T400 vs Latitude E6400

Which one is better? In terms of style, durability.

 

Firstly style...is your decision. And secondly, they are not old enough to have their durability tested . I think the dell's have more features (new), but the thinkpads are thinkpads. Hard decision . I'd want to try the dell's keyboard though first.

 

I think it comes down to how much you are willing to pay, and what features are most important to you.

When both machines first came out they were similarly priced, and I bought an E6400 because it had an HDMI port, and it looks a little nicer. But as soon as the price dropped on the T400, it became way too good of a deal to pass up, and I cancelled the Dell and ordered the TP.

I think at the moment it is pretty hard to justify the extra cost of the Dell.

 

Yeah, i just customized an E6400 with the same specs as in my sig for 1500 bucks. i paid 1100 for my tp.

 

but you people know that DELL has the looks, whereas the T400 is on ugly side.

Look for T61 4:3 it is so much sexier. The best one is T42 though...

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder—and most here find a “boring business notebook” sexy. Screw the brushed metal/wood façade—this is a notebook computer, not aircraft/furniture.

 

yeh what attracts me about the thinkpad design is that its a classic, raw look. the dell and nearly every offering from hp or apple all change looks year after year, its a yearly fad. five years down the road i'll look back at the t400 i just bought and i'll still love it due to its classic look.

 

in terms of durability - the HP is way better than lenovo. No ? look for the wearing paint on the edges of your laptops. HP's meanwhile have that metal cover and paint is not chipping away that easy...

 

Durability would have to go to the t400 but just slightly. There both relatively new so only time will tell. The "looks" of a laptop is your own opinion and no one else.

 

is this a joke?

 

Dell has the looks? LOL. New E series is downright nasty looking.

 

lol, i don't think CkoTuHa knows what he's talking about.. for the record.. Lenovo's laptops have roll-cages in their laptop to withstand abuse and they are respectfully well known for laptop build quality...

 

he must be kidding, my T23 is in awesome condition, and I don't think IBM/Lenovo have ever used paint on the thinkpads

 

ha ha, T23...get new and you will see what I am talking about...

 

ha ha. i hope you get banned for coming here making joke posts. ha ha.

 

Even if you are talking about a drop in build quality of the newer thinkpads...you can't generalize about HP being better. Even if you were talking about the HP business lines...I still like the lenovo hardware more in terms of the build and feel. But what chipped paint? Thinkpads have a rubber paint coating that is very hard to come off (it wont in normal use). And it is a very hard plastic...so again stop trolling or if you are serious, please explicate rather than simply bashing.

 

what i wonder about is actually how durable the t400 is when compared to the earlier models at a degree. im pretty much between the hp 6930p and that

can that outer chassis material really take a beating from everyday wear and tear?

 

Let's talk about something objective like things we can measure....for example price and the specs.....the looks are debatable but the T400 is definitely a much better deal for the same specs....plus DDR3 RAM....you cant argue with that

 

i can agree with that, the 28 seconds it took in the review is very impressive

 

You can't argue that the T400 is a better value given the same specs for both of them.

 

The problem is that the thinkpad black does not come from paint (at least on the x/t/w)

 

Sorry to burst your bubbles guys, but he isn't kidding you, the corners do rub off, it's a known issue.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=237015
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=168455


Back on topic:

Design is subjective so there is no need of pointless debate, I personally do like the design of the new Latitudes better, the E6400 also has a DisplayPort and eSATA, its 6-cell battery sits flush unlike the T400 and the 9-cell isn't as big. If anything, you can at least try it, Dell has better return policy as well.

The T400 has switchable video card if that's important to you.

Price is up to you again, I would buy whatever I want (meets my needs) to buy regardless of the price.

Both are reviewed here so read the reviews as well.


My choice here? I wouldn't buy a notebook without a digital output and I can't stand sticking out batteries, so the T400 is out. The HP 6930p lacks of DisplayPort too, and I don't like the "new" design as well. So I wouldn't have much of choice anyway.

 

At last, there is someone adequate enough.
When I was referring to HP I was all about the HP's business line. People, if you think HP is only its sleek and outdated notebooks which is Pavillion then you are just missing a lot of info, and I am not going to change it through my postings.

T60, they had metallic LCD cover -> T61 has supermegalight substitute ( in fact it is only plastic, sony uses Carbon Fiber, which is even better ) -> T400 gets the same case.

I know that T400 has a magnesium frame - I have seen it myself. But others are doing the same on their business line. HP, had it for long enough so that I could even say decades.

The dell has the looks, if you don't think so - google for images or go to their site and see pictures.

I know TP is famous for its conservative, boxy design - but T61 WS, T400 is not the best looking TP ever. Z61 is much better looking from outside. Even the T61 4:3 model, NOT widescreen gets more sexier looking chassis that WS model. Don't believe me ? That is your personal tragedy... I have seen both in flesh - and I am telling you my perception.

That said, you can't beat the price lenovo sold this machine to me. At the moment, there is a price advantage. But, what happens, when HP, Dell get their first profits from selling brand new laptops and then lowers the price ?

People will start reviewing - liking - buying the laptops...and you will see that, eventually E series has better looks than T61, T400.

BTW, I am a bit disappointed with kiddish comments on this mature forum. Lenovo should stop selling their TP series to kids/jokes.

 

I’m a bit disappointed that the person making the quoted post can whine about “kiddish” comments, yet can go on and on about how “pretty” one notebook is over the other—and gets in a tiff over it.

 

I would have preferred the E6400 over the T400 but to be honest Dell's prices are horrible. Even being a Dell partner/reseller and with a discount, the E6400 price was still $1600 and with less goodies than my T400 which I payed less than $1K before tax. A 50% price increase for mere looks and a better warranty is a little too much for me. My T400 has been great so far. As a Dell reseller I can't recommend them until they get competitive with their pricing. Oh and maybe DDR3?

 

Here is a comparison by someone who had both:
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/579009962631/m/899001024931

t400 at the top and then e6400 lower down.

CkTuHa - Which has better looks is an opinion. When one states their opinion as a fact, it kind of discredits whatever else they say. And it's cool if you want to give your views, even if they are unpopular with the lenovo crowd, but be careful because what youre doing is getting close to what may be construed as trolling.

In my opinion, I like the professional sleek look of the thinkpads. It looks like dell is kind of ripping that look off with the e6400, but they didn't do a half bad job. Regardless, I don't get a laptop to pick up girls.

 

another adequate person, good...

Jmmmmm
you are getting the X200 which by no means looks boring. Even by TP standards. You would understand me better if you got a laptop which is like at least as old as T61. Oh, and I had T61ws before the T400. T400 is actually the way the T61 should be. I also see that you have T43. It is one of the sexiest TPs out there! I like the looks very much. It looks better than T400/T61!

Again, dell has made a good design work - I mean look, it definitely has the looks. For example, when you see a car designed by pininfarina or bertone or lets be even more specific - Giugiaro it is immediately generally accepted fact that it is beautiful, right ? It doesn't actually matter you like it or not because it is a generally accepted fact. You know that design is actually a precise science. It is all about the curves, lines harmony, right ? So, you should tell it that it is a masterpiece if you look at it right away. If not - you simply do not have the skill, and going to museum is not a thing for you.

Those E, M series have the looks, that is it. Like it or not it is a fact...accept it or get some taste in style...

 

Wow, didn't know some people are that passionate about the "looks" of their laptop. I guess the next time I see someone showing off about their new laptop I should just nod my head and walk away from a potential hostile confrontation. In all honesty, buy what you like.

 

Thanks for the laugh… I envisioned a geeky guy “introvertedly” trying to avoid a confrontation with the notebook style police/bullies out of fear of being ridiculed for his boring business notebook.

 

The guy says that the build quality of the Thinkpad is superior. Does that mean the Thinkpad can survive a nuclear blast? =P

I dropped my D820 from hands onto concrete while running, and got away with no damage, except for the cover of the wireless switch loosening and a 1 cm crack in the lower left hand palm rest near the corner, which increased the flex minutely. How much more "build quality" do you need? lmao

 

I'm a little confuse about this statement that you made. I've seen laptops fall from this height and had no damages, while others were completely toast. It really depends on how it falls.

 

What I mean to say by no damage, is no functional damage, with cosmetic damage being minor (and inevitable, if you're dropping it on concrete).

 

Fact: CkoTuHa is inadequate.

Anyway, if you're that bent on buying a notebook for looks to match your fedora that you can show off in Starbucks, then get a MacBook Air. Both the T400 and E6400 are obviously great laptops, but I still prefer the Thinkpad. I see it as a culmination of years of design - not something that's released on a one-time basis like typical notebook manufacturers.

 

I dropped a 2U Dell PowerEdge Server (trying to move it in rack) from about 5 feet up, put a small dent in the corner of it and a bigger dent in the concrete floor of the server room - that was about 3 years ago...That server is still running as a domain controller without a hitch today.

But my laptop, it's a Thinkpad T43.

The build quality on the previous thinkpads and latitudes was a hands down crowned champion to the thinkpads, made the dells look/feel like a cheap childs toy...but now I have just received a new T400 to replace my T43 and this is the first thinkpad I've had since IBM sold to lenovo and thus this revision is completely lenovo with no IBM influence (that I'm aware of) and there is a noticeable difference in build quality...enough that I'm wondering if I should take a look at the Dell E6400.

It's not that it's cheap, or flimsy, it certainly isn't, but it just doesn't have that thinkpad feel to it any more; unfortunate.

Anywho, point is that I've had and/or managed all versions of the latitude line and thinkpad line for about 7-8 years and the thinkpads we're ALWAYS a massive step up in build quality over the dells, just solid as a freakin rock, really tight keyboards, components of only highest quality etc. Where as over these years I saw multiple problems with latitudes from their flimsiness, modular drives that just fall out regularly when you pick the system up, screen hinges that just give out after a while making the screen kind of floppy and needing replacement often. Bluetooth chips that just go nutts for no apparent reason and just need to be replaced. You know the worst thing I could say about my T43 and the other T series systems? They seem slow by comparison to newer systems after about 3 years...

Anyway, I'm hoping it's not an end to an erra with the TP's build quality as again I think Lenovo slipped a bit with the T400's not a huge amount, but enough that it was disappointing and makes me want to get a look at the E6400; but I doubt Dell with the E6400 has even matched the build quality of the T400 as they had a long way to go to be able to hold a candle to Thinkpads.

 

i think CkoTuHa's laptops are either Hot Pink or Cherry Red (with MAC or Chanel cosmetics on them, maybe yes/no?).

People have different tastes that's why we have many different designs. You just can't compare a German tank to a Chevy Corvette.

Bottom line: if you're really going after look in a laptop: GET a DISNEY or VTECH toy laptop!

 

I vote for the T400, mainly due to price; it's just a ton cheaper than the E6400.

When I compare similar configs, I can get the T400 for $1250, but the E6400 is $1950. It's 56% more expensive than T400. That right there kills the deal on the E6400.

Sure, the E6400 has a couple options the T400 does not have (backlit keyboard, smartcard reader, eSATA port, HDMI), but the T400 has a couple things the E6400 lacks, like (DDR3 memory, switchable graphics, and both PC Card and Expresscard slots (which in practice can equate to two Expresscard slots with a $20 adapter - very very useful).

The only two options I can't overcome with an adapter/PC Card/Expresscard is the backlit keyboard (Thinklight sucks due to design), and HDMI. Fortunately, both of these are things I don't need/would rarely (never) use.

As for durability, let's get real - damage from fall is HIGHLY dependent on the surface, angle, and height of fall. I've had the same laptop fall onto concrete at 5 feet and be okay functionally, and I've had the same type latop fall 2 feet onto carpet and have the screen cracked. It really varies.

Quite frankly, given the prices of laptops, it's the DATA that is more important, and I've never lost any data from a fall of a computer.

Anyway, that is my .02 for the day.

 

If you can get a deal on the Dell, you can match it close to the Lenovo. I value eSATA a lot and prefer the Latitude style. DDR3 is useful at all; however, switchable graphics is good for an extra half hour on the road. The only disappointment for me is that both have crappy discrete options. Though you can get the Precision if you want better graphics (but it's costly).

 

Please advise where there is a Dell Deal that get close to Lenovo.

Lenovo CPP is pretty darn cheap for what you get, and that deal is always there (no waiting for coupon); if there is a similar option on Dell, please share.

eSATA is useful, but can be addressed with a plug-in card. Not perfect, but for I can't fade an extra $900 just for eSATA.

Again, it's not that the E6400 is not a good machine, it's just that the price/performance is not where Lenovo is. (It's weird, Thinkpads used to be the "premium price" laptop, and Dell was the cheapest, but in some areas, it has flipped.

And the keyboard and build quality of the Thinkpad still trumps Dell and HP; I have all three, and it's pretty obvious.

But, whatever works for a person is what matters - competition/choice is good.

 

Just curious. Do you have the Dell and HP business line machines?

 

Yes, both business line. I will say, over the past few years, they have all gotten better (HP, Dell).

Still Lenovo is a better product for the price paid.

 

I don't know which notebook's built quality is better, but there are some who argue that the E6400 is better than the T400. I think you might want to try out the E6400 before you make the assumption that Dell has to go a long way before it can hold a candle to the thinkpads. It's possible for a company to bring their products to a much higher level in a short time providing that they have the incentive to do so.

 

I'm going to repost something I just wrote on another thread (someone was asking the same question on a "What notebook should I buy" thread) here if it's OK:

The differences get narrowed down basically to: the Displayport, eSATA and Firewire, and the 3-year minimum warranty for the Dell and the (largely corresponding) price bump, and the DDR3 and switchable graphics on the Thinkpad. And there's the subjective brand/quality assessment, which in my case came down on Lenovo's side. All in all I thought I'd get better real battery life with switchable graphics (evidenced by the NBR reviews), a slightly better build, slightly better support, and with DDR3 a slightly faster laptop (as evidenced by significantly faster 3Dmark and PCmark scores on the NBR reviews). On the flipside it would lack digital video out, but I can't tell the difference between a VGA-connected and a DVI-connected screen, and as far as I know the Montevina chipset can't output digital audio through Displayport. Also, I have no real use for Firewire or eSata (480 Mbit/s is just fine), and the six-cell on the T400 will stick out a little, which I thought could be annoying but has proven to be a complete non-issue.

 

Dell does have a EPP/CPP program as well. I have access via Golden Key Society from my university. I specced out a E6400 and T400, both approx $1400 w/ P8600, Vista Home Basic, 14.1" WXGA+ LED, webcam, fingerprint reader, 80GB 5400RPM HD, 6-cell battery, BT, Intel 5300, and 3 yr warranty w/ accidental damage. The differences being their video cards and Lenovo having 2x2GB DDR3-1066 preconfigured as opposed to Dell 2x2GB DDR2 (can be purchased separately for around $50-70, price factored in above price, Dell config is 1x1GB DDR2-800).

 

I've not followed the entire thread, but one clarification just in case, plus a point of info.

The T400 definitely has firewire. I find it useful for connecting to a DV camcorder. Don't use it often, but when I need it there's no good substitute.

A point I've not seen mentioned in any reviews is the Thinkpad T400 and T500 support the Thinkpad SATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter II that allows easy access to a 2nd SATA laptop drive. Best I can tell the interface is as fast as the primary hard drive. So while not helpful if you have a big eSATA drive array you're connecting to, it is helpful for backups or fast access to a second hard disk on a one-at-a-time basis.

 

Thanks for the correction, that was a bit of a brain fart. It's right here beneath the Centrino logo in front of the left palmrest (somewhat awkward location - I hate having things in front). I really hadn't noticed because I have little use for it.

 

First, not all of us can get in on University deals...

That said, your price seems very high for the T400. (maybe the extended warranty throws a wrench in it.)

If you compare laptops, std. warranty, the T400 is way cheaper.

A month ago, I got a 2.53Ghz T9400, 4GB RAM, Webcam/fingerprint/LED Screen/Discrete graphics/Bluetooth/80GB HD/AT&T WWAN card/9 cell battery for $1300.

Maybe prices have dropped (they have a little), but I can't see the E6400 touching that right now.

 

Lew, that is an excellent point on the second hard drive bay. I'm using i and it's great.

 

I prefer the build quality of the T400. But where I'm from, Singapore, a T400 with P8400 CPU and GMA X4500HD integrated graphics and CCFL display costs SGD 2400 which is about USD 1570 while an E6400 with P8400 CPU, Quadro NVS160M GPU and LED screen with 3 yr complete cover costs SGD 2500 which is about USD 1630. So in my case the Dell is more cost effective.

 

personally feel that the thinkpad is a better machine BUT the dell's business support is definitely better than lenovo's....in my opinion

 

even if I include a 3 year depot warranty on my T400, it is still cheaper than if I were to configure a E6400 with the same specs.