SL400 or SL500 ?

Hi,

There is a Mother's Day sale @ Lenovo, ending at 11 May 2009.

I am in quick need of Laptop for my sister who will be using it for surfing internet, spreadsheets etc. Means typical home user with no much multimedia stuff.

I just want to know which one is better SL500 or SL400. Attached is the specs and prices for both. My Budget is 750 US$. Shipping is free within US.

Please guide.

Bye,
Viki.

 

I would go with the SL400, as it is less bulky and cheaper. They both have the same resolution, so no screen real estate is lost.

 

Same, Sl400 would be my choice of the two options. You may want to take a gander at the Lenovo Outlet for other options as well.

Specifically, this R400 in the outlet has extremely good specs and worth a look!

 

I would also recommend looking at an R400 in the outlet (it's a higher quality machine). The main thing you would lose is HDMI out, but build, keyboard, and general quality is far higher.

One important differentiating factor between the models you selected:

That SL400 has a WXGA Vibrant View (i.e. Glossy) display.

Conversely, the SL500 has a WXGA Anti-Glare (i.e. matte) display and WWAN. If your sister prefers a matte screen or has WWAN service this may be a better option.

Note - ALL T, R, X, and W series ThinkPads have matte displays.

 

Hi,
R400 do not have Bluetooth. Also, I am not sure/experience for "refurbished" notebook.

Am thinking of SL500 because of Anti-Glare difference.

Issue:
I am purchasing it in USA but my sister lives outside USA. Means, once purchased & delivered, it will be sent outside of USA. I am just thinking of how warranty goes in case of some damage ?

 

The warranty would not apply unless it is bought with an international warranty service. I don't believe CTO machines have this warranty.

 

CTO Machines ?

 

Configure to order

 

That would be incorrect. Bluetooth is a configurable option on the R series. I'd agree with Jon that the R from the Outlet offers excellent value and is a better machine than the SL series, especially the 14" model. If you want a new one, it's well within your budget. Look for coupons.

 

I bought a CTO X200s from the Lenovo US store and looked up the no. 7465 on the IWS page and it says I have international warranty. I don't have the laptop yet, please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I tried to find CTO R Series notebook so that I can configure it to have Blutooth, but didn't find this link/option anywhere. Only New R Series @ Outlet is available here

Can you give link ?

Bye,
Viki

 

Ok, I found one R500 here at Mother's Day Sale.

After configuring it for 4 GB RAM and Bluetoon, Camera, its going almost 800+ US$.

The SL400 & SL500 I selected above have 4 GB Ram.

What do you say ?

 

This is the link for the R series. There's a 15% off coupon USPEMAILMD right now. Apply it to your cart when checking out. You can configure it about the same for less except I'd get the 1GB of memory, then add another 2GB stick because 32 bit Vista can't use more and Lenovo overcharges for it.

 

Whatever you do don't get the SL series. There's something blasphemous about them. I've played with all three models and they are ugly and cheap feeling.

 

That's right. Coupon is another opportunity over Mother's Day !

I am getting R500 @ 679 US$ for below specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2) 25W1
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic12
15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800)
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)8
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
160GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm4
DVD Recordable 8x Max Ultrabay Enhanced5
ThinkPad 11b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Express Adapter III10
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
6 cell Li-Ion Battery ( 2.4 Ah )60
2714: 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller7

My question here:

1: I was preferring 4 GB RAM.
2: What about TAX ? Is it included in 679 US$
3: I have configuered it for "1.3 Megapixel Integrated Camera". Is it the WebCam or ?

Bye,
Viki.

 

You really don't need 4GB of RAM for what your sister is doing, plus 32 bit windows cannot even address that much (3gb being pretty much the limit).

I have 2GB in my R500 and am doing things like developing in Visual Studio and running SQL Server on it - both quite memory intensive - without any problems.

 

Which OS do you have ?

 

Vista 32bit currently. Thinking about possibly upgrading to 4GB so that I can run a couple of virtual machines as well (for dev work) but waiting for the price of matched 2x2GB sticks of DDR3 to come down a little bit.

Contrary to popular belief, Vista runs absolutely fine with 2GB of memory.