Thinkpad T400 vs Elitebook 6930p

I'm sorry because this is a subjective question . I tried to search but cannot find a satisfiable answer .

I'm going to buy a laptop, and my only candidates are T400 and 6930p. The T400 is brand new, 3 year warranty, and the 6930p is refurbished, 1 year warranty. The 6930p config is higher, and a bit cheaper.

Well, forget about the config, I want to ask some questions:

- Which keyboard is better? Thinkpad's keyboard is legendary, but I heard that 6930p's is a very good one, and even more durable than T400's
- Which screen is better? T400's one is TN panel, instead of IPS on T60. I don't know about 6930p. (In addition, T400 comes with 1440x900 screen, when 6930p comes with 1280x800 only)
- Battery life with 6-cell. On Notebookreview, T400 got a great battery life, one of the best, but on Notebookcheck, its battery life is so so:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-Thinkpad-T400-6474-19G-Notebook.15861.0.html

4h26m with idle mode, which is much worse than 5h53m of 6930p.

My first choice was T400, but now I'm really confused about these questions.

Thank you so much for your help

 

the LCD on the Hp would also be TN.... i am not sure how durable the keyboard is on the HP, but the key feel is not good as the Thinkpads on most accounts.

Battery life depends on the mode it is run under and what the spec is for the different machines.

Personally i would choose T400 for the fact i have lots of parts that is compatible with the machine if it ever needs minor servicing. Also, i dislike HP due to the fact taking it apart to clean the fan is a hassle.

Furthermore, there is more online support for the Thinkpads then there is for HP laptops.

Apart from that i don't think there is major differences between the two.

In the past, the HP laptops always have a noisier fan then the equivalent Thinkpads, and the HP laptops also seem to run slightly hotter than Thinkpads too.

 

What I have found out with both brands is that the Lenovo's are really top notch. About 2 yrs ago Lenovo has nothing in the ball park of HP as far as price / performance. Hp had the best bang for the buck and lenovo was almost 400$ above the Hp's. During this time we purchaed about 5 Hp notebooks. All of them business end designs that actually felt top notch as to what lenovo had. Keyboard and build quality are excellent however I still have yet to see a HP LCD that beats the Lenovo / IBM screens. The HP's seem washed out or less detailed from what I can see.

Reliabilty wise we have yet to have any problems with the HP models we have bought and our Lenovo's as you all know really are great, only minimal problems such as Hard drives and what not. Though these laptops are carried all around the world getting tossed around quite a bit.

 

I've never seen a T400, but my work notebook is an EliteBook 6930p which replaced an HP Compaq nc6220. The nc6220 had a very good keyboard with what I consider to be a standard layout like a ThinkPad. I never had to use a desktop keyboard with it as it felt good enough to type on all day long. I did sometimes use a wireless mouse with it, though.

The EliteBook 6930p made me dig out my IBM USB travel keyboard as I simply could not stand the feel of its keyboard. The keys are very flat, they have a weird-feeling finish to them, keyboard travel is unpleasant and the touchpad is placed where it sits under my left palm in a natural typing position. Even with it turned off, it was annoying me. I've not been able to adjust the pointing stick so that i could control it.

And then there's the random key layout and the runway of blue lights at the top of the keyboard.

Otherwise, the screen, fit and finish are fine. It seems a little heavy for its size to me.

Re lead_org's comment about the HP fan, if there's a fan running in the EliteBook, I can't hear it.

 

I have the same question today for a new work laptop, go figure. Down below are my exact config specs for these two choices. Unlike the OP, the resolution is the same for both at 1440x900. Ignore the pricing on the CDW web links -- it's not a consideration for me as they shouldn't be far off.

I too care about keyboard feel, and layout. Also, battery life appears on paper to be better for the T400, as is the installed RAM type (DDR2 vs 3). I've had two Dells crap out on me recently (an XPS 14" and an Inspiron 15"), due to charging port failing to charge the battery, as well as display/mobo crapping out on the XPS.

1) HP EliteBook 6930p - Core 2 Duo T9600 - 14.1" TFT
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1897715#PO

- 14.1" 1440x900
- Core 2 Duo T9600 / 2.8Ghz
- 4GB DDR2 SDRAM 800Mhz
- 320GB HDD (SATA-300 7200rpm)
- ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450 256MB
- 6-cell battery / 6.25 hrs
- 802.11 a/b/g/n

- Bluetooth
- MMC / SD card reader
- Touchpad + pointing stick
- Fingerprint Reader
- 2 Megapixel Camera

2) Lenovo ThinkPad T400 2765 - Core 2 Duo T9600 2.8 GHz - 14.1" TFT
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1931272

- 14.1" 1440x900
- Core 2 Duo T9600 / 2.8 Ghz
- 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066 Mhz
- 320GB HDD (SATA-150 7200rpm)
- ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 256 MB
- 9-cell battery / 9.8 hrs
- 802.11 a/b/g/n

- Bluetooth
- Fingerprint Reader
- 1.3 Megapixel Camera
- Touchpad + pointing stick

 

This link reviews the 6930p, and compares to Lenovo a little bit.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2332654,00.asp

 

Looks like they shared my opinion of the icky-feeling finish on the keys.

 

I read this, but is this review fair enough?

 

Personally, I really like HP Elitebook keyboards, especially their protective finish (DuraKeys), but Lenovo Thinkpad keyboards also have a nice feel. Both screens are about the same, 6-bit TN panels - luck of the draw on screen makers though (some are better than others). Battery life really depends on the capacity, but if you're comparing WHr to WHr, the Lenovo is more efficient and should pull ahead in terms of battery life.

The memory type really has no effect on battery life for this type of notebook due to the relatively higher power consumption of the screen and GPU. Btw, don't hijack the thread.

 

That finish has a grainy, almost scratchy, feel to me that makes me want to rub my fingertips when I touch it. The pads on my fingertips may be thinner than yours, though, so I feel it more.

 

Whoa, slow down. How did I hijack the thread? I pointed out additional differences between the two, and then I provided a link to a review of both side-by-side. These directly addressed OP's question (and mine). Not a nice way to treat a new forum participant (me).

On a technical note, I wasn't pointing out DDR2 vs 3 for battery life... only the fact that the T400's DDR3 gives it a slight memory-performance edge.

 

Here's another review, this time focusing on the T400, from pcmag.com.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2330567,00.asp

 

I would also consider the new T410 too. It offers incremental but significant upgrades to the T400. Newer processor, centered screen, better battery life, etc. I haven't priced you guys' exact specs out but I'd think you can get a T410 for about your prices, maybe a bit cheaper with the recent coupons being offered. Only caveat may be shipping time...

 

I read the review of T410, and really like it. But it's still too expensive for me to buy. I can't buy directly from lenovo, and tax and ship fee make this model out of my hand.

 

many resellers carry preconfigured T410 models.   where are you located?

 

I live in Vietnam. No reseller has sold T410 yet, and when they sell, the final price I get will be 300-400$ more expensive than the price on Lenovo site. .

 

I've chosen T400 over 6930p, no doubt that was a solid choice.

Tested both of them, right in hands. Forget about the config, forget about price, forget about warranty, T400 gives an outstanding feeling. 6930p cannot stand a chance.

T400's trackpoint, no doubt, surpasses 6930p's. It's much more accurate, and better feeling in use.

6930p's keyboard is now flex at all, and quite silence when typing. T400's keyboard is slightly flex, somewhat annoying with sounds from space key, but has a better feedback on typing. It seduces my fingertips!

Trackpads are nearly the same, but Thinkpad's is somewhat slightly more accurate. Mouse buttons in Thinkpad are more sensitive and have a better feedback.

At last, the place where you hands stop (I don't know how to call it): T400 give much more comfortable feeling. It simply fits my hands. Don't want to leave my hands out of it.

That's why I chose T400. The feeling when you use it, overall, surpasses any competitors, not only 6930p!

 

I own both actually two 6930p and i can't say i agree with all your comments.
It just proves it all comes down to a personal choice.
Enjoy the T400, i know i do

 

, nearly all of my post is about feeling. That's not exactly the same from people to people. But I'm pretty sure that many people here got the same outstanding comfortable and enjoyable feeling when work with a T400.

Your hands will not fool you, - that's what I thought when I choose T400.