Finalising MY T500

I wish to buy a laptop soon enough for ma college work.. And I want it to be future proof..

So opt for T500

My configurations

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8800 (2.66GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64
15.4" WSXGA+ TFT, w/ CCFL Backlight
ATI Mobility Radeon 3650 with 256MB with Intel Advanced Management Technology
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
No Bluetooth
Intel WiFi Link 5300 (AGN) with My WiFi Technology
Integrated Mobile Broadband upgradable
6 cell Li-Ion Battery

Sale Price: $1,679.00

[USPSAVE20T5] -$335.80
Estimated total: $1,343.20*

When Done with CPP and applied USPSAVE20T5

Estimated total: 1,208.43


My queries

1. IS CPP code (edited) applicable for all, can everyone use this code, does they cross cehck whether our order come under this category..

2. Should I take 6 GB(4GB+2GB) for abt 120$ extra

3. Should I take 2.* with 6 MB L2 for abt 30$ More



Most importanlty Am from India, my uncle is in US (maryland) so am planning to let him grab one for me.. so is there any tax for laptops purchased online, ie is the Net Price the one stated in website...

Any other taxes or cash to be paid when we recieve the stuff ?

 

CPP should be OK.

Yes, there is tax depending on which states your uncle lives.

I would downgrade memory and hard drive for now, and do upgrade aftermarket.

Adding a bluetooth should give your some benefit even though you might not think of using it now.

Is there a LED display option? I would go with LED instead of CCFL.

 

1. Yes
2. Choose the cheapest option
3. 30$ is worth it.

 

@ above

Well so i cld stick with cpp right ??

So am not getting ^ gb as per ur suggestons am going with 4 GB single slot...
coz i can be ready for upgrades later.. T500 comes with only 2 SLots rite ??

So cld u give me tax rate for maryland... I dont know.. i thought us had some taxfree policy.... so what does the 1300 $ laptop cost after taxes ???

 

@ cn_habs

Will the 2.8 ghz with 6mb (T series) gimme an edge over 2.66 with 3 mb l2( P series)

wat about batter back up .. wil the cpu upgrade affect the batter backup...

 

1.- Yes
2.- No, unless you are running multiple virtual machines or something, there is no need to have more than 4GB of RAM. And, it's not worth the money at all.
3.- No. That processor is plenty fast enough, unless you are running a lot of CPU-bottlenecked tasks. The T9600 processor will be faster, but it will use more power and likely run slightly warmer.

Oh, you may want to edit out the CPP password from your main post, since the mods do not want us to post that.

Your configuration looks solid. It's very similar to mine, so you can read my thoughts in my review (link in my signature).

The only change I would possibly make is to choose the base hard drive and upgrade that aftermarket, since OEMs tend to rip you off on the hard drive.

Given the increased cost of memory recently, and that Lenovo hasn't really changed its prices for RAM upgrades, I think getting 4GB from Lenovo is fine.

 

@MidnightSun

Well i had read ur review.. I had done about 3 months reviewing after fixing ma lappies

Well am sticking with the 2.66 then.. Well wat bout this WSXGA+ n the other...

I really want an LED screen.. .

So which one do u people suggest , i mean future proof for atlest 3 years...

Then regarding HDD... I am from India.. so ui dun think a thinkpad upgrade will be good unless i have no other choice..

 

I would suggest sticking with the WSXGA+ CCFL screen over the WXGA LED screen. With the WXGA, you lose a lot of screen space, for a very minimal brightness increase and power consumption decrease.

Your review is quite "future-proofed," from what I can tell. It's an expensive battle to outrun technological progression, so my advice is: get a good, affordable laptop that won't break the bank but fulfills your needs now, and replace it down the road when it stops meeting your needs.

Yeah, in that case, it may be cheaper (and easier) to just go with Lenovo's upgrade.

I see no other issues with your build. Looks good to me

 

@ Midnight

Well lemme say ur review was the best review i ever read, coz I was planning to compare a precision , latitude nd a toshiba with this Tinkpad.. N u did just the same thing..

Btw you r having a 9 cell batter, cld u tell me the batter life with a 6 cell( approx)

n how does this hybrid thing work...

dat is''

1. If we watch movie in integrated , wats battery life...

2. If we watch movie in discrete , wats battery life...

 

You probably won't notice it but if you are planning on spending more than 1200USD and want to keep it for 3 years, a 30 USD upgrade isn't really much considering you won't be able to upgrade the CPU in the future. RAM, on the other hand, is easily upgradeable so I would simply choose the cheapest option.

 

@ cn_habs

so u are suggesting me to go with 2.8 Ghz wid 6 mb l2.. ?

does that lower my battery life...

 

i would suggest the 6mb l2 cache one too...it's definitely worth the $30 in the long run. it might reduce the battery life a bit, but shouldn't be noticable

i won't suggest getting 6gb - 4 is enough for nearly everyone...

i would suggest getting bluetooth though if it's not too expensive - you never know when you need it and i personally like things integrated but turned off instead of plugging a usb dongle when i need bt.

p.s. fyi, 3mb/6mb l2 cache isn't identified by the alphabet, but the first number - 9 = 6mb, 8 = 3mb. t just means it has a 35w tdp, whereas p has a 25w tdp

 

U need Bluetooth. That battery isnt going to work well with the ATI discarete card given Lenovo TPs track record. You will lug the AC adaptor around anyway and the with of both the batter and the AC adaptor will be heavy for walking around campus all day. I would downgrade the battery.

 

If you want to be more cost effective you can downgrade the drive and get it elsewhere this week. TPs usually use Hitachi. 7200RPM 500GB for $79.99 plus free shipping at Newegg this week.

 

You suggest me to downgrade Battery ????

 

@ cassiohui n midnightsun

Cld u please give me stats about battery life with my current configuration

1. Working with docs n pictures, do mild stuff like web browsing

2. Watching movie in Integrated mode

3.Watching movie in Discrete mode

4. Play games in Discrete Mode

Does upgrading to 2.8 Ghz 6 Mb l2 reduce my battery backup by 15 minutes ???
If yes am dropping that upgrade..

 

you're giving up the cpu for 15 minutes of battery? SRSLY?

 

Well, wats the use of all that power when u cant use it @ need....

 

If you want to keep it for a while, why hesitate to get a better CPU you won't be able to upgrade in the future? You can undervolt it in the future.

Meanwhile, you are throwing 150 out of the window for some RAM you can get yourself. ..

The decision is yours. Everyone's told you roughly the same things.

 

for 30 US the processor upgrade is worth it...
i am guessing however... that battery life is not a conern...
with a T400 and a 9 cell with a bay battery you can get 13 plus hours...

 

"2. Choose the cheapest option"

And get the cheapest computer.... For a notebook, why let cost figure into it? The OP didn't specify anything about price in the original spec.
Renee