X200 or T400

Hello All-

This is my first post here after reading about around this site a while (and posting on tabletpcreview.com).

I am currently in Iraq and using the HP tx2000z. For some strange reason I thought I'd be using a tablet PC outdoors while working on the equipment I maintain for the soldiers. While I am enjoying my first touchscreen computer, I now know that it's not the computer I want to bring while climbing into helicopters and Humvee's. I don't think it will last much longer this way. Also, it turns out that there is almost no reason for me to bring the machine out in the elements to the equipment.

I've alway heard about Thinkpad's build quality and awesomeness, and figured now might be the time. For my travels I need a smaller computer with the longest battery life possible. After some thought, I decided that an optical drive is not a requirement. Those things led me to the X200. But, after reading about the T400, I am undecided. Granted, I'd be going from carrying a 12"(the HP) to a 14" computer. But I could live with that if the computer could handle me carrying it. I guess I need to be talked back into the smaller X200 model, and out of the larger heavier T400.

Have the X200's started shipping yet? I've been getting apologetic page errors when trying to configure one.

I've read that the T500's have keyboard flex, does the T400?

 

How about x301?! it's almost as light and pretty long battery life as well. Check this out:

http://gizmodo.com/5037763/lenovo-unveils-thinkpad-x301-with-centrino-2-and-128-gb-ssd

And, our company had bought many T60s, but none of their quality is as good as my old T42. I guess after selling to Lenovo, the very first thing they do is to ruin Thinkpad's quality reputation. I heard X300 and X200 are good in quality, but giving much disappointment with T60s, I may just go for HP or ACER products for much cheaper and acceptable quality.

 

If you like the size and weight of your tx2000, the X200 seems the logical choice. What exactly do you think the T400 gives you the X200 does not?

I haven't seen any of the new T series notebooks so no help there.

 

A couple of comments for the dude in Iraq.

- You don't mention weather price is a factor. The T400 is cheaper than the X200 but the X200 is easier to carry around.

- If price is not a factor, you may want to consider a Panasonic Toughbook. The fully ruggedized ones can cost over $3000 US, but they are built to withstand abuse regular notebooks can't take. Lenovo's are tough, but they don't have dust seals over the USB and other ports to keep Iraqi dust out.
Here's a cool review of the Panasonic CF-30
http://www.trustedreviews.com/noteb.../Panasonic-ToughBook-CF-30-Rugged-Notebook/p1

- You mention batter life is priority. You may want to check out the new dell E6400 (14.1" screen), you can get it with an extra large battery that is supposed to give 19hours of life. I don't know if a similarly large battery is available on the 12.1" E4200.

- Alternatively, since your in Iraq, during a war, you may want to go with a cheap netbook style notebook. These range in price from $350-$500 with 9" or 10" screens. They are also very portable but make sure to get one with a 6cell battery, the smaller 3batteries don't last as long. Asus, Acer, MSI, Lenovo all have netbooks out now, Dell is expected to release theirs soon.

Give us an update when you got time.
Also what branch of the military are you in? Just curious.
Stay safe man.

 

Thank you for all your replies so far.

not_so_creative-

I have read in a few places that the X200 out performs the X300. I could give up the optical drive and extra screen size for that. Thank you for the warning on the build quality of larger think pads. I've read a few mixed results on that.

ZaZ-

I was just thinking that having a full featured machine might be more handy than having a travel machine. But I will likely keep the HP in my room while traveling with the Thinkpad. I'd be going against my reasons for wanting a smaller one with the T400. Basically, I must resist.

gmoneyphatstyle-

Price isn't really an issue below $2500. Above that I just can't justify it for traveling and working here.

It will mostly be used for research while working, movie watching while stuck waiting for a flight or convoy, and network simulations while studying for Cisco exams. I'll benifit from the smaller size of the X200 without a doubt.
I considered the Toughbook line prior to coming here but decided to hold off on spending that much. Having been here a few months, I know that it won't be exposed to being outside like I thought. I may consider a lower end semi rugged toughbook after selling the HP at a later date though.
19 hours of battery life?? . . . I'll check that out now.
I've considered the new line of little laptops. Looks like Cnet is calling them netbooks. While the size is great, I need a little more power.

I am a Navy reservist, but I am here now as a contractor. I work on observation systems that let the soldiers see everything around them, and other systems that let them see far away. Interestingly enough, some soldiers convinced me to take this job.

 

I am thinking the T400 just due to the LED Screen. Its a bit bigger, but with LED WXGA+ you can use it in direct sunlight and get close to 10 hours on a single 9 cell. Not to mention you could add another 3-4 cells and remove the DVD+RW drive. Its also a bit cheaper, but with your budget, that will not matter.

 

The E6400 gives you 19 hrs of battery, if you buy the special battery that cost like 300$ or more and a SSD that goes in that price too.

Kevinjust reviewed the T400, and gives him like 6 hrs 45 min watching movies. With wireless on and at 60% of brightnees, it gives him 10 hrs. I think this is more than enough!

Although, you can buy an extra battery that fits in the ultrabay, BUUUT i think is very hard to see a movie, if you don't have a DVD reader beacuse a battery is were it belongs.

 

For your use: X200 definitively.

T400's advantages:
Graphic card: if you don't game then it's useless
DVD player: you said that you don't care
Larger screen: which is a handicap in your case.

 

The X200 looks pretty nice but personally, I'm gonna wait and see what Lenovo does with the X200s (LED backlight for one!).

 

When are those suppose to be out?

 

vengance-

I have not yet ruled out the T400, but I'm strongly leaning (back) towards the X200. I have a pretty good budget, but cheaper is a factor.

fuanacho-

Battery life is in fact my primary concern, right before weight. Still I'm on the fence falling toward the X200. The DVD player was just a thought, but I know I could shirk a few movies from my collection to the hard drive, and then not carry the disks back and forth.

Sefk-

That's about it. For games, no Settler's or SC2 (when it comes out) without an Ultrabase. But I have yet to do more than work, study, and watch movies while traveling with my current laptop.

The Oatman-

. . . . . . . Might an LED screen be come out for the X200 in the near future?

 

^ Is X200's graphic card good enough to handle SC2? I might jump into gaming again if SC2 releases but I'm not sure how well it will do with external DVD drive and X200's graphic card.

 

Definitively not.

 

. . . . . . Definately not??? . . . . .and the T400? . . .

 

Blizzard's games are well known to be 'playable' on graphic cards that are 1-2 years older than it's release date. And when I say playable I meant low settings in everything.

(WC3 was playable with my nvidia RIVA TNT2 32mb)

The X4500 has a high possibility of being playable if SC2 comes out. Just don't expect too much. The T400's discreet vc could possiby run at medium settings on some if not all....

 

. . . . . Interesting how SC3 made me think heavily about a decision I already made (to go with the X200). . . . no no no . . . . I need the portability and battery life.

 

I saw this question posted by another user with no reply. Will the X200s (with LED screen) be released soon?

I am just about ready to order the X200, but if a newer model is released soon I can hold out for a month or so. Any ideas?

 

It will almost definitely be out in September.. I've been waiting on this one too! I'm hoping it shows up on lenovo.com this week

 

X200
Pros:
Weight
Battery Life
Size

Cons:
No LED
No 25w Processors
No Rollcage! (thou the casing is made of magnesium alloy)
No Ultrabay
No CD-drive
No Graphics

What I'm getting to is that both of them are completely different products. I was in the same delimma when I bought my T400. In the end I decided to go with Performance vs. Portability. But it's a fair trade!

 

A couple of your Cons should be moved to the Pros for the X200.

The X200 not only has a magnesium case it also does have a magnesium Rollcage (see below quote)

Build Quality

"The X200 is a durable ultraportable computer, it features a magnesium-alloy casing on both the top and bottom of the body. To go along with the external mag-alloy casing is an internal magnesium "roll-cage" skeleton that reinforces the overall feel of the notebook, there's little flex to be found anywhere".

Also both processors offered in the X200 are in fact the new 25w processors not the 35w offered in the X61.

 

For what it's worth, s0ldier93, I just placed an order for a x200 right before the employee discount sell ended. I am really excited about though I may cancel it and switch if the latitude e4300 comes out and matches the battery and is around 4 pounds.

The x200s on the other hand does not interest me too much because it's going to have a low performance processor and from what it sounded like to me, you would not want that either. The only advantage is the LED backlight but the battery is already good enough. Anyways, good luck in deciding.

 

The X200 has a very high performance processor. Its intels latest and greatest. At 2.4 GHz it is nearly at the top in performance of any laptop offered today.

The X200 does not have an LED backlight however you are correct its not needed.

 

Although lgt400 already did a comparison, here's my stab at it:
____________________
Pros of the T400
Larger/better quality (LED backlit) screen
Capable of discrete graphics
Capable of T9400/T9600 processors
Optical drive (arguable)
Touchpad (arguable)

Draw
Keyboard size
Performance (Same options, except for the T9400/T9600 processors and graphics card)

Pros of the X200
Centered screen (arguable)
Mobility
Battery life (arguable)
No/less keyboard flex (You could stick in a T60 keyboard into the T400 though)
Better implementation of ThinkLight (arguable)
Legacy stripes on trackpoint buttons! (okay, that's trivial)

I listed several as arguable, which need more explanation.

Not everyone uses their optical drive on a daily basis. I personally don't, because I have a desktop to burn CD's and DVD's. And I'd rather watch movies on a laptop by making an ISO and using DaemonTools to mount the image. No noise from the spinning DVD, more battery life. You could always get an external USB drive, but I'm not too sure if the compatibility would allow booting from a recovery disc. The UltraBase seems like a sure but expensive shot though.

Not everyone uses a touchpad. I prefer the trackpoint, so I have no use for a touchpad.

The off-center screen of the T400 doesn't bother everyone. On the other hand, the thick bezel of the X200 might not bother everyone either.

Battery life seems excellent for both the T400 and the X200, but I get the impression that the X200 is a bit more efficient. I could be wrong, but it would make sense since there's only integrated graphics, no optical drive to power, and less screen to display.

It looks like the X200 has a deeper crevice for the ThinkLight, and I've yet to read a review complaining about blinding the user. I could be wrong though.
____________________
For my case at least, the X200 is perfect for me. It practically beats the T400 in every way. Very few people need a T9400/T9600 processor, and I view this as a business laptop...strictly for business. I have a PS2 for gaming, and emulators have low system requirements anyway. As mentioned, I don't need a touchpad or optical drive. The small screen can be solved by hooking it up to my 20" in my room, where I do all my intensive work anyway (and I'd be working on my desktop PC anyway). It's amazing how little the X200 sacrifices for portability - the keyboard is the same size, and there's no need for ULV processors. In my book at least, the X200 is the winner hands down.

Now, if you don't have a 2nd desktop PC/this is your only computer, I'd definately get the T400 instead. You'd need a complete package (better display, optical drive), which the T400 provides - albeit with more sacrifices than the X200 must sacrifice to provide portability. Good luck making your decision - these both are two fine laptops.

 

My second paragraph talks about the x200s which will have an undervolted processor and LED backlighting.

 

My mistake newskin. Your post clearly has the X200(s) listed. I should have seen that rather than thinking you were talking about the X200.

 

Since the original X200 is the leader (world record holder) for longest battery life in an ultraportable under 4 pounds, it will be interesting to see its crown taken away by simply adding an LED screen to it and lowering the cpu speed making it use less power as well as not to mention it should be lighter because of the LED screen which is another added plus being an ultra-portable. I prefer the extra speed the 2.4GHZ Core 2 Duo gives than anything slower in my opinion, however by simply changing those two features, the X200s laptop should last over 10 hours or more with the 9 cell..