Buying T500 Today, Need Help with Specs, ASAP

I'm buying a Lenova T500 today with the sale. Ends pretty soon, so I want to purchase. I want to keep costs as low as possible, yet have a really good configuration that I won't have to upgrade for awhile. Please help ASAP!

I use my computer for office work, Office Applications, and light Website Development, flash, aftereffects. Photoshop. Lots of surfing the internet. Occasional Movies, Photos, etc.....No Gaming. I multitask a lot though.

What's the best way to configure?

THanks!

 

I would get the elite - it has the T9400 processor and motherboard, which gives you 3MB more L2 cache, which is nice if you are multitasking - you might also want to get 3GB of RAM (4 if you run Vista 64 bit), as it helps the compy breath more. Other than that, there isn't much more to decide upon - though I recommend getting the 7200rpm HDD because it works faster than the 5400rpm in terms of loading. You can't change video, sound, etc...so overall what I just recommended should do the trick!

 

Elite looks nice, but I want to bring down the cost. Is the higher processor necessary? And, should I just buy the lowest memory, and upgrade myself for cheaper?

 

No! Thats horrible advice. Get the lowest processor. 2.4ghz i think.. I do web dev, photoshop work and some gaming and never max it out..

I got the 2 gigs of ddr3, and with vista32, photoshop cs2, and deamweaver 8, I have 2/3 of ram used and no swaping. So you will be ok with 2 if you want to wait for the ram prices to go down some more. If you have the money, go for more, but not required...

What ever you do, do not skimp on the dvd burner like I did.. It takes forever to burn your factory install disks if you want it on media and not just the hard drive partition. (I think it was like 7 cds..)

Plus it makes it easy to do a second backup after you get all of your programs setup and installed... or a year down the road or whatnot.. (Which took me like 20 cds, so I wont be doing that very often.)

I just love to know I have an image of all of my software configured and ready to go so my ftp accounts are all set and brushes are loaded into photoshop.

6 cell is fine. it gives almost 4 hours of battery.

5100 is fine..

I didnt get blue tooth I mine either.

I did go for the 7200rpm hard drive because its the bottleneck 99% of the time. Would do you much better than a better processor..

I did go for turbomemory 2 for the $50 though.. I figure any thing that helps the hard drive out is good... and it has gotten better reviews than the first gen.

 

get the p8600. i dont think the jump to t9400 is worth it
2gb of ram(1 dimm stick) if you need more you can just upgrade later
i would also get a 7200 rpm drive
integrated graphics card
6cell
5100
and get the best lcd since you will be starring at it a lot

 

high rez lcd is a must for web development.. If you cant see well, your not going to be happy with it though, because it will look a little blurry if you back it down.

 

thanks everybody, keep the input coming. which of the screens should i choose that are lenova choices?

 

I am happy with my 15.4" WSXGA+ TFT, w/ CCFL Backlight

The lower res is not enough working space..

 

My advice-

Go with the T500 "Enhanced"
For the O/S- Windows Vista Business 64-bit
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) CCFL display
Memory- choose the 2GB (1-DIMM)*
Fingerprint Reader- your option
Webcam- your option
Hard Drive- choose a 7200rpm hard drive
Bluetooth- your option
Intel Turbo Memory- unnecessary with 7200rpm hard drive, IMO
Wireless- Intel 5300AGN wireless card
Broadband- be sure to check the first option "Integrated Mobile Broadband Upgradeable" to subtract $30, unless you want the AT&T or Verizon card
6-cell Battery (unless you really need longer battery life. the 9-cell is over-priced, bulky and heavy)

*Memory- as noted above, order the 2GB (in 1-DIMM/module) leaving the 2nd memory slot open. Then order this for $37.99 (after rebate) and you'll have 4GB installed, which Lenovo would charge you another $140 to do!!!- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227348

 

If you are comfortable swapping the hard drive and repaving, you can save money by getting the cheapest hard drive from Lenovo and then installing something like this.

 

CPU

I'd say go with the best cpu you can afford because is the part that will most likely hamper the notebook usability on the long term and you will not be able to change it in three or four years.

Memory

Like someone already said buy 2GB in 1DIMM if you want more get it from somewhere else like newegg.

Disk

Between two hard drives of the same size I would say invest in the faster one (7200rpm). However between a 200GB-7200rpm HD and the 320-5400rpm I would select the larger one because when you start running out of space (and you probably will before the end of life of the notebook) you'll start to move one file from one place to the other and think about buying programs to sync folders...I hate this and I normally don't think about upgrading my computers but save to buy new one altogether.

Battery

Think about what you really need. Because buying a battery as a replacement part is really expensive.

Graphics

No gaming?! no more advice for you mister!!

On a side note the same configuration will vary in price when entering to the configuration options through each of the four base configurations in lenovo's page so try them and see wich one gives you the best price.

 

I'm sorry this was left out

Screen

If you don't have good vision then I'd recommend a WXGA LED screen. A WSXGA+ screen will have a really small text when used at is native resolution and standard windows size fonts. However higher resolution will let you multitask much better because you can have more things on the screen. This is a very personal choice. I chose the WSXGA+.

 

My T500 choice matrix.
If emphasizing battery runtime:
P8600 and 9 cell battery
No Camera, No Bluetooth, No Wide area network card

If emphasizing plug in runtime:
T9400 and 6 cell battery

I got the default hard disk. You can get a 320Gig 7200 rpm drive from new egg for around $75.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&SubCategory=380&N=2010150380

I also got 2 Gig in 1 DIM, I got another 2Gig in 1 DIM from newegg. Cost about $45.00.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...E&N=2010260381 1052939102 1309121116&name=2GB

WXGA LED screen, I prefer the larger text. I agree with batmodem, screen is a personal preference, for me the higher resolution text is too small.

I got the DVD burner and the Intel 5300 wireless card.

I am running XP and plan to use the ATI card when plugged in and the integrated X4500 when on battery power.

 

CPU - P8600 is fine, and will probably provide a little better battery life. However, if the price premium for the T9400 is small, you may want to consider that (extra Cache can help). Edit, I just checked the prices and the T9400 is NOT $100 better than the P8600. If you are in no rush, the P8700 may be an option, but I know very little about this chip.

6 cell is probably enough, but if you want to work frequently in places that don't have an outlet handy (e.g. planes, trains, and automobiles), the 9 cell is worth the upgrade.

1680x1050 CCFL. Resolution is very important for development, Photoshop, and Multi-tasking, and this should be bright enough (if you must have LED, then drop down to the T400 w/ a 1440x900 screen).

You probably don't need a camera, bluetooth, or WWAN card (but they can be nice if you have a use for them e.g. videoconferencing, tethering a smartphone over bluetooth for instant WWAN, or pulling the SIM from same phone and putting it in an AT&T equipped laptop [saves your phone's battery]).

If you want to save some money and are compfortable doing upgrades yourself. Get a single DIMM from Lenovo ( 1GB if using 32-bit, 2GB if using 64-bit) and pop in a 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 module yourself. Buy the cheapest hard drive available (probably 80GB 5400RPM) and get the drive of your choice aftermarket. Either a 320GB 5400 RPM drive for ≈$60, or a 320GB 7200RPM for ≈$90.

I have the Intel Wi-Fi 5100 and think it works just fine. The 5300 has more antennas, but I have not seen any real world difference of this. The standard 802.11BG card will probably also work, but I think the 5100 is worth the small price difference.

Graphics - If you don't intend to game, you can probably get by with Integrated graphics (Intel x4500). This is more than enough for Vista, video playback, et. al. However, if you run desktop applications that are GPU acclerated (e.g. Solidworks, Maya, etc.) you should get the W500 instead (it has a workstation GPU and will be MUCH FASTER, it also offers a 1920x1200 screen if you have great eyesight).

Use your OS of choice, but I would recommend Vista Business 64-bit w/ a XP Pro Recovery DVD (included in price). This will give you the most options and futureproof your laptop better (I think CS4 is 64-bit already, and this is the only way to use >3.5GB of RAM).

 

For processor, definitely get the P8700. At the moment, it is the same price as the P8600, and runs at the same clock speed as the T9400, at a lower TDP. Note that it will delay your shipping 3 weeks or so.

For the T500 monitor, I would recommend the WSXGA+ monitor.

For RAM, I advise you to get 2GB in 1 DIMM, and then add 2GB yourself later (so get Vista Business 64-bit, so you can fully use 4GB of RAM if needed in the future).

I advise you to get the 7200rpm hard drive, but that's pretty much up to you - you might want more space.

TurboMemory is unnecessary, and will not really help performance.

Some people have reported problems with the Intel 5100 card, so the 5300 card is probably a better choice.

As for battery, I would choose the 9-cell, but it is a matter of personal preference.

 

The 5100 and 5300 are effectively the same except for the antennas, so I doubt that any problems that people have with the 5100 (I have had none) would be fixed by the 5300. Check out this thread on the 5100 vs. 5300.

Upon further inspection. The P8700 does look like a great deal (2.53GHz, 3MB L2 cache [Lenovo's site is wrong], 25W TDP). The only question here is how soon do you need your T500.

 

I would get the cheapest os you could. No need to furture proof the os when you are gonna upgrade to windows 7 soon anyway... If you go ultimate you would probably get a discount on 7, but not enough to make up for it..

I will never use 1920x1200 on a 15incher for web dev.

my 2 cents.

 

The T500 does not have the option of a 1920x1200 monitor. Its highest resolution is WSXGA+, which is 1680x1050.

 

I don't know about any problems with either, but I have read several report that claim better performance/connectivity out of the 5300. It must be the extra antennae.

 

while you are at it , check the lenovo outlet. they have some good deals on the t500. saves u all the choices you have to make

 

No it doesnt, but the post I answered was talking about the w500.

you should get the W500 instead (it has a workstation GPU and will be MUCH FASTER, it also offers a 1920x1200 screen if you have great eyesight).​

 

corsair 2gig ddr3 ram for 50 bucks at newegg. get it while its hot

 

You can get a single 2GB stick of G-Skill or mushkin DDR3 for $39.99 each at newegg right now.

 

"repaving" ?

 

Yes 'repaving'. His use was a little on the funky side but in an odd way correct
because to do a really good job you'll want to remove the paritions in which all this is stored. There's no reason to keep them on disk IF you start from a scratch disk.

Renee