T400 Versus T500

T400:
-Portability, but does not have Radeon 3650
-LED High Nit, but its WXGA

T500
-WSXGA+, but it is not LED
-ATI Mobility Radeon 3650, but its bigger and heavier

Which one would you pick?
I will be using it for college this fall.

 

How you value weight vs graphics and screen resolution? Those are your main factors. I don't think t400 is that much more portable...but that's probably because I have the x200.

 

That's a fairly wide path. If you could narrow it down a bit, it would help us discern what's the better fit.

 

Well, I don't think I will be doing CAD or anything like that. It would be nice if I can play CODWAW though.
The dimensions for T400 are a little smaller according to specs. I never really seen a 15.4 and 14.1 side by side before in real life.
Weight doesn't really matter to me.
Would love the WSXGA+, but again, never saw in real life.

I'll probably just be word processing and researching most of the time.

 

If you need it for college in the fall, I actually recommending getting it about a month before you start the fall semester (August). Reason being, either Intel will have a new chipset and that means new Thinkpad models, or Lenovo (and other companies) have their back to school sales where they have aggressive percentages off.

As for recommendation as a soon to be college graduate, get the 14.1" model or smaller. The desks in lecture halls in most colleges can't accommodate a 15.4" or 17" laptop very well. Plus it is a pain in the to carry around campus if you are attending a bigger school. Just my opinion of course.

 

Go to Best Buy.

 

Yeah, I thought about that too. If Intel does release a new chipset, would the T400 and T500 have them by August? Isn't a 20% of already decent? (unless the lower the sales price or something) the most i ever saw was like 25% off

 

If you plan on carrying it to class, I would actually recomennd that you step down to an x200(s/t), x300/x301, or even an x61(s). All of these are far lighter than the T400/T500 and would be easier to manage.

However, any X series (and to a lesser degree the T400) means you can forget about anything beyond light gaming. I think this is actually a good thing, because once you remove gaming from consideration, it is far easier to keep a notebook in service for 3+ years as the overall form factor, battery life, input device quality, and LCDs (the things most important for research/note taking) age far slower than the CPU/GPU (generally only important for gaming, CAD, and heavy A/V editing).

If you go the light route but still want to game, I would actually recommend you build a dirt cheap gaming rig for this purpose (low end dual core AMD or Intel CPU, and a $150-$300 GPU) as it will far outperform a T500 for gaming, and is much easier to upgrade as the CPU/GPU inevitably become obsolete.

However, if you only want one machine and gaming is a priority, then the T500 may be a better choice due to the superior GPU.

 

15 inch laptops are a pain to have in class and carry around.

go for 13 or 14 inch one

 

If you're a gamer it is really best to bring a desktop and have an ultraportable for class and on the go (in college). Also bulk storage on your desktop too, etc.

 

wow.. never thought about it this way
do most people even bring their notebooks to class?
i only thought i would use it in a dorm and sometimes bring it to class

so x61s are in the outlet?

 

Having just received my T500 a few days ago, and going to UCSC, I can carry the T500 with one binder with a regular Jansport no problem. Although the laptop is bigger than the desk in the lecture halls and classrooms, you can still set the laptop ontop of it and use it no problem. The T400 isnt much small than the T500(I checked out a T400 in real life before buying the T500). Altho, I thinkt he T500 has better value/$ than the T400 since it have a better video card, only slightly bigger footprint, and a wee bit less battery(but honestly, I dont think I need 8+hrs of battery life with the T400. If portability is first priority, then look into netbooks or something similar. Coming from a 12in iBook G4, the T500 is fine.

 

gaming laptop is a terrible idea. I realized it after using one for year and a half. I ended up buying an asus g1s with powerful graphics card because i wanted to play games on it once in a while. This laptop which is powerful, but kind of negates advantages of having a laptop in the first place. It is noisy, it runs very hot, its heavy and too big to carry around with me everywhere. The battery can't even make it all the way through 2 hour class.

If i was getting a laptop for school, I would not get anything bigger than a t400. In fact i think aluminium 13" macbook is the perfect size, unfortunately i dont tolerate software that apple makes, so it was never an option for me.

Right now i am contemplating getting a T400 as a replacement for my G1S for work. Just to have good battery life and smaller hunk of metal in my backpack.

 

I take mine to every single class for notes...I don't even carry notebooks (paper kind) anymore

 

I guess it'd be either the X200 or T500, if the T400 is not much smaller than T500 in terms of portability. The X200 may be the best for college.

 

I have a T500 and a T400 sitting right in front of me. Honestly, I think the T500 dwarfs the T400. Between the two, I would recommend the T400. From what you said, you don't really need the T500's powerful graphics card either. If you want, I can take some pictures of a T500 and T400 sitting next to each other for a comparison.

Now, I think the X200 or X200s would actually be a better choice for your needs. An X200(s) will easily last you all day and will be much lighter and easier to stuff in a backpack. They also have PLENTY of power for your needs. You will want to buy an external DVD drive though.

 

Okay, I get it now. I'll get the x200 when a coupon of >15% comes out. Is the screen CCFL or LED? 12.1 WXGA dosen't tell me much. Its got 200 nits, might be LED?

Thanks guys...

 

The X200 comes with a CCFL backlight and 1280 x 800 resolution.
The X200s comes with an LED backlight and 1440 x 900 resolution.

 

The Tablet is worth considering as well. It offers three screen options (one CCFL, two LED, all WXGA). I have the middle option (285 nit LED SuperBright) and it is absolutely superb. The tablets use AFFS+ displays that have far better viewing angles and color stability than any other notebook.

Tablets also make a great choice for University computers. You really never need to concern yourself with a paper notebook again. You can quickly convert between typing notes, and drawing in diagrams, charts, etc. in classes. They are also superb for reading articles/textbooks if you can get them in a PDF or similar format.

At present, the Tablet carries a substantial price premium over the x200(s), but this may come down considerably between now and August. You should also check with your University as well, because many get discounts on ThinkPads.

 

A budget gaming desktop will be a lot faster than a gaming notebook (for the value). The cooling in notebooks are not that great, especially gaming notebooks. Buy a midrange card like ATI HD 4850 or NVIDIA 9600GT if you like to play games like Crysis.

A smaller 13-inch or 14-inch notebook is more convenient to carry around. If you get a X-series ThinkPad, they are very thin, cool, and quiet. Unfortunately the X300 (13-inch) costs a fortune. I think the perfect notebook for school would probably be a X200 tablet, but that costs a lot too.

 

A budget gaming desktop will be a lot faster than a gaming notebook (for the value). The cooling in notebooks are not that great, especially gaming notebooks. Buy a midrange card like ATI HD 4850 or NVIDIA 9600GT if you like to play games like Crysis.

A smaller 13-inch or 14-inch notebook is more convenient to carry around. If you get a X-series ThinkPad, they are very thin, cool, and quiet. Unfortunately the X300 (13-inch) costs a fortune. I think the perfect notebook for school would probably be a X200 tablet, but that costs a lot too.