T400/T500 owners!!

Anyone else decided to get one today??

 

been trying to but havnt been able. the lenovo rep said they havnt confirmed when it will be avaliable for order yet.

 

Did you order from the US? I didn't think the new models were up on Lenovo Canada yet.

 

Yeah, I ordered from the US, gonna pick it up in California. They are not on the website on the canadian site

 

Pulled the trigger on a T400...

 

It's funny how I already know what the new T series will look like, yet I still have a craving desire to see pictures. Especially can't wait for some future owners to take some pictures of the new LED monitors or even the regular CCFL ones to see if Lenovo has decided to up quality. Also can't wait to see some benchmarks on the ATI/Montevina combo.

 

Well Newegg has a bunch of DDR3 laptop memory in stock yesturday and now most of it is out of stock. I am guessing some people jumped on the new Thinkpads!

I am going to wait for reviews to be published, the availability to go up, and a X301 to appear.

 

Took the T400 plunge, probably not the best financial move (a similar T61 would have saved me ~$300), but I intend this to be the last laptop I buy for the next several years, so went with the latest and greatest... hey, sometimes you have to live a little, right?

 

Yup, I'm starting Law School in a few weeks, and decided to get one for these next three years. Did I overspend? Sure. But I'll have a fun and sturdy laptop in just a few weeks. What's an extra grand when you're spending god knows how much on school?

 

I feel the exact same way as you guys. I could have gotten the same thing (T61) for about 300$ less. I thought i'd treat myself to a new toy

 

Ordered one too even though I wish there would be a review for T400 on NBR like it did for the x200 before I actually click the "Order" button.

 

Won't be an owner, but I found this high resolution picture of the T500 that might be of interest to prospective buyers. Looks like the microphone is now embedded in the monitor casing and the screen seems to be of good quality.


Go here for even a higher resolution picture.

Photo courtesy of flickr user aaron.kok.

 

I thought they fixed the off-center screen on the new T-series model? Looks great tho

 

I'm thinking about purchasing the T400 for business use but the only features/hardware it has over the T61 that I actually feel are important are:

1. Updated Processor (mildly important since I'll get 3GB of RAM)
2. Bluetooth Availability

All the other stuff (i.e., LED backlight, solid state drives, blu-ray player) are not something I want/need. I have heard, however, that the T400 has an 'updated design'. Is this 'updated design' worth buying the T400 over the T61? The above pic doesn't really show much difference between the T400 and T61. Are there any other T400 advantages that I'm missing?

 

Also why can't I buy a T400 with the "Genuine Windows Vista Business downgrade to Windows XP Professional [add $79.00]" OS and MS Office. When I select this OS the entire option for MS Office dissapears.

 

Yup. The switchable graphics (saves battery) and better wireless. I doubt much people will get the SSD and blu-ray player because its a 600$ upgrade and the SSD is only available in 64MB. Seems like you should go with the T61 which is also a great laptop since those things are not very important to you

 

I haven't heard anything about a change in Bluetooth options. Both the T61 and T400 certainaly have them.

The big difference is pretty much battery life. The DDR3 memory uses less power (and goes faster - 1067 vs 667), and the LED backlight saves power too, along with the 25W processors if you choose one. Oh yeah, and switchable graphics.

 

Bluetooth has not been a configuration option on a T61 for the last two or three weeks. Sales rep told me they are backordered and thus not configurable even if you were willing to wait.

Adding internal bluetooth to a T61 is possible, it's not for the inexperienced and would possibly void the warranty.

On my current personal laptop I made the mistake of getting it without internal bluetooth - after a lot of effort and time I finally found a module for a reasonable price. Not going to make that mistake again. (yes I used a dongle in the interim. prefer not doing so as it's something else to fish around for in your laptop bag)

 

Should I buy the DDR3 Memory? Or just buy the 1GB one and 4GB DDR2?

 

Having not actually looked at a T400 myself, I can't say for sure, but DDR3 uses 204 pins and DDR2 uses 200 pins. The two aren't compatible. If you get a T400, you'll need DDR3 memory.

 

Buy what you system uses.

T61 - DDR2
T400 - DDR3

If buying a T61 today, it might be cheaper to buy the minimum memory and order extra memory from Newegg.

On a T400 it's not so clear - depending on your discounts (student, CPP, etc) it may be as good to go with the memory from Lenovo. Price to go from 1GB to 3GB or 4GB is less at Lenovo than buying a 2GB stick at Newegg.

 

Yeah you need DDR3 memory. Newegg.com is selling 1GB DDR3 memory for 47.99. I am pretty sure thats the cheapest you can get 1 GB for. They are pretty expensive right now

 

The only think I don't know about the screen is that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ on the side. Does anyone know what's those for?

 

Yeah I see it too. The top left of the screen. I didn't notice it before. Maybe it's just for design?

 

Just had a long chat with a sales rep online... the current options for the CPU are slightly wrong. The T9400 should be $200 or so more than the P8400, not $425. This will be fixed tonight at 12:00 (tomorrow). The other CPUs are not yet on the site because of similar price issues, but should be up soon (I don't know exactly when).

I may revise my order depending on the price change, I have a P8600 currently but may upgrade.

 

Kudos to those who got one. I see no real reason to upgrade myself. I kind of like my R60. It's the Rodney Dangerfield of the ThinkPad line - No Respect. Everyone's got a T, which makes it unremarkable. I wouldn't mind the extra brightness and battery life of the LED, but mine already goes four plus hours on full brightness. It's more than I need. The PQ is good enough for what I do. I also like the SXGA+ness which you can't get anymore. I don't see bumping from from a T7400 to a P8400 is going to offer me much of a performance boost, perhaps a bit more battery life and less weight, but that's not enough for me to justify the cost.

 

You be proud of your R60. I'll get my T400. light and better speed+battery.

 

I think it's okay if people don't upgrade with EVERY generation. I'm personally moving to the t400 from my current x60 (t2400), and even that seems a little soon. I'm not gonna knock a guy with a relatively new r60...

 

I wouldn't be so sure. My SSD is blazingly fast. If you think going from a T7400 to a Penryn is a big jump, you've got a lot to learn Padawan. My R60 is only slightly heavier than a T series which is hardly noticeable in my opinion. Since I've already got more battery life than I can use, the marginal value of more is zero.

I've also got one thing you'll never have, SXGA+ on a 14" notebook. It's the perfect balance between screen real estate, portability, battery life and performance. I'm sure the T400/T500 is going to be a great notebook, but it in my case doesn't justify the cost.

 

Makes it more aerodynamic.

On a more serious note though, Lenovo hasn't fixed the processor options on the T400 like the rep said they would. Hmm.

 

that \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ is on every thinkpad, my R50 also has it, just different location.

 

make sure you all are getting a great discount at lenovo.com/cpp

confirmed with my friend at lenovo that this program is now open to friends, family members, and really everyone now.

I'm pretty sure she told me that the discounts are really deep and better than any other way to buy.

can't hurt to look!

 

Does anyone know why can't I buy a T400 with the "Genuine Windows Vista Business downgrade to Windows XP Professional [add $79.00]" OS and MS Office. When I select this OS the entire option for MS Office disappears.

 

Pardon me I'm new to laptops. Do the t/w500 have cardbus?

 

What did Lenovo Sales say when you called and asked them?

If they can't help, then couldn't you choose Vista Business and choose the XP Pro Recovery DVD option that's free? Then you have the MS Office choices. Only thing is when you get the machine you'll want to burn the Vista recovery discs before you reload the machine with the XP Pro Recovery DVD.

 

Those are the antennas built into the display.

And under the webcam too.

This explanation sounds better though....

 

I just pulled the trigger on my school laptop!

ThinkPad T400

• Processor1 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2) 25W
• Operating System Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
• Operating System Language Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium US English
• Display type 14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/ LED Backlight
• System graphics ATI Mobility Radeon 3640 with 256MB
• Total Memory 2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
• Keyboard Keyboard US English
• Pointing device UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) with Fingerprint Reader
• Hard Drive 160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
• Optical Device DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
• System expansion slots Express Card Slot & PC Card Slot
• Wireless Card Intel WiFi Link 5100 (1x2 AGN)
• Wireless WAN Integrated Wireless Wide Area Network upgradable
• Battery 6 cell Li-Ion Battery
• Power cord Country Pack North America with Line cord & 90W AC adapter
• Language pack Language Pack US English
• 1 Year ThinkPad Protection

Subtotal: $1,674.00
Sale Price: $1,382.85
Estimated total: $1,382.85*
Total savings $291.15

 

Nice, I am close to buying a similar config for grad school. I would swap the 5100 wireless card for the 5300 and buy a larger 5400 RPM hard drive elsewhere instead of opting for the expensive 7200 rpm upgrade.

You used the student discount coupon code (USXBACKTOSCHOOL) to get 10% off, right?

 

I have a couple of "early" questions.

1. Is Lenovo going to officially support XP on the Tx00 laptops?

2. Whats up with no LED backlight on the T500?

3. Is it 100% confirmed that only the T500 will have a displayport?

I'm looking to get a Tx00 with both LED backlighting and a displayport, but at this point it isn't available according to their store.

 

(1) Vista Business to XP downgrade is an option.

(2) No idea

(3) Never say never, but none of the T400 spec sheets indicate it will have displayport.

 

The T400 looks like a real sweet notebook with nice specs.
Maybe the price is just a tad too high though, but it seems nice nonetheless.
Does it have a HD3740 or is it a new ati gpu?

Then I heard that lenovo screens aren't really great , how far is that true?

 

For an instant last night, the website showed the P9500 as an option for ~ $200 less than the t9400. I was literally calling to change my order when the page changed back to the way it was. I take this to mean that, if anything, they're at least playing with the website a bit.

 

I bought the 7200rpm because I don't use up a lot of space. I haven't even filled an 80GB Hard Drive. My father gets a discount through his work too.

 

I got the default wireless card, I see alot of people upgrading that. Did I make a bad choice? I also didn't get bluetooth

 

you should definitely get at least the second wireless card option. Wireless N is way faster than G and is going to become much more common in the next few years. It's a relatively cheap upgrade that could give you a major performance boost if you use wireless internet.

 

But most university and public places use G, also most homes use G aswell

 

It wants a passcode: How can I get into the site?

 

I can't wait for some pics and reviews of the new T-series.

 

Can't post the code here, but Google is your friend...

lenovo cpp passcode

 

If you can find a passcode is it legal to use the cpp site? Do you have to prove you are a shareholder or anything?