T400 vs G450

T400 notebook would have P8600 vs the G450 with a T6600. T400 would be WXGA+ LED. G450 would be WXGA LED. G450 would have NVIDIA GeForce G 210M 512MB graphics also.


T400 would be about $150 more expensive.



Your thoughts, what would notebook review do?s

 

Get the T400 for the superior build quality and reliability. Google for CCP coupons for extra savins if you haven't done this already.

 

I should say at least $150 more expensive.......

 

It's hard to say without considering what you actually need (what are you going to use your laptop for?), but given those differences, I would go with the T400 with the $150 price difference.

 

No matter what you are using the laptop for, it would take alot more then $150 difference to not choose the t400.

 

There is no comparison. The T400 wins hands down, even at $150 more. The full magnesium roll-cage makes it more durable, the keyboard is better, (as you already mentioned) the display is better, and I'd take a P8600 over a T6600 any day, as it's a little cooler and will have better battery life (assuming both configurations have a battery with the same number of cells and mAh rating).

You didn't say what graphics card the T400 has, but you're getting either Intel onboard (which handles every business task including video playback quite well), or switchable Intel/ATI graphics, in which case you get the best of both worlds. While I got switchable graphics, I can't honestly say I've needed them, as the X4500 chip has done very well. Note that with either T400 configuration, using the Intel side of your graphics once again gets better battery life than you'll get with the nVidia GPU.

 

Yeah, I have a G530 at work. The T400 is just so much better build quality. The G530 actually surprised me that it's really not flimsy, but it's by no means solid. And the keyboard layout really sucks (not sure about the G450). If you use home/end at all, don't even consider a keyboard without dedicated keys.

I've gotten so sick of that machine, it's one of the reasons I'm upgrading from my X61s to an X200s for personal use. The 1024x768 resolution on the X61s just isn't high enough for the work I need to do with VNC and RDP, but now I'll be able to relegate the G530 to a secondary machine. Not that I hadn't been envying an x200s for awhile, anyway.

Go for the T400, you'll be a lot happier, and it should last you a lot longer.

 

Let me rephrase, more or less this a Y450 vs T400 comparison now.

Y450's come decked out. For like 849 - 20% bing cash back I can get
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor P8700 ( 2.53GHz 1066MHz 3MB )
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Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64
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NVIDIA GeForce G 110M 512MB
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4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz
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14.0 " HD Wide LED 1366x768
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Industry Standard Touchpad
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320GB 5400
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DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
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6 Cell Lithium-Ion
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Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 5100
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Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR
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None
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One year parts and labor (system battery: one year)


T400 - $914 - 20% bing cashback

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2) 25W
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Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
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14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/ LED Backlight
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Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with vPro
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4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
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UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
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160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
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DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
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Express Card Slot & 7-1 Media Card Reader
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Integrated Bluetooth PAN
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Intel WiFi Link 5100 (AGN) with My WiFi Technology
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Integrated Mobile Broadband upgradable
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6 cell Li-Ion Battery
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Country Pack North America with Line cord & 65W AC adapter - Low Halogen



Now I can swap out HD's and put my 250gb drive in the T400 and put the lenovo's 160gb in my current notebook.....but still....what would you guys be buying here?

 

Sounds like you're not looking for enough discounts.

For $900, here is what I got, six months ago

T400
P8600 CPU, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD
DL DVD burner, memory card reader
14" WXGA+ display with webcam, switchable (Intel/ATI) graphics
Bluetooth, Fingerprint reader, Intel 5300 wireless
6-cell battery, 1-year warranty

I cheaped out on the HDD because I was going to buy another. I added a 2GB memory module for cheap to make 4GB.

Check Lenovo's CPP site, and also search for EPP-applicable coupons (there's often a 5% one out there). The T400 is lighter, stronger, and will be more enjoyable to use for a longer period of time.

 

Get the T400.