T400 configuration - T9600 or P8800, looking to buy today

I used a T61 at work and absolutely loved it. The time has come to where I need a personal lappy, and have configured a couple Lenovos that fit my needs. The difference between the two configurations is $8, 5100 v 5300 wifi, and P8800 v T9600.

I plan to use this as my primary PC and use it for Windows 7 64bit, downloading, internet, Adobe suite, and Office suite.

If the P8800 is perceptively quieter, I would rather have it. If it uses 5-10% less battery, I would prefer it also. If not, I suppose I'd rather have the additional processing speed, since it would be only $8 more.

Please help me make a decision!

 

For $8, get the P9600, and the 5300 wifi. First the 6MB cache vs 3MB is well worth it performance wise, and the 5300 is better perf as well.

Battery life is way too variable; if you use aggressive power management, the difference in CPU draw is moot.

 

Theoretically, the P8800 will use less power than the T9600, but at non-maxed out CPU usage, the difference is minimal. Also, the T9600 would theoretically generate more heat, but again, the difference is minimal, and for $8, the T9600 would probably be a better choice.

Also, for such a small price difference, the Intel WiFi 5300 is a better choice, since it does get slightly better reception.

 

Great, thanks for the help. I ordered the T9600 configuration... looking forward to it

 

Given the usage I'd get the cheapest option, but it seems a moot point now.

 

for 8 dollars more i will use the 5300 as it is a three antenna config rather than the two antenna config of the 5100, so the reception, coverage and speed is better.

Also i would get the T9600 CPU too if the price difference is minimal, since it has 6 mb of L2, while the P8xxx has TDP 25 w and the T9xxx use 35 w, and the P9xxx use 25 w.

This will improve your resell value.