Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Review

About the flex of the new keyboard:

http://lenovoblogs.com/designmatters/?p=228

 

that article suggests an entirely different story than the one described by notebookreview. who to believe?

 

Believe what users are saying who have the T400 and T500 already (saying it has flex).

We have a few diehard Lenovo geeks in the office, Andrew with his X61 (old one was a T43) and me with my T60 and C100. Almost everyone played with the T500 and T400 while they were in for review, and all of us noticed the flex when compared to the older models. We dont really have anything to gain saying it has tons of flex or none at all.

Right now the T400 is going to be the replacement for my T60 (swapping keyboards for sure) so the flex isnt stopping me. It still has many great things going for it.

 

Also many have reported while there is flex now, it does not hindering typing one bit. I for one I am really thinking hard about grabbing a T400 due do its insane bang for the buck.

 

Well, the article was somewhat comforting to me, but, skimming over the comments on it, and taking into account the experience NBR report, I'd say that there is some flex and mush, but it is different than what they are testing. I'm betting that the keyboard has a rigidity similar to or better to the older models, but the solid base on the older ones just gives it that feel when you're typing that makes the difference as far as the classic ThinkPad keyboard.

Make sense? That's my take.

 

Well I'm just going to assume it has some flex. But I also will assume that the flex will not bother me that much, since I have never typed on a ThinkPad keyboard and have not been horribly bothered by the flex on my HP Pavilion laptop that I have right now. And I do think that there is a very large price difference for similarly configured ThinkPad T400s and Latitude E6400s (with the ThinkPad behind the clear winner in that category). Although I like the design of the E6400 more, I'd rather have better components inside than a nice look. eSATA and DisplayPort are not overly important to me. I do like the backlit keyboard of the E6400, but I think that's more for aesthetics then functionality. From what I've read, both laptops are well-made and have a sturdy construction. If I had the money to upgrade my E6400 to the max, I'd buy one. Since I'm just a poor college student, it looks like I'll be sticking with the ThinkPad T400.

That said, I'm still looking forward to the NBR final review of the Latitude E6400.

 

I just recieved my T-400 and I am still setting it up so don't have a final thought but I think that the ones saying it flexes are jummping up and down on the keyboard as there is no flex in any normal use that I can see. It is my first IBM/Lenovo so what do I know.

Roy

T-400:T9600-Ultimate-14.1LED WXGA+,ATI3470-3GB ram-160GB HDD 7200rpm-DVD burner-Blutooth-WiFi5300-4 and 9 cell Batt.4-1 media reader-Blutooth Mouse

 

My T400 is on the UPS truck, awaiting delivery today. It will be exactly 2 weeks from date of order to delivery.

I'm not overly concerned about the keyboard flex issue, but will inspect it out of curiosity. This will be my first thinkpad that I paid for. I was fortunate enough to be issued my first thinkpad when I started working. It was a T42 and I loved it! I remember thinking, at the time, I'd never pay $3K for it though. It ran cooler and quieter than any previous notebook I've owned. However, I wasn't convinced of the "legendary" thinkpad keyboard, it simply got the job done, and that's all I ask. Like a previous poster stated, I'll simply adapt to the keyboard, nothing's perfect and it's a part of life.

It wasn't until all the talk about keyboard flex that I took a closer look at our aging Dell 600M notebook. Of course, the keyboard does flex on the Dell, but only if I type forcefully. Speed typing or under normal use, I've never noticed the flex on the Dell in the past 4 years of ownership. If I continued to type with enough pressure to notice the flex, I'd probably complain more about sore fingers after an hour, rather than the keyboard.

 

My T400 arrived on Tuesday,

I tried to press the Keyboard down and it bends down, although it takes quite a pressure, which i hardly believe would come by normal typing. I only had one Laptop before (compaq Presario) and the Keyboards are very diffrent. I love to type on this one it is very comfortable to me.

I also have the Card Reader and you can bend it down with just one finger...The same where the DVD PLayer is.

Now I am totally happy with my Laptop the big question is how long it will last and whether it was worth the money I spend. But that can only be answered in the future

Thank you very much for all of your help!

P.S. I got the 4 cell battery, but i will get an additional 9cell battery because the sticking out of the battery indeed seems to make no prob.

 

@RDO CA:
The T400 configuration I'm thinking of getting is exactly the same, except for the network card. I was thinking of getting the 5100 instead of the 5300. What sort of advantage does the 5300 have over the 5100?

 

an extra antenna and supposedly better transfer rates

 

It has a higher bandwidth capability --you can read about it on the Intel site
Roy

 

The only thing i hate on this laptop is the asymmetrical placement of the screen. Simply, it freaks me out! ))

 

I thought I would have a big issue with this—and I actually don’t. The truth is I can be obsessive about the little things and like having things symmetrical—and while I do find the screen being a bit off center a bit weird, it hasn’t affected my daily use of it one bit.

 

Spent the weekend playing with my new T400 and installing XP by following Arkit3kt's excellent XP Clean Install Guide...all drivers were available on the Lenovo site for my model...

For prospective T400 buyers, as much as I enjoy the new laptop, it doesn't feel as solid compared to a T42 and, unfortunately, the keyboard "flex" has not been exaggerated by previous posters...i didn't believe it at first, but it literally only takes light pressure on the 'W' or 'S' key to produce noticeable flex...imagine about as much pressure as required to scratch an itch on your arm or face...it really doesn't take much!...that said, it didn't bother me while typing on the keyboard...

The base of the T400 does feel sturdier than our aging Dell 600m, but i'd expect almost any modern laptop to be better built today than 4-5 years ago. It's mostly the thin palmrest and speaker covers that give the unit a cheaper, lesser quality feel...but in all fairness, i expected some cost cutting measures considering the substantially lower price of thinkpads nowadays...am i disappointed, maybe a little because i expect a T-series to exude strength and quality, but for the price, it's still a very good value for the latest tech...wish lenovo included an s-video or hdmi port, but knew that going in... i wonder if, ironically, the R400 will feel sturdier cause I was impressed by the last R61...The LED backlit is great and highly recommended...personally, i wouldn't mind a higher resolution option, but WSXGA+ would be too small...real tangible improvements have been noticeably less heat (Montevina platform with P8400) and 2-2.5x better battery life (using 6-cell w/int gfx) than the old Dell. Some areas of the T400 felt downright cool if only using Word or surfing the net...Sim City 4 gaming with max settings (yes, it's an old game) only produced warm temps from the harddrive (250gb, 5400rpm) and bottom-center of the laptop.

Also used it to do some basic compression of video from a friend's wedding and Windows Movie Maker flew, dunno if it's simply the penryn architecture and higher frequency or some of the new multimedia extensions.

Overall, my wife and I are very satisfied with the T400...compared to our old laptop, a Dell 600m that has served us well, the new T400 is faster, a pound lighter (even with 6cell), produces significantly less heat, has at least twice the battery life (regularly 4 hrs, occasionally 5 hrs), and makes almost no fan noise!

 

Thanks for the review Potstickr.

Although you said you're satisfied with your new T400, your description of it - in particular the keyboard flex and lack of past-Thinkpad build quality - is a concern of mine. If I buy a new laptop, I want it to be good, not just satisfactory. If that means that I have to spend a few extra hundred, I'd be ok with that. I just don't know if I can make the rather large cost jump to the Dell E6400.

 

Any reason 4GB RAM is not an option on the Lenovo site? Seems odd.

 

In terms of the AT&T 3G and Verizon internal WLAN (I hate that acronym; I just wish they would call it Wireless Broadband), does anyone know about the specs on these cards, in particularly the AT&T one? Is it "full 3G"/HSDPA (assuming you are in coverage range), or is limited.

(My best analogy is Sprint's EVDO; their Rev. O was slow (relative), but Rev A. is pretty quick.)

 

I agree, jtan189, ironically i was under the impression that i was paying more for quality...the T400 does have many good qualities (montevina, LED screen, and great battery life), but others considering this laptop should not expect a "tank" nor ultimate durability...probably also why Intel has started issuing HP business laptops to their employees, rather than Thinkpads...don't know if the switch was based on experience with Lenovo Thinkpads or if the decision was made after the contract with IBM ended...

People will be more happy after receiving their T400 if they purchase with the right set of expectations in mind...is the T400 a good value? Absolutely! Does it live up to the Thinkpad legacy of toughness and durability? Time will tell, but the thin plastic palmrests and speaker covers aren't convincing...for the record, I really do like my T400 and still believe it is a better choice than competitor's offerings.

 

Sorry for the multi-post questions...Can you put another hard drive in the T400 using the Ultrabay? Is it is different type than the T61s, etc? or is Ultrabay always Ultrabay (or are there different versions)?

 

Earlier postings have states that 32 bit Vista can only recognize up to 3 gb ram, and the 64 bit can go higher, so it is pointless to have more RAM.

 

Agreed. I have been waiting a long while and dont understand why they cannot make a solid computer w/o this irritating issues. Seems like sloppy work to me by all of the manufactures. HP has heat issues, and their touchpad is off center so the pointer bounces around as you type, the T400 is off center screen and weaker keyboard, Dell is deceptive about the weight of the e6400 and they put in cheesy speakers.
I dont get it; it seems as if they got together and decided to lower the barriers of quality. It is painful for many of us who have a hard time "settling".

 

That's preety stupid explanation. Linux handles much more than 3GB fine and not everyone runs Vista on new hardware, so... Just someone creating options on website had limited mind.

 

I understand 32bit vs 64bit.

It's not pointless - it's very useful. I'm running 64 bit now, and that extra gig is very helpful.

NOTE: I answered my own question - you need to select the 64 bit OS option first, and them 4GB appears as an option. Confusing, as you may want the 4GB but order the cheaper cost OS, because you already have your own copy of the OS (Vista or Linux).

 

Giving this another bump:

Can you put another hard drive in the T400 using the Ultrabay? Is it is different type than the T61s, etc? or is Ultrabay always Ultrabay (or are there different versions)? Only one is listed as an accessory on the Lenovo site.

EDIT - Answer in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=296131&highlight=hard+bay+adapter

 

Hi,

How is the noise level of the fan and hard disk on the T400 ?
In a quiet environement, is the noise noticeable when the HDD is working as well the fan ?

thks

 

****, price went up a little on the Lenovo US site.
I probably will end up getting this (unless I go for the E6400 at the last second). I guess waiting for my student loan to go through will just give me more time to decide. Hopefully the prices will go down not up though.

 

My T400 is amazingly quiet, I almost never hear the fan and the system only gets warm, at worse, instead of scorching hot on our Dell 600m...our T400 is configured with the 25w P8400, integrated graphics, and 250gb 5400rpm hdd.

 

My T400 never get's hot. The other day I was playing Half Life 2 and when I exited the game my CPU was at 55C. The powerbrick only gets warm when gaming.

 

The price did go up a little on USA's T400s. It's offset if you want a Win XP downgrade because XP no longer costs extra. You can order a T400 with 4 GB RAM now too.

 

Yes, I notice the bump in prices....grrr...did not pull the trigger fast enough.

 

Anyone know anything about the student discount for the T400? It seems to knock off a little bit, and anything helps. I'm not sure how one would go about getting the discount though. I'm assuming you would just have to show proof of enrollment at a college or something?

EDIT: the exact amount for the same configs that it knocks off for me is $101.75. Which is pretty nice.

 

Well, giggle all you want, using integrated graphic and all power saving features on, my 2.26 ghz LED backlit OCZ SSD II wielding T400 draws 12W idling, having used the same settings as in the review.

Life is unfair!

 

I'm also debating what type of cpu to get for my T400. I notice that a lot of people are not going with the most expensive option. I'm assuming this is for increased batter life. If I don't plan on doing any intense gaming and my multimedia needs are basically just what is necessary for playing music and movies, what cpu would be a good choice? Also, if I did go with the top option (the T9600), what would this mean as far as performance? Would the benefit be similar to increasing the memory inside a computer (faster processing and loading)? I don't want to cheap out on the cpu, but I also don't want to waste money on parts that I'll never utilize to the max.

 

I had a quick question about screen size and resolution difference between the T60 and T400 in this review. Is the T60 pictured next to T400 provided with 14.1 or 15.4 in 4:3 screen?

 

I would say go with the 2.53ghz (T9500). The 6MB cache is double the other cpus, and you will notice it. The top end 2.8ghz (T9600) is not worth the extra $200.

 

The T60 is a 15" 4:3 model at 1400x1050 resolution

 

You definitely not need 6 MB Cache for playing movies or music!

 

Maybe, but will it improve the overall performance anyways? What I mean is, will I notice the change? According to mikec, I will. Do you disagree?

 

Like i said for playing music, watching movies, normal office and web usage i would save the money and get a cpu that needs less power and stays cooler.

 

What are the temps when you game with the t400?

 

i was wondering if the t400 has a tv-out option in the display settings. can someone check. i know that some laptops can output to tv through vga

 

Quick Question: What is the HD size? 2.5" or 1.8"?

Thanks!

 

2.5", 9.5mm height.

 

Just a quick note on the flex subject - played with a T400 in store yesterday and the amount of flex was quite worrying. Not sure if the bottom was empty or something...

 

I have noticed that some stores remove the ultrabay style optical drives so they are not stolen. If that drive was removed the laptop would have quite a bit of additional flex (even my T60 flexes more with that out and nothing in its place).

 

Ah that would explain it.
would this make the left side also flex, though?

 

Do you known at which stores I can see the laptop in Montreal (Canada )???
Id like to play with them before committing to a buy !!


Thanks

 

how long do you think the battery will last if I add one of these things? http://www.apcc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=358

think it should compete with the lattituted slice battery?

 

I am really curious about how Kevin achieve that low power draw.
"...With the T400 you can reach 9 hours and 41 minutes with the wireless enabled, screen backlight at 60%, and the laptop in integrated graphics mode using only the 84Wh 9-cell battery. In this situation the notebook is only consuming roughly 8.5 watts of power."
However, according to my own experience, I can only achieve 8.6 watts of power draw while turning BOTH wifi and screen, using integrated graphics of course. This really upsets me; my model is 2768-aa6 w/ the difference of cpu (t9400 vs. t9600), HDD (320g 5400rpm vs. 160g 7200rpm) and the screen (ccfl vs. led). Now I've turned off the screen and still can only get to around 8.5 while the t400 in the review can achieve it easily (60% brightness and wi-fi on)... also i doubt it's possible only when you leave that machine idle... When I use this machine to surf net w/ wi-fi and 60% brightness I can only get maximum 3.5 hr out of it, setting the power plan as "Power saver" using Vista's plan (where your CPU clock is locked at 800 Mhz). Therefore I don't agree that we should use "insane" to describe the battery life of T400, which upsets me quite a lot...
P.S. There's no problem with my battery ( 6-cell, full capacity 57.76Wh after 13 cycles, design capacity is 56.16 Wh)