T400 for Engineering Student.

I can get these specs for only 823$ after tax + free shipping.


Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2) 25W1
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic12
14.1 WXGA TFT, w/ LED Backlight
ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 with 256MB
2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)8
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm4
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)5
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Intel WiFi Link 5300 (AGN) with My WiFi Technology10
Integrated Mobile Broadband upgradable
9 cell Li-Ion Battery60
2764: 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller7

Is this a good deal? Would it accept a SSD (maybe ocz vertex) easily? Do the new ones have the better chasis and increased keyboard strength?

 

Looks good, although a higher resolution might be better. The LED is nice to have but isnt a deal breaker. Perhaps drop the ram to save some money and upgrade it later, and drop the DVD recorder unless you need it. Same as wireless card, unless you need N.

Also, I am sure that it would accept SSD.

As for build, if there is flex, it shouldnt be as bad. I had the "flexy" keyboard, and it did not bother me. I got the t61 keyboard and i do not feel a difference.(i have a t500 BTW)

 

For the deal that I got (a special in the education department), the DVD burner was a standard, and the only lesser RAM option was a 2 dimm 2gb selection which was only 10$ less.

I will be using this on campus, and I upgraded the wireless just to be sure that it could get sufficient signal to the wireless around campus. If I wasn't to upgrade to the intel wireless, which one of the thinkpad wireless would be better?
ThinkPad 11b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Express Adapter III
ThinkPad b/g/n [add $0.00] [New]

Also, how much battery life/brightness does the LED screen add?

 

I thinkt the LED will save at most 30min of battery life. I have a 1280x800 reso on a t500 and kinda wish i had more. If you are not planning to use this outside, I suggest the higher resolution screen. I dont know about the wireless card, but for some reason, I can not get ad-hoc to work on the standard thinkpad wireless card. Not sure if it is the card or me(it detects and sustain campus wifi just fine).

But aside the screenl, your config is fine, and given the price, you cant go wrong with what you have now. Maybe go read about the two different intel wifi card and see which one you need and which one is more reliable

 

I think you should stick with the 5300 it is an amazing wifi card it connects faster than anything I've ever owned.

I would also recommend upgrading your OS to Home Premium (unless you get it free through your university/college)

 

I agree. I got the LED on my t500. Wish I would have went with the higher res...

 

So you guys say the WXGA+ CCFL is better than the WXGA LED?

With the 9 Cell how many minutes do you think will be lost if using the CCFL.

 

Better is a relative term. The WXGA+ variant will certainly allow you to fit more on the screen at once. However, WXGA is standard for most notebooks up to 15.4", so it isn't really low. The LED will be brighter and more efficient, but the general display quality will be equivalent.

In my experience, an LED display generally uses 1-2 less watts than a CCFL display (depends on brightness and size). A T400 that is able to achieve 9+ hours of battery life tends to run in the 9.0 watt range, so a 1-2 watt increase can be significant. This could equate to an hour or more if your machine is in an otherwise efficient state (the penalty for CCFL is far less during gaming and other heavy usage as 1-2 watts is a far lower percentage of overall consumption).

 

right now all the T400s LEDs that come from educational ordering come with infamous Samsung panels which alot of people really dislike. I like this panel, but it is probably not the best if you are doing things that require very accurate red-orange gradients.

 

I went with the CCFL WXGA+ and I dont really have any regrets. I havent tested the battery completely on the 9 cell but FWIW its more than I expected so I have no complaints even if the CCFL affected it a bit. As far as the wifi is concerned I have used both the Thinkpad b/g and the Intel 5100 and its not too different. If you are using it to join a network then the 5300 might be better but overall none of the wifi options provided with the T400 should have any problems connecting to access points.

 

Miner, is your CCFL T400 at all useable outdoors?

TIA

 

On a cloudy day, yeah its possible but if its bright sunny day then I wouldnt like to use it for too long. Look for the high nit screen if you are going to be using it outdoors for extended periods of time. Personally I dont use it outdoors much.