T500 Spec

From Lenovo Australia, so the price might seem high, but it's not.

AU$2,527.56
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo processor P8700 (2.53GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2)
Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Display Type: 15.4" WSXGA+ TFT
System graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon 3650 with 256MB
Total memory: 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (2 DIMM)
Keyboard Language: US English Keyboard
Hard drive: 250GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Optical device: DVD Recordable, Ultrabay Slim
System expansion slots: Express Card & PC Card Slots
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel WiFi Link 5300
Modem: Yes - AMoM
Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion Battery
Power cord: 90W AC Adapter; ANZ

AU$1.00 (Special offer)
ThinkPad Essential Port Replicator

Total: AU$2,528.56
After coupon: AU$1,896.67

Questions:
Windows 7 Home Premium: Is it common to need to use XP mode? What are some prominent programs that need it? Will Matlab and Visual Studio 2005 run (I would hope so, but just to make sure)?

What's the difference between Intel WiFi 5300 and 5100? The difference is only $20, so I'd probably keep it in just in case, but I'm interested to know.

Port Replicator: What is it and is it a good deal for $1?

 

I see no problems with your configuration. Only two possible suggestions:
1.- It may be cheaper to order it with a single DIMM of 2GB, and add a 2GB DIMM yourself. Not sure, because I don't know how much a DIMM of RAM costs you down under and I do not know Lenovo's upgrade cost either.
2.- I do not know whether you need the extra battery life, but I found the 9-cell battery's lifetime to definitely be worth the $30 (I believe) to upgrade from the 6-cell. Of course, that's largely based on your needs.

Now, to your questions:
1.- I am running Windows Vista, which for compatibility's sake, is essentially the same as Win7. I have only had one application work in XP and not in Vista (TI Connect graphing calculator software). I would look up the software you use and see if users are having issues with it on Vista or Win7, and judge whether you need XP Mode based on that.
2.- The 5300 has three antennas, which theoretically provides additional range and transfer speed. Comparing it to my friend's Dell that has a 5100, my T500 does seem to detect a few more networks than his laptop, but of course there are many other variables. For $20, I would keep the upgrade (for me at the time, it was only $17, so I chose it as well).
3.- The Essential Port Replicator is the cheapest of the Thinkpad docking stations, I believe, but still retails for ~$100 I believe - so it's a great deal! Definitely get it.

You can check out my T500 review (link in my signature) if you want some detailed T500 information.

 

the xp mode is run under virtualisation mode, but that shouldn't be of a concern for you, since it is supported by your laptop GPU.

matlab of which version? the recent one should run.

The intel 5300 in my opinion is better than the 5100, since the signal reception for me is better and the 5300 use a 3 antenna setup.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=346988

While, port replicator, replicates all the ports on the laptop, so you don't need to unplug and replug everything, everytime you need to move the laptop around. You can't go wrong with one dollars, what can you get with one dollar nowadays?? half an item in a two dollar shop???

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_Essential_Port_Replicator

The port replicator usually costs $2xx dollars in Australia, the reason that they selling it so cheap, is that Lenovo wants to move out the inventory of these old accessories, and make way for the new generation accessories for upcoming total revamp of the Thinkpads range. It also act as a usb hub, i am sure you are not going to find an one dollar usb hub.

 

The upgrade was $77 - 25% from the coupon, so 57.8 dollars. A quick google for 2GB ram ( http://www.myshopping.com.au/PT--66...AM_2_GB_DDR3_RAM__fs_12345_18999_e__?Find=RAM) shows 2GB DDR3 from about $60 to $100. I don't think I'll be able to find anything significantly cheap enough to warrant the extra hassle (albeit minor). If I needed a 4GB DIMM (for 6 or 8 GB total), I would definitely install myself, seeing as these are lenovo's prices for them:
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (1 DIMM) [add AU$759.00]
6 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (2 DIMM) [add AU$836.00]
8 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (2 DIMM) [add AU$1,595.00] (I could just get another whole computer with that ffs)

Yeah I was considering this. Was a little bit worried that if it sticks out, I wouldn't be able to fit it in my sleeve, but I figure that I can just take the battery out and store is separately in my backpack. I'm probably going to take the upgrade, here, because with the 9 cell battery, I could guarantee enough battery life for a day at uni, which is approximately 3 hours use, so I wouldn't have to carry the power brick, saving weight. The 6 cell would do it with light use, but the 9 cell would also let me game for a while without taking the power brick.

Should be fine, then. Judging from forums, matlab seems fine, and apparently visual studio 2005 is ok too. However... for $44 -> $33(coupon'd) to upgrade? Would it be tempting, just in case some of my beloved obscure programs break?

Yeah, I think I'll keep that in.

Yeah, I think I can spare $1.

Way ahead of you.

I obtained R2007b. Apparently, if there's any problems, all I need to do is change to the classic windows theme.

Sounds good.

Awesome. I was thinking that no matter what it had, if it turned out I had no use for most of it, there's nothing wrong with a $1 USB hub.

Thanks for the posts. I'll just give a bit of info about why I picked the T500.

Keyboard: I'm about 70WPM, and a good keyboard is a big plus.
Touchpoint: It's so utterly frustrating moving to the mouse while typing relatively quickly.
Screen: Nice resolution, and 16:10. Two wins for the moderate programmer (I'm not IT, but my degree has a decent amount of it anyway, and I get into webdev in my spare time). Matte vs gloss doesn't mean that much to me, but I do like natural light.
Weight: I was originally considering 14 or 13 inches, but the T500 is on the light side of 15 inch laptops, and with the 9 cell, I can also ditch the power brick. I would have gotten the T400, but the 3470 is just a bit too weak for my tastes.

Thanks again for the helpful prods.

 

that is pretty fast typing speed, i can only manage half of that.

 

You do know that XP mode is available ONLY from Professional upward (Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate). It is not available in Home Premium version of Windows 7.

 

Visual Studio 2005, 2008 and 2010 (beta) run just fine on Windows 7.

For VS2005 and VS2008 install the latest service packs after you have installed the product itself. Also, if you install SQL Server 2005 Express or SQL Server 2008 Express, you will need the latest service packs for those. When you are installing these products, Windows 7 might show you a dialog where it also says that these products might not be compatible, and you should install the service packs. Just OK those dialogs.

You can also get the service packs for both Visual Studio and SQL Server through Windows Update - if you choose the option to update additional applications, not just Windows itself.

As for running VS ... some features might require that you start Visual Studio in administrator mode (right click and select run as administrator). One such scenario is if you want to develop web sites that are run in a local IIS instance. If you run websites in the built-in webserver, you do not need to run as administrator.

 

I don't know about your programs, but I rely upon Nota Bene (academic research/writing program) and it cannot yet run in a 64-bit program. I run it in XP mode in Windows 7.

The port replicator deal is a no-brainer. I would have jumped on that had it been offered in the U.S.

Best,
Bill

 

fyi, the reason why the lenovo 4GB+ ram upgrades are so expensive is because 4GB are f__king expensive. 2GB modules are a couple TIMES cheaper.

 

4 gb DDR3 SODIMM ram is extremely expensive, because so few manufacturers actually makes them in large quantities. It will drop in price next year, once most laptops manufacturers move to the new intel chipset and win 7 transition is complete. Currently, the demand for DDR3 4 gig of ram is just not enough to justify ramping up of production of the higher density ram modules. Especially given the current US dollar exchange rate volatility, and the fact that last time they were stockpiling the DDR2 ram chip, the price dropped so much that it hardily made any profits at all.

So they are controlling the supply and still yielding the similar profit margin, less financial risk for them.

 

Yes, this is why I'm asking if I'm going to need XP mode. I'll probably get the upgrade to Professional - it's not much.

Sounds good.

A googley search gives about $AU250 for 4GB ram sticks, which is expensive, but it's still much less than the $700 lenovo wants for 4GB ram.

 

As Broadus pointed out academic and research programs tend to have a tendency for not working on the latest operating systems. I don't know about matlab in particular, but if the price upgrade to Professional is something you can live with I would suggest going with that, just in case.

While I don't really run those kinds of programs, I have yet to find something that did not work with Windows 7. As a result, although I run Professional, I have not yet installed XP mode.

Broadus says that they cannot run in a 64bit OS, but I don't know if the bits could cause problem: 32 bit applications run just fine in 64bit operating systems. In the case of Windows, they have their own run time environment, where everything else is 32bits as well. This happens transparently for the users and programs. The program running does not even necessarily know it is running on a 64 bit OS.

 

The program I am referring to, believe it or not, is 16-bit. It is being upgraded to 32-bit, but it's no big operation that develops Nota Bene. The program, though, is without peer in academic writing and research. As has been mentioned, the price to move up to Win 7 Professional is very reasonable when configuring, so if a person thinks he may need to run in XP mode, then it's not much money.

Of course, my Nota Bene program does run in 32-bit OS, but I wanted to move to 64. XP mode lets me have the best of both worlds.

Bill

 

@Broadus how is your T500 coming along?

 

Still getting adjusted to it as I do fresh installs of programs and transfer files from the HP (and do some neglected cleanup). Hopefully, I finish that today and be able to start giving the keyboard a workout tomorrow.

However, it's got to be one of the best "bang for the buck" that's available.

One question about the keyboard though: When the original T400/T500 flex problem was fixed, did Lenovo return to the original T61 keyboard (or whatever model number it was), or did they reinforce the left side of the new T400/T500 keyboard? The reason I asked is that, while there is no flex that I can feel, pressing the W, E, R, S, and D keys makes a bit of a "thud" sound that I don't hear in the others. I'm sure I'll get used to it and not notice it, but right now it's a bit annoying.

On a positive note, the screen is much better than I anticipated. Maybe my keyboard expectations were too high and screen expectations too low. At any rate, I have a Samsung LED screen and am quite pleased with it. And I'm especially pleased with having matte instead of gloss.

Bill

 

you can try to take off the keyboard to see which keyboard you got, i think it is most likely a reinforced bracket with the perforated keyboard, which is not the T61 keyboard. I could be wrong, but i think this is what Lenovo is shipping out recently.