Thinking of Buying t410- buying today! plz help

Hey guys,

**any t410 coupons atm?

Just considering buying a t410 through a school discounted price
Looking to run autocad, and other modeling programs like solidworks.
I'm currently a third year civil engineering major looking forward to graduate studies.

I just have a few questions:
1. how well does the 3100m handle games and programs. I figure if it can run games, it should be able to run engineering programs without hiccups.

2. should i go with the i5-520 or i5-540. its a 33$ difference

3. what does the WWAN do?

4. The 6 cell battery is flush right? the t400 has it sticking out

5. Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000 or ThinkPad bgn Wireless or Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 (2x2 AGN) (the 6200 is 14$ more expensive)

6. How hot does the system get? How loud does the fan get?

7. Does it feel durable?

8. How is the WXGA+ screen?

9.! - should I consider the 4 cell battery. How much more is the 6 cell in terms of weight and battery life addition?
I would like this laptop to be as light as possible


Thanks a bunch for your inputs.

 

1 - can't answer that, as I'm not using my 3100m for any of that.

2 - it's $33. I'd upgrade because of the small price difference. That's my logic, though.

3 - Wireless Wide Area Network, or WWAN, is for use with mobile broadband services, such as Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc. You must have a qualifying data plan to access this service.

4 - it should sit flush, but I cannot independently confirm this.

5 - I'd go with the Advanced-N 6200, due to the small price difference.

6 - my system (Core i5-540, NVIDIA 3100m, 4GB, 500GB 7.2k RPM HDD, etc) does not get hot at all. The fan is barely noticeable.

7 - it feels VERY durable. Feels even better than my older T61.

8 - the WXGA+ screen is very nice. Clear, bright, and lots of room to work.

 

1. i dont play games but i use my t410 to do openGL with some dynamic 3D visualization. it handles the task really well.

 

If you're running engineering programs, you'd almost certainly benefit from the i5-540M upgrade over the 520M. I don't think the 3100 is known as a particularly strong gaming card--rather weak, in fact. Whether it will meet your needs for engineering programs, I don't really know, but bear in mind it's a business class laptop, not a gaming laptop.

As for wireless, I'd agree that the Intel 6200 is the best option there. You'll get two antennas instead of 1 with the Intel 1000, and you should get better signal strength at greater distances, etc. I don't know much about the ThinkPad network adapter, but I still think the 6200 is the way to go.

 

I would consider a T510 with HD+ screen or FHD screen. The contrast ratio is 95:1 on the t410 and 500:1 on t510, according to notebookcheck.com

 

Thanks for your reply guys,
and thanks jm for answering all my q's

THe only concern i have at the moment is the gpu if It can run my programs.

I'm not so concerned about the screen quality, as I really wont game that much/or watch movies - lol I really don't feel like I have the time.

Weight it also an issue and is what detracted me from the 14"s in the first place, but I think it will benefit me in the long run as I will have more real estate to view designs, etc.

Do you guys know how well the 6 cell performs over the 4 cell.
I don't normally go off ac and was wondering if the extra weight/battery life is worth taking it off