t 500 display options

new to the forum

i'm planning to get a t500 for college. i want a 500 just becase that it has a better GPU for those occasional lan games and that a 6 cell doesn't stick out fo the back, makes it a lot easier for carrying in backpack.

but the problem i have with it is the lack of a higher res LED screen. i heard that lenovo might update the option so i can wait a bit, and that windows 7 will be upgradable if lenovo chooses to participate in this program.

but if no more option arises, should i get a lower res LED or a higher res CCFL, for those that has had experince with both of them, which one seem to be better for the money.

ooorrrrr....should i get a t400 a smaller screen and lower res LED, but i guess there goes the lan parties

i'm gonna be using it mainly in class and dorm...obviously and maybe outside, i'm use to a 1440 on a 19 inch, so i don't want to stray too far from that feeling.

how is the battery life of the t400 compared to the t500 for a 6cell?
and did lenovo update the keyboard for the t500 to get rid of the flex?

also one more thing, can the hard drive of the t500 be replaced with a 3gb/s drive or is the 1.5gb/s the max speed.

thanks

 

From what I've heard, the T500 LED screen is not that much brighter than the CCFL screen. I would opt for the WSXGA+ CCFL screen, as it provides significantly more screen real estate. But, if you like the large text, as in WXGA+ resolution on a 19" monitor, you may want to opt for the WXGA LED option anyway.

Depending on what types of games you play, the T400 may be enough. It can actually run Crysis on lowest settings at a playable framerate.

The T400 will have a longer battery life, due to the smaller screen (and availability of an LED option, if comparing to the WSXGA+ CCFL).

Yes, Lenovo did update the keyboard to eliminate the flex. Some users have reported no flex, while others have said that some still exists on the left side.

 

thank you very much for you quick reply

that helped me a lot, i think will go for a higher res cf if lenovo doesn't come out with a higher res led.

btw, how much more battery life would the t400 have over the t500, just a guesstimate.

 

I can only say from a 9-cell, I do not have personal experience with a 6-cell, although it should be roughly scalable.

With my 9-cell battery, I can stetch out a little bit over 8 hours of battery life on my T500 with the WSXGA+ CCFL display. A T400 with a WXGA+ LED display on a 9-cell can squeeze out over 9 hours, assuming both are running integrated graphics and running at close to minimum brightness.

My review (link in my signature) of the T500 has some more details, as do Kevin's official reviews for the site.

 

thanks a bunch

and it seems that UK has a the high res LED option...hopefully, it will come to the US market.

 

Could you provide a link or a picture. I've never heard of a high res LED screen on the T500. Thanks.

 

They can't because it doesn't exist.

 

my bad, it's the + LED on the t400 not the t500. i guess it's like the canada site.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...000076:&smid=B57A7B9D8E61436E99229D3B59391C53

here is the link if

 

I can't say for sure how LED is on ThinkPads but I did just come from LED on a Macbook Pro; now using a T500.

Not involving gaming (cause I'm not familiar with the T400's abilities), strictly from a screen perspective you need to ask yourself what is more important:

Brighter screen
-OR-
Higher resolution


I was in a similar spot between the T400/T500. For me it came down to wanting a higher resolution. If that isn't important to you, then at least from a screen perspective, the T400 would make better sense.

 

If it is going to be your only PC at school then go for the t500. The only reason I went with a t400 is because its my mobile rig, and if I need a high res screen and better gaming power I have my dell. But if I didn't have the dell then a higher res then wxga+ and more powerful graphics card then the 3470 would be necessary even though I don't game too much.

 

i guess another way to look at it. i'm running a 1440*900 on my 19 lcd, i'm fairly use to it, and wouldn't mind it the way it is. how would that compare to 1280*800 on the t500. would everything be bigger or smaller, or the same size.

 

I run a 1440x900 on each of my 19" lcd's at work and I come home to my T500 at 1680x1050 and I have no complaints either way. I don't notice a difference, you just get used to each being different. I would say everything would be about the same size on the 15.4 at 1280x800, maybe a little smaller.

If you're still debating between a 15.4" LED backlit with wxga or a wsxga screen with ccfl backlighting, get the higher resolution screen. I can honestly say its plenty bright, and I don't see the need to go for anything brighter.

Plus the higher res screen is perfect if you ask me, for a 15.4" screen. If you've never seen it, you won't know what you're missing.

 

1440X900 on a 19" LCD is more pixilated in the same settings than than a 1280X800 15.4" screen. That is, the same images would be bigger (and less dense). But it is up to the software and the user to configure a particular screen to the software and for their viewing. All other things being equal, a less pixilated screen should always be clearer than a more pixilated screen - i.e. higher PPI should always beat a lower PPI - but some programs are difficult to configure properly for HD, and many web sites are designed for low-density screens, whcih are much more "popular". The other thing to consider is how far you will be from a screen - many think a 15.4" WUXGA is impossible, as they have seen it on only a 24" screen, but most people sit a lot futher from a desktop screen than a laptop screen (just as one sits further away from a TV than a computer screen on one's desk). Watching a video on my 15.4" laptop on my lounge table is the same size as experienced from where I am sitting as a 50" TV screen several feet away near the opposite wall. I think that you will find a 1280*800 15.4: screen very similar to a 1440*900 19" desktop. Easily readable, needing little software adjustment; standard lowish resolution, but better than basic. The 19" screen is around 89 PPI, the 15.4" is 98 PPI. To put them in perspective, a WSXGA+ 15.4" LCD screen is around 128 PPI and a WUXGA 15.4" 147 PPI, WUXGA 17" is 133 PPI, and WUXGA 24" (a increasing standard desktop screen now) is 94 PPI.

 

i'm contemplating getting a LED wgxa instead of the one with higher resolution, if the resolution would be similar. looks like it will be the same...actually even better.

ohh another question was concerning the harddrive, would a 3gb/s harddrive work in t500 or is there a 1.5 limit and the 3.0 won't be fully utilized.

and looking on the lenovo website, it says that the t400 includes intel anti theft but the t500 doesn't. does this just mean the lojack (or another company) hardware track is pre-installed or does it mean that it's using another technology that is controlled by intel, in another word, do i still have to pay extra to use this feature...like buy the yearly subscription.

thanks a lot guys..

 

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