HELP !! Which to get E6500 or M4400

Actually, no, they should perform similarly. Also, if you add the fact that nvidia's cards are not "safe" these days, the w500 has an advantage here.

In fact, the W500 and the M440 are almost equal. W500 is lighter, should have a better battery life with the switchable graphic card. The M440 has a less boring look (metal is "cooler" than black plastic), backlight keyboard and a studier "feel".

It's pretty much up to you. Do you want a more classy but boring look, or a more modern look?

IMO, the decreese of quality might not be true. A lot of people are screaming that the newer thinkpads have more flexes, but they ignore the fact that if the case itself do not flex a little bit, then it will be a very good shock transmitter. In other words, if the case don't flex under shocks, then the HHD will take it all.

The phenomena exists in car industry. Modern cars act like a sponge under shock to protect the driver.

In order to verify my claim, we will have to do some crash tests...

 

Your opinion is fair, but it is also relative. How much performance difference does one need before things become different? Based on the graphics chip, the W500 is based off the HD 3650, while the M4400 is based off of the 9600/9700M - which is noticeably faster in several applications. While of course I am only speculating, so are you, regarding the whole nVidia situation. Take everything with a grain of salt. There might have been a larger than normal occurence of failures but it happens with tech companies more often than a lot of other fields.

How do you know the W500 is lighter? The T400 and E6400 real weights are similar, how about T500/W500 and E6500/M4400? I doubt there will be a significant weight difference. The OP said he doesn't need battery life, but sure you might get more and that is always good. In the end, it is up to the OP to decide, all we can do is present how we view the situation.

While I will not perform crash tests intentionally, again, I have used these computers a fair amount and I do feel the quality has diminished. It is not the flex, I never mentioned flex. The keyboard does not have the same great tactile response as it did before. My laptops have gone through a fair bit of wear through work, and the material and build quality is not as good as it was before. Of course, I might be biased since I only have one of each laptop, but it is what I have experienced. BTW, the hard drives have their own shock resistant casing, where the rubber grommits usually absorb most of the shock from a drop.

 

"In the end, it is up to the OP to decide, all we can do is present how we view the situation."
Of course.

And IMO, both laptop are pretty much equal (maybe a little plus for the m4400). So, at the end, only taste and price will decide.

"the W500 is based off the HD 3650, while the M4400 is based off of the 9600/9700M - which is noticeably faster in several applications."
The 9600m is just an overclocked 9500m and the latter is just a 65nm 8600m GT.

There is an increase of performance, but:
1: don't expect too much
2: the user will have to pay for it
3: the card will generate more heat and drain more the battery.

Also, don't forget that the W500 has switchable graphic card.

"My laptops have gone through a fair bit of wear through work, and the material and build quality is not as good as it was before. Of course, I might be biased since I only have one of each laptop, but it is what I have experienced."
Interesting, you might be right here. I have used a couple of thinkpads before, but not for an extensive period so I wont argue too much with you here.