T400 v. T500??

I'm looking into getting a new notebook and these IBM's seem to be a great combination of features/build quality. I am really torn between a 15.4 and a 14 inch display. I was wondering if anyone could provide any advice. Are there any other significant differences between the models that could help sway me one way or the other? Thanks.

 

Want better protability and battery life? Get the T400 with LED screen. Want more performance in gaming? Get the T500.

I know the T500 has LED now as well, but in my opinion 1280x800 makes icons and text too big. If that is desirable you can opt for that too.

 

t400 for portability or performance.
t500 for performance or screen area.

Personally, I really don't see the difference between the two asides from the screen sizes.

 

Comes down to personal preference. If you move around a lot with the machine between classes, or at airports, the 14" will be nice. But if you are looking for a screen to watch movies, look at pictures, surf the web and to be used at home, the larger screen will be nicer. I use my machine mainly at home and don't move it much, so I got the larger screen. The smaller machine will also be slightly lighter than the 15".

 

How is the LED screen on the T400? Does it make text tiny? I currently have a 15.4 inch laptop with only a wxga screen that doesnt bother me but I would definitely appreciate a wxga+ screen in a 15.4 laptop, particularly if they offered an LED one.

 

I would suggest taking a look at the W500. It's cheaper than the T500. I am also flip flopping between a T400 & W500 right now.

The T400 is arriving in a few days but I canceled it as I feel I need the performance of the W500.

 

Does the W500 have hybrid graphics like the T500? I kind of like the idea of being able to switch back and forth to conserve battery.

 

Yes it does come with switchable graphics.

 

Oh interesting. Is the build the same in the W500? Also which graphics option is better, the card in the T500 or the W500?

 

The GPU have been discussed at various threads before. Just search for W500. Here's the latest one: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=310015&page=2&highlight=W500

The T500 and W500 are essentially the same laptop. Don't think they differ that much except for the GPU and screen res. You couldn't go wrong with either. I would be more inclined for the W500 just because it's a better deal.

 

The build is the same. The W500 has a more powerful graphics card.

 

The W500 and the T500 use the same video card base (ATI FireGL V5700 = ATI HD 3650). W500 only is better for certain workstation apps as it has hardware and software optimizations. In terms of "power", it really depends on what you mean by that. In games with the same drivers, exactly the same performance (though I've heard workstation cards perform worse than their counterparts) but workstation applications W500 will see some improvement.

 

I was just on the website and it does not appear they list the W series as having switchable graphics like the T series.

 

I too, was curious about that. I called up Lenovo today, and they said that only the T series have it.

 

How is the screen quality of the SXGA screen on the T500? Who makes the screen? thanks.

 

One thing to consider is the different port selection of the T400 and T500. There is DisplayPort on the T500, but not on the T400.

And text on the T400 LED screen is not small at all, I find it just about right and I wear glasses. For a comparison, it looks similar to my 1240X1080 17" desktop screen.

 

Samsung and LG makes the screens, but when they assemble your laptop they choose one at random(i.e. from what is available), you can't specify the manufacturer.

 

So there is no way to ensure a good screen? Do things like getting the camera or not change the screen that is used? Also how is the sxga screen in general. I'm dissapointed there is no LED option but ownder how these fair?