Can I get a better deal?

ThinkPad T400
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2) 25W
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64
14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/ LED Backlight, Camera
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with vPro
2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
No Bluetooth
Intel WiFi Link 5100 (AGN) with My WiFi Technology
Integrated Mobile Broadband upgradable
6 cell Li-Ion Battery
7417: 1 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller

Total: $672.43, with tax/shipping: $745.99

Also are the Lenovo built-in cameras any good?

 

That seems pretty good. You could wait and you might save a few bucks, but it seems more likely you lose this one. You can save your cart as quote, then you've got 30 days to wait to see if something better comes along.

I've never known a webcam to be good.

 

thats a great price but i would definitely get bluetooth and maybe up the OS to pro at least. if you use a cam then its a convenience factor otherwise its not compeitive to aftermarket cams.

 

You need more memory and I'm biased toward a larger processor,

Renee

 

The brother just configging with the low cost to ship memory setup. Can get it at Crucial later cheaper.

 

The P8600 is a pretty nice processor. Im not sure what upgrade you can get with it but if you can get a P9500 I go with that instead. I heard its awfully expensive though. And only a 0-11% performance increase with that 6mb cache

 

Only if your maxing the CPU, which most people don't with any regularity.

 

I would downgrade the HDD to 5400 and get a better aftermarket HDD from newegg or something. You can get a 7200rpm drive at 320GB for $70 or 500GB for $100.

I think you can later use the 160GB as an external HDD or just sell it on ebay.

 

160GB should be able to suit my needs, but other than this is there any other reason to buy it separate?

Also my needs don't seem to match up with the extra benefits of win7 pro, I am mostly going to be using it for home use. For what reasons would I need the upgrade to Pro?

It would be nice to upgrade to a better processor like the P9500 with 6mb l2 cache, but the extra cost of $250 seems a bit hefty. I don't even think I am willing to pay an extra $70 to the P8700's slight processor performance.

As far as RAM, I realize I need about 2GB more (4gb total), but I do plan on buying it for cheaper than Lenovo's $65 upgrade price.

one thing I've been having internal conflict over is the jump to the dedicated graphics card...I recently quit playing all games for about 2 months (I felt like I needed more free time), and getting an integrated graphics card would prevent any temptation to play again. Are there any other uses for the dedicated card besides games? I do plan on using an external monitor but I read up somewhere that both the integrated and dedicated cards on the T400 support the same resolutions.

@zaz : thanks for the save your cart as quote tip! I saved about 4 different configurations just incase

ps: If I don't use a router using wireless N, do I need to go for the Intel WiFi Link 5300. Does the 5300 have higher range or something for B/G? are power consumption differences too minuscule to consider

Thanks for all the responses so far! I realize I am being pretty demanding, but I just get too excited when I want to buy a notebook and so far I'm feeling damn good about the T400.

edit: one small last thing- I was considering paying $70 extra for the 9-cell. I told myself I could imagine wishing I could pay $1 dollar to pay for 2-3 hours of battery life over 70 different instances, but then I thought about it and I could only think of one place where I would need more battery life than the 6 cell could provide: Airplane ride longer than 4-6 hours. Can you guys think of any other instance where I might need 7-9 hours of battery life compared to the 4-6 of the 6 cell. Thanks again

 

memory could always be upgraded later with a much cheaper price.

I agree with your opinion on processor. there should be no noticeable difference between 2.8 and 2.4