellent build quality. I compared it with a friend's T400 and yes, as the others have posted, if you keep them side by side, at first glance there is very little difference noticeable. The T400 is a trifle lighter. But the R400 (to me) seems a bit sturdier. The R400 is also a bit thicker, but again not by much.

It has been 3 days since I got my R400 and it has been on continuously and it has not even gotten warm! Mind you, I live in a tropical country and the outside temperatures during the day are sweltering!

All in all, the R400 is a lovely machine and the given the price difference between the R400 and the T400 (which I was considering earlier), I think the former is more value for money. Of course there is the question about the graphics card, but then again, for the work that I do, a high-end graphics option (switchable or otherwise) was not really pertinant.

BTW, my R400 came with a the P8600, 500GB HDD and 4GB RAM. It does not have a webcam but is equipped with wifi and Bluetooth. I also fresh installed Win 7 Pro and later selectively added some of the Lenovo software (ThinkVantage).

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

Edit: I forgot to add that I have the extended battery on the R400, whic may also contribute a little to the weight. Thanks.

 

R400 with the T9xxx CPU runs around 5 degrees cooler than T400.... the R400 is my favorite....

and depending on the country, you can get WWAN in the R400.

 

+1...except that there was no WWAN on my machine

 

Thanks for your replies guys. It seems like there is almost nothing to separate these 2 models, cpu almost the same, price the same, both are well built, one is a little bit bigger, there is really nothing to tip the scale for me here. I wonder why even have a t400 model and a r400 in the first place?

Anyway I thought I should go with durability, but they are both good, is one better than the other? However I think I'm gonna to go with the one I can find cheapest and be done with it.

 

I think you will get the R400 for a cheaper price than the T400 - though the R400 may be a shade heavier than the T400.

As I see it, properly spec'd, the R400 (to me) represents VFM and in this sense, I agree with lead_org's point of view.

Good luck with your choice!

 

if you are only getting a T400 with integrated GPU, then you should give the R400 some considerations, especially if you are outside of USA, where the price difference are high between these two machines.

 

Just out of curiosity, what is the average price difference between the T400 and the R400 in the U.S. Let's say the two machines are spec'd as follows:

P8700
2 GB DDR3 RAM
500 GB HDD (5400 rpm)
Integrated GPU
14.1 WXGA (1280x800)

In India, off the Lenovo site, the R400 is about INR 64,000 (there is a bit of a variance when you factor in the OS, which in this case is Win 7 Pro 32-bit). This is about USD 1422 (1USD = INR 45)

The T400 similarly spec'd is about INR 73800 (this includes an integrated cam + the screen is WXGA + TFT) This is about USD 1640 (1USD = INR 45)

Both prices are exclusive of tax, which is about 4%. Both machines come with a 3-year onsite warranty.

So, pre tax the difference between the R400 and the T400 is about USD 200!!!!

 

In Australia, the difference is around $500 AUD. In USA it is about $150 to $300 USD (that would also depend on whether they are on sales or not, and what sort of coupons are available).

 

So its pretty much the same across 3 continents! There are no coupons in India - or at least I have never come across such promotions.

Regardless, I agree with you that the R400 is a damn good machine and under many circumstances represents more value for money as compared to the T400 - especially if you are paying for the machine from your own pocket!

Cheers!

 

$500 AUD = $450 USD. My R400 when i got it on sale, was around $700 AUD cheaper than a similarly specced T400.

Sometimes, in USA the price difference could drop below 100 USD, depending on the time of the year.

 

The difference in price for me is equivalent to less than $100. Choosing a T400 with P8400 its about $100 cheaper, with P8600 or a R400 with P8700 price spread is within $10 (and $100 more expensive). The cheapest one is a T400 with P8400.

 

Gosh! That would make the R400 a premium machine, which I don't think it is! But then again, I know very little about these things.

Here is the spec of the R400 that I got just a few days back:

P8600 (2.4 GHz)
4GB RAM
14.4" WXGA
500 GB HDD (5400 rpm)
Win 7 Pro 32-bit (bought separately since the machine came with FreeDOS)
3-Year onsite warranty (which is also applicable under some conditions, internationally)

I got this for a little above USD 1000.

BTW, Even though I have 4GB RAM, why is it that the System Information says that only 3GB is being used?

 

Everything is about twice as expensive here than the US.

a 32bit OS can only allocate 3.something total system memory, and thats all memory, hdd cache, graphics, ram etc. I think its 3,75Gb maximum.

 

Ah...ok...yes, I remember having read about this someplace - probably here on NBR. Maybe I should have opted for the 64-bit option when I got the Win 7 Pro!!!! Maybe I can upgrade/change in the near future.

 

@ Lead_org...

I just saw your signature! That's a lot of ThinkPads...!!! Now, the question I have is which one(s) do you use currently? Do you use the R400 at all now - given that I see that there is the R500, T400s, T500 and the X200 that come after/before the R400?

Cheers!

 

i had a few more about 2 months ago, i sold some of my T61p/T61/R61 with the nvidia GPU, due to the concern of it failing on me out of warranty (also in Melbourne with Bytecraft i could wait up to 6 months to get a proper repair, due to that company's incompetence, long story). I also had 2 x T400, etc.

I do use my R400, but not that much, since my office at work is setup for T400s, so the R400 can't use the dock there.

At home i prefer to use the laptop setup as desktop or the R61 with the 15.4 inch LCD or R500, since it is more comfortable to type on.

 

So, the next question to ask is why do you have so many ThinkPad (laptops/computers) if you only use at the max 3 at any given point in time? I have 2 machines - the current R400, which I use as my everyday machine; an Acer (15.4") which I use as my desktop replacement (but is used more by my partner). Even then, I find it a pain to keep both the machines sync'd!!!

Cheers!

 

i like collecting high quality stuffs, and thinkpad is one of them. Also, i enjoy the experience of using the different thinkpads, and where design evolution has taken them.

Its like owning haute couture products (i.e Patek Philippe watches, etc). One of my old neighbor have 12 new Ferraris, he drive a different one each day of the week. I doubt he needs to have so many Ferraris.

 

Makes sense and I probably would do the same, but then again, my wallet ain't very deep..and I spend most of my money on books, which I collect.

But how do you manage to keep all these machines sync'd? What tools do you use?

Edit: I should also apologize for asking you all this. I certainly don't mean to probe. Its just that (1) I have never known anyone to have so many machines and (2) I am very curious how you are able to keep all of them in good working condition and updated/sync'd.

 

There are plenty of software options to sync with.

 

Care to share some of them? If they are free, all the better and, optimally, they should be fit for n00bs like me to use.

Thanks

 

http://lifehacker.com/398696/five-best-file-syncing-tools
This should get you started. I assume windows? If you don't have any crazy needs like secure-FTP etc you should find a solution easy enough.

 

Thanks. Yes. Windows only. I'll check it out.