T400...yea or nay?

I wanted to ask a question about whether the T400 is a good fit for me. First of all, the only other laptop I've ever owned is the ancient Dell Latitude CPi (1999) that I got as part of a deal for school. Since then, I haven't bothered getting another laptop because I have a desktop that does everything I need. Now, however, I find that it would be nice to have a good, light laptop since my desktop is finally starting to choke on those h.264 codec video files plus I've been doing more traveling. Plus it looks like the lenovo site is having a thinkpad sale right now. Here's more info:

1) What is your budget? up to $1500

2) What size notebook would you prefer? either a or b. Portability/size is important to me.

a. Ultraportable; 12" screen or less
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Lenovo was highly recommended to me by several people...I am open to other brands though this is a lenovo forum

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Multimedia ie playing DVDs, or xvid/h.264 files, some in HD resolution.
Also plan on playing video files and transcoding them wirelessly to my Playstation 3 so I can watch movies on my HDTV. My desktop totally chokes at this.
Also general web browsing and word-processing/power-point.
It sounds like processing power will be important to handle the transcoding stuff.

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Mostly will be at home but may take it to work for presentations on occasion. Also when I go on overseas trips (once a year) or domestic trips or just go to the city (I live near NYC) I would use it.
My ISP is getting wireless service for free in my area in the next few months so I might take it to local coffee shops or bookstores as well.

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
I'm not a huge FPS gamer...I do play some non-CPU-intensive games so that won't be a problem.

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
The more the merrier. Battery life is also important to me. But I also don't want a huge battery brick sticking out the back.

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Windows XP or Vista

14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last? I'd like to buy before the end of the year, maybe sooner. I'd like it to last a long time.

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I did look at the x-series as well, since ultra-portables are enticing...but the deal-breaker was optical drive not included on the x61s. The x-300 series looks like it includes the drive but is out of my price range.

About the T400 issues I've come across...I have read about the keyboard flex...that's not a major issue with me since I didn't own past ThinkPads. As long as I can normally type, it's okay. Also, the LG/Samsung screen issue: I'm not sure how that will impact me unless I actually see my screen in person.

So I think the T400 strikes the best balance for me...portability, price, processing, multimedia capability, etc. This is what I have for the moment: T9400 (2.5 ghz), vista basic (I have a retail vista ultimate), 14.1" WXGA+ with LED backlight, Radeon 3470, 2 GB DDR3 RAM, ultranav/fingerprint reader, 160GB 7200rpm hard drive, DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA), Bluetooth, Intel WiFi link, 6-cell battery. Total price $1453

I'm just looking for any comments, or if you think what I have selected meets my needs. Thanks for any insight/advice.

 

Awesome specs except for the OS. Mac OSX Leopard FTW!!!

 

Its ugly..

the legendary keyboard is gone

And thats the only con of it in my book

 

Go for it. The keyboard flex that has been discussed is not something too critical. Also screen won't be a big issue since you're getting LED backlit screen anyway.

 

For what you want to do, I'd definitely get the T400.

Make sure you buy another 2 GB of RAM from Newegg though or replace Vista with XP---Vista ran horribly slow on the laptop in my sig, despite the 3 GB RAM, so I replaced it with XP.

 

It doesn't sound like you need to take the laptop with you everywhere. You may benefit from a mainstream (15.4) model. They are mass produced so the prices are cheaper. they will generally have good chips and more robust discrete gfx cards. From your intended use it seems like you are looking for a desktop replacement, not a thin and light; although you picked one of the best.
You should go into a store or talk to your friends about the screen. Though the difference in price is minimal, you will want to have the right type of screen for your needs. Sounds like you'll always be using it indoors though. At least wxga+ I would $$ for the LED backing. For basic games you could squeak by with the newer-upper end of intel integrated graphics. WOW runs fine with them. You might need the graphics card if your getting really intensive, but then you may want to look at other larger notebooks. Aside from gfx, you need a pc with some processing power and connectivity. ULV processors in the t400 might chirp by, but you'd be better with more robust chips, which they do offer. Opt for the larger cache. With the tasks your running, don't expect to get much battery life out of this pc. And all the extended battery modules on lenovo pc's stick out the back, rather awkwardly. Since you aren't really in need of a light compact notebook that you have to take with you on your daily commute, have a look at some of these before you decide:

-ASUS G50V 15.6" (you might be able change some of these settings ie. gfx to 9600; chip to T9400)
P8400, NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT
$1,349.99

-Enhanced ThinkPad W500 15.4" WSXGA+ TFT, w/ CCFL Backlight
T9400, ATI FireGL5700
$1,369.00*

-Dell XPS M1530 (AlienWareM15x-$$)
T8300, 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M
$1,349

-MSI GX630
2.2G.AMD Turion ZM-82, 4GB, 512 MB Geforce 9600
$1,049.99

-HP Pavilon Dv5t Or even the Dv4t
under $1000

Since these are mainstream notebooks, this list could go on forever. Pretty much every manufacturer has a notebook for your needs, but the t400 may not be the perfect match. Check this: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Purcha...4-1-inch-Notebooks-in-Comparison.11943.0.html for other competing notebooks in the 14.1" category, you will have to go to the actual website to see them though, the links in this review go to German sites. Best of luck in your continued search/purchase!

 

Thanks for the responses.

srunni: I didn't realize Vista was such a memory hog...I guess when I get my laptop I'll have to see for myself

Icelox18: I want to also clarify that the laptop is not meant to replace my desktop long-term. For the moment it will easily surpass my desktop's power, but I intend to build a new more powerful desktop sometime in 2009. Also, larger screen size isn't actually that important to me; that's what my desktop is for. I'll check out some of those other laptops you mentioned.

 

I think the ThinkPad T400 would be fine for your needs. If you find that the keyboard isn't firm enough for you, you can replace the keyboard with a ThinkPad T61 keyboard.

Lenovo has employee pricing for everyone at this point, so you can probably get the machine that you configured for less than what you quoted. Make sure you charge your purchase on an AmEx card (or something with an extended warranty program) to extend the warranty by a year.

 

i think the t400 would be great for you. btw, i encourage you to give vista a shot. i got 3gb of ram in my system and i was thinking i would put xp on there if vista didnt work out but ive been pleasantly surprised. chalk it up to a YMMV.

also, if you get the discrete graphics card in your t400, only vista will allow you to take advantage of the 'switchable' graphics mode and switch between the integrated and discrete graphics on the fly for when you want more battery life or more video processing muscle.

and i am enjoying the t400 keyboard. it feels great to me. caveat: this is my first thinkpad though =P the flexing is a non-issue for me; i cant even tell that it flexes unless i try to smash a key down

 

I have been running Vista on my desktop for well over a year with 1gb, and few problems. The problems I do have, I attribute to the age of the computer, and the fact that I haven't reformatted in a long time.

I'm running Vista on 2Gb on this laptop, and I can't really say yet how well it works, since I only got it today, but so far so good!