Final Questions before ordering T400

Ok so I think I am going to order me a T400 for school tomorrow, but I have some questions

Flex: Will I be able to buy a replacement keyboard that has NO flex? Also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY5Qpq1UUZE

I don't want this laptop if it does that

Also which monitor should I go with. I don't need a camera and I want to be able to take this outside and use it.

Will it last me 4 years?

I tried a R61 out, didn't like the plastic but I could live with it, how similar are the two builds?

The video card can run L4D correct?

Also please give me honest opinions. If you get paid to recommend and represent Lenovo, please don't just say "it is the perfect laptop without any flaws"

 

Technically, the flex issue should be resolved through a chassis support tweak. If it still bothers you when you receive your laptop, you can contact Lenovo support and should be able to obtain an older stiff-backed T61 keyboard. At the absolute worst case, Lenovo refuses to give you a T61 keyboard no matter how hard you beg - you can still order a T61 keyboard for a small cost from some other website.

I would go for the WXGA LED or perhaps the WXGA High-nit LED (brighter, but more expensive) if you plan to use the laptop outside a lot. It will be more outside-usable and use less power than a CCFL display, at the cost of a higher resolution option (WXGA+ CCFL).

Yes, it should last you a good 4 years or more. Of course, with all laptops, part of that is chance.

The case is very similar. Same plastics, but quite a bit thinner than the R-series.

Yes, the ATI 3470 will run L4D.

As with all laptops, the T400 does have its flaws, but I feel it is a great laptop overall. Its battery life is unbeatable in its class, and its durability is great.

 

its the perfect laptop for me. lightweight, cool and quiet, powerful...

only thing that isnt great is the quality of the camera and the size of the trackpad. if the trackpad was larger and the camera was higher res. this would be the perfect laptop.

 

I dont agree with what that person in the youtube video is doing and calling it as flex. With the optical drive in place you wont be able to produce that much flex. I have one of the early model T400's with the new keyboard and unless you pound the keyboard while typing the actual flex while using the laptop is minimal. Yeah, its not as non-flexy as the T60/61 but its not as bad as people seem to indicate in these videos where they intentionally push to produce the flex.

If you are expecting a zero flex laptop in any circumstances then you might want to look somewhere else.

 

That video is pointless. The material used in any notebook is essentially plastic.. and plastic will bend no matter what. The dvd drive is not meant to be taken out with nothing there to replace it.

If I had a choice for outside use.. i'd go with the high nit display. The R61 is big bulky and feels cheap compared to the classic thinkpads. I would not base ur opinion of thinkpads on that model.

if you plan on gaming and want to play with med-high settings i'd try shooting for the t500 instead. gpu is twice as better but it will weigh a ton and battery life is very short compared to the t400.

 

The 14" R and T are nearly the same machine construction wise, with the T being slightly thinner and lighter. You'd be hard pressed to tell them apart from few feet away. Unless you want WWAN or the GPU, the R offers better value in my opinion. The 15.4" models are more divergent. The R is a bit clunkier in my opinion, but still a good notebook.

 

Not really true - the weight difference definitely can be significant, but the battery life difference is not as big as you make it seem.

With a 9-cell, I can get ~8 hours of useable time out of my T500 with the switchable graphics set to integrated Intel MA (with a WSXGA+ CCFL screen; with the LED screen you can likely get even more time). With a 9-cell on the T400, you can potentially get ~9 hours. Therefore, there is about a one hour battery life difference, but I would hardly call 8 hours "very short."

On the other hand, if you're gaming with dedicated graphics while on battery, you can burn through the 9-cell in under 3 hours, depending on how intensive the game is.

 

Three hours isn't too bad. It used to be while gaming you measured your battery life in minutes, not hours.

 

The R61 with a 15.4" screen are definitely not of the same build class as any T4x, T6x, and Tx00 i've seen. I'm sorry but I really have to disagree. You may be right about the 14" R models being identical as the T series but I've had first hand experience with the R61 and they're.. to put it bluntly, feel cheap.

According to Lenovo's tech specs the 9 cell on a T500 can get 6.4hr while the T400 on the same 9 cell can get 9.8hr. A 3.4hr diff is pretty big to me but again, this is just an estimation by Lenovo and i'm sure they wouldn't intentionally short hand themselves on this mark.

 

Do as you must. The T4x machines weren't as well built at least as compared to the T60. They're thinner and look better, but the thinness comes at the cost of structural integrity, hence the GPU flex issue. My own T42 was getting a little creaky by the time I sold it. I always wondered whether it developed the GPU issue after I mailed it off.

As a contrast, my old 14" R60 looks near new after two and half years of similar usage. My 15" R60 feels as solid though the keyboard isn't as good. It's I think the Alps while my 14" had the NMB.

I've seen the R61 and that was not my impression. Is it a Panasonic? No, but it doesn't need to be. As I already said it's probably not quite as solid as the T due to the lack of the roll cage, but it otherwise seemed well built to me.

I almost bought Celeron based R61 to use as a Linux box when they had them in the Outlet a few weeks ago for $350. I hesitated because I wasn't sure whether I wanted another 15" notebook. Somebody snapped 'em up pretty quick.

 

Yeah getting 3 hours of battery while gaming is pretty amazing. I can barely get that with my vostro doing normal tasks.