U330 vs T400 - build quality

Hi all. I am contemplating a 13ish" sized laptop. The ones I´m looking at (now!) are the U330, T400, E6400, NP7220 and the NP7350. I ruled out the F6ve-B1 because of how "cheap" the construction feels compared to my other options.
What I want to know from you guys is how does the U330 holds up against the T400 in terms of durability and sturdiness. How much longer "should" a T400 last under normal use/abuse? I want a solid built laptop, like the T400 seems to be from what I read, and I want to know if the U330 is anything like that. Also, if anyone has experience with the Sagers I mentioned (especially the 7350!) against the Lenovos, please pitch in!
Thanks a lot in advance!

 

The T400 will shatter the U330 in build quality.

The Dell would be compariable and the Sagers I have no idea about but from what I have read about them they have smallish keyboards and poor battery life.

 

Thanks clutch! That shortens my list! I´m almost crossing out the NP7220 as well, since it doesn´t have the aluminium palm rest of the NP7350 and just doesn´t look as solid as the 7350. But they both are made on the Clevo´s, so they must be well built like the T400´s.... anyone else has something to add to this?

 

As much as I hate to say it, I think the Latitudes, especially from the outlet, are better than the ThinkPads and offer better value than any other notebook being sold right now, when you consider the total package - the build quality, longer warranty, return policy, etc. There are a few areas where the T400 would be better like the keyboard or if you want a better GPU, but if you just want a all-around notebook, the e6400 is the real deal. If I were in the market for a notebook, that's were I'd be looking.

 

That being said I am not a fan of the E series keyboards. Also the U330 should be fine with basic use, but how often are you mobile and abusing your laptop?

 

I have done a fair amount of work on both a T400 and an E6400. The T400 has the Samsung LED backlight, so the E6400 easily has it beat in screen quality. Both systems get great battery life when on integrated graphics. The T400, however, has the switchable graphics option, which is a major plus. Honestly, the build quality and ergonomics of the T400 are far superior to that of the E6400. The touchpad and associated buttons on the E6400 are absolutely terrible. I feel like I could work comfortably and efficiently on the T400 all day.

 

I've only seen one T400 and it was solid like every ThinkPad I've used. I take my observations about the e6400 from the Mods here who have e6400s and they seem to like them quite a bit. I'm guessing their opinion about the build quality of the e6400 would differ markedly from yours. The GPU only has value if you want/need it. Believe it or not, some people don't want the discrete GPU.

From a value perspective I think the e6400 does offer better value than the T400. They start around $550 in the Dell Outlet, which is cheaper than you can get a T400 even from the Outlet. You can even get a occasionally get a coupon, which makes it better. You get a LED out of the box at no extra charge. Three year warranty standard with $99 upgrade to on-site. You get good quality, though there's room to differ here. Dell's business support is pretty good. You can return it without paying a 15% restocking fee. Sure, there are areas where the ThinkPad is superior like the keyboard, honestly my R60's keyboard was handed down from God himself, or the GPU. ThinkPads are still good notebooks, but when you consider the total package, I think the Dell is better. Just cause I'm the Lenovo Mod doesn't mean I'm going to kiss their hiney. There's always room for improvement.

 

I use an E6400 everyday, and the ergonomics of the machine need improvement. Aside from the addition of the middle scroll button for the trackpoint, the ergonomics of the D630 are better. Because the E6400 is designed for its looks over functionality, the left button for the touchpad is very awkward to press. You have to rotate your wrist awkwardly to press it due to the sharp edge of the laptop. The T400's counterpart is contoured to the natural curve of the machine. Little things like this make a big difference when it comes to productivity.

As to your comment about the GPU, the E6400 I use has integrated graphics and I prefer it that way. The machine has great battery life and can do most tasks quite well. The T400 has it beat in this category though with the switchable graphics.

 

Again that's your opinion, which is completely valid, but the comments I've heard about the e6400 have been very positive. I think there's room to disagree. If you spend any time there, you'll know T400 users are not always enamored with it either.

 

I definitely agree with several of your comments, ZaZ. Overall, the Dell Latitude E-series is a very very good value, and if I had no need for a discrete graphics and a WSXGA+ screen, I might well have gotten an E6400.

As for the U330 versus the T400, I have heard that the U300 has near-Thinkpad build quality, and will be an excellent choice as well.

 

I can attest to the U330 excellent build quality. It's sort of like a good-looking R-ThinkPad. The screen isn't reinforced, but the main chassis is. And it has a Chicony keyboard without the TrackPoint, and with a different color scheme. But it's a ThinkPad keyboard nevertheless (almost).

The U330, price-wise, is a very nice deal (saw them recently for 900 bucks on Amazon). Powerful, and with a dedicated video card when needed, also has consumer features like an HDMI port. Also one of the best standard-style touchpads I have had the pleasure of using - knowing how to set it, I can get great battery life out of it, too.

It's really sturdy, well-built, and well thought-out (port-placement, easily-accesible HDD) - plus features like the recovery partition and the APS really make it attractive to ThinkPadders who don't want to spend so much. The only un-sturdy thing is the display - it is a little bendy, but that's thanks to how amazingly thin it is. Oh, and it's glossy, edge-to-edge - but not as glossy as the Macbooks, as it's thin plastic. The display itself is very nice if you calibrate it. It's no Eizo IPS panel, but it's good quality, and the LED backlight sorta kills the gloss. I use it at the second-lowest brightness settings (lowest being basically off) and that's enough most of the time... at max, it's a lamp whose whites makes your white shirts look gray.

Definitely a recommended computer. Don't expect a T, but for that kind of price...

 

For the most part, there's no Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM) available for ideaPads like there is for ThinkPads (I think the S10e is the only exception), and there are very few Customer Replaceable Unit (CRU) parts. That should tell you something.

 

I'm a fan of thinkpad,
But I still agreed ZzZ, buying dell E is the best choice for now on


dell gave you 3 year warranty, and plus 20% coupon.

Even the return is not that great as I tried. ( very hard to do it)

But I'm still very happy with my e4200!!! Recommend!

 

but if you want to buy a brand new dell E , I will say nonononon.

I got the e4300 black, it like a plastic cheap toy, close to acer, feel cheap.

But e4200 blue is like made up by glass fiber, feel much better.