T400: 3-4 questions before buying

I bought a Dell M2400 some days ago, but the fan is way too noisy for me and is on too often when the laptop is docked. Even when simply browsing the net and listening to music! I'm thinking of buying a T400 instead. The only thing I hate from the T400 is the CTRL key that is not the first key on the left. But well, I'll have to live with that.

I would have some questions about the T400 before buying though, if you can help:

1) I read the T400 is a really quiet laptop, is that true?

2) Is it possible to use an external monitor (mine is a Dell 20", 1680 X 1050) as primary and the laptop monitor as secondary? I would use dual view, which means the Windows taskbar would be on the external monitor and each monitor would have their own desktop and resolution.
2a) is it possible with the integrated GPU?
2b) is it possible with the ATI GPU?

3) How good are the docking stations for this model? Does the laptop stay cool even when docked?



Thanks a lot for your help!

 

i dont know about t400, but t500 stays very quiet even after heavy gaming

it is possible to use a external monitor as second with both internal and external graphics cards

 

Are you sure you can use the external monitor as the primary one? Did you actually test it?

Thanks for the reply martinmach.

 

1) The T400 (and ThinkPads in general) is pretty quiet. In fact, you will probably hear the hard drive over the CPU fan (especially under a light load).

2) You can specify which monitor (inernal or external) is primary in Windows display settings, check "Use this display as my primary monitor". It may also be possible to use Presentation directer (part of the included ThinkVantage suite) to set primary and secondary as well. You can also set monitor position (e.g. left, right, above the internal LCD).

Both the integrated and discrete GPU can do this fine. In fact, I would run on integrated graphics at all times unless you are gaming (it is more than adequate for Vista Aero, Video playback (including 1080P video), driving a 1680x1050 [or even 2560x1600] monitor, and any other desktop level task. You may even want to consider going integrated only, unless you intend to play games or run another task that is highly GPU dependent.

3) There are a couple different docking stations available, check this thread. You would most likely want the Advanced Mini-Dock (DVI, Gigabit Ethernet, audio, and several USB ports).

The defining factor in keeping the laptop cool even when docked is to enable adaptive (not fixed maximum) processor speed, and possibly using integrated graphics. This will keep heat output (and therefore fan speed) to a minimum. You will still get good performance as the computer will automatically go to full speed whenever you give it a CPU intensive task. Even when the computer is running at full speed (e.g. Gaming) it will still remain reasonably cool and quiet.

 

Thanks jonlumpkin!

 

NotebookCheck reviewed the T500, and recorded decibal data under various conditions (scroll down).
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-Thinkpad-T500-Notebook.11970.0.html

Logically, I would think the T400 should be about the same as the T500, or perhaps quieter, since its weaker graphics card does not generate as much heat.

 

Thanks MidnightSun, sounds good!

 

My t400 is completely silent. This is likely due to the fact that I have a SSD rather than a HDD however the fan is the only noise source unless I'm using the ODD. Even still though the fan seems virtually nonexistent except for heavy processing. I used to have a dell before I bought this machine and the difference is indescribable.

jonlumpkin seems to be right on regarding multiple monitor setups.

Considering that I spend the majority of the time using my laptop on my lap and I practically never hear the fan running, I can't imagine that one would have any heating issues when docked. It seems to me that clothing would retain heat much more efficiently that the docking station.

I love the machine, can't say so much for the Thinkvantage software.

 

Thanks MadMechE, it's helpful!

 

I post my message here because I think less people read the "review" board.. Maybe someone can help me with those questions, even if he's not the original author?

I'm really interested by the issues you are talking about.

I see here that, in fact, you CAN leave the 9 cells battery while docking the laptop. But what about the docking station noise? Anyone else has experience with it? Is it really that noisy?

Also, are you refering to the docking station on which you can add an extra cd drive/hard drive or the "regular" advanced one?

Finally, when you say the "CD- drive is not compatible" do you mean the CD drive inside the T400 itself won't work when docked??

Thanks in advance.

 

Can someone help me with my last questions? In particular the noise made by the docking station. Is it really that noisy?

Thanks in advance!

 

The noise caused by a dock would almost certainly be caused by an optical drive (there isn't anything else that could cause noise).

The reason a CD-drive would not be compatible with a certain dock would be the connector. The T60 (and maybe 61) used a PATA optical drive. The T400 uses a SATA drive and thus would not work in a dock made for the T60. However, the optical drive built into the notebook would still work.

I think the main reason you would want a dock with an optical drive bay (as opposed to the advanced Mini-Dock that is more like a port replicator) is if you intend to pull the optical drive from the T400 and replace it with a second hard drive (this is a very good idea if you only need an optical drive occasionally, but would benefit from the extra storage capacity on the road [or you could use an SSD for your OS, and a hard drive in the UltraBay for your data!]).

 

jonlumpkin, thanks for the reply!

I'm worrying about the noise caused by the laptop itself, when it's docked. In fact, this is the reason I'm going to return my Dell M2400. When docked, the fan is on pretty much all the time! If I undock the laptop, the fan stays silent.