Time to replace my 7 year old T400... advice?

Hello all, I'm still using a T400 that I purchased summer of 2009. Yep, it's 7 years old! Based on previous advice from these forums, I installed 8 gb of ram and a 250 gb ssd. The laptop has been working well for home use, but in the last few months I've been having issues with both CPUs maxing out at/near 100%. Initially I thought it was a problem with my Win 7 install, so I reinstalled the disk from an old image I had. The machine worked OK for about a month, but the problem has started again, making it sometimes impossible to use the machine (I usually have multiple instances of MS Word, Acrobat, statistics programs, Chrome open at the same time). I'm not sure what is causing this, maybe updates to Win 7 and the machine is struggling due to its age (I have checked for malware/viruses etc.).

So I'm thinking it might be time to upgrade. I haven't been following Lenovo in the last number of years. Can anyone tell me what machine is their current replacement for a T400 (see my current specs pasted below)? Or would anyone suggest a different Lenovo laptop that is intended for work, but might me more portable etc.? (I use it mainly at home, but have found the T400 to be heavy and bulky when I travel with it.) Also, is Lenovo still offering the same kind of Friends and Family discounts that made their machines so attractive 7 years ago?

Also, if possible I'd prefer something that can run dual external monitors - not sure if that's possible for a laptop(?)

My work laptop is a Dell Latitude E7450. It's well built like the T400 and feels solid when typing, etc. But I really haven't used the machine much, I have a desktop in my office and the T400 at home that I often use. The E7450 is smaller and great for travelling though. I'm considering possibly getting one of these instead of a Lenovo proiduct. Can anyone comment on how the E7450 compares with the Lenevo offerings?

Here are the specs for my current T400:
Intel Core2 Duo T9600 @ 2.80 GHz
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 Series
Mobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family
AMD M82XT Hybrid 256MB
9 cell battery
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Intel WiFi Link 5300
With camera
T400 WLAN/WWAN Antenna
14.1 WXGA+ TFT w/LED BL
Exp Card & Smart Card Slots
Integrated fingerprint reader
160GB drive, 7200 rpm
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (2 DIMM)
Modem
DVD recordable
I also have 2 of the advanced mini-docks for it


If anyone has any opinions, I’d really appreciate it! Thanks!

 

Most modern notebooks should be able to run three LCDs. The E7450 is a solid notebook backed by a three year NBD warranty. They also can be had dirt cheap in the Dell Outlet with coupons. Personally, I would say the keyboard and stick on the T450s are better. Plus, the T450s can do a hard drive and SSD, which is a nice option. You can usually get a refurbed T450s on eBay for around the same price as a E7450, maybe a little less. I guess you'll have to decide which is more important. I'd probably have a T450s, but I use my notebook so little these days it's not really worth the cost to upgrade and I got such a great deal on the Dell.

 

The T460 and T460s (thinner, faster SSD, non-removable battery) would be the obvious successors to the T400. You might also look at:
Yoga 460 (it folds over and has a touchscreen),
X1 Carbon (14", very thin laptop),
X1 Yoga (an X1 Carbon with touchscreen).

My girlfriend is actually still using my old T400, and she's looking at either the "460 Yoga" or "X1 Yoga", since she's interested in a 2-in-1 tablet.

 

Thanks for all the help everyone! After some reading, I think I'm going to go with a T460. It's a great price, especially since I will install my own RAM and swap in my existing 256 gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD.

I do have one question - I can configure the following two options for the same price, but I'm not sure what the difference is? The "No vPro" is the default.

Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC(2x2) 8260, Bluetooth Version 4.1 No vPro
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC(2x2) 8260, Bluetooth Version 4.1 vPro

Can anyone tell me the difference between these two options?

 

vPro is for remote control / administration. Large organizations use it most.

Also, just my 2c: I'd highly recommend getting the FHD IPS screen with the T460. The extra $50 or so is well worth the improved display.

 

Thanks wesmain! I was planning to get that screen, just need to decide if I want to get the touch version or not. I wouldn't use it a ton as I'm usually plugged into external monitors... but my work laptop has a touch screen and find it convenient for flights (I can hardly get my hands on the mouse in those tiny seats!)

 

In regards to your T400. I still have a T400, using it right now. Upped it to 8GB RAM, and put in a SSD. I would recommend pulling the heat sink, cleaning off the Thermal Paste, and redoing it. I used Artic Silver, both the paste, but also the cleaning solution. Read up on tinning the heat sink first. Since I did that, my system runs great. 7 years is a very long time on the original paste. It is a piece of cake to do. Just search for the T400 Service Manual.

I too use the 7450 at work, 128GB SSD, 16GB ram, and it is a great system. I do however really like Lenovo as a brand, and would have to recommend them.

Best of luck with your T400. I would hold on to it. It is a good solid work horse.

 

Yeah if it is overheating and throttling back, may need to look at cooling. I still use a T500 at work as secondary machine and T61p at home and they don't ever feel bogged down.

You can find this out by running HWInfo64

I did recently find a T510 at work that was running too hot and throttling down, it was sluggish. Fixed by swapping in a cooler and reapplying the thermal paste.