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    Close to purchasing the t500...

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by hax0rJimDuggan, May 23, 2009.

  1. hax0rJimDuggan

    hax0rJimDuggan Notebook Deity

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    ...but I have a couple of concerns.

    1.) 1680x1050. I would prefer to have more screen real estate; however, 1920x1200 on a 17" was too much for me. Is the 1680x1050 on a 15" going to put me in the same position as I was with a 17" high res?

    2.) I play Source games - L4D and TF2. Can anyone comment on playing these at native resolutions?

    Thanks.
     
  2. hax0rJimDuggan

    hax0rJimDuggan Notebook Deity

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    3.) How about the flex issue? Has this been resolved?
     
  3. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    1680x1050 (WSXGA+) on a 15" monitor is roughly equivalent to 1920x1200 (WUXGA) on a 17". WUXGA on a 17" has a slightly higher DPI, though, so things on it will be slightly smaller than on the T500 with WSXGA+ resolution. I would suggest finding a laptop in a store that has a WSXGA+ screen on a 15" monitor.
     
  4. hax0rJimDuggan

    hax0rJimDuggan Notebook Deity

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    I know, man I wish I could see one in person. The only place I can think of is Best Buy but their resolutions are weak.

    Let me put this out there - the t400 seems to be similar in spec. What about a 1440x900 on a 14.1? I'm on a Macbook Pro, 15" @ 1440x900 and it's pretty much the sweet spot. You think 1 inch would make a big difference?
     
  5. cn_habs

    cn_habs Notebook Deity

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    A difference of 1.3 inch in diagonal shouldn't be that much harder to read. It wouldn't be LED though.
     
  6. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    It will make a difference. 1440x900 on a 14" screen (T400) has a bit lower DPI than 1680x1050 on a 15.4" widescreen monitor (T500), so text will be slightly larger.

    I have seen 15" 1680x1050 screens at Best Buy before, so look around. If you really can't find one, a 12" widescreen with a 1280x800 widescreen will have nearly the exact same text size as 1680x1050 on a 15" laptop.
     
  7. hax0rJimDuggan

    hax0rJimDuggan Notebook Deity

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    Thanks, I will do that.
     
  8. hax0rJimDuggan

    hax0rJimDuggan Notebook Deity

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    I pulled the trigger on the T500! My first ThinkPad - I've heard a lot of good things about them.

    I decided to go with the 1680x1050 resolution; I think I'll be fine. I wanted to keep the cost as low as possible for now so I went with the 6 cell. I figure I can always upgrade down the line.

    Anything I should know before I get her in?
     
  9. hax0rJimDuggan

    hax0rJimDuggan Notebook Deity

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    Call me crazy, but I'm thinking that by knocking the font size down in Safari (on Macbook Pro 15", 1440x900 here) would give me an idea of what the text size will look like on the T500 1680x1050.
     
  10. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    You're crazy.