SL400, T400 or T500?

Hi all. I've got to buy two identical laptops BEFORE Jan 1, 2009 and after perusing the forums and asking the requisite "What should I get?" question here I'm leaning towards yet another pair of IBM/Lenovo notebooks. Before I pull the trigger though I can't seem to decide between the following three notebook configs. All have pluses and minuses so I'd like your opinions on which of these three you think work best for me based on the following;

I need two identical notebook computers for work. They will be travel only notebooks, never used at home, only on the road, so lighter is better. They'll need to run Photoshop, Illustrator and standard business apps (Firefox, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, etc.). No gaming. The most vital part for me is the PowerPoint display ability through external projectors. The video card MUST be able to show PPT (also video and flash animations WITHIN PPT) in all it's crappy glory at widescreen or standard def without issues. I also must have Win XP Pro, NO Vista.

 

T400 hands down because of the portability and superior build compared with SL400 imho.

WXGA or WXGA+? Which one do you prefer?

I would get 1 dimm as opposed to 2 unless you don't want to upgrade it later.

You might even consider a X series if performance is not as important as portability in this case.

2cents

 

Is there a reason you aren't considering the X series???

The x61/x200 are much lighter than the T400/T500/SL400 and should be more than adequate for your needs.

However, of the options you provided I would go with the T400 with a P series processor (P8400 or P8600) and the integrated GPU (dedicated is overkill for your needs). The choice of resolution, backlight technology, and battery size will depend on personal preference/needs.

 

Thanks for your responses!

cn_habs:
I prefer WXGA+, more resolution = easier PhotoShopping.
I never upgrade my laptops, I just buy new ones every year.
Performance in PPT is the most important thing.

jonlumpkin:
I wasn't considering the X series because of the small screen size and lack of dedicated graphics. Truth is, any screen smaller than 14" feels very, very cramped (or tiny!) to me when working in PS and PPT. Especially with a lot of toolbars/tabs open.
The weight isn't as important to me as the ability to properly run PPT externally. Although, I really would rather not carry around anything that weighs more than 5lbs if I can avoid it.
I don't understand what your reasoning is when you say "P series processor (P8400 or P8600) and the integrated GPU (dedicated is overkill for your needs)." How is dedicated graphics overkill? and since battery life doesn't matter to me and CPU power is important for PPT, why not get the T series processor? I'm just trying to understand so I don't make a mistake buying more or less than I'll need for the next 12 months.

Thanks all!

 

I understand your concern about the small screen size, but the x200s and x300/x301 (12.1 and 13.3" respectively) both offer 1440x900 LED screens if resolution is the most important thing to you (they also clock in between 2.5 and 3.5 pounds depending on configuration).

I cannot think of any reason why integrated graphics would not work for you. The Intel x3100 (x61, x300) and the x4500 (x301, x200, T400 integrated) are both reasonably capable graphics processors. They support DX9 and DX10 respectively, are more than adequate for any desktop level graphics (including Aero glass in Windows Vista), support large display output [2048x1536 on VGA and 2560x1600 via DisplayPort with the x4500]. The x4500 is also capable of accelerating video decoding (including 1080P content of the MPEG2, AVC, and VC-1 variety).

The main reason to go for dedicated graphics on the T400 is for gaming purposes as the x3100/x4500 do fall short here. There is a chance that the dedicated ATI card will help slightly in Photoshop CS4 (not CS3 or earlier), but because it is a consumer (Radeon/Geforce) rather than workstation card (FireGL/QuadroFX) I doubt you will see much of an improvement in desktop applications (Photoshop, Solidworks, CAD, etc.).

I think the P series processor is plenty adequate for the next 12 months (in fact it should easily handle any desktop app you can throw at it for the next 24-36 months). In my experience PowerPoint is not that demanding on the processor (it can use a fair amount of RAM, but the processor tends to be mostly idle). The main advantage you would have with the T series processor is slightly (<15%) improved times for applying Photoshop filters (due to the higher clock speed and double cache size). However, I think you would be better served by the P series processor due to the lower cost, lower TDP (runs cooler and at a lower voltage), and slightly improved battery life.

My suggestion is get a T400 if you must have a 14.1" screen - with integrated GPU, P8600, 3GB of RAM (this may be cheaper if you get it with 1GB and pop in a 2GB stick yourself), 4 cell battery (you said you don't care about life and this will give you the lightest/slimmest option), Wi-Fi 5100, CAM, AT&T WWAN if you might use it (much cheaper to get the card with the laptop than afterwards), DVD/CD-RW (do you need to write DVDs??).

If however, you think you can live with a slightly smaller screen (all you care about is 1440x900), I think you would be best served by the x200s. This should offer plenty of performance for your needs in a very small package (only 2.5 lbs. with 4 cell battery). I would configure this with the SL9400 processor (1.86GHz/6MB L2 cahce), Intel 5100 WLAN, 3GB RAM, 4 cell, no ultrabase (you never use them at home right). The x200s also features the same size keyboard as the T400 and should be plenty big to feel comfortable for use.

If 12.1" is just too small for you, or you need an optical drive, webcam, and/or WWAN you may want to look at the x300/x301. Lenovo is currently trying to clear stock on the x300 so you might be able to get one for a decent deal. The principle downside of the x300/x301 is that they only offer Ultra-Low Voltage processors, and these may be a little slow for Photoshop (should still work fine, but filters will take longer to apply). However, these systems do come standard with SSDs and this should make overall system response (application launch, changing slides in PPT, etc.) extremely snappy [especially under XP]. Both of these come in between 3 and 3.5 pounds (depending on battery and ultrabay choice) and should be adequate for your needs. The x301 also has a DisplayPort on the laptop (like the T500) if you need to hook up to a digital display or projector (the x200s, x300, and T400 are VGA only without a dock).

 

The T400 gets my vote. Compared to the SL400, it features more solid construction and is both lighter (by almost one pound) and thinner (by .2"). The T400 also offers the option of an LED-backlit display.

If you purchase before 1/5/09, you can use the coupon code (USPTSERIES10) for an additional 10% off of the T400. The price you show of $1,388.25 would be just $1,252.35 after the coupon is applied!

That price is based on the 'Enhanced' model with upgraded processor, etc. You could actually get the 'Elite' model (and upgrade the display to the WXGA+ LED with Webcam) for only $27 more. It has the Intel 5300AGN wireless card, Bluetooth and the 6-cell Battery. Just FYI.

 

Just a minor point but you may want to consider it. How will you be hooking up your laptop to the external screens?

The T500 has DisplayPort (can buy an adapter for HDMI) and VGA; the SL400 has VGA and HDMI; the T400 only has VGA (you'd need the dock for DVI or HDMI); the X300 doesn't seem to have any video ports (if I believe Lenovo's website) though I severly doubt this is true and probably has just VGA; the X301 has Display Port and VGA; the X200 has VGA

For those with just VGA, you'd need their respective docks for more advanced hookups

 

jonlumpkin:
After messing with the configs on Lenovo's website, I can't seem to configure any X300 notebooks for under $1,800, which is too much for me to spend for my purposes. If you can I'm willing to look it over, but right now I'm leaning towards the T400 for its lower price and better specs. The weight doesn't bother me as much as the power.

allfiredup:
Thanks for the heads up! I saw a 25% code in the forum, do you know if that's still working? I looked at the Elite model and since I don't need bluetooth or a bigger battery I didn't think it was worth the added expense but I think I need to revisit it and see.

LaptopGun:
I hadn't really looked at the video connectors since all we use in the industry is VGA connectors and every laptop I would ever consider has had that connection at least. And I checked and the X300 does have VGA out, but nothing else.

I'm nearly ready to buy so any last minute info, advice or suggestions would be REALLY welcome!

 

You might want to look at this thread (and send a private message to the original poster) for details on getting an x300 at a decent price. However, if your biggest concern is power the x300 may not be your best bet. The x300 only has a 1.2 GHz C2D, vs 1.4 GHz for the x301, 1.86 for the x200s, 2.4 for the x200, and up to 2.8 for the T400 [although I would stick with the 2.4GHz P8600 in this case].

 

Thank you all for your help and advice. After looking over all the options I've decided that buying two new work laptops without proper due diligence on my part is foolish. So, I've instead decided to buy a single machine to use as a test bed to see if a smaller, lighter and less powerful machine can do what I need to do. Based on my admittedly quick research, and all the help and advice from everyone here, I've purchased an X300 with much bells and whistles with the purpose of using it as a third backup to my main work machines.
Also, if anyone else is looking for great deals on Lenovo computers I found this site where I managed to get 30% off my X300.

 

That seems like a sensible plan. I think you will be more than satisfied with the x300 for the type of work you want it for.

 

Once I recieve it I'll write a review of how it performs for my purposes. Probably not interesting or useful to any gamers out there, but it might prove invaluable to business people and others who need it for professional use, like myself.