T400 Customization Questions

Let me start by saying that I know absolutely nothing about computers. I went to buy the T400 online and the amount of options made my head spin. I’m buying the computer for law school, and only need it for typing/storing notes and web browsing. Lightweight, speed, and battery life is my main concern. I don’t need it for anything crazy like gaming. I would just get the basics but I’m afraid that I may be cheaping out on something worthwhile and this thing needs to last 4yrs.

Here are the things I am uncertain about what to get:

1)Which Processor?
2)Which operating system?
3)Which display type? Is the Led worth it and will the camera add a lot of weight
4)Which memory? I heard the 2GB is good to get but I don’t know which DIMM
5)Finger print reader? Is it worth having
6)Which hard drive- Lenovo recommends 100GB or greater but which rpm
7)Turbo Memory worth it?
8)I think I want the 7-1 Media card reader
9)Bluetooth seems worth it.
10)ThinkPad wireless card I think
11)4 cell battery to keep weight down.
12)Antivirus (I heard that the Avast for free works fine)

Thank you in advance and I apologize for all the ridiculous questions. I just don’t know enough to make these decisions and I figure you guys know what would be best.

 

Your needs are simple. If you want a thinkpad (durability and build quality...nice keyboard) and want it to be light weight then look into the x200. But here goes: any processor; vista home basic...(unless you want some other version or XP); for the t400 people say the LED looks really nice and helps with the battery life; 2gigs is good and the choices refer to 1 stick or 2; finger print reader is up to you but you dont need it at all...; any harddrive if you don't know why you'd need one otherwise; you don't need turbo memory; get whatever media card and wireless options you will use. Don't bother paying for anti-virus...use avast as you mentioned or Avira Antivir.

Also the 4cell won't have AMAZING battery life. So what are you looking for in terms of hours? As I said before I think you should look into the x200 for lighter weight. Your real concern is physical size, weight, and battery life; otherwise, your needsa re very simple.

 

Most of those things really depend on your own needs. Obviously the more $ means better, faster equipment. The led improves battery life, which you want, but you won't get as much with the 4 cell. Maybe weight is more important to you? Obviously more memory is better, but I'd hold off on the turbo mem for now. dimms? 1x2gig will be nicer for upgrading, 2x1 might be a little quicker. 7 in 1 reader? Ask yourself if you need to read 7 cards in 1. Do you need fingerprint reader? BT? Nice features, but not if you want to save $$. You're not a power user, so you prolly don't have to max everything out

I think you need to spend time in school and less time racing your zx if you know absolutely nothing about computers

 

-I liked the size and weight but can’t get over the 12.1 inch screen and prefer the 14.1. Although everyone keeps telling me to get the x200 over the T400 as they don’t like the keyboard on the T400. Is the keyboard that bad?

-Ha, that was a longtime ago but I always use the same name.

-Since I don't really plan on upgrading, the 2GB with 2 DIMM would be better?

 

Anyone else have any ideas?

 

(1) P8400 or P8600 should be fine.
(2) See what you Law school recommends/requires. My guess would be Vista Business
(3) Go with LED backlight. I got mine last night and it is gorgeous. Do not even think about it, this is a no-brainer choice. Camera is tiny; any weight is negligible.
(4) Go with 2GB / 1DIMM at a minimum. I chose 3GB since the price difference was minor and I use Photoshop. You'll be fine with 2GB. By choosing 1 DIMM you can later just add another memory DIMM without removing anything.
(5) *shrug* It's pretty neat to swipe your finger to login to the system. Whats the cost, $25? I went for it.
(6) I bought 250GB/5400 drive and got a 250/7200 drive from Newegg. Swapped 'em out first thing after burning recovery media and will use the 250/5400 as a backup drive in the Ultrabay HDD adapter when it comes out.
(7) IMHO if you have a good hard disk and enough memory, there's no reason to go with the TM.
(9) Given that it's a pain to add internal BT later, do it now.

 

Read the review, the keyboad has flex and isn't great since they removed the metal backplate from the keyboard to save on the weight.

 

I know some people are obsessed with laptop keyboards, but how much could it really flex? I use an HP Pavilion dv1000 that is around 4 years old right now. I don't notice any flexing and it was be no means an expensive laptop. I don't even notice flexing on my girlfriends $800 HP Pavilion that she bought 2 years ago. I do notice the keyboard flex on my POS toshiba tablet convertable that is a couple of years old. That is only when I press down with one finger though. So I guess I'm wondering what people are doing to get the thing to flex? Are they putting a finger on one key and pushing down to see if it flexes or is it flexing a bunch as you type also? I don't even notice and can't see the flexing when just typing on the toshiba. Is it just lenovo fans being "keyboard snobs" or is there really something that wrong with it? I just find it hard to believe that it is that bad.