Thinkpad T400 (available beginning July 15, 2008)

Thinkpad T400 (available beginning July 15, 2008)
Lenovo

* Thinkpad T400 (available beginning July 15, 2008)
* Thinkpad T500 (available beginning July 15, 2008)

http://www.law2.byu.edu/admissions/laptop.php

 

This has been previously posted.

This information is probably dated due to the Montevina delay, however.

Curse Intel.

 

It will probably be delayed again. I heard Montevina is not comming out till August

 

That information also may not be indicative of when the machine will be released to the general public. Just because BYU will offer it to their law students in July doesn't mean the T400 won't be available earlier to the general public. Schools often put together a custom configuration and image for the machines they offer to students, and so the school's configuration may take more time to hit the market than the model in general.

 

so do they already have the chipsets so they can ship imediately, or how long does it take? or do they just take orders and they ship the notebooks as soon as they can get the chipsets?

 

It seems to me that Lenovo was on track for June 3 until the Intel problem. Lenovo was having a fire sale with coupons and discounts to clear out old models. The last coupons expire on June 2.
Do they have enough inventory to "tread water" for the target date 4 to 6 weeks later? They should have all the parts for the new models in place with the parts for the old models getting short. This would be good practice.

So my question is what is a smart manufacturer to do?
a) Try to scrap together parts to continue to sell the old model
b) Announce on June 3 and presale
c) a hybrid of a and b. May get 2-3 more weeks on parts then presale
d) take a summer vacation

 

Even after the sale, Lenovo will still have abundant inventory of pre-built systems. They will most likely do away with custom configurations and sell off the remaining inventory of pre-built models.

 

I think it would disasterous to delay Centrino 2 until after the back to school massive notebook market.

 

exactly. this is the only reason i'm looking at buying one (going to college.) they more they delay the more i look at Apple, HP, and Toshiba.

 

Apple, HP and Toshiba all will use the Montevina platform in addition to Lenovo. Nothing is gained by switching brands.

 

ic. so do you think they are all going to release new laptops models too? or just updated chipsets?

 

My guess would be yes. After all, they all need to capitalize on the back-to-school rush. I'm sure there's a HP/Toshiba/Apple geek that knows if the other brands were planning on new releases.

If I was a laptop manufacturer I would be livid at Intel right about now.

 

so i'm just now learning about what centrino is. never thought to look it up. always thought i had a core 2 duo processor. i do, but its actually part of the "centrino duo" chipset. so what is the advantage of purchasing a laptop with a centrino platform as opposed to a plain core2duo inside?

and yes, i really really hope they release these new laptops is mid-june, or now as they say mid-july. cause i need one for school. the fact that these companies are all coming out with new models, does that mean some new mobile GPU's as well?!?!?! that would be amazing. most of my friends already bought laptops, i'd love to be one of the few with a new GPU to 'pwn some noobs' in a game or two.

 

I used to be an Intel rep; they really do love the Centrino platform.

The Centrino platform is just a brand. That's all it is. It's a way for consumers to identify laptops that have a common set of features. Ideally a consumer should see a laptop and think "I need that Centrino laptop because I know it has as all the features I need."

Centrino is composed of three discrete items:
- The CPU: It has to be a Core CPU designed for the laptop marketspace (back in the day it was Pentium-M processors).
- The chipset. The platform has to be based off an Intel product (such as Montevina).
- The wireless card. It has to be an Intel card that has 802.11b/g and is qualified to work with the chipset it's paired with (such as the classic 2200BG PRO/Wireless card back when Centrino was released).

If it sounds like a lot of marketing, it is. The only difference between buying a Core 2 Duo-based laptop and a Centrino laptop is that the Centrino laptop is advertising better compatibility and a certain base level of wireless connectivity. You can make your own Centrino laptop just by throwing together those three components (Laptop manufacturers have to pay to slap on a "Centrino" sticker).

In the tumultuous world of laptops, the average consumer doesn't really know what they're buying, and Centrino tries to give them a high level of comfort in purchasing any laptop that has a Centrino sticker.

Centrino is exactly like Intel Viiv, but successful.

That aside, there is a new Intel GPU coming out as part of Montevina with, as always, better performance. But don't expect to play Crysis on it. Intel claims twice as high 3DMark06 scores, but I don't believe there are any independent reviews so take that with a grain of salt.

 

yea, thats an integrated chip i'm sure. i guess i wonder if these newer notebooks will have new discrete GPU's. but i guess that's probably up to the company, and what ATI and Nvidia currently have ready. (what are the newest laptops GPU's? ive really only seen a 9500GT, im sure they are coming out with new ones, but are they available? I know Lenovo is going with ATI, but we'll see.)

 

The Intel GPU is integrated. I'm not on top of the mobile graphics space, but I hear the new ATI mobile cards are hot stuff. If you're a graphics-oriented person I would get excited.

Intel is releasing a discrete GPU code-named Larrabee which will probably reach the mobile world in 2009 that is touted as being a big leap forward.

 

then what are the actual benefits of montevina over santa rosa?

 

Better battery life, higher fsb, better memory speeds as a result of higher fsb, better performance overall.

 

I'm scared at the thought of how expensive the new line will be. I hope it'll be expensive enough though so that I can justify my recent purchase of the current line lol.

 

Centrino 2 will require DDR3 memory, which right now is about 3-4 times or more expensive than DDR2.
That will help to justify purchase of current Centrino products in advance of the new line.

Andrew

 

I believe AMD's Puma will harness Intel's prices...

 

The Montevina platform can accept either DDR2 or DDR3. Lenovo's Tx00 series will use DDR3, however.

Those looking for the advantages of Montevina without the initially high prices of DDR3 will be able to find such an option outside the Tx00 line.

 

i feel like they are pushing too much high end technology on us at once. yes, new features are nice, but their entire thinkpad line sounds like it'll be "starting at $2.5k!"

 

Does this mean that they are going to both announce and sell the new laptop on that day? If so, I will be deeply disappointed. I'd like to look at the specs and pricing beforehand. If its overpriced, I'm not going to be able to afford it and might as well get an T61p. However, if I wait to long, I likely won't have it in time for college.

Do yuo guys think that Lenovo will announce the new line (ie. give specs and/or pricing) before that date. If so, when do you think it will occur?

 

That's most manufacturers do, they don't announce and sell on the same day. Lenovo did the same thing last year.

 

Well, thats good news. So, any ideas when it might occur? I know nobody knows the actual date, but do you guys think it will be announced by early to mid June?

 

Might be 2-3 weeks before they roll out the new ones.

 

Lenovo won't talk about the prices or anything. They will just show up on their website.

But you will find plenty of rumors around here to give you an idea of price and configurations.

 

No, they will wait to announce it until a date when they can ship the notebooks within 2-4 weeks of an order being placed. It does no good to announce new models that can't be shipped within that time frame. People don't want to wait more than a month max.

Andrew

 

Are we talking about the same Lenovo here?

 

Yes we are.
They had issues with Canadian orders for awhile (I am not in Canada) and they take a long time shipping X300's, but...

Generally, any company needs to deliver an ordered notebook within 30 days or less. Otherwise, people cancel orders. And yes, I realize that canceling an order can lead to it being shipped that day, either by luck or design.

Andrew

 

I absolutely agree with you. Yet Lenovo is peerless when it comes to extremely long shipping delays.

 

seawolf, where exactly did u hear that the new ATI cards would b "hot stuff"? and are the new thinkpads goign to have thew new ATI cards in them or just the current ATi cards?

 

Oh, drat. Now that you called me on it I can't recall the source. I'll try to dig it up if someone else doesn't come to the rescue first.

 

thx, cause i want to be able to play assassins creed in college..lol

and so far i think 8600m gt and up are the ones that fit the bill. SO hopefully ati will pop out something AWESOME with these new thinkpads

i was dissapointed to hear that lenovo went with ati, but if they have good graphics cards, than great!

 

Yeah, but it sucks for those of us who wish to run Ubuntu Linux on it. I hear that Linux and ATI don't get along all too well.

 

what would be nice would be to announce what is "coming soon" on the 3rd this week. they did the same thing with the IdeaPad U110. then we could know that they are at least going to release "something" as opposed to rumors and speculation. then they could do the full release on the July date. That sound good with everyone? Intel you cool with that? You too Lenovo?

 

I was under the impression that a Centrino notebook also offered better power management. Is that true?

 

Well, it's true but only as a byproduct of the Centrino platform's components.

The Core 2 is required for a laptop to be branded as Centrino, and this is the power saver. If you have a Celeron chip then you lose all the SpeedStep functionality, but if you have a Core 2, you're saving just as much power (for the most part) as with a Centrino laptop.

That's not the most articulate explanation, but I hope it helps.

tl;dr: If you have a Core 2 processor you're getting the same power management as a Centrino-branded laptop.

 

question: as of now, the 570m is the best you can get on a 15"?
how much better can we anticipate the next ATI card to be?

 

I believe Engadget had the scoop. The T500 and W900 (both 15.4") were supposed to have HD3650 card and (I think) integrated HD3200 (or X4500?), similar to Sony's hybrid system. The HD3650 is better than the 9500M GS which is better than the 8600M GT; however, it is below the 8700M GT.

 

9500M GS > 8600M GT, but only when they have the same memory, right?

 

so is the new line supposed to have a hybrid system as well? capable of converting from integrated to dedicated gpu's? Because that'd be a nice feature...especially since battery life is always important these days.

could you possibly look up that specific engadget post for me?

ps - i hate all this specualtion and forum browsing. It sucks up all my free time, im just that nerdy . I need to go into a coma and wake up the day they announce the new thinkpad line specifications.

 

so how does the 'hybrid system' work? ive heard nothing about that before.

and from that original Gizmondo leak:
T-Series (refreshed)
This line will continue to represent the mid-range, featuring 256 or 512MB ATI HD3650 discreet graphics that can be turned off to conserve battery life. We don't have sizes, but the T400 will weight 4.3lbs and the T500 will clock in at 5.8lbs. Shipping starts June 3rd, 2008.
http://gizmodo.com/378504/lenovos-entire-new-thinkpad-line-leaked-x300-gets-siblings

so does that mean they'll both have HD3650's? 256 for the T400, and 512mb for the T500? that would be sweet.

 

Hybird graphics, as your quote implies, means you have an integrated and discrete solution. The discrete solution can be turned off in certain circumstances such as on battery, thus conserving power and using only as much as an integrated chipset. However providing flexibility and more power when you need it, whilst reducing battery life.

 

Yes, I am comparing all the same memory type.

Also, to add to the hybrid thing, while WEI isn't a good true representation of the power of AMD's integrated graphics, here is a preview:

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=13584